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Official Madden '10 Xbox 360 Online Franchise: A World Without Favre

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
LukeSmith said:
I'm flattered!

Just like real life, I'm trying to close the gap between us. I need a secondary to do that since I can't throw the deep ball anymore.

You wanted our division to be better and this is the only way how....unless I magically transformed into Rors or FMT overnight.

Btw Zep dropped the Titans, so it's a 3 man division again.
 

bluemax

Banned
DCX said:
Well some people move players around, some may have two SS only because they rather have hard hitting fumble inducing machines that a ball hawk and a hitter. Some may have a ton of LBs to run a certain type of D like a 4-6. I have three 80+ RBs, one is my lead back, one is my back up the other is my kick returner/3down back.

DCX

Sure I get that but is it worth it to have a 90+ FS, two 80+ SSs and then a 73 RDE as your starter?
 

bluemax

Banned
Okay here it is my first (and possibly only) 1st round mock:

Mock:

1. Abdul Ross ROLB
2. Jamel Hale CB
3. Allen Walters SS
4. Eduardo Pita RG
5. Isaac Clancy LE
6. Angalo Lee RT
7. Ben Gray MLB
8. Jay Sonnier MLB
9. Andre Hudson FS
10. Malcolm Finley FS
11. Levon Proctor FS
12. Julian Wright LOLB
13. Anders White DT
14. Aziz Perry WR
15. Tristan Riley QB
16. Davon Carpenter RT
17. Quayshon Capers LE
18. Brandon Weatherspoon CB
19. Bar'ee Cherry C
20. Maka Liv DT
21. Allen Walters SS
22. G'Lawn Harper LE
23. Luke Lock CB
24. Kyle Insley DT
25. Deshae Cooper WR
26. Holmes Azur RE
27. Cobie Brown ROLB
28. Sean Jelercic G
29. David Barnes C
30. Dori Holliday LOLB
31. LeKambrick Price SS
32. Demetrius Ponder SS

I was gonna do team by team capsules but I feel lazy now. So some random thoughts:

Lots of teams have similar needs, namely OLB, MLB, C, DT, and DE. Pretty much no one needs a QB, WR, or HB this year, especially since it is likely the last year of the franchise. The problem is that the deepest talent pools are HB, QB, and WR which means there is likely to be a lot of top tier talent at those positions that falls, I mean the #1 WR in the draft went to 14! And the #1 QB to 15! No HBs in the first round!

I honestly don't think the draft will play out like this. My strategy was pretty much always to go for the #1 weakest starting spot unless there was a better player at another closely weak spot, or the team had no obvious needs (Giants, and Eagles were especially hard to pick for). Other things that could go different would be the teams that need FSs passing on the weaker FSs to grab the slightly strong SS dudes and playing them out of position.

Anywho with FA and trades I'm sure that things will go a lot different but this hopefully gives some idea of where the league wide needs/talent distribution is.
 

TheCrow

Member
bluemax said:
Okay here it is my first (and possibly only) 1st round mock:

Mock:

1. Abdul Ross ROLB
2. Jamel Hale CB
3. Allen Walters SS
4. Eduardo Pita RG
5. Isaac Clancy LE
6. Angalo Lee RT
7. Ben Gray MLB
8. Jay Sonnier MLB
9. Andre Hudson FS
10. Malcolm Finley FS
11. Levon Proctor FS
12. Julian Wright LOLB
13. Anders White DT
14. Aziz Perry WR
15. Tristan Riley QB
16. Davon Carpenter RT
17. Quayshon Capers LE
18. Brandon Weatherspoon CB
19. Bar'ee Cherry C
20. Maka Liv DT
21. Allen Walters SS
22. G'Lawn Harper LE
23. Luke Lock CB
24. Kyle Insley DT
25. Deshae Cooper WR
26. Holmes Azur RE
27. Cobie Brown ROLB
28. Sean Jelercic G
29. David Barnes C
30. Dori Holliday LOLB
31. LeKambrick Price SS
32. Demetrius Ponder SS

I will not be able to live with myself if I draft two more O-Lineman. :p

And don't you have two Allen Walters SS?
 

bluemax

Banned
TheCrow said:
I will not be able to live with myself if I draft two more O-Lineman. :p

And don't you have two Allen Walters SS?

