Madden 25 CFM experience... [Archive]

jaymo76

08-30-2013, 04:37 PM

And the final is... Cardinals 37 Rams 30... :bang:

I was up 23-6 going into the fourth ad then I threw two pics and had two rb fumbles. The Cardinals took the lead with 1:09 left but I drove down the field and made it to the six. After three straight drops in the endzone, I end the game with a drop and holding call. This game has probably ended my chance at the playoffs.

Bradford had a fair game (18 for 28 for 203 yards and two ints.). However, when I need him to step up he doesn't. Kendall Hunter got hurt early in the game and Isiah Pead had a strong game (15 carries 103 yards). I may consider starting him next game.

I picked up Brad Banks a few weeks back to shore up the return game but he had a costly fumble today. I may have to cut him as he has vastly under preformed. I will have to really dig into the FA pool and try to find some strength.

With the loss the the division is still ultra tight.

Arizona 8-5
Rams 7-6
Seahawks 7-6
49ers 7-6

Up next we have a home game vs the 7-6 Saints. The Cardinals travel to Tennessee. Currently the Saints and I are out of the playoffs. The Falcons and Panthers are both 8-5 and I lost to both of those teams already this season. Six teams in the NFC have a 7-6 record. This may come down to the wire.

JBHuskers

08-30-2013, 04:56 PM

Good thread! I'm in a solo one with Da Bears. And one with CDJ as the Niners and he's the Seahawks. Looking to dig into them over this long weekend.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

jaymo76

08-30-2013, 07:53 PM

I had to put Ogletree on the IR so he's gone for the season. I'm currently looking for an FA ROLB but haven't decided on who just yet. I also made the move to cut under-performing Brandon Banks. It just wasn't working out. I decided to look for depth at the kick return position and I found Leon Washington. Washington is a real speed guy so I hope this move will give me the advantage in special teams.

I'm also going to put Trevon Austin back as a returner. He is fragile and always gets injured due to his size but he's a much better returner than he is a receiver. The guy can drop anything and his speed doesn't make up for that.

jaymo76

08-30-2013, 08:03 PM

Good thread! I'm in a solo one with Da Bears. And one with CDJ as the Niners and he's the Seahawks. Looking to dig into them over this long weekend.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

Nice! I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I'm going to follow the Bears closely this year as I am a HUGE Marc Trestman fan. He did an amazing job in Montreal in the CFL and back in his NFL days in Oakland he was top notch. The guy is a winner. As for the Hawks and intense... that should be pretty intense. FYI in season two the Niners play at Levis Stadium... it looks amazing in the game!

jaymo76

08-31-2013, 02:11 AM

With my open roster spot I picked up Carmen Messina. I am going to start him at rolb and see how he does. This should improve the D. I also manually progressed a number of players for this week. I have created several "clutch" players.

jaymo76

08-31-2013, 03:01 AM

I had a huge victory tonight over the Saints. The final Rams 34 Saints 10.

Bradford was player of the game with 77.2 comp % for 208 yards with 3td's and zero ints. My new additions Messina and Washington played very well. Of note, Messina had five tackles and a sack and was all over the field. Long now has a lead leading 20 sacks on the year and Jenkins had a pic which brings his league leading int total to seven.

As for the negatives, Kendall Hunter has a broken collarbone and is done for the year. Looks like Washington will move up the depth chart.

The NFC West as of week 15:

Cardinals 9-5
Rams 8-6
Seahawks 8-6
49ers 8-6

We are still out of the playoffs though. The 8-6 Bears (who we lost to) hold down the last wildcard birth. This week Tampa Bay visits STL. Of note it's the last regular season game in STL before we pack up and move to Houston.

jaymo76

08-31-2013, 03:47 AM

Almost halfway through the TB games and it's ugly as TB is pounding me 17-0. After a solid performance last week Bradford has soiled the bed. He has thrown four pics. Davis is coming in next series. .

jaymo76

08-31-2013, 05:10 AM

The final 23-14... TB. I will put a blurb together for tomorrow. Right now I am going to bed.

jaymo76

08-31-2013, 03:24 PM

The final 23-14... TB. I will put a blurb together for tomorrow. Right now I am going to bed.

Okay I have gotten over the game last night. The game itself was a brutal, sloppy, uninspiring affair. I was down 20-0 at halft-time. This was all pretty much because of Bradford. The guy threw four pics in the first half, three of which were on my side of the field. Davis came in and though he didn't throw any pics he didn't play that much better (although he did drive down the field for a td).

With the score 20-7 MLB Laurinaitis destroyed Freeman and grabbed a fumble and took it to the house to get the score to 20-14. Then TB drove into my territory and nailed a 55 yard fg to go up 23-14. With 3:01 left I turned the ball over on downs and that's all she wrote.

Offensively both teams were held below 250 yards. I only ran the ball for 49 yards while TB had 74 yards on the ground. I also had about four injuries (Austin, Givens, and two backups). These players are out for the last game of the season. This isn't the thread for comalints but EA/Tiburon really needs to tone down the cpu hit sticking

NFC West:
Cardinals 10-5
49ers 9-6
Rams 8-7
Seahawks 8-7

The Cardinals play the 49ers. the $9ers won 45-24 back in week 5 so if SF wins they win the division. I am playing the Seahawks. The loser takes last place in the NFC West. Mathematically I could still make the playoffs.

Going into the last week in the NFC

1. Lions 11-4
2. Cardinals 10-5
3. Falcons 9-6 (tied with Carolina)
4. Eagles 7-8 (threeway tie with Giants and Redskins)

Wildcard:
5. Packers 10-5
6. Panthers 9-6

Still in the hunt:
49ers 9-6
Rams 8-7
Saints 8-7
Bears 8-7
Seahawks 8-7

The playoff possibility is slim but I am still going for it. I really don't know who to start at QB. Right now I am thinking Davis. Bradford's days with this team may be limited...

