2016 Season: Week 1 Open

Welcome to a new year of Madden! In years past I’ve asked for MVP recommendations, or players to spotlight that you’re excited about. But nobody pays any mind to it, and it's a wasted effort.  All that I ask is that you post a bit more often in the weekly game threads. It can be a simple blurb about how your game finished. It can be how your rookie is developing, or anything else.

PLEASE check the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. I've cut a handful of items out to make things simpler.  Ignorance is not an excuse.
The key sticking points are calling several different plays. The same play more than a few times can be considered spamming. Keeping a sim-style depth chart. And 4th down rules spelled out. I think the game is very balanced as it is, and some of the gameplay rules we used to have were bogging things down.

Streaming of games is mandatory. Make sure your twitch account is set up. Make sure that auto-archive is turned on. You have to turn that on via the twitch website. It can't be done from the console. User games only need one person streaming.

Scouting reports are a huge help. There’s a dedicated sub-forum for that.  Each user will have a Scouting Reports thread where you can post what you've seen, or how you've stopped a key look/play.  I've included a video player to each user's twitch feed so you can watch their game live while reading their scouting report and chat on the forum simultaneously. It's not pretty, but it's functional.  Madden’s gameplan feature will also be a huge help to understand how often your opponent blitzes, or runs inside versus outside.

Make sure you're in the AALoA Community page on the PS4. You can find it under my PS4 profile page. Regular updates will get posted there as reminders. And that's where I'll send event invites for the draft and major games like the Super Bowl.

I hope you're all excited and ready to go.  I'm a bit less prepared to start this year. I have a lot of things going on. Thursday, the 15th I'm leaving town for several days. So I'm hoping Pitt and Commando can hold things down and advance.  I should be back on the following Monday, the 19th. Then it's Destiny's expansion release, and for some reason, I'm still fucking addicted to that game and it might occupy a bit of my time.

Free agency will go live on Tuesday night at 10 pm EST. Everything is open then.
Be ready for a major PS4 update though. That might take some time to download/install. (Source)

Prepare for 72 hour advances.

I went to set my season goal, and I have exactly 1 CPU game on the schedule. So instead of hoping for 8 wins, I went even lower. Haha.

Comcast was being a little troll last night so tru and I will try again today at some point

BigSteve187 wrote:Comcast was being a little troll last night so tru and I will try again today at some point

Xfinity has been doing that the last few days for me as well man lol

Glad to know it aint just me lol but still sucks.. tried to play 6xs before saying forget it.. try tomorrow... xfinity are some sh***y service mfers

7 User Games 9 Cpu, no division opponents, I like this.

Raiders defeat the Saints 17-13 on a game winning TD run by Chris Ivory with 1:01 left in the 4th! 

More detailed write up to come in "America's Most Wanted" when I get my computer working again, Gg Zydecajun!

x--Nike wrote:More detailed write up to come in "America's Most Wanted" when I get my computer working again, Gg Zydecajun!

FYI, the way the Sportscenter section is set up is less like a forum, and more like a blog. It treats each post as a single subject, with a condensed comment section.  So you may want to consider breaking up the posts into separate threads.

Jaguars upset the Packers in a game where the Madden Gods were seemingly lactose intolerant. Rodgers fumbled 3 times, Jordy 1 time, and the jags hit big plays all over, including a 70 plus yard TD to Allen Robinson on their first play, and another 70 plus yard TD catch off a screen to the 57 ovr rookie HB Grant. Just one of those games when things go right for you, and I am so very rarely on that side.

Slider Notes:

QB Accuracy is still very on point, and only saw like two drops but those were from contact, so the passing game felt easy. 

Inside running felt a little rough, then again my OLine sucks

Game feels incredibly fast, dont know how I like it, Im sure I would be pissed about it if I was on the other side this week.

Fumbles, especially from the QB, seemed too much. Its not like I have a murderous defense, Id never expect to see Rodgers fumble 3 times.

I really like the improved pressure, you cant sit back all day and let a route develop, you gotta get the ball out of your hand, so it feels more realistic.

EDIT: As I figured kicking was gonna be a bitch, especially when streaming, missed 2 xps and a FG, all with hiccups in lag. I may just make notice that if I am streaming I will be going for 2 and on 4th and short or something. I got damn lucky those lost 5 points didnt screw me over.

Thanks for the insights Hippo.  Great feedback.  QB accuracy I can notch down a bit more.  Fumbles are tough, I think timing is so off since we're so used to sitting back for deep throws.  You really gotta make the read earlier than usual and get the ball off.

I'll have to watch the archived footage.

Giants over Cowboys 25-7.

Ill had control of this one from the jump -- 3rd and long on the Cowboys opening drive, and Ill forced a Romo fumble and took it back for 6.

