Madden NFL Bad Player Strength Matchu

It was there where I learned that you are expected by your opponent to quit when you are down three TDs, saving time for both of the players. It has been presented as a code of conduct. Is that wrong?

And I’ve got the impression that bad player strength matchup is hard to overcome by clever gameplay, that the value of your players really matters. So if you play an opponent that is way better equipped with players than you are, is it reasonable to continue the game? Does it really teach you something beside just that, that player strength values matter?

Most of us hardcore madden players have seen it all. Most people seem to be good at button pushing and while not actually understanding football to some extent and I’m knocking those people. However people will either quit the game or leave leagues cause they expect the computer to do most of the work for them. But the honest truth is it comes down to looking at it like a chest match which very little can do. Am I the best at the game. No not at all. But I enjoy out thinking my opponent and of course the occasional madden luck. I feel like most people can’t handle losing which is the big picture, and don’t want to learn how to get better or work on adjustments on things to make them a better player. But I just feel there is a lot of sore loser now a days. Maybe it’s the newer generation or maybe it’s just becoming contagious of the gaming community, lets not forget about sportsmanship has gone down the drain as well.

Granted finding good people for leagues and rank games to actually enjoy the game is like trying to win the lotto.

That’s why I created a league back in 2009 to present. To bring that kind of mentality alive. I mean **** in my own 2 cents no one likes losing. But its how your rebound and or game plan. A chest match of calling the right play and some luck makes it seem more real. And gives a more gratifying experience.

Stick skills have a lot to do with sore losers. Guys who have mad stick skills are some of the most cheesy gamers in leagues (this is just my opinion).

I have found that leagues that have banned user catching and user picks. Starting the play on defense as a down lineman with no switching players while the pass is in the air seem to have much happier members.

This also brings the”chess game” to the for front of the game.

Lost a very interesting game this weekend – give up Madden NFL

I was up 21-13 about to celebrate a victory. With under 3:00 left, I had the ball inside the ten when my RB fumbles. I guess I can’t get too upset. I was using Ryan Mathews and in real life, he did this twice in three games. It happens. What are the chances the AI drives the length of the field AND get the two point conversion? Then it happens:

Play #1: Pass completion +15 yards for face mask
Play #2: Pass completion +15 yards for face mask
Play #3: Pass completion +15 yards for face mask
Play #4: Pass completion +15 yards for face mask
Play #5: 2 yard rush + face mask
Play #6: TD

At this point, it would have been pretty foolish to think I was going to stop them from getting the conversion, which they easily do. It’s like 8 seconds left and they kick off. Josh Huff… 103 yard touchdown on the return… wait… for it:

Illegal block in the back!!

Again… can’t get too mad. We see this happen all the time in real life…. Probably not 60 yards behind the play, but oh well.

Overtime comes and shockingly, I go three and out (more like 6 and out, if you consider I had three penalties on that drive.) Oh well. Send my punting team on the field and maybe the defense makes a stop (I actually thought that with a straight face.) Turns out defense didn’t need to… the AI blocked the punt and gets the ball at the 15.

I probably do not need to continue this story.

Eh. It happens. You win some; you lose some. Luckily I have evolved from the ‘throwing the controller across the room’ stage in my life.

Part of me, just a small part, doesn’t mind when I play a game the CPU has already decided will win. The game is supposed to “simulate” a season. Teams have ups and downs and some times it just seems as they can do nothing right and they lose to a weaker team. I just play it out as a bad day for my team. That being said I wish it would be done more realistically. I pride myself on defense and I can’t stand when I give up over 600 yards and all sorts of records are broken in a game against a **** offensive team.

Madden NFL 17 Catchin’ With Flair ft. Rob Gronkowski

Not gonna lie, this had me literally laughing out loud. This is one of those rare commercials that you want to see on TV. I’m a Giants fan and I enjoyed it. Rob Gronkowski as Bon Jovi, singing a remixed “Livin’ on a prayer” song. My life is complete.

Madden NFL 17 Predicts Week 10 of the NFL

Madden 17 predicts an exciting week of NFL games. Here, are the predictions for every game in Week 10 of the NFL season.

We’re now over halfway through the NFL season and that is straight up scary; the season is going too fast. What this does mean though is that we’re getting to the most exciting portion of the season as the playoff picture gets clearer and the games get tighter.