Note: Patriots are now 14-1. They lost to the Ravens and lost the perfect season chance. (:)))

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 01:46 AM

Just fired up the Seahawks game. I decided to start Bradford. The frst thing is that Daniele Belini tells me that this game is for first place. Well, we are battling it out for third Danielle!

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 02:58 AM

Well if I don't make the playoffs at least I ended on a high note.

Rams 17 Seahawks 0 (that's right, my first shutout of Madden 25!!!)

Basically the Seahawks played zone 99% of the game so all I did was run and short passes and wr screens. I chewed the clock the entire game. The yardage breakdown was 387 to 118 (offense). I had 22 first downs to the Hawks 7. TIME OF POSSESSION WAS 33:41 for the Rams and only 10:19 for the Hawks.

Bradford was injured in the 2nd quarter but Austin Davis did a great job. Right now I am giving him serious thought to compete for the starting job next season. Wilson was awful for the Hawks as he was 6/13 for 33 yards and an int. Pead had a good game at rb. He had 23 carries for 104 yards, although he did fumble once (major hit stick). Tavon Austin cleaned up with 7 receptions for 87 yards and a td.

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 03:04 AM

Forgot to mention that Chris Long broke the sack record as he recorded 24 sacks this season. Gotta love pressure from the LE...

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 03:28 AM

And just like that, my first season as Rams owner comes to an end.

NFC West final standings:

49ers 10-6 *
Cardinals 10-6 *
Rams 9-7
Seahawks 8-8

* denotes made the playoffs

Of note, Peyton Manning was player of the year and "Chad master" was coach of the year with a 15-1 record.

Coaches fired:

Leslie Frazier (Min.)
Pete Caroll (Sea.)
Jason Garrett (Dal.)
Rex Ryan (NYJ.)

Tom Caughlin also announced his retirement.

Rams who made the Pro-Bowl:

Kendricks (FB)
Long (LT)
Dahl (RG)
Saffold (RT)
Long (LE)
Langford (DT)

Rams awards:

Chris Long won BEST DL
Janoris Jenkins won BEST DB
Greg Zuerlein won BEST K

Currently the Rams made 52.6 million (22nd overall).

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 04:26 AM

The ravens beat the 49ers 24-10 in the SB.

I have picked up Darren McFadden as my major FA. Very excited to bring him to this team. I also signed G. Schwartz to anchor my LG

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 04:02 PM

I went through the draft last night and with the exception of two players all of my picks were blind picks as I had little information on them. However, my first round pick (I won't use names... until more people have played a season) was a Centre and he comes in rated an 85 ovr. That's pretty solid for 19th spot. He will be a day one starter. All of my other picks are in the 50's and 60's. I took a gamble on a 3rd round qb. He has a lot of praise but is only 69 ovr. He may compete for a starting job in a few seasons.

Overall, my draft picks were NOT all that good. I will need to hire a better scout in the future!!!

jaymo76

09-01-2013, 04:16 PM

My three major pickups in FA have really pinned me up to the cap. I don't have a lot of wiggle room. I have tried with every team to trade Bradford. I am now trying to give him away and teams will NOT touch him, even for a 7th round pick!!! The guy is untradeable because of his 10 million dollar cap hit. If I cut him I will face several million dollars of cap penalties (sucks... this franchise is online or else I would have force traded him to a team in need...).

Preseason is up next. Here are some things I am dealing with.

I am going to give Davis every shot to win the starting qb job.
Do I trade Richardson (rb) or keep him for depth now that I have McFadden?
Who is going to stand out in the return game??? Maybe Peay???
Houston's reaction to the rebirth of the Oilers... marketing, marketing, marketing...
Do I add some veteran depth at wr or continue to develop youth???
e.g. Golden Tate may or may not be in Houston's plans moving forward

Rudy

09-02-2013, 06:53 AM

jaymo76

09-02-2013, 11:06 PM

Cool thoughts Jaymo. Didn't see this thread until now.

For the draft, how many scouting points did you get every week? Do you have a choice in the type of head coach you hire and will that affect the points? I know I created myself as a team builder last year and got 2000 points a week. I then practiced until I could unlock the scouting boost to get 3000. Is that still the same?

Jaymo, I personally think the RE/LE balance is much better than last year. Did you control your DL? Long is a good player. What did your RE get?

Once I get an official roster update I will fix Miami and get a franchise going. I hope EA fixes the FA list so the guys aren't so over-rated but that's highly unlikely. Part of me is considering running with a different franchise than Miami or even a fantasy draft but I probably won't do it. I know one of my favourite seasons in the Show was when I took the Reds and Giants. I'm not as anal about the accuracy of the rosters or trading and dumping certain guys.

Yeah I enjoyed our thread last year so I figured I would start a new one. Missing the playoffs... that's only the 2nd time in the history of Madden/2k that I have missed the playoffs. That was a real shocker! As to your questions:

1. Yes I usually play as a DL. It may just be that Long is a better player than Quinn??? Quinn only had 9 sacks
2. As for points per week... it's the same as last year. I don't recall the exact amount (is it 2000?)
3. I'm not sure if you get scouting boosts with your coach. You have to hire a scout in owner mode but that doesn't seem to do much

I am busy with work this week but I will try to check things out soon and get back to you.

JBHuskers

09-03-2013, 02:00 PM

Niners CCM with CDJ: Traded the drop machine Mario Manningham to the Colts, along with a 3rd round in 2014 and 4th round in 2015 for T.Y. Hilton. I think Hilton will fit nicely in the slot with Boldin and Crabtree on the outside.

jaymo76

09-07-2013, 03:10 AM

Finally got the pre-season started tonight. It's great to see the Oilers rise again. I just wish there wer emore uni options... I played my first exhibition aganist SF and beat therm 27-20 at Levis Stadium.

