Wise Madden Concepts

Madden 20 Pros & Cons

2020-05-22T08:32:00.002-04:00

After years of not posting... Im back...
Im hoping Madden changes engines to something like the Unreal 5 Engine at this point. Shout out to Duece Close, Coach Mckie and Gutfox who inspired this post.

Here is a podcast style 30minute discussion on this topic with WML Admins DJLynx and Tramone
https://youtu.be/DVhurldsnOg

PROS (Given Cards dealt)

-Clint Oldenburg
Blocking upgrades we didnt think were possible added, like ID the Mike, and Double Teams

-Anthony White
Play book additions we didnt think were possible like RPOs

-Regs.
Play now stock rosters were well tuned to feel like real life counter parts

Cons
-lack of focus/game fodder is immense

mut fodder, playbook fodder, trait/ratings/ability fodder, face of the franchise/superstar ko, new patches undo old patches.
People play mut before learning basics in skills trainer... The focus should be teaching football. Real coaches litterally can tell some routes are like dummy routes just so devs wont hear user conplain about op routes, like the outside fades

- Franchise Mode

Custom playbook intergration, unless they are moving to my idea of EA sponsered CFMs ...Not being able to reset injuries update made no sense, reset games, cant turn off/on injuries before advancing in the companion app.

- Animations/Unbalanced ability system

Movements still do not realistically represent foot planting or leverage at times, loss of control in many WR/DB interactions, Pursuit angles need improvement, blocking targeting, Tackles should block and engage contains when they pursue the QB, DBs, WRs, light RBs, and light LBs, should be dominated by strong linemen, DBs still catch better then WRs

Abilities that should exist...
Defenses shouldnt have catching abilities ... if they were that good at catching they would be on offense too... they should be boosting swatting the ball

Escape artist shouldnt exist... it messes up speed and acceration ratings behind the line of scrimmage

2017-10-09T19:56:00.001-04:00

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Wise Madden League

2017-01-12T21:25:00.003-05:00

"Game On!"

It's been years, but somehow people drew me out the caves and back on the controller.
To start the Madden NFL 18 year off Im doing a free entry $50 and trophy prize league on PS4. There is a facebook group: Wise Madden League, that we will be using for communication.
Just add my PSN: Pegasus9585 to join while slots are still open. (We are already half way full)
For those that visited my blog over the years thank you! Keep an eye put for future posts!

Custom Audible Puzzle

2012-12-15T17:48:00.000-05:00

First off, I want thank all the hard working men and women that assist in making this product enjoyable, and to everyone who has visited this blog. I wish Madden NFL 13 took the ideas from NCAA Football 13 concerning custom playbooks. Having them available in all modes is one idea I'd like. (*Especially online Connected Careers Mode*) Limitations aside, you can still maximize it's potential for ranked and offline play now games by setting up your audibles for offense and yes, defense. Unfortunately there really isn't a user interface designed to assist you, but a work around has been found by some hardcore Madden gamers.

The Online Ranked leader board is flooded with suspected statistics like average points per game no where near the overall point total...but that's for another blog post...

Here are some things to consider before starting...

1. Kickoffs during ranked online games default on Gameflow with no option to see your full playbook. This leaves you missing the option to select onside recovery, and normal "kickoff middle" recovery plays before hitting the field. The only way to them is via audible once on the field.

2. The "4-3 under" formation is missing all together. What you find is a closely resembling "4-3 odd" formation which is just not the same.

3. If you want to change your audibles later on you will have to start from scratch... so you might want to jot down some notes or keep a saved copy of older playbooks if you see yourself doing that in the future.

4. You can reorder the list of sets in a formation for the okay call screen. (Last chosen is added to the bottom)

5. Selecting plays in sets of threes can give you great display order that can create tricky situations for local "split-screen games".

6. You select any play as a audible EXCEPT any of the defaulted audibles preset in that playbook at first.

7. Xbox 360 Offensive Audibles Controller Map: X=5th audible A=1st audible Y=3rd audible LB=2nd audible RB=4th audible A,LB,Y,RB,X

8. Xbox 360 Defensive Audibles Controller Map: X=3rd audible A=4th audible Y=5th audible LB=1st audible RB=2nd audible LB,RB,X,A,Y

9. Lastly using one of the team specific playbooks you use the most as a guideline will help in structure and deciding what to keep and what to remove.

The Offensive Audible Madness

(Thanks to Route Combo)

1. Select "Create Custom Playbook".
2. Select "Pass Balanced" Playbook.
3. Delete/Remove all plays until 39 plays remain.
4. Select your 1st audible ONLY, and rate every game plan situation "half a star".
5. Go back and delete/remove all the plays from your playbook that you can, leaving 33 OR, most likely 34 plays remaining. (Keeping your selected audible.)
6. Select you next 4 audibles and rate them "half a star" in all game plan situation.
7. You should have 33 to, the most likely, 38 plays. SAVE THE PLAYBOOK.
8. You can now go to to practice mode to verify your audibles. Once verified you can finish adding the plays you want in the Playbook.

Let's just say you can tell the difference between those who put the time into their offensive schemes.

The Long Lost Defense Audible Setup

(Thanks to Jnorsman)

1. Select "Create Playbook".
2. Select the "46"defensive Playbook.
3. Choose your five audibles and rate each game plan situation half a star.
4. SAVE THE PLAYBOOK.
5. Delete/Remove the five default audibles from the Playbook. (46 Bear Mid Blitz, 46 Bear 2 Man Under, Dime Normal Cover 3, Dollar 3-2-6 Cover 4, and Nickel 3-3-5 Will Cover 2)
6. Delete/Remove your "half star rated" audibles from the Playbook. (From step 3)
7. Add back the default audibles from step 5. (No stars needed)
8. Add back your audibles (from step 3), and rate each game plan situation "half a star"
9. Press the back button (a.k.a. select button just left of the center of the controller) as if to save BUT, DO NOT SAVE...instead press the B button to back out that save screen.
10. Remove/Delete the "newly assigned audibles". (Dollar 3-2-6 Okie Roll 2, Dollar 3-2-6 Mike Edge 3 Seam, Dime Fox Fire Zone, & Dime Wk Overload 3, Dime All Out Blitz)
11. Delete/Remove you "half star rated" audibles.
12. Add back the "newly assigned audibles". (No stars needed)
13. Add back your audibles and rate the "half a star"in all game plan situations. SAVE THE PLAYBOOK
14. You can now go to to practice mode to verify your audibles. Once verified you can finish adding the plays you want in the Playbook.

Feel free to support this blog and donate a dollar or more to blood9585@yahoo.com via https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-online. Until next time...

STDL

2012-08-03T20:33:00.004-04:00

I noticed that most strategies in Madden revolves around you learning schemes and sometimes even the basics of controls on your own. It's rarely given to you straight forward. I want to share one simple yet effective thing that I've noticed with my time with Madden. My friends I'm talking about simply about Spreading the Defensive Linemen (STDL) with a four man front...****Any Four down defensive linemen set should work to perfection****

Just say, "D-Line Spread!" (Kinect only)

This is TOO Simple

You may be thinking yea really ...what really can this do for me... and trust me...I thought the same way. I noticed many people want the Defensive pass rush to be tweaked to avoid the defensive ends from playing "patty cake" with the Offensive Tackles for five or more seconds. What some don't realize is that spreading the defensive line puts the defensive ends in a better position to get that push up field that they are looking for. After this year of playing many different types of people, I know one of the hardest thing for casual players and new comers to grasp is the route and audible system. Trust me when I say this...."LEARN AND MASTER ONE ADJUSTMENT AT A TIME." Learning all the controls when you are just sub par with them will just result in sub par play... be patient and piece your game together by mastering each assignment, each adjustment, and each play one at a time.

