That’s three of us! I try to run and pass out of every formation in my playbook. Fortunately, NE has fewer formations but just as many plays.
Here is my suggestion.
Take a team that sucks and play them in a local franchise. I would not suggest the worst team out there to start, but a mediocre maybe could have been team like the Seahawks or so on. They need to have a decent QB, but should not be as good as even Freeman. (Freeman and Hasselbeck look similar on paper, but if you compare their actual stats, Freeman can throw a long ball and can run)
The point is this… you learn ball control.
I know I have harped on this before, but I do not think I really grasped Madden until I played through a couple of season as the Seahawks. Hasselbeck is as likely to throw to the ground or the other team in anything long and his mid game is pretty iffy if you mix it in with his amazing ability to completely botch even the easiest of passes (cue Chris saying, “Hasselbeck is not known to be the most accurate of QBs.”).
Here is what I learned by playing the 'hawks through a few full seasons:
- If your running game is iffy, you need to let your passing game create the running the game.
- If your passing game is iffy to go along with that, you learn that each and every set of downs matters, but not more than field position. Punt as often as necessary.
- Losing sucks. The AI is brutal, especially in the fourth quarter.
- Momentum exists in Madden (see more below)*.
- Throw the ball away if there are no open recievers. Yeah, it sucks. But INTs suck more. If you can not see your guy open, do not throw it. Maybe roll out, maybe throw it away, maybe end up with a sack or maybe just dump it off to the back. None of those are as bad as throwing an INT when it is your fault. The game is going to give away INTs no matter what you do (guy falls down, runs a horrible route, QB is in accurate, etc). You need to lessen that chance by only throwing passes you believe are actually open, not just hoping for the best. If you practice enough, you will start to see the coverages and have a good idea of what you are facing, when to call audibles and when to run at the coming blitz and hope maybe you break through the other side.
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- Just like here real life coaches talk about getting out there and establishing a rythymn, Madden tries to simulate this. You can game it, or as I like to think of it, play football correctly, by building up to bigger plays. Start with simple dump offs to the RB on a well timed screens or flat routes. Then, quick slant passes to the WRs. Then try a mid level pass. While do that, mix in some runs, even if they get no one, make the AI and/or your opponent be honest with run defenses.
The point being, that your QB and your team gain confidence and plays go better. Just like when your RB gets on a roll and the defense can not stop him. (I would offset all of this by the random shot down the field rarely. Do make sure it is not an interception though)
Oh, here’s my tip for making the offline franchise interesting. Always finish the game and save the result. First season I did this, I got lucky getting into the playoffs and lost in the first round. Man, that hurt. The second year I did this, I lost…in the superbowl. UGH. Of course, that only fanned the flames. I went 14-1-1 the next season and won it all.
The overall point to this rambling is Momentum exists and ball control is supreme if your QB is not Peyton Manning esque. Nothing against the Colts or jp, but Manning is a god. For those of us that do not have Mister I Never Miss, we need to use ball control and good play calling on defense to even things out. Even in Madden it is still Any Given Sunday.
TL;DR - play offline with a sucky team (though the suckier the harder it will be). Learn to dominate the AI with them and the whole game opens up.
Erik_J
1943
Which leads me to the next question: Which is the worst team in the game? I usually play with the Bills offline as well, because they suck. I also trade extraneous people for the draft picks I can get. Merriman, the backup SS that’s an 80, Dwan Edwards, Stroud, etc so I can try to get some 2nd 3rd rounders for the next season.
Perkins is right. My first season in Madden 11 was with Washington. I watched Donovan McNabb chuck short passes into the stands and to free safeties, and I watched Portis completely foul up toss plays and get stuffed behind the line. I lost my first two games.
Before game three, I sat down and started going through my roster. I looked at my strengths and weaknesses, and started playing to them. McNabb’s short accuracy was hilariously bad, so I had to get away from my usual slants. I started using Devin Thomas on intermediate routes and Santana Moss on screens or deep passes, just like in real life. I checked the run-block stats on my linemen and shifted my plays to their side. I’d come out in three wide, do motion to draw linebackers around, then run into the gaps they vacated.
