Madden NFL 11: The How and Why's of Hit Sticking
Submitted on: 08/23/2010 by
Jayson Young
The Madden series is one that originally helped to define the term "video game stats." So it should come as no surprise that Madden 11's short-lived shelf life is already being badgered by a near-unanimous questioning of "where's the defense?"
For football fans trying to reconcile themselves to another "offense-heavy" version of Madden, it feels like forever -- not six years ago -- when Ray Lewis first jumped off the cover of Madden NFL 2005, sprinted through the A gap and finally showed armchair quarterbacks what it was like to "Fear the D."
Line shifts, defensive hot routes and the brand-new "Hit Stick" were some of the key features that helped distance Madden NFL 2005 from the sideline-rollouts and 70-yard streak passes of Madden NFL 2004. After all, let's not forget that Madden 04 is most-remembered for the "god status" it ascribed to cover athlete Michael Vick and his unstoppable, scramble-based offense.
But while the marketing of Madden NFL 2005 heavily emphasized the game's new defensive features, it's the balanced gameplay for which Madden NFL 2005 has become fondly remembered -- a balance that, thus far, remains nonexistent in Madden NFL 2011.
While most of Madden NFL 2005's "Fear the D" features still live on by name in Madden NFL 11, the reality is that none of them is as easy to use or as effective as they were six years ago.
Line shifts and defensive hot routes, for example, remain caught in the cobwebs of a cumbersome new Strategy Pad. And the once-feared Hit Stick? Its WWE tackling animations no longer produce a powerful "suction effect" on the ball carrier, leading to less screen-shaking hits and more whiffed tackles with defenders often glancing off running backs like a pinball colliding with a rubber bumper.
As long as the term Hit Stick has existed in verb form, Madden gamers have been effortlessly hit sticking ball carriers in the open field without much chance of a mishit.
But with Madden NFL 11's new locomotion physics, faster default game speed and removal of the Hit Stick's glitchy suction power, there is now a legitimate risk when attempting to Hit Stick an agile, elusive back in the open field -- say a Ray Rice or a Reggie Bush heading up the field after catching the ball in the flat.
Instead of being the all-purpose tackle button it has been in the past, the Hit Stick now feels like a true gamble for defenders, just as the offense’s "highlight stick" increases the risk of fumbling whenever the ball carrier tries to shimmy his way out of would-be tackles.
With whiffed open-field Hit Sticks often leading to touchdowns, this year's Madden coaches are having to think of the Hit Stick more as a cleanup tackle than a direct tackle.
In a game full of big offensive plays, it's no wonder defender Jared Allen couldn't make this year's Madden cover.
Source: gamespot.com
The Hit Stick is now something defenders should attempt when the ball carrier has already been slowed or staggered by a teammate's initial tackle. In other words, the player needs to become an easy, stationary target not unlike the wild elk hunted by Jared Allen in the offseason.
After reading the long list of risks, Madden players might be wondering why is hit sticking worth attempting over the low-risk wrap-up tackle?
1. Stamina and Injuries
Each time a tackle occurs in Madden NFL 11, there is a random "dice roll" that determines whether or not a player will walk away from the collision with an injury.
Surprisingly, the tackle type (wrap-up vs. Hit Stick) does not seem to have much impact on the odds of an injury occurring. Instead, the majority of Madden NFL 11's injuries come from "routine" tackles where no major blow was delivered -- leaving many users scratching their heads as to what exactly caused the injury.
Rather than hit type, the three major causes of injury seem to be:
In Madden's dice roll injury system, a normal wrap-up tackle by a defender with high hit power seems to have just as much chance of causing injury as a dead-on Hit Stick tackle.
So why bother going for a Hit Stick tackle at all?
The main reason is stamina. Successfully using the Hit Stick lowers the offensive player's stamina into the yellow, orange or red danger zones (visible in the huddle) where the likelihood of injury is drastically increased.
In addition to knowing a defender's hit power rating, smart Madden coaches should also have an idea of the stamina and injury ratings involved in every Hit Stick. Otherwise, a big-hit attempt could backfire and injure the defender if he is habitually short-winded or injury-prone.
2. Pass Breakups
Another aspect of pregame preparation is knowing the opposing receivers' catch in traffic ratings.
Since receivers on a given pass play will eventually end up somewhere around the pass target -- visible as the red circle -- speedy defenders are able to sprint over to the target spot and arrive with a Hit Stick at about the same time that the ball comes into contact with the receiver.