Good Luck, Justin Dewiel and Believeland fans... we Dolfans feel your pain

Hold Up Now...

Now I know what you are thinking....if I spread the line the offense will just take notice and audible to a run play up the gut... One way to pull this off without much indication is to STDL right after they break the huddle. (before they even go into their initial stance setup). You have no idea how effective much making hot routes and defensive shifts before the players actually setup vs after can be. This can make it seem like no changes have been made at all, especially for people who quickly snap the ball. Next time you play against someone who seems to not be doing anything different at all try slowing the game down a bit and start watching the alignments and assignments a little be closer...

"It's over before it started if I get a comfy pocket!"

Effectiveness

STDL literally can make it difficult for the opposing quarterback to perform a 5 step or 7 step drop without getting antsy. If you know a long yardage pass coming go ahead and STDL immediately after your defense breaks the huddle. If the offense continues to do a 5 or 7 step drop you will notice the defensive ends are so much closer to the quarterback that the offensive tackles nearly bump into the quarterback. When the quarterback can't set his feet, especially for deep passes, the pass will likely be inaccurate. There's nothing sweeter on defense than getting a much needed stop.

"88 TAD....(I don't stutter) 88 Deep Throwing Accuracy on day 1..."

Awareness

Now the awareness I'm talking about isn't the rating within the video game itself. I'm talking about the mental awareness of your opponent. If you can make slight changes to a play to distract your opponent from what they really need to focus on you already have the upper hand. I don't like sharing these things sometimes, because I find out later that someone will use it against me later. BUT, for the betterment of the game here goes...I remember playing games where I literally would move outside corner backs from proper alignments to make my opponent second guess executing their initial, effective running play.

Want to talk about strategy?...this guy oozes it. (One of my favorite coaches)

Alright guys go ahead and test out some alignments you see other do where you can add your own spin to it, while doing your own experiments. Until next time...ova and out.

E3 Madden NFL 13 Gameplay vs NCAA Football 13 Gameplay

2012-07-29T19:03:00.000-04:00

I played NCAA Football 13 for a week now and I played Madden for about a week worth of time when I was in California. For good or for bad the NCAA Football team and the Madden team seem to finally be working together. That being said there is some features unique to each franchise this year. I would like to focus on the game play similarities and differences. Here are some of major ones in my opinion.

After a while you start to notice there's no way they could have motion captured some of this stuff...

Similar:

-Total Control Passing & Read & React

There really isn't any difference in the way the passing game is between the two games so all initial pass read pre-snap and post snap remain the same. While tuning may throw a tweak or two when NCAA Football 13 gets patched, but for the most part the two games are very much the same if not identical.

-Offensive Line Play

Good news: The O-Line WILL GET UPGRADED, Bad News: It's more than likely to happen next year in Madden NFL 14. At first I had the thinking that they should implemented whatever they had, but after talking to some of the EASports Development team and seeing how some of the trends of needing game play patches via title updates due to game bugs... you learn that programming software can be like wine...it's better over time. Hopefully pass rush animations will be upgraded in Madden NFL 14 as well.

-Special Teams

The special teams plays have been tweaked to a more realistic design. While I still think there should be a little more variety in the basic plays every single special teams play in each game is cloned in the other. NCAA Football 13 gives you a good if not great base to expect in Madden NFL 13. Want to practice timing on your trick plays or kicks in NCAA for Madden? Go ahead...

Physics makes playing with Legends a whole new experience....SWEETNESS!

Different:

-Running behind blockers

With the new and all mighty Infinity Engine, the game has really changed. You have to thinking about how fast you bump into other players, including your own. I'm convinced that people will love the way the game feels with physics involved. I tried to duplicate some things I've done in Madden 13 in NCAA 13 and it just wasn't the same at all... especially when returning a kickoff or running a run play.

-Mid-air Collisions

The only time I've ever thought about the impact of mid-air collisions was in air plane games...but Madden's new physics took this aspect to another level and adds to the defensive scheme. I really like that I can run into players a full speed and create a big impact. Trying this in NCAA results in the old "rub off" animation where you'll need to hit some sort of button to create some contact.

-Gang Tackles Collisions

Fans that have been pushing for real football aspects in gaming will go crazy when they see and feel the effects of running into piles already attempting to bring down ball carriers. The "unscripting" of canned animations as I call it, brings more of an organic experience. While NCAA has gang tackles as well, you will rarely seen more than 3 people involved in a take down attempt...let alone see the pile being moved by others...

-The Crowd

NCAA Football has seemed to always had the one up on Madden in this respect, even though the lead is marginal. The crowd color themes are more apparent, chants are louder, and have slightly better timing. While at E3 the Madden crowd seems untouched. With FIFA Soccer gaining some improvements Madden fans have been dying for, hope still remains for the future.

Going to leave you guys with the EA tension video showing some little details in the difference with physics. How Ironic the video features Michael Turner...Until next time...

Calhoun County and MaddenMasterminds

2012-07-24T19:03:00.001-04:00

Every now and than I like to spotlight some of the best I've crossed paths with in the Madden Community, and today is one of those days. It's really easy for me to pick out guys in the Madden Secret Society since I have access to it all the time via cell phone and have some history playing with these guys. Next time I'll get some "outsiders"... lol. I don't want to take anything away from these two great Madden guys because they have their own followers and foundation of respect outside of the MSS group. These guys bring the everyday passion that few possess, while remain with a sense of humbleness that will make you proud. Don't let their cool down to earth demeanor fool you, these guys have some of the best competitive minds in sports gaming today.

I never saw this in my arcades...

Calhoun County

You guys don't understand the half of it... when it comes to Madden things can get serious real quick. I remember scheduling my work breaks around feature presentations for the new games, even this year. Whenever I went online to see which guys were already talking about the Madden news from 30 seconds after it released Calhoun seemed to always be there. From new features, schemes, and glitch counters Cal's got it. This passion and diligence to be at the right place at the right time is even present when you play Cal'. It's tough finding the right balance of settings to make the computer smart enough while not cheating...if I can describe that happy medium we seek when facing the CPU, I would say it's the model of Calhoun County's game. Plays straight up, while forcing you to think and play on your A game at all times. I'm very happy Cal' started his YouTube Channel because while he has the type of game you want in an ideal opponent, he's still has the smarts to compete on a top level. Always cool, calm, and collective, always ready to get a game in, and a great asset as company to keep around.

Check out his video content at ....

http://www.youtube.com/user/CoachCalhounCounty

I wonder why Cal' named his dog "Elway"...

Madden Masterminds

Masterminds himself also known as iMAV3RIQ, has kind of spread like wildfire in the Madden Community. He runs his website MaddenMasterminds.com which features a slew of well known Madden players tips including his own. iMav has made his name quickly popular through his YouTube channel which he'll begin to grow on you with his witty comments and hilarious trademarks. What separates iMav from the rest is while he like to entertain and have fun, he makes it aware that he is focused on teaching winning concepts in football and morals in life. My favorite video he made was on not being afraid to lose, when almost every YouTube Madden player at the time would never release a video of a loss. I remember losing two games back to back to iMav and he was willing to even play a third game...that's just the type of dude iMav is.... a high class guy.