A few efficient Giant drives and a lot of Cowboy turnovers and penalties later, and Ill had this one in the bag about halfway through the 3rd.

Ezekiel Elliott showed flashes of brilliance in his debut (14 carries for 61 and a garbage time TD), but the Cowboys were playing from behind all day and had to abandon the run.

Player of the Game:

Eli Manning: 13 of 21 for 154 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 96.1 passer rating

Come on, man:

Tony Romo: 2 fumbles (one for a Giant TD, the other at the Giant goal line), 1 INT

--

Random observations:

* Agreed with Hippo, the kicking lag is ROUGH while you're streaming. I shanked a 49 yarder. Nailed the accuracy by an act of God, but the power didn't register and I left it about 10 yards short.

* What's up with no huddle in online franchise? You can't set it as a tempo, and when you hold triangle, it doesn't bring up the play call screen. It reverts back to old school Madden where you have to audible to change the play. Has EA said anything about fixing it if it's a glitch?

* I committed not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE illegal block in the back penalties. On one drive in the first half, I actually had 2 first downs called back in a row thanks to blocks in the back. I think I either threw my pick right after that or had to punt.

GG man.

I've had it happen in other games, but it seems like sometimes when you nail the kick power perfect, it doesn't register. Maybe it's supposed to be like that? It makes no sense but have others experienced the same?

Eagles win a ho-hum game vs the Browns 23-7 to get the Carson Wentz era off to a 1-0 start.

Couple thoughts:

- QB Accuracy probably still too high.  As much as I like to have an accurate QB on my side, I didn't see one inaccurate throw from either trashy RG III or my rookie QB (I finished something like 14/15 for 280 yards).  The game has improved in other areas to make the game feel more balanced but it'd be nice to see average to below average QBs play that way (thus actually making it valuable to have a good QB).

- I must say, I love that kicking is not a gimme this year.  I hate that I missed 3 kicks (missed XP, missed FG and a blocked FG) but I still like that its tougher.  Its really going to play role in late game decision making as playing for the 45 yard FG is no longer a sure thing (and that's not even taking "ice the kicker" into consideration).  Maybe kicker accuracy will actually have some value as opposed to just picking the strongest kicker because accuracy was a non-issue in the past.

Other than that, nothing really note-worthy from my opening day game.

I would support changing Game Speed to Slow. Denard Robinson looked like Reggie Bush vs Fresno State. It was absurd

On an unrelated note - Did mission decide he was too scared and leave? Thought he was Redskins but then saw they were CPU

* I committed not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE illegal block in the back penalties. On one drive in the first half, I actually had 2 first downs called back in a row thanks to blocks in the back. I think I either threw my pick right after that or had to punt.

GG man.

YT and I also had block in the back problems...a couple we're after a play was over and all of a sudden a flag...prob had 4-6 on his end and 2-3 on my end

Pittsburgh narrowly escapes the nations capital with an overtime win.  The offense never really got going for Pittsburgh, the determining factor was the Pittsburgh defense who caused havoc in the Redskins backfield all night totaling for 4 sacks 3 FF and 1 Recovered.

Yeah I had tons of penalties it seemed in my country game against the Pats! Kicking seemed great, a challenge but I got it done mostly, I also didnt stream( still needing to get everything setup). I did lose because well I should've prolly played a few games with the sliders and cfm settings to get used to it, so by the time I found a groove my comeback fell short! It was fun tho! Running was really hard! And I committed silly turnovers early on !

Mission messaged me saying that he had a lot going on right now. I offered to put him on auto-pilot, but he had dropped already.

Block in the back penalties are annoying, but they're called a lot in real life too. Just like defensive holding if you're pressing too much. I will try and balanced them further. I can't remember if I touched them at all even.

I had like 2 or 3 blocks in the back from Allen Robinson, so that felt kinda silly.

Of the 5 blocks in the back for Dallas I think  at least 3 were on WRs not involved in the play lol, some were very late too. They are obviously too high and not sure why tbh



Looks like a lot of good week 1 games, good stuff

Bears burst out of the gates with a strong running game.  The passing game was left wanting, but Jeremy Langford put his name in for player of the week honors with 3 TDs and 161 Yards rushing on only 12 carries.  Jay Cutler didn't force anything, and played turnover free football.

On defense, the Bears top pass rushers were stymied, while key reserves like Willie Young and Lamarr Houston stepped up big in key situations. On the goalline, Jerrell Freeman burst through the line with a sack and strip, leading to backup Will Sutton recovering the ball.

The Bears look to capitalize on the strong start versus the Eagles next week.

I'll definitely lower block in the back penalties further. They were only at 51 on the sliders. Not sure why they popped up so much.

I actually had a Pass Interference get called, and it wasn't a terrible call either. Nice to see.  The first 10 plays had at least four penalties in my game vs adnalffej, but it settled down after that.