To help us foresee what is to come I’ve been using Madden NFL 17 to predict every game from the weekend slate of games. The game is currently 33-32 after having an awful week last week, going 3-9.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Carolina Panthers

This figures to be somewhat of a defensive battle but Madden has shown a tendency to defy expectations.

The Panthers offensive line continues to struggle and Dee Ford extended his hot streak with another 2 sack performance to go along with the other 4 sacks of Cam Newton. However, the Panthers did find joy in the run game and broke of multiple big plays. That wasn’t enough though as some sacks in key spots cost the Panthers this game as their season now seems virtually over.

Chiefs 23 – Panthers 17

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

In what could be a key AFC South matchup Madden sees a dominant performance coming which could have big effects on the AFC Playoff picture.

Is DeAndre Hopkins back?! Hopkins exploded in this game with 8 catches for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns as he dominated the Jags defense. Lamar Miller had a good game, Osweiler actually played well and the Texans defense took advantage of the Jags offensive shortcomings to secure their spot atop the AFC South and in a position to go after the number 2 seed in the AFC.

Texans 31 – Jaguars 14

Denver Broncos @ New Orleans Saints

The Broncos need to get back on track but it won’t be easy against a hot New Orleans Saints team in the Superdome, and Madden foresees a nail-biter.

When playing at home, the Saints offense is a joy to watch as they typically put up a lot of yards and a lot of points, and though the Broncos did limit that, the Saints offense played well. Brees had another 300-yard game, as if that is a surprise, and found the endzone twice. But the Broncos found joy on offense against the shoddy Saints D. But that wasn’t enough and the Saints D came up with the game clinching play in the dying moments of the 4th quarter,

Saints 30 – Broncos 27

Los Angeles Rams @ New York Jets

This game doesn’t look like it’s going to be the best game of the weekend and apparently Madden agrees.

Both offenses struggled to move the ball on the ground and in the air but that didn’t make it an exciting defensive game. Hekker played well for the Rams and that may have proved to be key in this game and the Rams managed to eke out a win.

Rams 9 – Jets 3

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles

This game has the potential to be one of the games of the week, as Matt Ryan’s stellar offense meets the Eagles stingy D and Wentz and the lowly Eagles offense meets the Falcons leaky D in what could be a game for them to get back on track.

That is exactly what happened. Wentz had the type of game that he was having through the first 3 weeks of the season. Going 28/39 for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. However, as we should’ve guessed, the Falcons offense moved the ball with relative ease and Ryan was once again great. As was Julio Jones who grabbed another 2 touchdowns.

Falcons 31 – Eagles 28

Chicago Bears @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This game may not seem like the best game of the week but it has the potential to be quite exciting, but what does Madden think?

Both of these teams have been bad this season but the Bears are coming off an upset win over the Vikings and seem to be improving. Well that continued as Cutler had another strong game against the Bucs struggling defense, passing for 260 yards and a pair of TD’s and Jordon Howard had yet another great game. Winston, Evans and Martin all had good games but the Bears came up with a stop on fourth down to help seal the game in the fourth quarter.

Bears 24 – Buccaneers 17

Green Bay Packers @ Tennessee Titans

In years past, if you had to pick a game to be a blowout this would be it, but the Titans look better this year and the Packers a little worse so anything could happen, right?

The old status quo is restored. Rodgers and the Packers bounced back from a bad loss against the Colts last week with a dominating win over the Titans this week. Rodgers picked apart the Titans defense with all of his weapons making some pretty big play. Defensively the Packers shut down Murray and Mariota on the ground kept the Titans receivers in check, completely shutting down the Titans offense.

Packers 38 – Titans 10

Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins

The Vikings have to get back on track soon before this seemingly promising season is wasted, but the Redskins are trending towards making a Wild Card push so this game could be significant for the NFC Playoff race.

Luckily for the Vikings and Sam Bradford, the Redskins defense is not amazing, and they found a little more joy this week than they have for the last three. However, Bradford still got hit a little too much and it certainly slowed down their offense. On the other side of the ball the Vikings defense did limit Cousins and co, despite still not playing at the level they were in the first 5 weeks, and they made this game very close late, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Vikings from continuing to slide.

Redskins 20 – Vikings 17

Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers

The battle of second year running backs could actually end up being one of the better games of the week as Melvin Gordon and Jay Ajayi go head to head.