Checkout his YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MaddenMastermind/

& his website at...

http://www.maddenmasterminds.com/

Until next time...

Defensive planning

2012-07-16T18:21:00.001-04:00

What really decides what team I chose to play with is a team that can get stops on the defensive end. Knowing who you are going to face can help you, but sometimes you have a full season schedule ahead of you. Sure having fire power on offense is fun and can help build leads and generate comebacks, but it'll be to no avail if you can't get critical stops.

So you want to be a Wide Receiver in the NFL?

Pressure, Coverage, Gap Control

If one defender on your team is not good at any of the three topics on any play, you are better off having them on the bench. Pressure in Madden can pretty much come from any defender placed in the right position pre-snap. Acceleration and blockshedding can definitely shorten the time getting to the QB. Coverage really depends on ratings, height, and hit power. Gap control can be maintained with good strength, size, tackling, and awareness.

Talk about gap control... (Reggie White, via "Duderman" at Operationsports.com)

Know Your Personnel

It really doesn't matter if you made the right defensive play call if you have "the wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time." No matter what, 9 times out of 10, a 5'8" CB cannot cover the beastly 6'5" WR Calvin Johnson. The only other way to make sure a taller player doesn't come down with the ball besides good positioning and enough height to cover them would be to knock the ball out of there hands. I was so upset that I lost my first Ultimate Team game because my opponent knocked two of my receivers out of games with the physical, and hard-hitting Troy Polamalu, having shut down corners is easier to rely on the hoping for a virtual injury...

Now Covering: A multitude of defensive sins...

Know Your Schemes

There isn't a create a play or create a formation" feature yet so no need to worry about the geometry and mathematics too much. Starting out the 4-3 normal or "stacked" may be the easiest to understand and work with. Just work with "the wheel you know already" in the game and take it from there. Once you are comfortable understanding how to use one defensive formation strengths move on to the next. What really helps is knowing when having more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage and making sure every eligible receiver is accounted for. Once you use that as a base you can start positioning defenders for better coverage and and than better pressure starting points. ALWAYS Coverage 1st!

Here's some good starting points:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_strategy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_%28association_football%29

No custom playbooks in Connected Careers, but there are legendary ones

Play some games

Best way to test your defense is against real-time scenario offenses. Play some games whether offline or online vs a human every chance you get. You pick up more and more by watching others as well learn on your own. Even though the computer does cheat at times on All-Madden or Heisman in NCAA Football, it does help get you into the habit of making the right defensive adjustments.

"Face mask me and lose a finger..."

That's it until next week...I'll be playing some NCAA Football 13 .... loving the custom playbooks updates...

Email Session with DreStationGaming (a.k.a. Jerz)

2012-07-09T19:02:00.001-04:00

When it comes to great Madden thinking the group that I say hands down brings more content and creativity than I've seen even in my professional career is the Madden Secret Society. I'm not just saying that because I'm in it, nor because it's ran by the honorable @Sgibs7 (co-author of MaddenBible.com and the Official NCAA Football 13 & Madden NFL 13 Prima Strategy Guides with @MaddenBible). If you want in just message those guys on Twitter.

Playing for all the bragging rights with horrible shirts...

Here's a recent email session from my Madden Secret Society brother, and YouTube extraordinary DreStationGaming. Be sure to check out one of his latest videos where he does dual commentary with his supremely cool mother, and preventing delay when video capturing help.

Andre El Garhi <drestationgaming@gmail.com>	Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 11:59 AM
To: blood9585@gmail.com
Reply \| Reply to all \| Forward \| Print \| Delete \| Show original
Do you have a base knowledge or a plan of attack in the workings? =] -Jerz

Clifton Beeker <blood9585@gmail.com>	Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 7:12 AM
To: Andre El Garhi <drestationgaming@gmail.com>
Reply \| Reply to all \| Forward \| Print \| Delete \| Show original
As far as based plan of attack I'd recommend at least a week freestyle offline play to get used to the new running feel with physics and to single out your most effective teams to use. Than you can focus on Playbooks and practicing plays. No matter the offensive scheme the best ones always seems to start with short hand offs or short passes as a base to keep efficiency high. - Show quoted text -
Reply \| Reply to all \| Forward \| Print \| Delete \| Show original

Clifton Beeker <blood9585@gmail.com>	Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 7:17 AM
To: Andre El Garhi <drestationgaming@gmail.com>
Reply \| Reply to all \| Forward \| Print \| Delete \| Show original
The only time offensive schemes aren't based on hand offs or short passes is with the threat if mobile quarterbacks w spread sets - Show quoted text -

Just to elaborate a bit. Dre' and I have been reading some football strategy books during the summer and have been bouncing creative ideas for weeks now. Without giving away the house, I've noticed the majority of the successful offensive schemes from the NFL, Rugby, even to Soccer are based are what they do the most effective and the most efficient. Even if the original plays aren't ran, that threat of that base strength remains a constant.

There's a good reason why he always had a winning season...

Knowing players in real life usually involves taking a lot of reps and time to get the strengths and weaknesses out of personnel. Lucky for Madden players, the rating system gives use a starting point to eliminate the need to practice to learn strength and weaknesses much. My recommendation was to get a feel for the new changes in the running game first, than to work on your scheme. That prevents using the wrong personnel in your schemes in the long run. Once you have the defense shifting to stop your strengths that's where youy practiced/schemed counters can come in handy. You just might break off a lot of big gainers.

Unstoppable in MUT 12 already...can only imaging in 13...

If you are looking to add your game I would definitely checkout the official strategy guides, and coaching and football websites that cater to you play style. From coaches, players, retirees, to amateur insight, they can give you that little edge you have been looking for. Joining an online tournament vs some the best can give you hours of virtual game film that can help as well.

Can't wait to see what's what by seeing what these guides have to offer...

I can't wait to use Chad Johnson on my Dolphins. I hope our QB's are bringing their A game... (It' just can't be worse than the ducks and slow release time Palmer was throwing in Madden 10) You can ask my brother (@skotch_bonnet, which is becoming a Madden Guru in his own right) that I've never gone a game without at big yard gain for a TD with Ocho on the field...

(Barry White voice) Ooooooo yeeeaaahhh....

I want to thank everyone that visits my blog. Be sure to check out all the NCAA Football 13 release day giveaways and events, as well as the Madden NFL 13 Ultimate Team news. Thinking about doing a following up to cover Defense for next week. Shoot me a message @blood9585 on Twitter. Until next time... over and out...

Bad Habits to Overcome for Madden NFL 13

2012-07-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

I have to shout out to fellow MSS member "Calhoun County" for this one. Be sure to check out his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/CoachCalhounCounty ... on to #1

Tackle more...strip less

Madden in years past allowed the strip animation to be more successful than the tackle animations at a high frequency. By using the strip animation it would ...

A) slow down the runner enough for help defense to show up
B) act as a tackle/take down
C) result in the desired "fumble pull" animation
D) Miss a tackle

The game has never looked so good with player contact...

The biggest flaw in my eyes was that pressing the strip button would still tackle and take down runners often enough to always use it... NOW that possibility seems impossible. Miss tackles happen more frequently when attempting strips as well as the slow down by the runner isn't too effective to stop momentum as much as it was with the canned animations of old.