Generally, it's those receivers with a low catch in traffic rating who are most likely to drop passes when they are stuck with a Hit Stick during a catching animation. But if the receiver happens to have a catch in traffic rating in the 80s or 90s, defenders will want to play the ball instead of the man. In other words, they should go for a deflection or strip over taking an ill-fated "body shot."
3. Fumbles
Alongside the catch in traffic ratings, an opponent's carry rating should also be studied when building a weekly scouting report.
Backs with carry ratings in the 60s or 70s are especially prone to fumbles when shook with a Hit Stick, but coaches should also make a note of low carry ratings for quarterbacks, tight ends and receivers.
While most Madden running backs generally have respectable carry ratings in the 80s or above, it's the receivers and quarterbacks who tend to be the most fumble-prone, having carry ratings in the 40s or 50s.
A Hit Stick may not the best method of bringing down a quarterback who is able to fade back in the pocket, but if the QB happens to take off upfield for a short scramble, a well placed Hit Stick is almost certain to jar the ball loose.
Madden is ultimately a game where ratings, not physics, determine the on-field results. So a Hit Stick is only as good as the hit power rating of the defender who is delivering the blow.
While it's possible to "shake the screen" with any player whose hit power rating is at least a 70, the elite hitters in Madden NFL 11 are the ones who generally cause most of the injuries and fumbles.
Because Madden only rates hit power up to 97, I have taken two points off the top of the 10-point scale and applied them to the bottom part of the curve. Here is my generated list of the game’s top hitters:
Hit Power
Utilizing Backup "Hit Men"
While many of these players are star defenders with a wide range of talents, some are merely backups or special teams players.
But Madden coaches should not overlook the importance of having an arsenal of heavy hitters at the backup linebacker and safety spots.
Because second-unit linebackers and backup safeties make up a large portion of the special teams units in Madden NFL 11, it is important to have big hitters on your special teams units who can cause turnovers and provide that one crucial extra position.
Going over the list of Madden NFL 11's hardest hitters, it is surprising to see how few defensive linemen received high hit power ratings.
While hit power is evenly spread across the linebacker and safety positions, only nine defensive linemen in Madden NFL 11 ranked in the 80s with their hit power — rookie Ndamukong Suh (95 hit power) is the only defensive lineman with a hit power rating of 90 or higher.
Madden ratings, especially measurable ones like speed and strength, often seem as if they are a science completely unto themselves that ignores any real-life data provided by NFL scouting services. No where is that more obvious than when examining the lack of hit power given to the game's defensive linemen.
Take the aforementioned Ndamukong Suh for example:
Suh recently appeared on the television program Sports Science, and while tackling a practice dummy he registered an astonishing 3,200 pounds of force.
But in Madden NFL 11, Suh’s 95 hit power ranks lower than that of Ravens Linebacker, Ray Lewis (96 hit power).
Lewis, who also has appeared on Sports Science, registered only 1,000 lbs of force during a similar tackling demonstration -- a good 2,000 pounds less than the force generated by Suh.
Suh is not the only defensive lineman to have appeared on Sports Science either. Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins participated in his own tackling demonstration in which Jenkins inflicted 1,600 pounds of force onto Sports Science host, John Brenkus. This is about half the force produced by Suh but still 60 percent more force than was measured for Ray Lewis.
Yet in the "unscientific" world of Madden ratings, Kris Jenkins' hit power barely registers, weighing in at a pathetic 66 rating. Forget about Jenkins not being able to measure up to linebackers like Ray Lewis, Jenkins' hit power cannot even measure up to a cornerback. In fact, 28 corners in Madden NFL 11 have a higher hit power rating than Kris Jenkins.
Going through the ratings position by position, it's impossible not to notice that hit power is evenly spread amongst linebackers and safeties, yet pathetically thin when it comes to the game's largest players: defensive linemen.
Middle Linebacker
Outside Linebacker
Free Safety
Strong Safety
Defensive Tackle
Defensive End
The disparity between hard-hitting linebackers and safeties is simply a function of most NFL rosters containing twice the number of the former in comparison to the latter. But with the number of defensive linemen and linebackers being generally equal across NFL rosters, there is no explanation for the massive hit power gap that exists in Madden NFL 11.
EA Tiburon may not be known for putting out football games with great physics at this point, but at the bare minimum, one would at least expect Tiburon to make a football game that respects the basic principle of force:
Looking at the Madden NFL 11 ratings, Tiburon actually has it right on one front. In the game, most defensive linemen have higher acceleration ratings than the average quarterback (Madden rates Suh at 85 acceleration, with Romo at only 80 acceleration).