Here’s another thing I do in games. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this right before I play you…
On every passing play, I come up with a progression. “Welker, Hernandez, Charles, Moss.” I do this while looking at the play. Then I drop back and I play, looking from one to the other. Did Welker beat the jam? No, LB is in his zone. Hernandez? Safety’s staying with him. Charles? CB is in zone, flats are out. Moss? Hole In Zone. B!
This has helped me a great deal, but I’ll have to be sure not to say this out loud over my headset.
Washington’s pretty bad. Not that they don’t have any stars, 'cause they kinda do, like Orakpo and Cooley. But you’ve got horrible contracts on guys who aren’t that good, meaning you can’t just unload them easily.
I found a great way to learn is to just run the practice mode on random play for both offense and defense. This forces you to learn each of the plays it picks and makes you learn to read the defense since you don’t know what to expect. I think the momentum aspect is still kinda factored into the practice mode because you’ll get streaks of missed throws etc.
That’s a lot of work guys, just use GameFlow to call your offense.
After a game or so you’ll learn the playbook and the tendencies.
It’s not perfect, but it works well and you’ll never have to deal with going to your “go to plays” when things get rough. I think that’s the toughest part of Madden, watching people fish around in their shorts for the can of Spinach when they get into a rough spot. “Oh, Player X is lined up in the slot on 3rd and 7, I wonder where they’re going … no not really”.
Free yourself and free your karma with GameFlow!
(Disclaimer - I use GameFlow Offense exclusively, but call my own Defense).
As for the worst team…I do not know. I know I picked the Bucs because they were not rated high but had a lot of potential. I picked the Seahawks in my local franchise because they were the local team.
Bowyer makes a great point too. Play to the strengths of your team. For instance, people are harping on the Colts for throwing 99.9% of their downs…and yet, that is how the Colts in RL play. The strength of their team lends itself to that in Madden. But beyond that, do what Bowyer did and find out your linemens strengths and weakness, figure out what your QB is good at (Hasselbeck is god at play action for instance) and what they suck at (most QBs are not great at the long ball), etc.
Know your team! Again, I am no expert. I am but a studying student at the moment…
I work in Gameflow from to time, but I often check and audible out of the play too. On defense, Gameflow is not too good. They often call the wrong formation (too many LBs, not enough CBs, etc).
But to only use the Gameflow? That is ballsy. Ballsy!
Erik_J
1950
I usually don’t do this because I want to keep the Bills playbook, but they have terrible Wildcat nonsense, so I call my own plays. I do, however, try to mix it up, even in 3rd down situations.
Gameflow is fine, but I’ve always used Ask Madden. It varies up the plays like Gameflow, but gives you 3 to choose from so you can pick a play that is best appropriate for the situation.
Eh…I call all my own plays cause…well…I’m kinda crazy.
Gameflow is crazytown. Don’t go there! It’s crazy!
NITPICKING TIME!
In 2010, the Indianapolis Colts ran on 36% of plays. The average team ran the ball 44.6% of the time last year.
Mix it up, people!
That said, the average team averaged 4.2 yards per attempt, not Jeff’s current -0.3 yards per attempt, or whatever it is.
Xaroc
1956
The average team was not trying to run some guy they picked up from a Jiffy Lube the week before either.
Erik_J
1957
I still think JP should be just trucking into people with Addai. Probably get some injuries out of it, too. Mutant League Football, suckahs!
JP owned me last year, I am ready for a rematch. That said, Laser Manning is hard to beat. I took them to the Superbowl in the first year we did this if I remember correctly. Only to lose to…fuzzy maybe? Anyway, you can indeed lean on the Manning a LOT. That said, I look forward to playing a team I never have to think about the run with. Should be an interesting game…
The Green Bay Packers politely raise their hands in protest, good sir.
Tyler Thigpen for Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis! C’mon, Omni! Picture the headlines:
BLOCKBUSTER TRADE SHAKES FOUNDATION OF NFL SEASON
“Wait, Who?” Belichick Says At Press Conference