Both teams played pretty much the same game; a heavy dose of their running back. Gordon and Ajayi each carried the ball 20+ times and both had over 100 yards, but Gordon’s 2 touchdowns to Ajayi’s one was crucial. Rivers added a passing touchdown, as did Tannehill who had one of his better games of the year to make this game close, but Rivers put together a drive to hit a field gaol to effectively seal the game with just a few minutes left.

Chargers 24 – Dolphins 14

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals

This one could be messy. The Cardinals have one of the best running backs in the game and the 49ers have allowed over 100 yards rushing in pretty much every game this season, and Madden thinks that streak will go to 8.

David Johnson had yet another great game as the Cardinals bulldozed their way to a crucial victory to keep their season from slipping away. Johnson amassed 180 total yards, 140 on the ground, and 3 total touchdowns and the Cardinals defense feasted on Kaepernick as they did last time he was in Arizona. This game was ugly for the 49ers.

Cardinals 42 – 49ers 7

Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers

I am very excite for this game, and Madden’s prediction suggests everyone else should be too.

With more and more pressure on Dak Prescott to perform he thrived. With the help of another great game from Elliot Prescott picked apart the Steelers secondary as Dez Bryant had his best game of the season, catching 7 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers offense came to play, too, as their stellar trio had a great game too. Thanks to the NFL’s overtime rules though it came down to which offense had the ball first, and it was Dallas who don’t appear to be slowing down.

Cowboys 37 – Steelers 31

Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots

Super Bowl 49 rematch. Game of the week. Brady vs. LOB. Belichick vs. Carroll. What more could you want on Sunday Night Football?

The last time these two teams played Madden predicted the result weirdly accurately so I hope it is this time too. Brady has another great game but he does commit his first turnover of the season. The real story though is how good the Seahawks offense was. Wilson had a great game and the Seahawks move the ball very well, but once again Brady brought them back to win.

Patriots 34 – Seahawks 31

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants

Monday Night Football sees two of the best receivers in the league face off as the Bengals will be looking to capitalise on the Steelers loss and the Giants will be looking to keep up with the Cowboys in the NFC East.

The Giants offense came out hot but levelled out in the second half, scoring just 3 more points. Odell Beckham still had a good game, as did Eli, but Dalton, Green and Eifert stole the show in another Week 11 shootout. Dalton had his best game of the year so far, passing for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns, Green had another 100 yard game with another touchdown and Eifert added his second touchdown of the season.

Bengals 28 – Giants 24

Madden NFL 18 wishlist how eas football franchise can continue their resurgent run

It feels like so long ago, but we’re not even two months into Madden NFL 17 and the game still has as much play value as it did on day one. Even with that being the case, now seems like a great time to get started working on a wishlist for Madden NFL 18 before it’s too late in the development cycle.

To be blunt, Madden NFL 17 was a great game and one of the best in the series. However, in the middle of EA’s best football run in a decade, what needs to be added in order to make this game the best of the best? The main thing to note is that this wishlist focuses on gameplay, presentation/atmosphere, and connected franchise when it pertains to coaching or being an owner. At some point soon, I will likely do something about the player franchise mode, but I do not plan on talking about Ultimate Team or Draft Champions in a wishlist.

Simply put, I do not play MUT and Draft Champions is as close to a perfect mode as you can get, so what is there to change? Adding more rounds? Adding more throwback cards? Let’s get to business.

Gameplay

Fix CPU quarterback accuracy and wide receiver catching. This has been a problem in the series for the past few years, but I’m seeing quarterbacks complete way too many of their passes even with sliders on. This is partly due to receivers being able to catch nearly anything, even if a defensive back or linebacker is applying perfect pressure and the ball should not realistically be caught. This actually leads into part two.

Better defensive play from defensive backs. There is no way that Richard Sherman or Patrick Peterson should be allowing such easy, long touchdowns on a regular basis from wideouts in the mid-70s, nor should they barely make an attempt at deflecting a ball. Ironically, this is one of the things that older Madden games in the previous generation of consoles did perfectly, and we complained too much because they weren’t picking the ball off. Let’s just find a perfect balance and roll with that.

Penalties have gotten better, especially with sliders, but I still think we’re missing a few big ones — and no, I’m not talking about taunting. The main ones that come to mind are intentional grounding and clipping (I don’t think I’ve seen one), though I am expecting more progress in the penalty department come Madden NFL 18.