My third round qb went 12-21 for 208 yards 1 td and 1 int
Zac Stacy at rb had a good game with 17 carries for 79 yards and a td
McFadden struggled with limited work

Richardson is on the bubble right now as we have a lot of quality rb's
The qb situation is still up in the air as well.

jaymo76

09-09-2013, 08:12 PM

I have been pretty sick all weekend but I finally had a chance to get in another game. Pre-season two and the Oilers play there first game at OIL RIG STADIUM. We took on the Giants and it wasn't even close.

FINAL: GIANTS 10 OILERS 31

Gamenotes:

1. McFadden had another weak performance... he is struggling with runs inside and outside...
2. Robertson had a monster game... 14 carries for 122 yards and a td.
*** he was on the trade block... maybe on longer???
*** at this pace he will start over McFadden
3. all my qb's played well. However, my rookie QB was unstoppable.
** qb #5 11-11 117 yards and 1 td
4. backup TE Rosario may be playing himself a spot on the team. He had another strong performance
5. WR Tate is a good player but I just don't know if he has a role on this team. Youth wr's are the way to go

JBHuskers

09-09-2013, 08:21 PM

CDJ is currently 4-0 (Seahawks), I'm currently 2-2 (49ers).

My last game, I lost Vernon Davis for what was to believed to be 11 weeks :smh: thankfully it was a misdiagnosis for the herniated disk. He's only going to be out for two weeks.

CLW

09-09-2013, 09:11 PM

I'm hoping to get my offline owner mode on beginning this weekend. I've pretty much given up on sliders though as none of them have really been all that helpful.

WolverineJay

09-10-2013, 07:14 PM

I'm hoping to get my offline owner mode on beginning this weekend. I've pretty much given up on sliders though as none of them have really been all that helpful.

Try my new set posted in the sliders section. Tweak as necessary after testing with my listed sliders.

I am in the process of trying a different Franchise than I have ever done. I will be simming the first 12 weeks then playing all the games in the last 5 weeks and playoffs. I will set-up a draft board so I can draft for every team in rounds 1-3 then sim the rest of the draft. I will probably sim free agency to add some unpredictability into the Franchise. I have no idea how this will turn out but I am going to give it a try soon.

CLW

09-11-2013, 04:44 PM

Try my new set posted in the sliders section. Tweak as necessary after testing with my listed sliders.

I am in the process of trying a different Franchise than I have ever done. I will be simming the first 12 weeks then playing all the games in the last 5 weeks and playoffs. I will set-up a draft board so I can draft for every team in rounds 1-3 then sim the rest of the draft. I will probably sim free agency to add some unpredictability into the Franchise. I have no idea how this will turn out but I am going to give it a try soon.

Will do. However, another big issue Im going to have is ZERO attachment to any NFL team. I may just trophy whore it out with the 49ers, Broncos, Seahawks or Patriots.

Rudy

09-11-2013, 05:09 PM

Just fired up a Dolphins franchise this morning. I'm only in the 3rd preseason week. I don't play the preseason games but I will play all my regular season ones. The practice options almost seem worse. They are all 2000/1000 points and there aren't as many options. Practice is SO boring. And the one where you are down 2 or 3 with three minutes to go is crap. I didn't realize I started the practice on 4th down and 10 with no timeouts. You don't convert that and you are up a creek. I wonder if practice is harder than the franchise games like last year? They added skill trainer - why not use some of those things for the practice instead? Why not use real players to practice against too? Give me Madden moments or anything other than what we have.

JBHuskers

09-12-2013, 11:27 AM

CDJ is 5-0 with the Seahawks, and I'm 3-2 with the Niners. I've won 3 straight after a stumbling start. Thankfully I get Vernon Davis back in week 6. He had 320 yards in the first two games with the 3 TD's. He was having an MVP type season before going down with a herniated disk. I'm about to start calling on the '72 Dolphins to show up in Seattle with champagne to distract CDJ :D

skipwondah33

09-12-2013, 11:59 AM

JBHuskers

09-12-2013, 12:03 PM

You lost with the Niners?

That should not be possible lol

Yeah the Packers took me out in week 1, and CDJ beat me by 5 in week 2 at Seattle.

skipwondah33

09-12-2013, 12:31 PM

Yeah the Packers took me out in week 1, and CDJ beat me by 5 in week 2 at Seattle.Ah thats right Seahawks game is Week 2.

They have weapons all over...and you have Hilton? ..damn

JBHuskers

09-12-2013, 12:46 PM

Ah thats right Seahawks game is Week 2.

They have weapons all over...and you have Hilton? ..damn

Yeah. Traded Manningham and a 3rd rounder I think.

Rudy

09-14-2013, 06:16 AM

So EA has all the twitter feeds and personalities in game but took out the option to tweet your results to Twitter? I don't get it. Why is it that every time I save my franchise is creates a new save (if it's the next day) rather than write over top the old one? It's annoying to have to clean up these saves.

Finally got through the preseason and into my first game. Lamar Miller is hurt for 4 weeks so I signed Jonathon Dywer and made him the starter. Dexter McCluster got released so I picked him up since Thigpen is my only decent returner and I've always liked Dexter even if he's only rated a 72 and injury prone in the game. Some of my guys ratings are weird. Jared Odrick dropped over 10 points and I don't see how my scheme is affecting him that much.

Got a win over the Browns but it was tough! They jumped out to a 17-0 lead scoring on all three of their first possessions. Richardson rushed for over 100 yards against me but they never scored again. I scored with under 5 minutes to go to win 20-17. My passing game is stinky. Up next is the Colts.