Shit you're right.

Mock:

1. Abdul Ross ROLB
2. Jamel Hale CB
3. Allen Walters SS
4. Eduardo Pita RG
5. Isaac Clancy LE
6. Angalo Lee RT
7. Ben Gray MLB
8. Jay Sonnier MLB
9. Andre Hudson FS
10. Malcolm Finley FS
11. Levon Proctor FS
12. Julian Wright LOLB
13. Anders White DT
14. Aziz Perry WR
15. Tristan Riley QB
16. Davon Carpenter RT
17. Quayshon Capers LE
18. Brandon Weatherspoon CB
19. Bar'ee Cherry C
20. Maka Liv DT
21. LeKambrick Price SS
22. G'Lawn Harper LE
23. Luke Lock CB
24. Kyle Insley DT
25. Deshae Cooper WR
26. Holmes Azur RE
27. Cobie Brown ROLB
28. Sean Jelercic G
29. David Barnes C
30. Dori Holliday LOLB
31. Demetrius Ponder SS
32. Jelani Okoye HB (BPA I guess)

Also the draft includes no trades, so only one of those picks is for Denver. Too much work to figure out all the traded picks. If I were to guess I'd have you take an OLB with the higher pick. Cobie Brown I guess.
 

TheCrow

Member
bluemax said:
(Insert fixed list here)

Also the draft includes no trades, so only one of those picks is for Denver.

Thanks. I'm a sucker for lists and stats. :D We'll see what happens with the HBs but I think more than a few will be taken in the first round.
 

TheCrow

Member
Here's the first round with some of the trades that I can recall.

First Round Draft Order

1. Chiefs
2. Rams
3. Dolphins - Falcons
4. Panthers
5. Lions
6. Jets
7. Titans
8. Redskins
9. Browns
10. Texans - Bills
11. Vikings
12. Patriots
13. Cardinals
14. Seahawks
15. Jaguars
16. Falcons - Broncos
17. Ravens
18. Buccaneers
19. Steelers
20. Giants
21. Chargers
22. Cowboys
23. Bengals
24. Packers
25. Eagles
26. Bears
27. Bills
28. Broncos
29. Saints
30. Colts
31. 49ers
32. Raiders
 

DCX

DCX
TheCrow said:
Here's the first round with some of the trades that I can recall.

First Round Draft Order

1. Chiefs
2. Rams
3. Dolphins - Falcons
4. Panthers
5. Lions
6. Jets
7. Titans
8. Redskins
9. Browns
10. Texans - Bills
11. Vikings
12. Patriots
13. Cardinals
14. Seahawks
15. Jaguars
16. Falcons - Broncos
17. Ravens
18. Buccaneers
19. Steelers
20. Giants
21. Chargers
22. Cowboys
23. Bengals
24. Packers
25. Eagles
26. Bears
27. Bills
28. Broncos
29. Saints
30. Colts
31. 49ers
32. Raiders
This might change sometime today.

DCX
 

TheCrow

Member
I guess we have a little more than half of the cuts in. Hopefully we can get Free Agency started today. I am interested in seeing who got cut and picking up some role players.

Quick question about after this season. Since I guess this is the "final" season, will the league still continue with those members still interested? I thought DM(or was it someone else) would keep it alive until Madden 11.
I want to see my players progress :(

Edit: Sable, how did that rookie DE perform for you?
 

Wellington

BAAAALLLINNN'
Here's the first round with some of the trades that I can recall.