Still falling foward ...just without cutoff animation points now

I remember last year I felt like the tackle button reacted so slowly that I was better off using the strip and hit stick buttons. The tackling definitely felt improved and more consistent with there being more fluidity with movements and contact. I felt more like defenders footwork with the new physics engine, (on top if the improved alignments) helped with tackle positioning. I could hit stick a runner into someone else or gain extra leverage in a gang tackle fairly with ease. Hit stick success as usual depends on the strength match up, but when it's all said and done for Madden 13... tackle more, strip less.

Weight Factors More

I was shocked and excited to see more representation of weight in Madden football. While line play still needs tweaking, running into blockers and bigger players with Daren Sproles and you can get knocked around like a pin ball machine. Running into blockers and smaller defenders as Michael Tuner and your blockers and defenders will be the one stumbling forward with you. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun on kick returns. The stumbling and bumbling forward animations are just so life-like, and reminded me of Dante "The Human Joystick" Hall glory days with the Chiefs. There's just something about seeing the newly animated collisions, floor piles, and battles to bring down the ball carrier that brings everything to life while adding to post initial contact play.

You better believe it's going to tough trying to bring down Tebow...

When you start breaking tackles with big receivers that were almost to the ground you begin to understand that you now have to really fight during every tackle and "play through the whistle". I was mentally yelling "GET OFF ME!!!" every game I played at E3. Even in the NCAA Football demo there seems to be more emphasis when a pulling guard blocks a linebacker. With more than double the staff and former NFL lineman Clint Oldenburg helping the EA staff future projects I expect some more emphasis on blocking schemes, line play technique, and even physics based things like force and gravity.

These type of minds coming together are epic in Madden history

(Mark Schlereth, former NFL O-lineman and man behind the new physics engine Vic Lugo)

Specialties Really Matter

I dare you to use a player out of position or simply out of his role. The clearest way to test this is running a dive with a small/weaker running back up the middle and watching him bounce backwards from even a lineman. I tried a 4-3 defense in 3-4 formations and vice versa. Let's just say you'll want to keep their true positions for optimal pass rushing.

This guy's specialty......Knocking the SNOT Outta you....

There's not only and emphasis on player's technique and playing style on the field, but when you try to progress players or run and coaching scheme it become even more prominent. If you plan on running a Connected Careers Mode session you have to keep specialties in mind when you are even scouting and trading players. Knowing who's ratings sky rocket in a new offensive or defensive system can give you an much needed edge.

There's More Realistic Catching & Swats...so play like it...

This is one you can practice with the NCAA Football 13 demo. While touch passes are represented better now, catching the ball in my eyes is a bigger adjustment. FACE THROW ARE GONE. (Trust me I've tried them enough for until my hands hurt.) You must change your facial direction towards the ball to make a catch attempt at it if the CPU doesn't. No more circling around required for user catching. There's now more emphasis in making one quick realistic cut towards the ball, especially for timing routes.

Catching in stride works very smoothly

Every catch you do on offense can pretty much replicated by a defender as well. Troy Polamalu type diving catches, crazy tip catches off a leg, to sideline catches are all there for the defense. One thing that made my eyes light up is how cleanly you can start off jumping in attempt to catch an interception than break that animation by pressing the swat button. This helped me when i noticed a receiver was clearly going to out jump me on a play. It was sooo replay worthy... (I wonder if it's possible to break a swat animation and attempt a catch...)

A crazy amount of spectacular catches...

I want to recommend that everyone visit the EASports GameChanger website. There is a great group of community leaders who run online leagues, dynasties, and tournaments for ALL EA SPORTS GAMES. (I talk to some of these guys on Twitter like every single day...) You can find every type of competitive players from sim style, freestyle, for pride, and for prize. One of the high class GamerChangers (Shopmaster) is organizing an NCAA Football 13 tournament to win prizes like copies of Madden NFL 13 at http://mymaddenpad.com/easgccs/.

Be sure to view all the GameChangers' bios below.
http://www.easports.com/gamechangers/bios

There may be a workaround for controlling all teams in CCM by retiring...

Also be sure to voice your thoughts for ideas you want in future games at http://www.easports.com/gamechangers/ideas

All my ideas so far are here (for those wondering); http://mgi-gc.easports.com/a/ideafactory.do?id=18503&mode=author&discussionFilter=active

Well that's it for this week. Be sure to check out YouTube channel (blood9585). Also shoot me any questions and follow me @blood9585 on Twitter. Until next time...

The Best Individual Play Breakdowns

2012-07-03T12:28:00.000-04:00

The Best Individual Play Breakdowns

Alright I said I was going to get more individual play breakdowns but I was thinking that could take up a whole website by itself. I figured I needed a little help on this one so I can continue with some other concept projects. I got something even better than I could have come up with. The "Guru of The Telestrator" himself who I like to call "King Kobra" or "Kobra" for short, has his own website just for breaking down plays. I know this Madden legend from earlier days with the Madden Prima Guides, than he moved to Maddenguides.com, now his online home is with XsOxFootball.com. My younger brother and I used to be nieve to using video game guides (thinking were better than the guides can be). When I finally flipped through one of his write ups I was amazed. My younger brother saw me buy one of the guides thought it was a waste. Eventually we saw whenever we felt the need to freshen up our game or add that much needed rinkle, reading the pages gave us that much needed juice. When reading what this guy has done over the years in just preparation and studies... I believe this maybe the first guy I would vote to a real life NFL coaching staff. (He's is that detailed) You can catch Kobra's live breakdowns with well known and respected Madden Community Members Shopmaster & Madscientist on GameChangersRadio.com at 9pm EST every Tuesday.

If you want to get your breakdowns just right be sure to checkout the top website for play breakdowns:

http://www.xsosfootball.com

One more post coming later this evening with game footage...Until next time...

Decision Making in Madden 13

2012-06-24T23:35:00.001-04:00

When you get on that virtual gridiron you become the Alpha and Omega of how successful your team can be. You call the plays, you snap the ball, you make all the pre-play adjustments, and you surely make all the post play moves and adjustments. More than ever, making a poor decision on the field and you team will pay. Make a good decision and your team will gain success. From Scouting, play calls, assignments for personnel, to timing on specific plays, the decisions you make will determine your experience. Making the right decisions can generate more wins.

A nice high/low gang tackle.

Scouting

I have to agree that many people may just simulate scouting instead of using the virtual hours given for it. When I was able to see how it worked up close and in person, I noticed certain key ratings for each position may only be available by putting in some time scouting. You'll start off with a letter grade, which later will be the actual number rating. Later that rating may even change with developing story lines. Making the right decisions on the right prospects here can affect your team's future. Trust me when I say that the emphasis on the different individual player styles are become more and more unique.

Choose wisely....

Consistency

One of the words that I love and hate has to be the "money play". The main reason many looked for "money plays" was to find some sort of consistency on the offensive end. While with recent changes to the Madden franchise (physics being one) will prevent repeated animations, finding successful plays and formations for your team will still remain. This time though, it's more than ever dependent on the TYPE of player you are using. Having the right personnel for particular plays & formations will definitely determine how successful that play will ultimately be. Using a great pass rushing linebacker to blitz rather than a great coverage linebacker is an easy way to test this that. One of the things I really made sure I tested out at E3 was using many run play calls with different players. Perfect example for this purpose I would say is when I used Michael Turner & the Falcons...

Knowing your best power runs is goal line essential...

