Quick observations

After playin all night, I've noticed so many fumbles in this game. Its not even from those big hitting DB's...hell Alexander has fumbled for me 8 times in 4 games. Really frustrating. But on the other hand, I think im beginning to realize how important the running features are in this game. I mean covering up the rock when running is key, something im not accustomed to since this hardly happened in the past madden games.

 

This thread over at OperationSports sums up my views pretty nicely

http://forums.operationsports.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=216181

The problem is a little masked in NCAA due to the inferior talent of the rosters (although there are still plenty of odd INTs and such), but the defense in Madden just doesn't play realistically; I'm not saying I know anything about how pro football plays in real life, far from it, but in my years of HS football I never once had something occur like, say, a LB covering a slot receiver running a slant in man coverage, yet somehow perceiving the quarterback throwing a corner route to the outside receiver (and indeed reacting immediately to the proper place as the quarterback's arm goes into motion, nevermind that the ball might be going to the speedy slot receiver on a quick route) and flying across the field and picking the ball off.

Man coverage is pretty difficult to pass against as the superhuman perception of all defenders essentially turns the CPU defense into some man/zone hybrid beast, as any defender playing man coverage also has the ability to defend anything in their 'zone', thanks to the bizarre awareness and reaction time. This makes timing routes almost impossible, and it requires the player to turn their offense into basically a wide-open college spread offense, because you basically have to have a receiver BLATANTLY open to complete a pass.

I've also noticed the fumbling problem, as well as some awful O-line play (I should be able to at least complete a 5-stop drop before being sacked the majority of the time, but the game has other intentions... or maybe it's just that I suck, who knows).

 

I agree MrX, it just seems a little too arcade feel for my liking. Specifically, the defense and their super human abilities (i.e., linebackers jumping 8 feet in the air).

 

Speaking of fumbles in one of my games yesterday Marcus Trufant picked off the ball and ran to the 10 yard line when the ball was stripped. Somehow I managed to get him to pick the ball back up on the run and score the TD.

I ran about an hour of practice yesterday and even there the Defense is GODLY. If I wasn't getting put on my ass at QB the defenders were on my receivers like a cheap suit. I need to play online to see how the gameplay differs or move from All-Pro to All-Madden.

 

I am really enjoying this game; it is a huge improvement over last years game. This is where Madden should have been last year on the 360.

Now if only I could find the accelerated clock option...

 

I guess they took it out... maybe it will be a feature next year.

 

dont know if anyone has played against reggie bush or LT yet but they are really hard to bring down

 

LT is CRAZY hard to bring down...in fact, the Chargers are stacked with crazy hard to bring down players :-D Especially on defense. But hey, what do you expect. They beef up the run game and guys like LT HAVE to get their due.

 

I'm pretty sure nobody cares, but I'll give an 'update' of my Madden franchise anyway. So far I'm 4-8 with the Carolina Panthers, on All-Pro (although I played one game at All-Madden for kicks).

Some vital stats:

J. Delhomme 136-258, 1650 yds., 8 TD, 31 INT (!!), 49 sacks (!!!!)
D. Foster 110 carries, 410 yds., 2 TD, 9 fumbles
D. Williams 82 carries, 294 yds., 2 TD, 8 fumbles
C. Gamble 11 INT, 5 defensive TDs

Some fun team stats:
23 total drops by the receivers
21 total INT by my defense

My turnover differential is -28; 36 INT thrown, 18 fumbles lost (compared to +21 INT by my D and 5 fumbles recovered).

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I dunno. I mean, I still hate how cheap the AI can be, but I guess I'm growing to the game in general. I've only played one game online, so I don't really know how the league is going to play out, but if the offline experience is any indication, I'll have to go with 'frustrating'. I predict a lot of defensive struggles, with a ton of turnovers (although I can also see someone with a really good receiver or running back putting up some serious points up as well), but I think we'll also see a lot of really close, tight games.

 

MrX do you scramble with Delhomme a lot? I'm not sure what weapon type he is (if at all), but most QBs lose accuracy on the run. I can only assume that the number of INTs and sacks are due to scrambling out of the pocket.

 

Yep. If you leave the pocket you better get rid of it fast or you will be sacked. And you better plant your feet before you throw, throwing on the run really reduces your accuracy.

 

Almost never. He's had a couple of inaccurate throws while planted in the pocket, but I don't really think it's Delhomme that's the problem. The picks are almost always by the safeties or the linebackers (although I'll get the occasional out route where the DB in man coverage will speed up and grab the ball before the WR does), as they have pretty incredible acceleration towards the ball (if I have a guy on a quick slant, and the LB is 10 feet away when I throw the ball, it just doesn't add up that the LB would be able to close the gap and snag the ball out of the air). It also doesn't help that even if Steve Smith gets separation from a defender, their incredible leaping ability makes that speed advantage pretty much a moot point, as you can't 'drop it in'.

I suppose I'm getting a little better as the season goes on, although every thing I do is plagued with problems; if I stay in the pocket and wait for a receiver to open up (or even for the WR to do their cut on the route), I get sacked. If I try to compensate by throwing earlier, it gets picked. If I run the ball, the guy fumbles. Steve Smith aside, I don't have the best receiving corps either, so I have a TON of drops. I accumulate an impressive amount of sacks and INTs in NCAA so I can't really fault the game of Madden for those (although there's still the basic underlying problem), but the fumbles can get really frustrating as even Ahman Green at his worst doesn't fumble as much as my two backs do.

 

I noticed that the left-thumbstick has a lot more control over the ball this year compared to last. I overthrew my receivers a bunch in a game versus SD and got picked off 3 times. If done correctly you can guide the ball (before pass) right where you want it. It's trial and error though. I'm sure once we've had the game 2 weeks we'll wonder why it took us so long to get the hang of it.