First Round Draft Order

1. Chiefs
2. Rams
3. Dolphins - Falcons
4. Panthers
5. Lions
6. Jets
7. Titans
8. Redskins
9. Browns
10. Texans - Bills
11. Vikings
12. Patriots
13. Cardinals
14. Seahawks
15. Jaguars
16. Falcons - Broncos
17. Ravens
18. Buccaneers
19. Steelers
20. Giants - Lions
21. Chargers
22. Cowboys
23. Bengals
24. Packers
25. Eagles
26. Bears
27. Bills
28. Broncos
29. Saints
30. Colts
31. 49ers
32. Raiders

As for Bluemax's concerns, I am guilty of three 80+ RBs, three 80+ Safeties (two at FS), two 80+ TEs, and at one point I also had two 80+ Cs.

The RBs are easy to explain, they are situational. Jacobs is of course my work horse. Brown has 99 carry and is a hair faster than Jacobs, so I prefer to go to him in the second half of games when I want to protect a lead and in the red-zone. I started working Bradshaw in more last season because of his speed. Going from Jacobs pounding it up the middle and in B-Gaps to Bradshaw's speed through those holes or on the outside is a nice weapon. I also like to run various Dual HB sets in the different I-Form packages. It also helps that my FB is rated 84.

As far as my safeties, this is something I was discussing with someone before last season started, I got this idea indirectly from Crow. With Michael Johnson on my bench I would play Big Nickel sub package which puts my #3 S at nickel CB and I would do one of two things -

1) I could zone up and be much more stout against the run than if I simply had my #3 CB Kevin Dockery out there. A lot of the league likes to run out of three and four wide to spread out defenders. An S out there has higher PUR, higher TAK, higher POW, and higher BSH. Further, I don't lose anything in coverage if I am playing a zone. In Cover 2 or 3, the nickel CB does not cover much space.

2) I would again play big nickel and blitz with Johnson at NB. His higher PUR rating allowed for much more effective blitzes. Further, his high TAK with the PUR allowed me to make a lot of tackles in the backfield if it turned out the person was running against me when I ran a blitz combination out of that package.

Lastly, my TEs are the one chink in the armor. I started using more two TE packages but frankly I don't like them aside from three or so plays, so you got me there. I am going to move some guys around a little in those formations and I will report my findings.

I think a little creativity goes a long way with this game. This season I am focusing on more situational mis-matches to keep the schemes fresh. Some of the mid-round picks in this draft look really nice for anyone that wants to do wonky stuff. Most of the time the guy running his offense won't notice when you do something weird. (I really wish there was a way to see what defensive players are on the field and where. It's unfair that the D can see where you receivers line up but the O can't see what CB is on who, or where certain LBs are.)
 

TheCrow

Member
Wellington said:
As far as my safeties, this is something I was discussing with someone before last season started, I got this idea indirectly from Crow. With Michael Johnson on my bench I would play Big Nickel sub package which puts my #3 S at nickel CB and I would do one of two things -
Glad to see I influenced someone. I really like having Asher Allen as my Nickle CB because he can tackle like a safety yet has decent man coverage ratings. But I think I need to work on my pass defense. Rors was able to do some work through the air.

Also, thanks for updating the list and hopefully others continue to do so as we get closer to draft day.
 

daw840

Member
Wellington said:
Lastly, my TEs are the one chink in the armor. I started using more two TE packages but frankly I don't like them aside from three or so plays, so you got me there. I am going to move some guys around a little in those formations and I will report my findings.
thats_racist_animated1.gif
 

TheCrow

Member
sableholic said:
22 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 int so I'm happy with him. How'd lance do?
eh, when I played he was my fourth WR but early on he scored some big TDs. He ended with 2-3 but I can't complain since I'm not known for my passing game.

dskillzhtown said:
Is it like Burnout?
It's like Burnout + Mario Kart + MW2 Challenges. I reached the level cap(10) and really enjoyed it despite not winning much. I might end up buying it when its on sale but it's definitely worth a try.
 

Birdman02

Member
TheCrow said:
Quick question about after this season. Since I guess this is the "final" season, will the league still continue with those members still interested? I thought DM(or was it someone else) would keep it alive until Madden 11.
I want to see my players progress :(

I think it was DCX who volunteered to take over commish duties after this season. Like I said before, I definitely want to keep this going up until Madden 11 if there are enough guys interested.
 