CLW

09-14-2013, 01:58 PM

So I donwloaded the OS sliders that EA was touting when you popped in the game. The game is just broke for me as I can do whatever I want this year in both Madden and NCAA. 3-0 with the 49ers I think the closes margin was like 35 points. Hopefully, your legacy score goes up quickly b/c this is going to get boring quickly.

jaymo76

09-14-2013, 08:23 PM

Breezed through preseason going 4-0. In game three I simmed (by accident) and the we ended up thrashing the Eagles. Game four of preseason was absolute domination in a 66-14 beating of the Skins. McFadden had a huge game and so did Richardson. Yet again my third string qb had a huge game throwing for 324 yards and 3td's. Man I wish someone would take Bradford off my hands...

Okay next up, some very tough decisions... six cuts are required...

jaymo76

09-15-2013, 02:26 AM

Off to the start of the season. I had to make a few hard decisions but overall this team is stacked. As strange as it sounds, the first game of the regular season is against Washington... again. Even though I played them at home last week we are going to do it all over again...???...

Bradford and McFadden will be given the chance to lead but I love my depth at rb and qb. I will not hesitate to make a move if necessary.

jaymo76

09-15-2013, 03:40 AM

Total nail-biter for game one as I squeaked out a 21-16 victory over the Skins. McFadden had a great week with 26 carries for 143 yards and 1 td. Bradford threw two pics and was close to being yanked before settling down and leading his team to victory.

As a side-note, this game was very wonky (terrible physics, warping, etc.). I am also coming to the conclusion that I should never throw the deep ball as it seems the choices are dropped or intercepted. Why (tiburon) do receivers not fight for the ball or come back to the ball???

As for owner mode, my team is now #8 overall in value. I guess moving from STL to Houston was a great idea? However, the fans are unhappy with me??? I'm not sure why since I lowered prices on everything, we won the first game of the season and were 4-0 in the preseason. I guess the price of chicken salad is still too high???... :fp:

CLW

09-15-2013, 05:41 PM

Well these Madden 25 featured OS sliders are much help even with run block at 0 Gore still has 997 rushing yards through week 4. :smh: On a positive note maybe I can get the :plat: after going undefeated in 3 straight seasons.

Rudy

09-16-2013, 04:59 AM

As a side-note, this game was very wonky (terrible physics, warping, etc.). I am also coming to the conclusion that I should never throw the deep ball as it seems the choices are dropped or intercepted. Why (tiburon) do receivers not fight for the ball or come back to the ball???

Have you tried reducing offensive pass interference in the penalty sliders? It's supposed to make the WRs more aggressive. There was a good post on OS on the affect of penalty sliders. I know guys here and at OS believe they have a significant affect.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football-sliders/660260-penalty-sliders-explained.html#post2045454938

OFFSIDE (DL)
-------
+ Increases block shedding and acceleration/explosiveness at the snap
- Decreases defenders aggressiveness

FALSE START (OL)
-------
+ Increases OL movement at the snap

HOLDING (OL, DL)
-------
+ Increases duration of blocks and has affect on higher rated OL of getting more penalties
- Decreases duration of blocks and more likely defenders will shed blocks

FACEMASK (DEF)
-------
+ Increases violence of hits
- Decreases

DPI (DB, DEF coverage)
-------
+ Decreases aggressiveness of DB's
- Increases

OPI (WR, route-running)
-------
+ Decreases aggressiveness of WR
- Increases

KR/PR INTER (DEF, responsiveness)
-------
+ Increases responsiveness of DEF (Reaction to ball)
- Decreases

CLIPPING (OL, blocking)
-------
+ Increases aggressiveness of downfield play
- Decreases

INT GRND (QB pocket presence)
-------
+ Decreases the pocket patience of QB
- Increases

RTP (QB pursuit, DEF aggressiveness)
---
+ Decreases aggressive tackle animations and diving tackles for sacks on the QB
- Increases

RTK (DEF pursuit)
+ Decreases global pursuit of DEFENDERS
- Increases

Rudy

09-16-2013, 06:01 AM

The one chick in the twitter feed needs to be reminded that not every game is a rivalry game.

jaymo76

09-16-2013, 09:04 PM

Have you tried reducing offensive pass interference in the penalty sliders? It's supposed to make the WRs more aggressive. There was a good post on OS on the affect of penalty sliders. I know guys here and at OS believe they have a significant affect.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football-sliders/660260-penalty-sliders-explained.html#post2045454938

OFFSIDE (DL)
-------
+ Increases block shedding and acceleration/explosiveness at the snap
- Decreases defenders aggressiveness

FALSE START (OL)
-------
+ Increases OL movement at the snap

HOLDING (OL, DL)
-------
+ Increases duration of blocks and has affect on higher rated OL of getting more penalties
- Decreases duration of blocks and more likely defenders will shed blocks

FACEMASK (DEF)
-------
+ Increases violence of hits
- Decreases

DPI (DB, DEF coverage)
-------
+ Decreases aggressiveness of DB's
- Increases

OPI (WR, route-running)
-------
+ Decreases aggressiveness of WR
- Increases

KR/PR INTER (DEF, responsiveness)
-------
+ Increases responsiveness of DEF (Reaction to ball)
- Decreases

CLIPPING (OL, blocking)
-------
+ Increases aggressiveness of downfield play
- Decreases

INT GRND (QB pocket presence)
-------
+ Decreases the pocket patience of QB
- Increases

RTP (QB pursuit, DEF aggressiveness)
---
+ Decreases aggressive tackle animations and diving tackles for sacks on the QB
- Increases

RTK (DEF pursuit)
+ Decreases global pursuit of DEFENDERS
- Increases

Interesting find Rudy! That's just mind boggling. It seems clear that Tiburon doesn't know how to fix their sliders because sliders are actually entangled into how the game plays. I guess from now on I will need to leave penalty sliders at default...