Bad snaps from the center and long snapper if the player in question is of a bad enough overall. With the revamped special teams this year that changed the punting and kicking game, let’s add a new factor in the form of long snappers. If your center gets hurt on a block and you have to replace him with a center in the mid-60s or even an offensive tackle, how does that change the game in terms of gameplan? Do you change things up and just go behind center if you mainly operate from shotgun? If your long snapper gets hurt, do you maybe go for it on fourth down when you’d normally punt? This could be a huge game changer if EA were to stop making every single snap automatic.

Gameplan adjustments from the CPU. If a second-string running back is getting hot and breaking off some big runs, then he should get some more snaps over the starter who may be struggling to get anything going. The same goes if a defense is clamping down on play action plays and longer passes, maybe we see the opposing coach start calling more runs or shorter passes.

Make a quarterback slide back into square/x rather than having to hit the left trigger button at the same time. Does it add a challenge? Sure. Should a QB sliding be a challenge? Nope.

Injury history contributing to the possibility of more injuries for that player. Take someone like Jamaal Charles who has had two separate ACL injuries, meaning his knees should be weak points. Now, his durability rating means he’ll be hurt more, but I’d like to see an injury model similar to the NBA 2K series.
Better injury animations and the addition of non-contact injuries. If my running back tears his ACL, I want to see him on the ground with his arms clutching his knee, not holding his arm behind his back. This is something that NBA 2K has done perfectly.

Atmosphere/Presentation

Dynamic weather conditions and the ability to select weather for games that aren’t exhibition games, but have realism factored in; no snowy games in September, nor should there be a Steelers-Ravens playoff game where it’s 80 degrees. As for the addition of dynamic weather, I feel it’d be an interesting one that would add a bit more strategy to the game. How does a team that’s been struggling with the running game adapt when the rain starts falling and the passing game becomes more of a challenge? If you don’t want dynamic weather, then an option should be created that allows you to choose between having it or not, the way that fans could once choose if they wanted to use the rewind feature in earlier Maddens.

Please, fix the sidelines, because this is one of the few things EA has either lied about or failed to deliver on from their initial introduction of “Real World Sidelines” in Madden NFL 25. How, in this generation of gaming, can you have an entire sideline made up of near-blobs where players are wearing none of the equipment they wear when they’re actually on the field? When does someone take off an arm sleeve or a visor for an entire drive on the sideline? Go back and watch this video EA released in 2013 and tell me four years later what you see on the sideline.

Bring back cheerleaders! Let’s get some next-gen action on the sidelines of some beautiful girls dancing to celebrate a score or to entertain New York Jet fans during another depressing blowout.

I love the commentary between Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis in their first year, so don’t expect me to start demanding a change. What I do want to see, though, is a sideline reporter who can do interviews and bring some actual insight to the game rather than what Danielle Bellini did in her couple Madden years. Maybe this is where Larry Ridley comes in as he — or whoever EA appointed the job — could discuss injuries (both before and during the game), benchings, and storylines. I’ll talk a bit more about this below in franchise.

More customization features that focus on players, coaches, and teams. I plan on doing an article on this in the future, but this especially pertains to relocation and rebranding, two assets that the NBA 2K series has successfully mastered.

Franchise

Morale and player styles. Football is a sport where player behavior is important, especially when things are going wrong or free agency is looming. Let’s start with giving players both personality traits (Cam Newton, for example, may be “expressive” or “immature”) and roles (Tony Romo is injury prone and J.J. Watt is a leader-type) and work our way up from there. How does an expressive player react to the drafting of a player at the same position compared to another player? Would they ask for a trade, or would they put up with it but, due to being angry, lower the team’s morale?

This would be an excellent thing to add to the draft because, as we’ve seen in recent years with players like La’el Collins and Johnny Manziel, players will often fall due to off-the-field or behavioral concerns and even if it’s not going in-depth (i.e. this player was suspended for a DUI), give us something to think about when looking at players. Is the risk of a franchise, generational talent defensive end worth it when they’ve had behavioral issues that caused him to miss two games his sophomore year?

More draft information, including injury history, collegiate stats, player comparison, and evaluations from scouts and NFL Draft insiders. What does Matt Miller see in this offensive lineman that Todd McShay doesn’t? What injury caused this defensive back to have a low grade in durability — was it an arm injury that won’t make too much of an impact, or was it something like a torn ACL that could affect him later?