DCX

DCX
Birdman02 said:
I think it was DCX who volunteered to take over commish duties after this season. Like I said before, I definitely want to keep this going up until Madden 11 if there are enough guys interested.
If given permission i would take over as commish and keep it going. It would be a shame to see all of our hard work just disappear, especially when there is sooo much game left in the franchise.

It wouldn't count as official Madden GAF seasons, but i think it will give low level, mid level players a chance to continue improving. Vets a chance to continue practicing new techniques against live foes within our rule sets and even give newbies a chance to " train " to maybe join the big show come Madden 11.

DCX
 

Fifty

Member
FMT, let us know who hasn't sent their cuts in by tonight so that we can harass them and expedite this process. I want to know who's going to benefit from my record amount of generosity.
 

bluemax

Banned
Wellington said:
As for Bluemax's concerns, I am guilty of three 80+ RBs, three 80+ Safeties (two at FS), two 80+ TEs, and at one point I also had two 80+ Cs.

The RBs are easy to explain, they are situational. Jacobs is of course my work horse. Brown has 99 carry and is a hair faster than Jacobs, so I prefer to go to him in the second half of games when I want to protect a lead and in the red-zone. I started working Bradshaw in more last season because of his speed. Going from Jacobs pounding it up the middle and in B-Gaps to Bradshaw's speed through those holes or on the outside is a nice weapon. I also like to run various Dual HB sets in the different I-Form packages. It also helps that my FB is rated 84.

As far as my safeties, this is something I was discussing with someone before last season started, I got this idea indirectly from Crow. With Michael Johnson on my bench I would play Big Nickel sub package which puts my #3 S at nickel CB and I would do one of two things -

1) I could zone up and be much more stout against the run than if I simply had my #3 CB Kevin Dockery out there. A lot of the league likes to run out of three and four wide to spread out defenders. An S out there has higher PUR, higher TAK, higher POW, and higher BSH. Further, I don't lose anything in coverage if I am playing a zone. In Cover 2 or 3, the nickel CB does not cover much space.

2) I would again play big nickel and blitz with Johnson at NB. His higher PUR rating allowed for much more effective blitzes. Further, his high TAK with the PUR allowed me to make a lot of tackles in the backfield if it turned out the person was running against me when I ran a blitz combination out of that package.

Lastly, my TEs are the one chink in the armor. I started using more two TE packages but frankly I don't like them aside from three or so plays, so you got me there. I am going to move some guys around a little in those formations and I will report my findings.

I think a little creativity goes a long way with this game. This season I am focusing on more situational mis-matches to keep the schemes fresh. Some of the mid-round picks in this draft look really nice for anyone that wants to do wonky stuff. Most of the time the guy running his offense won't notice when you do something weird. (I really wish there was a way to see what defensive players are on the field and where. It's unfair that the D can see where you receivers line up but the O can't see what CB is on who, or where certain LBs are.)

I understand the situational stuff, I just think some of these rosters wouldn't work in the real NFL.

I'm not saying anyone's roster construction ideas are wrong, they're just odd to me. But I get OCD about balance and what not.

W/R/T the big nickel thing, I sort of wondered if maybe people were playing some kind of 3-3-5 Hybrid like you see in college where teams go with 3 safeties and only 2 line backers (So really more of a 3-2-6 I guess). Might work well for teams weak at MLB.
 

LukeSmith

Member
Wellington said:
(I really wish there was a way to see what defensive players are on the field and where. It's unfair that the D can see where you receivers line up but the O can't see what CB is on who, or where certain LBs are.)

This 1000x, this.
 

DMczaf

Member
TheCrow said:
Quick question about after this season. Since I guess this is the "final" season, will the league still continue with those members still interested? I thought DM(or was it someone else) would keep it alive until Madden 11.
I want to see my players progress :(

Who said I was leaving? You're going to have to drag my ass away from M10!.....or M11 comes out and I sell it.
 

LukeSmith

Member
bluemax said:
I understand the situational stuff, I just think some of these rosters wouldn't work in the real NFL.