"Turner" Play calling

(Not too different from last year...) When I used the Falcons I saw the impact Michael Turner had with straight runs up the gut were liable to gain 7-10 yards if the linebackers and safeties weren't in closer positions to attack and playing for the run. Lets say I came out in I-Form every play, while the defense played 4-3 normal cover 2 man. Literally I felt like I could get 2-5 yards straight up the gut in this scenario. Now I tried to run a few tosses and counters to the outside with Turner...and lets just say I might as well have not made those calls at all. Playing the percentages you could say when it came to a situation where you needed 5 yards going to Turner up the gut is the "money play". After a few possessions it became clear that using Turner in situations outside his strength in going up the gut, would lower your success, thus proving to be a poor decision. When you needed to take a risk for that big all or nothing play play action seemed to be the best decision in that point in time. While the receivers were all skilled, none really posed to be greatly taller than the defenders. Using Turner as play action threat going to the middle can help greatly. No one is going to believe that you are all of a sudden running the ball to the outside when you've only been going inside all game. Catching safeties and linebackers flat footed and a step behind with this can give you that extra time you need to go deep.

I always thought it was a risk to jump directly into defenders...

Player Interaction

My favorite thing when it came to decision making is there being more emphasis on weight due to the new physics engine. The way players tackled Michael Turner vs other running backs was clear. Not only that, but the way linemen blocked linebackers seemed to be with a little more force versus blocking defensive lineman. Little things like that make you think about making the right decisions when it came to creating the right match ups in play calling schemes.

I know we all can't wait to get our copy...

That's it for today... Be sure to check out K0ACHK and MadScientist06 on YouTube for tons of Madden NFL 13 E3 footage. Until next time...

*All opinions are based on the 2012 E3 build of Madden NFL 13

My thoughts on Madden 13's playbooks

2012-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of guys look for a base or just a new wrinkle or look as far as playbooks go in Madden NFL 13. I hope my thoughts can help you get a head start. This was a question from a fellow Madden Secret Society member (@Drestationgamin, well know as Jerz) that I wanted to share with everyone.

From: drestationgaming@gmail.com

I wanted to pick your brain a little but I seen u was busy & I was editing some ish and tryna record ova some stuff. Just wanted to know what U thought of some of the play books.. Like a big deal is being made of the bill walsh PB like WC on roids. Whats your take on it? And what's the best PB u seen so far? I saw the Joe gibbs for a spilt second threw Coach K's videos IDK y but it stood out to me.. I seen gibs raving about the panthers. Just wondering if any O or D book stood out to you and why? :] "

Reply From: blood9585@gmail.com (me)

I may have post this on my blog...
Lol. Well, while the legendary playbooks have great under center plays they have underwhelming shotgun formations and plays. Legendary playbooks like Joe Gibbs and Lombardi playbooks bring back the roots of early pro formation offenses which brought backfield threats in the passing and running game. Seems to be very balanced to the most part across the board, but Panthers, Saints, Eagles, & Balance playbooks are my favorites on offense. I say CAR is the best spread form book for mobile QBs, while PHI is is similar it has more unique looks with 4 WRs one one side and under center stuff that NE has. Balance to me always has a good mix while NO brings the more unique plays to the balanced schemes and will remain a fan favorite.

The theme this year seems heavy on knowing your personnel strengths so knowing more than one Playbook (at least two) will probably help more than ever.

On defense the idea of fitting to your personnel follows. While many playbooks have the same formations, there more Playbook only formation packages to make you think a little more. Toughest defensive looks can be single high safety formations where 8 are in the box by default while 2 high or more is more conservative for the deep ball. "

Closing thoughts:

Other popular playbooks will revolve around west coast style offenses which have many two back formations as well. If you get stuck on ideas I would start out with a playoff team that favors your style and try their team playbook to see what are your strengths as far as personnel and play calls go. You can always go the trendy statistic route and at the end of the game look at who catches the most passes and their position on the field, which running backs get you the most yards, etc. (Can do the same for defenses) My advice as far as off-season things to help would be to try and find football strategy books that favor your style. Whether it's by a coach or an historical book little things can make big impacts on the virtual and real life field. Be sure to check out the YouTube channel DRESTATIONGAMING. Until next time...over and out.

Anyone remember this?

My EASports E3 Recap

2012-06-11T00:02:00.001-04:00

Man, I had a blast at E3. I got to meet many of the guys in the Madden community that I look up to in the EASports Development Team, Game Changers, and PrimaMadden.com guys. With the motivation of @Sgibs7 I decided to recap my thoughts via a short video. Check it out...

E3

2012-05-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

For those that don't know, E3 stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo. E3 is known for being one of the biggest platforms to showcase the latest video games and console technology. From the original PlayStation to the up and coming Wii U console, E3 always has the majority gaming news for the year at their event.

A picture from prior years

The Senior Community Manager at EASports, Justin Dewiel, sent me an email stating I have won an all-access E3 trip to view Madden NFL 13 early next month. I was humbled, and honored. I remember me and my friends dying to attend this event as a 9th graders in High School. So this is a dream come true not only to attend, but especial to see the gaming franchise I've followed since the early 1990s.

Lions will be one of the popular online teams

Since I will be attending I know many will want to hear about my impressions. One thing about me, I play the game of Madden is over 30 hours weekly last year. If I tracked prior years, I would say it was a little less but about the same amount of time I devoted. I play in various online tournaments, semi-annual head to head games versus family and friends, website leagues, and online franchises. I play for fun, I play for prizes, I play because I love this game.

I wonder what the final scoreboard will look like...

Not only do I have a long history with Madden, but my career focus since the 9th grade has been on computer technology. With the support of family members, I attended a McFatter Technical High School that offered technical courses to pursue my dreams of joining the technology industry. Knowing I love gaming and technology, I thought I would become a programmer or a computer repairman. As I progressed in High School I decided to earn a technical degree in Computer Network Services while obtaining my High School Diploma. (Which I earned in 2004) So I'm a fanatic of great hardware as well as great software...

What surprises will the Wii U bring to the table?

Here is what I am hoping to see at E3 from Madden NFL 13:

GAMEPLAY UPGRADES

-Custom playbooks in all online modes
-Pass blocking double team and triple team animations
-More gang tackling animations

ONLINE FRANCHISE UPGRADES

-Ability to trade draft picks
-Team practice
-Advance week via the web
-Ability to determine which team wins (for no show team games where you want to keep both teams in the franchise)

The 49ers get the first use nod from me in Madden...

I am also looking forward to NBA2k13, Halo 4, the Wii U updates, and hopefully some new console announcements from Microsoft and Sony...

Can get become the top shooter once again?

Can NBA2k13 Provide a better online experience and improve?

Will Sony and Microsoft unleash new hardware?

Be sure to check up on my follow up posts in the weeks to come...

Making Proper Pass Progressions for a Madden Quarterback

2012-04-30T03:01:00.000-04:00

HOW THE PROS DO IT

In a prior post I have outlined how to read coverages and good routes that can attack them, but how should your quarterback go about executing? For this post I wanted to review some documented opinions of the Pro Quarterbacks and Coaches to compare how to properly make reads on the field. One thing that is common across the board is that as a Quarterback you must NOT LOCK ON just to your first target all the time. That just makes the job of the defense as easy as it can be. Being able to read if a receiver is open requires good pocket protection and good vision to watch when receivers separate from defenders. If its not there move on to your next target.

(NFL.com)Trent Green does a great job explaining these pass progression basics

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Some of the world's proclaimed smartest have a knack for making the most complex things very basic for themselves. The same concept goes into being effective on the virtual grid iron. When selecting a pass play or a play in general I like to keep things simple. I know I'm following my game plan when i stick to my most effective plays and keep the Defense from knowing whats coming next. Other than that I like to think about what adjustments and alignments to expect from the defense as well.