Rudy

09-17-2013, 04:57 AM

It is mind boggling that penalty sliders could have such an affect on the game. Some claim they work better than the actual sliders at fine-tuning stuff. Since penalties are still rarely called guys use them more to tweak gameplay than anything else.

I think the craziest thing to me is that Roughing the Kicker has an effect on the pursuit of the defensive players. Some really like using that penalty slider to improve the defensive pursuit angles.

JBHuskers

09-17-2013, 12:17 PM

Vernon Davis in my CCM....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEPy_YgdT38

CLW

09-17-2013, 12:53 PM

Vernon Davis in my CCM....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEPy_YgdT38

Yep he's leading the NFL in receiving in my CCM 4 games in and Gore should break the NFL rushing record right around the mid-way point.

Rudy

09-18-2013, 02:00 PM

I might suggest not getting into your second year of franchise if you can wait for the patch. Apparently some people have been getting the same draft class appear a second time very early on. One guy got his first class in the 4th year while one guy had the same class two years in a row at the beginning of his franchise! That's terrible. The game needs to remember if it uses a class and eliminate that from the future years. I think EA has 30 years of draft classes.

Rudy

09-20-2013, 12:36 PM

Do pre-existing injuries not work? I know Keller is still healthy on my team so I have him 4th on my depth chart but I wasn't sure if I screwed something up. Reading about it a little it seems EA screwed this part up.

WolverineJay

09-27-2013, 01:06 AM

I just finished up my 2nd week of games and week 14 is about to get started. I like the variety of playing for many teams and using different styles of offense and defense based on the team's personnel.

I had to change my sliders because I was scoring 40+ darn near every game and even scored 60+ 3 different times, including a 72-10 slaughter of Tampa Bay by Carolina. I have to say after some tinkering I am finally getting more defensive games my last 10 games I have a 7-3 record with the points total for me (282) and the CPU (205) which is light years better than what I was getting before. In fact if I had not found a better slider set then this game would have been sold by now.

WolverineJay

10-22-2013, 01:51 AM

Ok I am now in the playoffs.

AFC seeds
1. Patriots
2. Ravens
3. Titans
4. Broncos
5. Steelers
6. Colts

NFC seeds
1. 49ers
2. Vikings
3. Falcons
4. Cowboys
5. Saints
6. Panthers

I played for and against all these teams so it really is up in the air who is going to win it all. Key Injuries like no Romo, Bryant and Murray for Cowboys, and no Welker for Broncos could be the doom for those teams on wildcard weekend.

***Wild Card Weekend results***
In the NFC, the Saints shutout cowboys without their star players so they easily move on to Division round. Panthers ran all over the Falcons and will next play at the #1 seed 49ers. In the AFC, the Broncos won a close game against the Steelers and the Titans took the rubber match over the Colts.

Division round

Panthers vs 49ers
Saints vs Vikings
Broncos vs Patriots
Titans vs Ravens

***Division Round***
49ers crushed the Panthers and advanced easily to the NFC title game. The Vikings ran right over the Saints and will head to San Fran next game to see who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. In the AFC playoffs, the Broncos lost a close shootout to the Pats and the Titans won at Baltimore thanks to C. Johnson so they head up north to play New England for the AFC title.

Championship games
(AFC) Titans vs Patriots
(NFC) Vikings vs 49ers

***Conference Championships***
The Titans played a solid game in the 1st half but fell apart in the 2nd half. Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski was unstoppable and I think S. Ridley was actually Superman in disguise (he broke 10 tackles on only 15 carries and scored 4rushing td's). Injuries in the 2nd half really put the nail in the coffin but the Patriots offense seems unstoppable right now. In the NFC championship game, The 49ers ran rough shot all over the Vikings D and sacked C. Ponder 6 times. Adrian Peterson tried his best but it wasn't enough and the 49ers win in a blowout and head back to the Super Bowl to redeem themselves after last year.

Super Bowl
(AFC) Patriots vs (NFC) 49ers

***The Super Bowl***
This game was played in the snow, but the weather had really no impact on the game whatsoever. I hope it is a snowstorm in real life just to make Goodell look like an even bigger idiot than he already appears to be. Back to the game, this title game was a little slow going considering these teams routinely score 40+ (score tied at 7 end of 1st quarter). The passing attack of the Patriots started to heat up in the 2nd quarter, but key sacks by A. Brooks really killed the pats in the red zone. Meanwhile the 49ers workhorse like offense kept churning out first downs on the ground despite no F. Gore. In fact K. Hunter had 150 yards in the 1st half before being injured on a hit by Hightower. The 49ers didn't miss a beat using Dixon and James the 2nd half at the RB position. The Pats really struggled to score TD's all game despite T. Brady passing for over 400 yards, and the 49ers racked up over 300 yards on the ground and 5 rushing TD's to win 45-23. It felt pretty satisfying to finally beat the Patriots since I lost to them with the Broncos and Titans.

Overall this was a different Franchise experience playing for all the teams, but I enjoyed it and will do another season after a break. I am going to first try NCAA 14 and play my annual coach mode season of Tecmo Super Bowl.

WolverineJay

10-29-2013, 04:27 PM

I am going to do the off-season stuff (coaching changes, free agency, NFL draft, and position changes) while the season is still fresh in my mind. I am looking forward to season 2 probably in a month or two depending on how NCAA 14 plays out for me.

JBHuskers

10-30-2013, 12:20 PM

I think CDJ and I might have to bump it up to All-Madden. Toughening up sliders on All-Pro delivers good games, but still wins. CDJ is undefeated, and I had two early losses and we're in week 11.