I'm not saying anyone's roster construction ideas are wrong, they're just odd to me. But I get OCD about balance and what not.

W/R/T the big nickel thing, I sort of wondered if maybe people were playing some kind of 3-3-5 Hybrid like you see in college where teams go with 3 safeties and only 2 line backers (So really more of a 3-2-6 I guess). Might work well for teams weak at MLB.

In year 1, I played a 4-2-6 with Bob Sanders moved down from SS to the box to play LOLB in some formations. It didn't work particularly well for me. I played a pretty vanilla 4-3 all year this year, nothing tricky, no weird sub packages. Seemed to work fine.
 

DCX

DCX
bluemax said:
I understand the situational stuff, I just think some of these rosters wouldn't work in the real NFL.

I'm not saying anyone's roster construction ideas are wrong, they're just odd to me. But I get OCD about balance and what not.

W/R/T the big nickel thing, I sort of wondered if maybe people were playing some kind of 3-3-5 Hybrid like you see in college where teams go with 3 safeties and only 2 line backers (So really more of a 3-2-6 I guess). Might work well for teams weak at MLB.
i played a 1-5-5 last season with 4-3 personel :p This season i revamped and got players to play the 1-5-5. I was second in the league in sacks but by far the worst defender in terms of yards through the air, i'm hoping the moves i have made will change that.

DCX
 

Wellington

BAAAALLLINNN'
bluemax said:
I understand the situational stuff, I just think some of these rosters wouldn't work in the real NFL.

I'm not saying anyone's roster construction ideas are wrong, they're just odd to me. But I get OCD about balance and what not.

W/R/T the big nickel thing, I sort of wondered if maybe people were playing some kind of 3-3-5 Hybrid like you see in college where teams go with 3 safeties and only 2 line backers (So really more of a 3-2-6 I guess). Might work well for teams weak at MLB.

Well, yes, it would not work in the NFL because of salary cap considerations. If I we did have contracts and a cap, I'd have chosen not to re-sign Bradshaw, and I think Brown's contract would be up after this season forcing me to choose which one of Jacobs/Brown to keep.

If a cap and contracts are implemented into Madden '11, the absolute need to fix draft classes will become more apparent. They'll need to introduce a measure of scouting, because as it stands now, anything passed round 3 is cannon fodder. I'm curious how it could work, because a lot of the low end draft picks learn so much through training camp and pre-season that isn't representable in the game. In the example mentioned above I'd have to have taken an RB to groom to be the full time backup, or pick one up in F/A.

Regarding formations, I only ran a 3-4 selectively this season, and one of those times was against you because of the threat of LeRon. The big nickel is a 4-2-5, but as you surmised it's more about getting a "fast linebacker" on the field - and outside - than anything else. When I blitz the NB I want to ensure one of two things

1) My NB is fast enough to cause the T to pull back and block him, allowing my DE to get a mismatch on the slowfooted G or breaking through and getting to the smaller 'back protecting if there is one. I benefit where a lot of teams don't because of my talent at the DL. Osi, Kiwi, Tuck, and Sintim all have high FMV, so if I attack the inside and they draw a guard, I can get around them due to the relatively low PBF. With the NB blitzing rather than an OLB, I ensure that the T kicks back and out to protect, rather than what sometimes happens with the LB attacking further in and drawing the guard.

2) I don't like to do this because I get gashed up the middle, but if I attack the outside and I draw the tackles with my ends, and guards with my DTs, I want my S to avoid the jumble of 'bodies'. By having a guy outside of the box, it prevents the problems that LBs run into by getting stuck in the mass at the LOS.

Initially I worked on this to help my rushing D, it was near the bottom of the league in season 2. Towards the end of season 3, the benefits in the passing game started becoming more apparent. Eh, I don't know if I am making any sense, I can show you in a practice game if you want.

LukeSmith said:
In year 1, I played a 4-2-6 with Bob Sanders moved down from SS to the box to play LOLB in some formations. It didn't work particularly well for me. I played a pretty vanilla 4-3 all year this year, nothing tricky, no weird sub packages. Seemed to work fine.