No need to reinvent the wheel here, the best progression checklist I've seen so far is from the website winallseason.com, by creator, scholar, and long time football coach Devan Moylan. I love that he keeps it simple regarding pass progression.

1) Pass- Your just simply looking for the open receiver, using your primary target as the starting point.

2) Run- If no one is open you want to head toward the line of scrimmage to pick up as many yards on the ground.

3) Discard- If unable to find a open receiver as well as not able to run the ball with the Quarterback THROW THE BALL AWAY. (It prevent turnovers from forced passes and as well as prevent loss of yardage)

4) Take a loss- Better to take a sack and hold on to the ball than to turn it over with a short field for the opposing team.

PROGRESSIONS START PRE-SNAP
Now two of the main and most important things I keep reminding myself is to practice my plays so I get familiar with which routes develop faster than others (changes by field positing & alignments) and to stick with the primary target until the defense takes that option away. You can begin to rule out receivers by detecting the coverages and watching defenders alignments even before you snap the ball.

Here is my favorite Madden breakdown for pass progression from GoMadden.com *This is for an older version of Madden but works*

Pass progression has a different point of view in Madden than that of a real life Quarterback, literally. In the video game realm you have this "God" view where you can see the entire field. So when it come to things like vision being obscured due to taller line men in front of the quarterback gamers do not have to worry about that as much. This allows you to see all your receivers on the screen and determine who's open a little faster. (Which is necessary for the quick blitzes you will be seeing)

"Practice makes perfect." I'm sure everyone has heard that before... but that statement is incomplete.
As one of the most intense and hard working athletes I've ever known says (Kevin Garnett) "PERFECT practice makes perfect." I strongly believe that just based on what the most effective Madden plays are usually the plays that has been ran a million times. When trying to perfect a new play it definitely helps to watch someone who has ran that play a million times already. "Why reinvent the wheel from scratch when you can work with a blueprint and work on tweaking it to making it better instead?"

Footwork

You'll be amazed how great footwork with your quarterback can keep a pocket held up longer as well and get passes released on time. This works in Madden as well. Just test and try scrambling to the left or to the right just one step outside your tackle. You'll notice how much quicker defenders can get into the backfield. (Its like night and day) With all the proper drop back steps coming in Madden 13 this will be a element that will be emphasized even more, so you may want to start picking up good habits from now.

This is an amazing video from www.TopGunQBacademy.com on Quarterback mechanics.

Well guys that's it for this week. Next week I will either expand some more individual play breakdowns or move on to another important concept. Until next time...

Disguising Coverage HELP

2012-04-23T16:22:00.002-04:00

Disguising Coverage HELP

(things I tend to stick with)

This is one base play from MaddenStudents.com

Madden 13 will bring wonders with disguising coverages, but if want to use the normal play design defensive alignments how will you disguise your defensive play calls? Here are some things that I normally do:

-Try to always manually move your Safeties 1 step (in any direction) to confuse the offense. This avoids the auto CPU animations giving away your coverage if you do this every down. Once you get the hang of it you'll know which plays you don't need to do it. You can even put a manual deep zone on a Safety (just don't move him) initially called to do a safety blitz and he will do the "fake blitz" that everyone has been dying to know how to do...(still experimenting with linebackers on this)

-Try to stick with blitz schemes that don't require manual movement or a lot of time. This saves with setup time and harder for the offense to read quickly.

-Always have "Over the top help on deep threats". If you're sticking with cover 2's you might need to user to switch to help on the TE's down field some times. If the offense throws to one side of the field have your zones focus on that side of the field. Give up check downs over deep passes ALWAYS.

-Put most Athletic linebacker (with good height & speed) either right in front of QB's throwing hand (Zone coverage) or matched up with tight end if he's a deep threat. Using the manual user bump can throw timing routes off as well. (Use it)

- When trying to do 3 or 4 man pass rushes & stunts having one line backer or safety closer to the line of scrimmage even if he's in a zone can help throw off a lineman and help the pass rush. Same goes with Safeties being a little closer to the line. (mix it up)

-Utilize gap control concepts in the passing game...this might be confusing, but when you understand it you can master it. Gap control is important in run defense to control where the running back has opportunities to run. (You can do the same thing for receiver routes) Imagine Manning up Megatron with your tallest defensive back/ Safety help up top (with your tallest Safety) and a nickel back on the inside of him in a hook zone (yellow zone). There are not a lot of options for Megatron if you can manage decent pressure on the QB, plus they Safety up top and nickel back in hook zone could help defend against other receiver who come in their area...

This is another unique look you can use.

I am definitely going to try and push out as much content as I can because I know there are a lot of topics I will like to cover. I hope you guys liked this post. Until next time.

Reading Madden Coverages 101

2012-04-16T20:59:00.002-04:00

I have decided to put some time into getting all my madden posts together to give back to the Madden Community. These concepts work no madden what year or version of madden you are playing.

(Shout out to Maddenbible.com, Gamechangersradio.com, Unitedleagues.com, Maddenmasterminds.com and the many communities that help me and the Madden Franchise )

So to start I’ll be posting some older concepts first, like once a week. I’m just looking to help out those that need the help, just like many others have helped me. I’m nowhere near the best in Madden, but I do know a lot of concepts that can help in the game of Madden. Without further due, my first topic, COVERAGES.

...let the guru of spotting coverages awaken....

This is one post on reading coverages I sent to EA sport’s blog website and shared with unitedleague.com and maddenbible.com communities last year.

Coverage Guidelines

Here are some guide lines to help you out reading coverage. The key to reading defenses is first try to notice what formations the defense is using. Than knowing what assignments each defender is in. (This will help you with play recognition for different zone and man looks, and how to attack them.) Just to keep things simple, everything is referring to a basic 4-3 setup. There are other formations where things start to mix up a little bit, but these concepts remain I'd say 90% of the time.
***This all is before any manually adjustments a user can make on defense***

looking at receiver= LAR

looking into backfield=LIB

line of scrimmage=LOS

The rest of my acronyms can be “google'd” since they are football terms used every day.

Man or zone?

Some offensive formations with two or three receivers on one side of the field and none on the other, can help with determining man or zone, but motioning an outside receiver to the opposite side of the field is always the best way to tell. In man, the corner back will follow you across the field. (This is with default settings. Excluding EA's new dynamic defensive assignments for the new 13 series.)

Reading individual defenders pre-play

Now dig this... If a defender is facing his respective receiver he is either in man, or playing an underneath zone (light blue). On any other assignment, the defender will look into the back field. That includes whether he is blitzing, or watching the quarterbacks eyes to go into a hook zone, purple zone, spy, and even dark blue deep zone. You can usually tell when defenders are going into a mid field or deep field zone, because they are usually not only looking at the quarterback pre-snap, but are usually about 5 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

*** Defenders tend to move toward the line of scrimmage before the snap if they are blitzing. Defensive linemen don't really give you any before snap reads unless they are standing up. Deep zones are usually handled by a DB, because of their fast coverage speeds. No preset plays have DBs on spys, or contains. No preset plays have D-Linemen on Deep zones***

Cover 0 (No deep zones)

Usually has a blitz with extra defenders in the box. Defensive backs mostly play man defense leaving 1 on 1 match ups

Cover 1

There is just one defender with deep zone assignment (Usually a safety). Usually covering the deep middle of the field and tends to shift to that spot pre-snap. Every receiver is usually manned up, and either one of the safeties or linebackers in a hook zone.