Rudy

10-30-2013, 04:50 PM

Definitely. Madden has screwed with the difficulties the last two years. All Madden as we knew it is dead. It honestly plays more like All Pro. The Madden team's attempt at a global slider system is poor. It could work but it would require a lot of slider testing and work; something the current Madden team does not do. They need to go back to true difficulties like NCAA and simply allow for split difficulties on O and D. It's a much better system IMO.

WolverineJay

11-02-2013, 08:05 PM

Ok my off-season is now done.

Coaching changes:
Giants hired Marvin Lewis after T. Coughlin retired
Redskins hired R. Mack a 3-4 defensive minded coach after M. Shanahan retired
Buccaneers hired June Jones to bring back his Run & Shoot to the NFL after firing worthless G. Schiano
Bengals hired C. Shutt a 4-3 defense guy to keep Bengals defenders happy after M. Lewis chose to cut off negotiations

Key retirements:
QB P. Manning
QB C. Palmer
HB F. Jackson
WR R. Moss
WR R. Wayne
WR S. Moss
WR S. Smith
TE T. Gonzalez
LOLB J. Harrison
ROLB D. Freeney
CB C. Bailey
P S. Lechler
K A. Vinatieri

Off-Season QB changes:
Buccaneers bring in ex-Rams QB S. Bradford to run the pass happy Run & Shoot
Texans bring in P. Rivers in a draft day trade
Chargers trade for Southern California QB M. Barkley and make him the starter
Browns signs M. Schaub as temporary fix
Cardinals bring in C. Henne and J. Freeman to compete for the starting job
Broncos promote B. Osweiler after devastating mid off-season retirement of HOF QB P. Manning
Rams draft P. Schuyler in 1st round to start
Jaguars draft S. Billi to compete with B. Gabbert for starting QB role

Draft grades: (Best to worst)
A+) Eagles, Browns, and Chargers
A) Rams, Bears, and Seahawks
A-) Packers and Bills

B+) Jets, Bengals, Cardinals, and Dolphins
B) Titans, Chiefs, and Patriots
B-) Jaguars, Giants, Falcons, Cowboys, Texans, and Panthers

C+) Colts and Lions
C) Saints, Broncos, and Raiders
C-) 49ers

D+) Ravens, and Vikings
D) Redskins, and Steelers
D-) Buccaneers

For the draft, I drafted for every team during the 1st 4 rounds based on needs and best player available on my big board. I simmed the last 3 rounds and saw many a head scratching decision by the CPU, next time I may draft 5 rounds to ensure less stupidity.

The off-season saw many new faces heading into starting roles and judging by the massive retirements in the off-season this 2014 season will probably be the last for players like T. Brady, M. Vick, D. Brees, S. Jackson, A. Gates, E. Reed, and many other good to great players. This next season should be another fun one to play with all the teams. I will continue to play weeks 12-15 while simming all other regular season weeks before playing out the playoff games.

GatorfanStovy

11-03-2013, 08:35 PM

Damn 49ers :fp: You can do better drafting!

WolverineJay

11-03-2013, 10:08 PM

Damn 49ers :fp: You can do better drafting!

Well the draft was really weak in the positions they needed to fill, plus they picked last in every round. They got a 74 Overall rated HB and a 70 OVR MLB other than that nothing but low to mid 60's at CB, C, and DT.

The Bucs really screwed the pooch so to speak getting only a 70 OVR ROLB and a bunch of low 60 busts on all their other picks so that's why they got a D- despite picking #9 in each round. Overall this draft was pathetic to say the least only had decent depth at QB, OL, WR and CB, but even those positions had slow pokes like 68-72 Spd WR's and 70-76 SPD CB's (no way in hell they ever play in the NFL at those positions with that speed).
I will be doing an import draft next with J. Manziel, T. Bridgewater, D. Thomas, and many other projected 2014 draft picks. I sure hope that the imported class has far more talent than the Madden drafts or this league will be weak in a few years.

GatorfanStovy

11-03-2013, 11:06 PM

Yea I 'm sure the draft gets weak in madden . As long as they filled needs and hit at least two good players in the draft. I'm waiting for X1 to jump into madden.

Rudy

11-04-2013, 04:08 AM

Well the draft was really weak in the positions they needed to fill, plus they picked last in every round. They got a 74 Overall rated HB and a 70 OVR MLB other than that nothing but low to mid 60's at CB, C, and DT.

The Bucs really screwed the pooch so to speak getting only a 70 OVR ROLB and a bunch of low 60 busts on all their other picks so that's why they got a D- despite picking #9 in each round. Overall this draft was pathetic to say the least only had decent depth at QB, OL, WR and CB, but even those positions had slow pokes like 68-72 Spd WR's and 70-76 SPD CB's (no way in hell they ever play in the NFL at those positions with that speed).
I will be doing an import draft next with J. Manziel, T. Bridgewater, D. Thomas, and many other projected 2014 draft picks. I sure hope that the imported class has far more talent than the Madden drafts or this league will be weak in a few years.

That sounds bad. I never got to the draft in the franchise I started. It sounds a lot worse than last year. I had fun with the draft in M13. Some of the CFM things were a bit odd. I found that a lot of the lead stories on the main page were the same as the tweets on the side. That wasn't like that last year and was a bit cheap. Some of the tweets made little sense. I expected a bigger improvement in these areas and not a step back or no change.

WolverineJay

11-04-2013, 05:47 PM

That sounds bad. I never got to the draft in the franchise I started. It sounds a lot worse than last year. I had fun with the draft in M13. Some of the CFM things were a bit odd. I found that a lot of the lead stories on the main page were the same as the tweets on the side. That wasn't like that last year and was a bit cheap. Some of the tweets made little sense. I expected a bigger improvement in these areas and not a step back or no change.