QB accuracy for me was all over the place. Jay Cutler missed 2 or 3 easy throws. Brock Osweiler was missing all over too. That contradicts some of your other experiences.

Week 2's not open, bust seeing as I'll be out of town, me and Pitt played an exhibition match to decide our sim winner early since both our rosters are nearly stock.

The Bears opened the game with a bang, as TE Zach Miller raced down the sideline for a long TD catch.  The Eagles would easily answer. Through the back and forth battles each drive, it became apparent the Eagles were daring the Bears to pass as they kept stacking the box to stop the run.  Jay Cutler would find Alshon Jeffery one on one with a corner playing soft coverage. A simple skinny post route turned into an 80 yard race to the end zone.

The tides turned right before halftime as Jay Cutler would find a wide open Eagles MLB Stephen Tulloch to take points off the board as Chicago was inside the 20.  To open the second half, the Eagles would have their own explosive play as Nelson Agholor would get manned up on a slow LB thanks to some broken coverage. There was no chance.  The final strike seemingly came when Jay Cutler threw yet another deep red zone pick to Tulloch.

All was not lost yet as Chicago was only down 14-20. Trying to throw a third pick in the final two minutes, the Eagles dropped a sure Cutty INT in the end zone allowing Chicago to settle for three. The Bears opted to kick it deep and play defense with three time outs instead of trying an onside kick. It appeared to work as the Eagles got Iggy Azalea on their first snap and ran a WR reverse. Chicago knocked the ball loose in the backfield, but the refs claimed Philly recovered it. They even reviewed it to see if they could take the fumble off the stat sheet. Jerks.  Ryan Matthews then faced a 4-6 Bear defense and ripped off a 12 yard run to seal the game.

Eagles 20, Bears 17.

Great game Pitt. Even losses are entertaining versus you.

Hopefully the simmed game is close to what we had with no injuries.

Re: QB accuracy 



Personally I think Madden has always evened out most QBs in terms of accuracy and general talent just by nature of the way the game is played (controlling the QB). Decision making is what separates QBs in real life, which is controlled by us in Madden. That fact combined with the fact that most user players guard against the deep ball via 3 deep zones or 2 deep man coverages lends itself to high completion percentages via easy short passes. So I don't think the accuracy needs played with too much.


It's hard to regulate and understand how the slider affects the actual game. I've played in leagues before with really adjusted sliders and out of nowhere a QB would miss a wide open guy by 15 yards. Most NFL QBs easily hit wide open guys (cue joke about shitty QB). The reason they suck is because they can't make the reads (which we control). The great QBs are super accurate in tight Windows and I'm not sure video game sliders can really produce what we wish to achieve.

Last game is GoBucks614. I'd assume he gets it played asap.

Then Pitt or Commando can advance Thursday evening as soon as they're home. Have a great weekend guys. See ya next week.

In a game that'll go down as the Block in the Back-athon, Vikings pull out the win 36-29 in Tennessee to open the season. 

Derek Henry was a beast and is going to give the AFC South nightmares, rushing for 99 yards on 8 carries scoring twice.  Mariota was just shy of 300, going for 296 yards and 2 TD's himself.  Tajae Sharpe led all receivers with 126 yards on 8 receptions and 2 TD's.

AP did AP things, running 16 times for 126 and 3 TD's.  Teddy ( ) was able to overcome 2 early INT's finishing 13-19, 285 yards 2 TD's and 2 INT's.  Diggs was a welcomed bright spot in the passing game, going 4 for 121 and a TD.

After Teddy threw a bad pick (my fault on a terrible lead pass) on the opening drive, the Titans marched down and scored.  2 drives later, Minnesota went down to get their first TD of the season only to have Walsh and some lag shank the extra point, then the ensuing kickoff.  It was back and forth after that until 2 late TD's gave the Vikes some much needed breathing room.  Tennessee went in for a late score, but was unable to recover the onside kick with 7 seconds left sealing the game.

GG Nick.

the_EDJ wrote:Mission messaged me saying that he had a lot going on right now. I offered to put him on auto-pilot, but he had dropped already.

That sucks.  One of the things that intrigued me about choosing an NFC East team was playing in that division full of good user coaches (I hate CPU games).  Anyway, hopefully things lighten up in his schedule and he can come back.

I did see that the Raiders quickly snatched up Dri Archer off the waiver wire, lol. Ahhh to have speed in Madden.

the_EDJ wrote:Last game is GoBucks614. I'd assume he gets it played asap.

Then Pitt or Commando can advance Thursday evening as soon as they're home. Have a great weekend guys. See ya next week.

I'll take a look when I get home tonight (around 7PM EST) if the Jets game was played.  

Just a heads up for everyone though ... if EDJ runs the league as he has in past seasons, the weekly advance won't be held up for User/CPU games so make sure you get those done sooner rather than later.