:p
 

Rorschach

Member
The cpu auto-drafting an extra LB, and my dumb ass letting go of Ellis, kinda forced me into the 3-4. I'd like to go back to 4-3 this upcoming season if I can get the right pieces.
 

bluemax

Banned
Part of the problem with draft classes is that the lower end guys have such unbalanced ratings so that you get a guy whose core attributes are 99/97/60/40 instead of 75/70/67/68 or whatever. If the ratings were scaled right it might help.

Another problem is that D/F rating players pretty much don't improve. I think I had one go up 1 point despite barely playing, while another season I had a guy as a top KR and he didn't improve at all. Would've been cool if I could've trained him from Hester the KR to Hester the WR or something.

Maybe if they took notes from sports management sims like Hattrick or Buzzerbeater and let you assign a training type that would provide benefits to your team. If you had weekly training like those games it would make the management meta game a little more interesting.
 

Rorschach

Member
Returners don't get shit. When Miller was leading the league in return TDs, he didn't get anything for it except a speed and KR rating downgrade. -_-
 

Lonestar

I joined for Erin Brockovich discussion
It's interesting that there are ratings that will never go up. Speed, Strength, Throwing Power, Kick Returning, the Injury/Stamina/Toughness trifecta. I wanna say those last 3 never decline either.
 

DCX

DCX
Knights of the round table, please approve these trades so i can worry less about Madden till the FA list and draft order is released :p

DCX
 

Nightz

Member
Lonestar have you gotten my PM's? It's fine if you're not interested, but a simple "lolz no" reply would be appreciated. :D
 

LiveWire

Member
Rorschach said:
The cpu auto-drafting an extra LB, and my dumb ass letting go of Ellis, kinda forced me into the 3-4. I'd like to go back to 4-3 this upcoming season if I can get the right pieces.

phlphotos232294-Albert-Haynesworth.jpg



Chargers/Redskins deal is off as Chargers backed out because they didn't want to compete for the AFC West title, I guess. Maybe the Chiefs are ready to take that next step?
 

Rorschach

Member
DCX said:
Knights of the round table, please approve these trades so i can worry less about Madden till the FA list and draft order is released :p

DCX
I'll be quietly rooting against one of your trades. ;)

LiveWire said:
http://www.everyjoe.com/emqb/files/2009/12/phlphotos232294-Albert-Haynesworth.jpg[/ig]
[/QUOTE]
Seymour, Haynesworth, Lopez, Scott would be impenetrable. :O

I'm looking for offensive help at the moment, though. I want to be the new Jags and just have shootouts with everyone.
 

DCX

DCX
Tank%20fire.JPG


Tank Lockwood is back and ready to challenge Mason for the rushing title. Upgraded to an 87! No loss of speed or any stat at all. League on notice..

DCX
 

Rorschach

Member
Looking at the draft logic for the 3 drafts in the dummy league, someone is going to get royally screwed by the Titans because they're gonna take something out of left field.:lol
 

Birdman02

Member
Rorschach said:
I'm looking for offensive help at the moment, though. I want to be the new Jags and just have shootouts with everyone.

I really wish I didn't have to play that way, but that's what happens when you only have 2-3 guys who can consistently make tackles. The numbers may say otherwise, but it felt like I had a pretty respectable pass D, but I was constantly getting gashed by the run.

Look at my last game against LJ....he probably could've won without throwing a pass. Luckily, he decided not to, and I came a way with an INT that led to a TD that ended up being the difference in the game. The sad thing is that I knew he wasn't gonna pass the ball, and I still couldn't do anything to stop his running game.
 

LukeSmith

Member
Rorschach said:
Looking at the draft logic for the 3 drafts in the dummy league, someone is going to get royally screwed by the Titans because they're gonna take something out of left field.:lol

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about
 

Smokey

Member
daw840 said:
Who here has the new Battlefield? We need to get a squad goin tonight.

edit: On 360

I have it. Me and dskillz play often.

Haven't had much time lately and it's killing me :(. I'm fiendin' for it!
 
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