Confessions of a Madden Baller - ZFarls's Blog

ZFarls's Blog

Confessions of a Madden Baller

Posted on October 28, 2009 at 11:06 AM.

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Each week, A Madden Baller will write down his weekly Madden thoughts and feelings on the game. The will highlight his place in the community, thoughts during games and what he really thinks as he playing the game within the game! If you would like to be featured, hit us with an email here

The 23 Year old who wish he had more time to play but tries to get by with the same stuff each year

Sunday- Sunday for me is always a big day for football, with the NFL being in action it always gets the blood pumping to hop on the sticks and make some coaching calls. You see things during the real NFL games that remind you of Madden and make you wanna play. The Giants were in action against the Raiders and they were scoring TD's left and right.

Although, I never usually play as my favorite team, I decided to take them out for a spin. I played a pretty good player and couldn't generate the offense I needed. Manning was turning the ball over and it made me un confident with my personell. I got the ball back with 3 tries to get the win but finished with turnovers each time.

Sundays Final Tally - 1 game and a 28-14 Loss. Crushing, I love to play more games on Sunday and only getting one in hopefully wont put me in a funk.

Monday - Back in action for a quick game before bed. It is a game for one of my leagues so I get to play with Dallas. I nearly always score on my first drive which gets me in a good rhythm. However, each drive I have less and less gadgets to help me score. If I don't get up early than it can be pretty frustrating. Fortunately, this kid can't move the ball for more than five plays without throwing an INT. I get the easy win which prompts some nasty emails about how to play the league properly.

Mondays Result- 1 huge win where I run out the entire second half. Needed this win to get some confidence back and hopefully get on a roll this week.

Tuesday- I hop on the sticks and work on my offense. I have 3 formations with 3 plays in each that I am confident in. This works well during the first half but once the opponent has seen the plays multiple times, they become ineffective. I get back to basics and start to remember all the beautiful plays we dreamed up for the detroit book. Against top talent you have to be ready to fire away with multiple plays and situations. Watching my own youtube video is creepy but its like I sent a message to myself in the future. MIX IT UP!
Tuesday Result - Some labbing that will make me supremely confident heading into my next league matchup. Work on my Gun Bunch set because I really like the one play I had, however it is a dead give away when I come out in that formation late in the game. Hopefully no more.

Wednesday- Super busy and am unable to get on the sticks, I can feel the Madden plays I worked on slipping out of my mind and really want to try the mini scheme I dreamed up in action. It will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thursday- Have another big league matchup. Offense starts out hot as usual but sputters. I move to the gun bunch and CANT work the plays I put in. I hesitate and realize I am shutting him down on offense. I keep telling myself, RUN RUN RUN FG, RUN RUN RUN. No matter what in the 2nd half I run the rock with Felix even breaking one.
My opponent can't get the football downfield and is looking for screens which I am shutting down. He breaks a long wildcat TD and I say to myself RUN RUN RUN. The clock is ticking down and the game is still in my favor.

Thursday's thoughts - This was a big day for me. I tried some new things but remained SMART. I had a 14 point edge and the ball in FG range. I could make it a 3 score game and waste time by running. It was an absolute must. He could have blitzed all 11 and I didnt care. I did take one risky 4th and 3 late but I converted on a short pass...Wait that was dumb but it worked, you must be a little risky to win games though...? Right?

Friday - Hop on for one quick game before bed. I gotta be up early on saturday but with the GF asleep, its optimal time. I am getting torn up on offense and the blitz isn't getting there. Thinking about my defense I get a little nervous. I only have 3 plays and adjust them with play maker.
1. Inside Man Blitz
2. Inside Zone Blitz
3. Outside Blitz (rarely used only when PA or player believes inside one is coming)
Now this kid is settling back there so I start to playmaker my guys all around.
This is one aspect where I still retain confidence from playing Madden for many years. If something isn't working I will scrap it in game and make changes. When my NT Jay Ratliff gets an interception in a QB Spy, I know I have innovated well. Optimally, my defensive adjustments win me this game handily and remind me that defense is always huge. I still waiting to work in more plays though and stop blitzing so much because good players can move the ball.

Saturday- Of course college football makes you wan't to play Madden but it just wasn't in the cards for me. The busier life that aging brings on isn't conducive to a Madden lifestyle. While I play 3 games a week now, Its a far cry from when Sgibs and I would stay up to 3 am playing Madden and screaming which nearly woke up everyone on campus.
The little things you pick up from playing many games always add little sparks to your offense however I am still very basic. I know my offense is solid but lacks multiple pieces to play at a high level. Not knowing if I'll ever make it back makes me nervous. For now I just need to survive with solid instincts and quick fingers. My 3 offensive sets and 3 defensive plays will have to be called with perfection to keep winning games but the more feel and knowledge I gather each week helps.

Experience is my key factor...

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