Cover 2 (Two deep zoned players)

Two defenders with a deep assignments (most likely safeties) usually taking 1/2 of the deep field each. The standard play Cover 2 man does have two safeties of equal depth.... & when the assignments of the corner backs is manned up, The #1 & #2 corners are always facing their respective man, with linebackers manned up on the remaining eligible receivers.

In a cover 2 zone, the corners can play hook zones (LIB), purple zone (LIB), or light blue zones (LAR), with the safeties back at equal depth. In zone, the middle of the field is usually filled with hook zoned linebackers, which occasionally can even get the mighty purple zones on the edges. Defenders in the middle of the field usually give cover 2 zone away, with them LIB and not right on their man.

Cover 3

Three defenders with a deep assignment takes 1/3 of the deep field. (Usually perimeter DB's) In a 4-3, one safety usually walks a little toward the LOS after a few seconds, indicating he's the one on the hook zone. In other formations this may not be the case, and you can spot cover 3 by looking at the #1 and #2 CBs. One will be LIB and off LOS by 5 yards, while the other right on his man. (Trying to hide that he's on a deep zone assignment) Use this as an indicator because its the likely side with safety help deep.

***Beware there are tricky cover 3 shells with Both safeties on deep zones and one corner back taking an mid/underneath assignment.***

Cover 4

Four DB's with deep zone assignments. (Usually the DB's on the perimeter) Most of these plays have a variation of hook and purple zones in the middle of the field.

Next post will be on offensive plays I like to use to attack these specific coverages.
I'll leave you guys with a few good run highlights using these reads over the years. Until next time my friends...

I do this to help others...but if you like my content and would like to donate and help me I would greatly appreciate it. (check the right column)

Route Scheme Favorites

2012-01-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

Route Scheme Favorites

In continuation of my blog on spotting coverages here are some routes I like to follow by

One of the main concepts I always follow when face a zone defense is "flooding" the zone. Which simply means sending more routes than that zone can cover. Here are a couple flooding concepts.

Vertical concept= down field routes that take more than 5 yards to develop (streaks, deep post, deep comebacks)

Horizontal concept= cross field routes that usually take about 5 yard before the receiver is looking for the ball (drags, ins, outs, digs, slants)

***If my opponent is good at user coverage I tend to throw away from his player. If he's poor at it or I think I can fool him with two routes attacking his assignment, I may challenge him.***

Any zone- Zone coverage schemes require the linebackers and defensive backs to work together to cover certain areas of the field, making it difficult for the opposing quarterback to complete passes. Zone defenses will generally require linebackers to cover the short and mid range area in the middle of the field, in front of the safeties. In the case where one or two linebackers blitz, the remaining linebacker(s) expands his zone to cover the zone responsibilities of the vacating linebacker(s). Often, blitzing will leave larger holes in the pass defense, but it is a gamble the defensive coordinator wants to make to pressure the quarterback into a poor decision and hopefully an interception or at least an incompletion. The advantage of zone coverage is that it can prevent yardage to specific areas of the field efficiently. (What we call bend, but don't break defense) I like to have comebacks, hitches, delay routes, ins, outs, late developing slants, drags, & screens on all but flat zone coverage (light blues & sometimes purples).

Any man coverage- The advantage of the man-to-man defense is that it is more aggressive in making sure every receiver is covered than the zone defense. It also allows a team's best defender to stay on a player who has to be guarded at all times. The disadvantage is that it allows the offensive team to run double move and pick schemes more effectively, and it leaves smaller, weaker, or slower defenders more exposed. Man coverage against a athletic team can get a little tough. Look for plays & routes that cause confusion on the defense. (usually opponent specific) ***Look to create mismatches.*** IE. running backs versus a line backer/safety, Tight end versus poor coverage safety/linebacker, Speed WR versus slow DB, Big/tall WR vs. small DB. Perfectly timed comebacks, ins, outs, slants, posts, corners, crossing routes,double moves & sometimes screens are my favorites.

Cover 0- This is usually a heavy blitz leaving one on one man coverage. Quick separation on route is recommended.

Cover 1- A vertical concept with 4+ receivers going deep. (If i have height and user catching advantage) I usually send one on a comeback. This is probably the easiest to pick out mismatches. I may use horizontal routes is if I have a speed advantage somewhere. Deep corners is usually where I look first, if I have protection, but short dump off routes work well sometimes. (Iso shakes requires good timing. Really early or really late on zones are my favs if I'm not catching the receiver on his break away move.)

Cover 2- I go with a vertical concept here as well. A deep post attacking the deep middle of the field is a favorite to shift a safety. Complement that route with the outside WR's running routes to spread the field deep & maybe a drag or delayed route by the RB. TE Post, Streaks, Deep inside & outside routes, posts, corners, comebacks, & hitches.

Cover 3/Cover 4- Horizontal attack for sure. Hitches, ins, outs, iso shake route*, digs, & screens. Drags & short dump off routes can work well, especially against cover 4. A recent favorite for many (including myself) has been deep corner routes against cover 3. Iso shake (which requires good timing) Really early or really late on zones are also my favs if I'm not catching the receiver on his break away move.)

vs Cov 3

vs Cov 4

I hope you guys like this posting I will probably post another tonight as well. Until next time.

Two of Madden Secret Society's Finest

2012-01-03T01:01:00.000-05:00

From Madden to life situations, there really is a goldmine of information and help within the infamous Madden Secret Society. The group is ran by one half of the hardest working community leader and tournament player duo in the business today, knows as Sgibs. While 'Gibs, and his Maddenbible.com partner in crime ZFarls will have a posting on their own from me I want to highlight a couple other guys from the Madden Secret Society who should be well known names in the Madden community (if they aren't already). These guys are probably the two guys I've listened to and followed the most since joining the Society. They will always help you when they can. (Just like the Maddenbible.com team)

(The Maddenbible.com greats...ZFarls on the left, & Sgibs on the right)

Without further ado, introducing...

Zac Neal, a.k.a PeytonZANning, a.k.a. Zanzibar (as 'Gibs calls him), or just Zan has been a top flight Madden competitor and contributor to the Madden Community for as long he's been on the scene. This isn't by luck either Zan is one of the smartest football minds you can comes across. I've played some the best in Madden this year, but Zan got my vote for best defense. He didn't stop there, he than took his show on the road and made some tournament noise.Whether rising on the tournament charts,improving the Madden Community with valuable information online, or running some of his crazy labbed plays online you'll find that you have to respect the man because he devotes so much of his time and efforts to the game of Madden. (There's a reason he's called Peyton ZANning) Check some of his work below:

http://compete4ever.com/author/zan/

http://www.youtube.com/user/zan71789

@PeytonZANning

Now, show your love for...

Nick Mullen, a.k.a. the MRL Detective, or VGRavenManiac as he is known in the Madden Community as will literally save you hours on hours of labbing time. If Zan is Peyton, VG' has the passion, desire, and tons of content of Terrell Suggs, a.k.a. T-Sizzle. I remember getting one his mini guides from someone in the Madden Community before I ever had a chance to chat with him. First impression on the first guide I had from VGRaven': "Man...this must be from a pay for content website with all these videos." As I started to watch more of his videos I noticed a lot of content is free. Also I noticed that even his seemingly simple videos give you something to give you that consistent extra threat. (Just like Suggs) VG' is very respectful, and never short on content for Madden ebooks or guides. Be sure to check his blog and youtube channel:

http://vgravenmaniac.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/lll239lll?feature=watch

@VGRavenmaniac

"Presnap reads: What are you guys looking for to read the defense?"