Coaching carousel and assistant coaches — or at the very least, a revised coaching system. As a longtime franchise player, this was one of the things that really bugged me when franchise became “Connected Franchise” in Madden NFL 13 because for years, I had built my coaching staff up, and, when the time came, I did my best to retain the assistants who helped build a Super Bowl team. Before coaches like Mike Zimmer, Todd Bowles, and even Josh McDaniels were getting NFL head coaching jobs, I was recruiting them in Madden, and though it’s a tiny feature to some, I’d love to get assistant coaches back in the game.

True coach styles. For as important as the basic three traits your coaches start out with are, we should have the opportunity to see if our coach is more of a player’s coach or a strict authoritarian; if they’re someone who prefers a passing offense and airing it out or if they’ve made a name for themselves by building up an elite defense. When you’re building a team, this adds a bit of strategy, especially to the morale of your players. Would a wide receiver used to getting the ball 100 times a year be alright with the team hiring a coach that leans more towards a run-heavy offense?

Are you alright with hiring a coach like Rex Ryan who has a coaching style that is “expressive” and could greatly help the morale of your team which helps the player’s stats, or would you rather hire a strict, Bill Belichick-like coach with better stats who may cause some players to become frustrated and feel uncomfortable? It’s all about strategy, friends.

Revamped goals for both players and coaches with the ability to set several instead of just one. With a young quarterback, the goal should be “throw less than 12 interceptions” or “complete 63 percent of your passes” instead of the current system, where it’s either passing yards or touchdowns. I feel like the current system appeals to casual fans too much with a heavy emphasis on stats despite us living in an era where we know that the basic stats only mean so much. The amount of tackles determined by a linebacker should not impact how good they are, but tackles for loss and tackling efficiency should; the same goes for defensive backs and interceptions, as those with a high pick total often means quarterbacks don’t fear throwing to them. With coaches in terms of system goals, I’d like to see a system that puts more of an emphasis on things like clutch wins, home W-L versus road W-L, and how the team performed in a certain area. If you’re a coach who has an emphasis on the running game, how did your backs do when it came to average yards per rush, broken tackles/breakaway percentage, and other stats?
An improved practice squad system. Enough of second-round players ending up on the practice squad and then being cut, but because this was the first year, I’ll give EA a slight pass. Fix this in year two.
This is small, but the great people at Operation Sports have pointed out there is no longer a website/app for Connected Franchise. In the words of DJ Whoo Kid, bring it back!

Public hammering the Packers as Thursday night kickoff approaches

Week 7 of the NFL season kicks off tonight at historic Lambeau Field. Covers talks about where the action is with Tony Miller, sportsbook director at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas, and with an oddsmaker for offshore sportsbook BetNow.com.

Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay have been sputtering of late, particularly last week in a 30-16 home loss to Dallas as a 5-point favorite. That left the Packers with a record of 3-2 SU and 2-2-1 ATS, lagging behind the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.

The Packers will look to get back on track against fellow division rival Chicago (1-5 SU and ATS). The Bears gave up a late long touchdown pass to Jacksonville in a 17-16 Week 6 loss as a 2.5-point home chalk.

The line dropped 1.5 points from Monday’s opener of -9. But today, hours before kickoff, Green Bay backers were flowing in.

“We’re at 7.5, but ready to go to 8 really soon if we keep getting money on the Pack,” Miller said early this afternoon. “I’m getting no money whatsoever on the Bears. Nothing on the total, nothing on the moneyline, just all Packers side bets right now. The ticket count is 5/1 on the Packers.”

And the pros were staying away from either side at 7.5.

“It’s all public. No sharp money right now. I tend to think if I go to 8, sharps might buy it back to 7.5.”

A short time later, Miller indeed moved the Golden Nugget’s line to 8, and it did draw some Bears action to bring it back to 7.5.

At BetNow, the line was also at -7.5 this afternoon, with a price of -105.

“On straight bets, the action is all over the Packers,” BetNow’s oddsmaker said. “On parlays and teasers, the action is on the Packers and the game to go over the total.”

Although the total has dropped from the opener of 47 to 46, BetNow is currently seeing more action on the over.

Green Bay has dominated this rivalry in recent years, going 8-2 SU and ATS in the last 10 clashes, all as the favorite. But the Bears pulled the outright upset at Lambeau last year, 17-13 as a 7.5-point underdog.