I only played Madden 13 a little bit and never got deep into CCM, but I don't remember the 2 draft classes I did check out having anywhere near the issues I have seen with M25. You would think if it isn't broke why tinker with it and make it worse, but that seems to be EA Tiburon just being themselves. In M25, I noticed quite a few really slow WR and CB (yet 75+ strength and Hit Power is given to CB's like candy at Halloween). You also get strange Acceleration and Agility for fast HB's, WR's and mobile QB's (Examples: 93 Spd, 78 Agi, 72 Acc or 96 Spd, 83 Agi, 70 Acc). The only thing that bothered me a little last year was the Awareness rating was really low for almost all rookies, like in the 20's and 30's. The number of future stars, 3-4 defenders(NT, OLB), OL , MLB, and S really seem pathetic in M25 compared to last year. I looked around and many are saying the same thing about these Madden 25 drafts so I am going to try an imported draft class next, but I have already tested a few and they have issues as well (pick your poison I guess).

Regarding the twitter feeds and draft stories I agree they felt better last year. I honestly only remember Adam Schefter talking in depth about 2 guys so that was a joke addition to the game. Twitter responses on drafted players seemed really low compared to M13 as well. I could definitely see these being gone in a couple of years because of how boring and stale they are now.

Rudy

11-04-2013, 06:44 PM

One of the areas Adembroski was responsible for was draft stories and he left. Last year didn't have the repeating draft classes and the auto save didn't constantly create new save files for no reason. Who knows why EA screws up some things some times.

I did expect more from their anniversary edition. The whoe name change seemed a waste of time to me.

WolverineJay

02-10-2014, 01:57 AM

I recently finished up the 2nd season of my M25 32 team Connected Franchise. This year I played only 3 weeks 12-14 for all the teams and simulated the rest of the regular season. The playoff teams were as follows:
(AFC)
1. Patriots
2. Steelers
3. Jaguars
4. Broncos
5. Bills
6. Texans
(NFC)
1. Seahawks
2. Giants
3. Lions
4. Saints
5. Bears
6. Cowboys

The wildcard round got under way with a bang when the Texans won a shootout over the Jags in OT. Games 2 and 3 saw The Cowboys put a whooping on the Lions, and The Broncos pull one out in the end over the Bills. The last game of the day went to the Saints as they easily beat the Bears.

The Divisional round saw another overtime upset by the Texans as A. Foster ran all over the Patriots. The Seahawks destroyed the Cowboys in game 2. Another upset in game 3 as the Broncos won a close back and forth battle over the Steelers. The Giants shutdown the pass happy Saints sending them to the NFC Title game in Seattle.

The Championship games pitted 4th vs 6th seed in the AFC while the top 2 seeds were facing off in the NFC. The Texans unstoppable run game was slowed down and the Broncos controlled the game from start to finish granting them a trip to the Super Bowl. The NFC championship was a hard fought game with Seattle's vaunted rushing attack controlling the 1st half, but the 2nd half was mostly about the Giants. They fought back to tie the game up as time expired and send it into OT. In Overtime, the Giants won the toss and went right down the field and scored on a pass from E. Manning sending the Giants back to another Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl was a shootout from the start and neither team seemed to care about playing any defense (27-20 at the half). Late in the game , the Giants got a couple timely interceptions off B. Osweiler, one of which P. Amukamara returned for 6 which ended up being the final score of the game (51-41 the Giants win the Super Bowl). E. Manning was named MVP with 350 yards and 4 td passes.

Overall it was a pretty entertaining season and I am looking forward to the off-season where I have the real NCAA draft class to pick up players. I have decided to play 2 prospect all-star games to get an in-game feel for the top players in the draft. I am calling them the East/West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. I have the teams set-up with good QB matchups like, J. Manziel vs T. Bridgewater in the Shrine game and D. Carr vs. T. Boyd in the Senior Bowl. After I play both games I will make up a draft board to help me during the draft. After I play the 2 games, I will complete free agency and re-assess each team's top needs before beginning the draft.

Off-season news:
Retirements (Absolutely devastating that these guys all walked away at the same time, thankfully I have an imported draft with loads of talent):
QB: T. Brady, T. Romo, M. Vick
HB: F. Gore, D. Sproles, D. Williams
WR: A. Johnson, A. Boldin
TE: J. Witten, A. Gates
DT: K. Williams
DE: J. Peppers, J. Smith
OLB: R. Mathis, L. Briggs
MLB: L. Fletcher
CB: A. Samuel
FS: E. Reed

Players making a comeback from retirement:
TE T. Gonzalez
MLB R. Lewis

6 coaches were fired:

Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Dolphins, Jets, and Raiders

GatorfanStovy

02-11-2014, 09:12 PM

sf misses the play offs wtf :fp: no more Gore :( ... How is Lattimore doing so far in your season?

WolverineJay

02-12-2014, 01:10 AM

sf misses the play offs wtf :fp: no more Gore :( ... How is Lattimore doing so far in your season?
Yes, unfortunately for you and my wife (BIG 49ers fan) the Super Bowl champs couldn't defend their title. They did terrible when I simulated the 1st 11 games (5-6 record) and despite winning 4 of their last 5 they just missed out on the playoffs. Sorry, I have got more bad news for you, Lattimore disappeared from the league, lol. He was originally in the game but during one of the cut weeks in the pre-season the CPU cut him and he never showed up on the free agent list. Currently SF has 2 backs on their roster heading into the draft 81 OVR K. Hunter and 73 OVR L. James. SF will be targeting a HB in the 3rd or 4th round but no sooner since WR A. Boldin retired as well as DE J. Smith leaving huge holes for them to fill.