Took me an entire 12 game season with 07 to find the subtle differences.

 

Throughly Impressed

Maybe it's because I haven't bought a "new" football game in 3 years but I am loving this game. I thought the fumbles were ridiculous until I did it once and realized every time I see an Eagles player with the ball I'm praying he does a good job to cover it up and not fumble. If you just ran full speed (turbo trigger) at ray lewis I dont care who you are your you should fumble 25% of the time when he destroys you.

I also did an awesome INT with lito sheppard which tells me that they did a good job of giving pics for poor throws/being in position. Just the fact I can be DB in this years game and be effective is awesome.

The "randomness" of the game is way above par. The cpu was controlling my CB and the reciever catches it and my DB ran so fast into him normally it would cause some weird/awkward effect. But no, just a HUGE hit. The ball bounces and stays alive (catchable) when tipped. These things cause great games with upsets and memories. . .

I don't know why the panthers guy is throwing so many INT's but this years game really makes you play cautious and respect the game itself. You HAVE to mix up your playbook like mad (my favorite is the WR screen which a LOT of teams are copying from the redskins who started doing it all the time a couple years ago.) Also the fatigue plays a role which I REALLY like and I think is long overdue.

This game has my giddy about the possibilities. Memories of 2k3 are already coming back the way you could win with any team in that game if you played a solid game of football.

Maybe they are realizing they better put their heads down and power through if they want to keep the market when/if 2K comes back. . . .

 

You're right, you do have to be extremely cautious with the ball, and the game is very random. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing how that plays into a 'sim' experience (can't grind on the ground because of fumbles, and the passing game is all sorts of wrong), and it's just a fundamental problem with the Madden series and this year's version especially. Honestly, the game can feel like a more realistic version of NFL Street, which I'm sure will lead to some wildly entertaining battles, but I'm afraid it won't lead to a very 'sim' league at all.

 

Hmmm. . . dont want to start a war but I've seen a lot of games where the team ahead tries to "grind it out", the second you start to do that in real life you make yourself a target because the defense knows what your doing and all they try to do is make you fumble. I think it happened in the chicago vs arizona game.

Imagine your a RB up aginst Ravens D trying to grind it out. Would you not cover up the ball everytime?

 

Plenty of backs go up against the Ravens D and don't cradle the ball in their arms like it's glass and they still don't fumble. In the 2006 season, the Baltimore D had a total of 11 fumble recoveries, which is less than 1 a game (and about half the rate that I fumble at, and I only run the ball about 16-17 times a game). There's enough people complaining about it and find it an issue to where you have to believe the problem lies within the game, and not so much with the players. Besides, a running game that consists of covering the ball and little else doesn't sound very exciting (or sim) to me.

If you remember the Chicago-Arizona game, it was 23-3 (I think) in the 3rd, and it was a sack/fumble of Leinart while dropping back to pass that led to a defensive score by CHI and set the wheels in motion that way. Granted, there was a James fumble after that but it was the Leinart fumble that really swung the momentum and for every comeback like that, there's 50 teams that run and protect a lead and come away with the victory.

I should add that I'm basing this almost entirely on offline play, so things might be much better when we actually get to playing people online and such, so this could all be moot.

 

Xpress, you have a point. I realized I was almost sounding like a madden fan there for a sec, Yikes! I just think that this game is much improved and a lot more playable than earlier ones. This is coming from a guy who mailed his xbox memory card to some guy in NY to have him upload 2k7 rosters for his NFL 2k5 game. I think I stopped worrying about the fumbles when I started seeing players get injured after very slowly falling to the ground. Looks like I'm going to get about 2-3 injuries a game.

Heres my main point in this years version being a "legit" football game. It goes back to being able to control a DB. In NFL 2k5 I could slightly move my player before/during a play and he would tiptoe forward or backpedal slowly and almost always face the right direction without me using the strafe button. I could play my friend and cover his WR one on one and actually make plays (or not). In madden 05 I played a guy I had just met who plays madden all the time. I pick Dawkins and he tells me its a bold move and that I shouldn't use a DB. . . he was right. I made one play that game myself. IN Madden 05-07, it seemed like if you moved the joystick slightly your guy takes huge steps and starts moving at almost full speed facing a funny direction . Pressing the Y button would only do a funny flailing of the arms. And forget about hitting someone.

This years madden is sensitive. It knows when I do half speed to the side I only want to slide that direction and not completely turn and start running. It knows when I want to creep up on the line or drop back while the ball is being snapped. It knows when I run half speed up to a RB while standing straight up and not pushing the tackle button that I REALLY need to make this tackle or at least slow the guy down and get in his way.

When running the ball I can start slow and pick a direction and go. When I changed a direction in last years I swear my guy was doing a breakdance ruotine in the middle of a football game!!!

Anyone can say too many INT's, sacks, etc. or not enough for just about any game. As long as it works for both sides I can deal with it Just give me controls where I can put myself in position to make plays and I really have no reason to complain about anything.

Edit: Sorry, I should have just written a review. . .

 

Quick. I have the first pick in a madden draft somehow and I was wondering what three or four teams y'all felt are the best in the game. lol thanks. I can see where all you are having your problems thus far as well.

 

The Chargers seem to be by far the best team in the game, based on quick observing of other boards, almost cheese-like, especially LT.

Just finished a game against the Seahawks offline in the franchise. Was up 14-10 with 3 minutes left, running up the middle with Foster and holding the cover ball button he fumbles, defense recovers, I hold them to a field goal. It's now 14-13, I run a HB Slam, holding nothing but the cover ball button, and naturally he fumbles again, Seattle recovers and drives for the GW FG. I'll give it one more season, otherwise I'm done with the offline component of this game. I can't be the only one on here who's fed up with the game.