2012-01-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

"Presnap reads: What are you guys looking for to read the defense?"

A person asked this question over at Maddenbible.com last year. "Presnap reads what are you guys looking for to read the defense?"

I decided to help save time on this one...(this is my run 1st thinking which can be used for pass first too when I switch it up...)

-How many defenders in the box vs number of blockers?

-Are all receivers defended well?

-Man or Zone coverage?

-Any extra protection needed?

-Would motioning a receiver help this play?

(Determines if I should run the ball)...if decide not to run THAN...

Restart thinking with pass play

-How many defenders in the box vs number of blockers? (might be blitzing)

-Are all receivers defended well?

-Man or Zone coverage?

-Any extra protection needed?

-Would motioning a receiver help this play?

When I stick to it I usually play great...when I stray....thats another ball game...

Acronym... HAMAW...

Advanced Pass Rushing Tactics

2012-01-02T05:27:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to test out the Nickel NASCAR package...

I know a lot of websites are taking the week off in anticipation for E3 and just enjoying summer, but I really wanted to reach out to the Madden guys still looking for a few tweaks and wrinkles that they can use for years to come. One of my strengths on defense is giving crazy pass defensive looks. Year after year, the biggest issue many players have is on the defensive side of the ball. While being conservative can keep your defense from giving up big plays, plays on the defense that can that help cause turnovers and bad passes usually come from the threat of pressure.

When it comes to getting pressure and confusing the offenses blocking schemes, disguising where pressure is coming from is essential. One of the ways I like to do this is to select some sort of blitz play call with a technique many refer to as "fake blitzing". There are two types of "fake blitzing", the first which I call "baiting the AI". The second I like to call "baiting the player."

"Baiting the A.I."

This is the most common type of "fake blitzing" and was over powering in past years. The setup was rather simple. You would confuse the offensive line using an hot route, (blitz/contain are the most frequently used) and right after the snap your goal was to occupy the offensive line's attention enough to let another defender pass by. One basic example is a play from the 46 formation called "Weak Blitz". The setup goes:

1. Re-blitz the Free Safety and move him 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, right in front of the Left Tackle.

2. When the ball is snapped you want the Free Safety to take on step toward the Left Tackle (to draw the Tackle's attention), than instantly break the progress and head straight into coverage.

What happens during that one slight step toward the left tackle is something you can you in many blitzes. ***It occupies that blocker focus enough to let other near pass rushers right by him.*** You can get the focus of blockers with other assignments as well. I call this baiting the A.I. because the computer controlled blocker bites on the free safety blitzing, but doesn't have enough time to recover and block someone blitzing at the same time off the edge.

"Baiting the User"

Setup: 1. Hot route Strong Safety on a QB Spy or Hook Zone (be careful not to move him at all)

2. Globally re-blitz ROLB (right of screen)

3. User the FS for deep middle assignment. (Don't move pre-snap)

When done correctly the Strong Safety will not only move to show blitz, but drop back into his QB spy/hook zone assignment after the snap. There are still 4 men rushing the passer to pose a threat while in a more conservative zone defense. I like this play for middle of the field havoc with one linebacker cutting clear across the field to cover curls/flats on the opposite side of the field. The Safety showing blitz but dropping back into coverage can easily become a quick pass interception. If your opponent likes to go to the flats you can quickly hot route the respective outside corners or nickel back into a flat route assignment or find another play with the assignments.

Now these are just a concepts I like to use to create a headaches for my opponent's passing game down the middle of the field. Mix it up with other plays with blitzing plays and formations that have pre-snap movement and you will find gold that can force your opponent into running the ball and quick passing decisions. Almost any version of Madden can use this, except maybe the old SNES/Genesis days.

The Nickel Psycho Formation can create very tough pass defenses with these concepts...

I hope this will help you add interesting looks on defense for you. Until next time...

My Mother

2012-01-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

Ironically there are three things my mother has always said to me that I bring with me even into the video gaming realm.

"Never give away your secret."

To be honest when my mother first told me this I was about thirteen, just learning what career path I wanted to take, and had no clue how to manage what she was giving me. As I became older and started to grasp how the economy, the world, and my trade works, I started to understand the blessing of having what I put hard work into keeping it's value. Knowing what you must give versus what is a gift for you to keep is golden.

"Don't be lazy when things get difficult."

This funny thing about this statement, is that I took offense to it at first. I felt like it was stating that I didn't work hard. When my mother broke it down further for me she mentioned the President of the United States, Barack Obama. Then I thought about containing a mindset of excellence, class, and greatness which Barack seems to carry no matter what his does. After the Obama was mentioned, I never questioned the statement again.

"...and what about school?"

No matter what I'm doing my mother seems to always wants to know that I'm looking to advance my knowledge. When I was in school people knew my mother half the time before they even knew who I was. Putting her efforts to let me know that she cared about the growth of my mind made me more of a conscious student. I really didn't care for many of the subjects in school. As a matter of fact I remember doing the least possible work to just get a C for some classes. My mother's persistence is really what made me give my all for the courses I knew would effect my livelihood in the future. As I grew older I have a more appreciation for those subject I cruised passed even if I thought they may have had less effect on my career path than others. My mother made sure to teach me one way or another that being a well rounded student can really go a long way.

My mother has helped a lot of people with her knowledge, I hope her words will also help you.

E3 Day 1 & 2 photos...videos to come...

2012-01-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

ova and out...

Great Game Footage

2012-01-01T12:44:00.001-05:00

Great Game Footage

If you haven't joined an online or live league, community, or tournament I highly recommend you go out and connect. Not only will your game improve from learning all different styles, but you will meet some awesome people as well. This is the most competitive game I've played so far in the Compete4ever league. This league is Co-ran by the Tournament Legend K0ACHK from ESPN's Televised series "Madden Nation". I just had to mention his name because he is a high quality and high class dude.

THIS Game however is with my fellow Madden Secret Society Gamer and Madden Youtube Commentator video extraordinaire Hollowpoint33. What I love about Hollowpoint's commentary is he not only oozes that much needed confidence, but he an uncanny way of using the inflection in his voice with maturity for serious topic as well as to let you know that he's got "RESERVATIONS FOR 6!" lol... Check out the video below & check out Hollowpoint33 youtube channel at:

Wise Madden Concepts

Madden 20 Pros & Cons

Wise Madden League

Custom Audible Puzzle

STDL

E3 Madden NFL 13 Gameplay vs NCAA Football 13 Gameplay

Calhoun County and MaddenMasterminds

Defensive planning

Email Session with DreStationGaming (a.k.a. Jerz)

Andre El Garhi

Clifton Beeker

Clifton Beeker

Bad Habits to Overcome for Madden NFL 13

The Best Individual Play Breakdowns

Decision Making in Madden 13

My thoughts on Madden 13's playbooks

My EASports E3 Recap

E3

Making Proper Pass Progressions for a Madden Quarterback

Disguising Coverage HELP

Reading Madden Coverages 101

Route Scheme Favorites

Two of Madden Secret Society's Finest

"Presnap reads: What are you guys looking for to read the defense?"

Advanced Pass Rushing Tactics

My Mother

E3 Day 1 & 2 photos...videos to come...

Great Game Footage