Regarding the draft, I had a ton of fun playing the college all-star games. I really wish the Madden team would bring them back from the PS2 era as a way to scout more players and give you an in-game feel for the prospects. Based on the 2 games I played, J. Manziel, T. Bridgewater, D. Thomas, and S. Watkins are going to be making a huge impact on Offense while J. Clowney, K. Mack, L. Nix, and J. Verrett all looked great on defense. D. Thomas coming in at 97 speed and J. Manziel at 90 speed means they are probably going to dominate since Madden is all about speed.

WolverineJay

02-17-2014, 01:58 AM

I conducted the draft for all 32 teams and this time I did all 7 rounds. I have graded each of the teams on how they did in the draft and the final grades are as follows:
A-) Cowboys
B+) Chargers and Vikings
B) Cardinals, Redskins, Bengals, and Lions
B-) Browns, Dolphins, Raiders, Jets, Bucs, Titans, 49ers, and Texans
C+) Colts, Falcons, Rams, Chiefs, Eagles, Packers, and Bears
C) Ravens, jaguars, Steelers, Patriots, Seahawks, and Giants
C-) Panthers, Bills, and Broncos
D+) Saints
*A few key rookies*
Falcons-J. Clowney, Chargers-K. Mack, Saints-D. Thomas, Eagles-M. Evans, Rams-S. Watkins, Jets-L.Nix, 49ers-S.Tuitt, and Redskins-CJ. Mosley

Off-season coaching changes:
Raiders- D. Quinn (Seahawks D) Brings Seahawks dominant defense and strong running game to Oakland
Jets- N. Saban (Alabama) Returns for another shot in the NFL this time in the Big Apple
Dolphins- L. Smith (Bears) Strong consistent defensive minded coach lands in South Beach
Browns- M. Pettine (Bills) Hard hitting and aggressive defense heading to Cleveland
Chargers- B. Stoops (Oklahoma) Long time college coach finally gets shot in the big league
Cardinals- M. Leach (Wash St.) Pass happy offense coming to the desert

New starting QB's for 2015:
Browns- J. Manziel (1st rd draft pick no.6)
Cardinals- T. Bridgewater (#1 overall player selected in draft)
Chargers- C. Oliverria (took over last 2 games of 2014)
Cowboys- T. Boyd (1st rd draft pick no.26)
Eagles- N. Foles (Vick retired so Foles steps into starter spot)
Patriots- R. Mallett (Brady retiring vaults him to starter status)
Raiders- M. Mariota (1st rd pick no.11)
Vikings- H. Gallon (2nd rd pick last year gets starting role as Ponder leaves as a free agent)

2015 season should be an exciting one thanks to all the new faces around the league. I will play 4 weeks this year maybe even 5 if I'm enjoying it more with the real rookies this year. I will probably do a regular Madden draft, it is suppose to be the 36 yr old Heisman winning QB draft class with the 6'8" WR name Shady Monroe. If not then I will import again and scout another real class filled with any leftovers from this year and next years projected players like QB J. Winston and HB T. Gurley.

Rudy

02-17-2014, 04:05 AM

WolverineJay

02-18-2014, 01:39 AM

I have never done a Madden draft with imported rookies. I'm going to have to do that the next time I have Madden. I wonder if M15 will still let you do that? It's something when I had M12 thru M25 that I just never tried. I suppose there were online NCAA files I could have downloaded to do this or did I have to generate them myself?
I have done it since they first allowed it back on the PS1. Over the years the imported draft classes have had many issues that make it less than ideal, but when EA Tiburon doesn't give you the option of editing draft classes before the draft well you're kind of stuck with their poor programming :smh:. In M25 pre-patch, importing had issues with prospects losing 5 to 10 ratings points in their physical attributes (Spd, Acc, Agi, Str, and Jmp), players with huge funny looking shoulder pads, and missing facemasks. Post-patch in M25 the facemask issue was fixed as was the physical attributes failing to closely transfer over on import, but the patch made all the intangibles fall way too far (88 Route Running turning into a 45, or 90 Awareness becoming a 38 it just seems like EA Tiburon messes them up on purpose). Pre-patch the physical ratings for rookies did vary a great deal from import to import, sometimes I would get an 88 speed D. Thomas of Oregon and other times I'd get him with 97 speed. Post-patch it is the same wide variation just with the player's intangibles like I stated above. If you import into M25 the white sleeve glitch on 80% of rookies and the stupid captain patches on all rookies is not there thankfully. So you see as most things from EA Tiburon its pick your poison (or whatever annoys you less).

You can import draft classes from somebody else if you have a USB thumbdrive. I've done it and it isn't too difficult thing is you're at the mercy of the person who made the draft class so I just ended up making my own.

In regards to Madden 15 and beyond, I know that many people would like the ability to fully edit draft classes and share them with the community like NBA 2k. I would also like all new Madden games on the PS3 to remain compatible with NCAA 14.

Rudy

02-18-2014, 05:28 AM

Thanks for the heads up! With Looman's anti-editing tendencies I don't know if Madden will let you edit the draft classes.

jaymo76

03-09-2014, 06:52 PM

It's been a while since updating on this thread. My last actualy game updates were with the ps3 version. Since moving to next gen in Novemember I have been rolling with the Bucs. Last year during my second season we won the SB with a hard fought victory over the Broncos. From the beginning QB play has been rough. However, after starting season three today I have a new personal record. Mike Glennon... that's right, Mike Glennon went 21-21 for 146 yards and 2 td's before he finally threw a pick. He ended the game 27-30 for 233 yards 2td's and 1 int.

Honestly it was insane... he could not be stopped by Washington. RGIII played pretty well too. He had 11 straight completions before throwing one out of bounds. When I upgrade Glennon all I focus on is short, medium, and long throw accuracy. Clearly it is paying off. Glennon was on the trade block last season and if not for injuries to my starter (or a better offer from other teams) he would be gone. As it now stands he is emerging as one of the stars of the NFL and already has a ring to show for it.