What needs fixing, then, is to take the mass of defensive linemen into account, such that their force (hit power) finally measures up to the linebackers and safeties who seem to dominate Madden NFL 11's list of heavy hitters.<
For football fans trying to reconcile themselves to another "offense-heavy" version of Madden, it feels like forever -- not six years ago -- when Ray Lewis first jumped off the cover of Madden NFL 2005, sprinted through the A gap and finally showed armchair quarterbacks what it was like to "Fear the D."
Line shifts, defensive hot routes and the brand-new "Hit Stick" were some of the key features that helped distance Madden NFL 2005 from the sideline-rollouts and 70-yard streak passes of Madden NFL 2004. After all, let's not forget that Madden 04 is most-remembered for the "god status" it ascribed to cover athlete Michael Vick and his unstoppable, scramble-based offense.
But while the marketing of Madden NFL 2005 heavily emphasized the game's new defensive features, it's the balanced gameplay for which Madden NFL 2005 has become fondly remembered -- a balance that, thus far, remains nonexistent in Madden NFL 2011.
While most of Madden NFL 2005's "Fear the D" features still live on by name in Madden NFL 11, the reality is that none of them is as easy to use or as effective as they were six years ago.
Line shifts and defensive hot routes, for example, remain caught in the cobwebs of a cumbersome new Strategy Pad. And the once-feared Hit Stick? Its WWE tackling animations no longer produce a powerful "suction effect" on the ball carrier, leading to less screen-shaking hits and more whiffed tackles with defenders often glancing off running backs like a pinball colliding with a rubber bumper.
Hit Stick Now Carries Appropriate Risk
As long as the term Hit Stick has existed in verb form, Madden gamers have been effortlessly hit sticking ball carriers in the open field without much chance of a mishit.
But with Madden NFL 11's new locomotion physics, faster default game speed and removal of the Hit Stick's glitchy suction power, there is now a legitimate risk when attempting to Hit Stick an agile, elusive back in the open field -- say a Ray Rice or a Reggie Bush heading up the field after catching the ball in the flat.
Instead of being the all-purpose tackle button it has been in the past, the Hit Stick now feels like a true gamble for defenders, just as the offense’s "highlight stick" increases the risk of fumbling whenever the ball carrier tries to shimmy his way out of would-be tackles.
With whiffed open-field Hit Sticks often leading to touchdowns, this year's Madden coaches are having to think of the Hit Stick more as a cleanup tackle than a direct tackle.
In a game full of big offensive plays, it's no wonder defender Jared Allen couldn't make this year's Madden cover.
Source: gamespot.com
The Hit Stick is now something defenders should attempt when the ball carrier has already been slowed or staggered by a teammate's initial tackle. In other words, the player needs to become an easy, stationary target not unlike the wild elk hunted by Jared Allen in the offseason.
Though Dangerous, Hit Sticking Still Worthwhile
After reading the long list of risks, Madden players might be wondering why is hit sticking worth attempting over the low-risk wrap-up tackle?
1. Stamina and Injuries
Each time a tackle occurs in Madden NFL 11, there is a random "dice roll" that determines whether or not a player will walk away from the collision with an injury.
Surprisingly, the tackle type (wrap-up vs. Hit Stick) does not seem to have much impact on the odds of an injury occurring. Instead, the majority of Madden NFL 11's injuries come from "routine" tackles where no major blow was delivered -- leaving many users scratching their heads as to what exactly caused the injury.
Rather than hit type, the three major causes of injury seem to be:
- Low stamina
- Defender's "hit power"
- Each player's "injury" rating
In Madden's dice roll injury system, a normal wrap-up tackle by a defender with high hit power seems to have just as much chance of causing injury as a dead-on Hit Stick tackle.
So why bother going for a Hit Stick tackle at all?
The main reason is stamina. Successfully using the Hit Stick lowers the offensive player's stamina into the yellow, orange or red danger zones (visible in the huddle) where the likelihood of injury is drastically increased.
In addition to knowing a defender's hit power rating, smart Madden coaches should also have an idea of the stamina and injury ratings involved in every Hit Stick. Otherwise, a big-hit attempt could backfire and injure the defender if he is habitually short-winded or injury-prone.
2. Pass Breakups
Another aspect of pregame preparation is knowing the opposing receivers' catch in traffic ratings.
Since receivers on a given pass play will eventually end up somewhere around the pass target -- visible as the red circle -- speedy defenders are able to sprint over to the target spot and arrive with a Hit Stick at about the same time that the ball comes into contact with the receiver.
Generally, it's those receivers with a low catch in traffic rating who are most likely to drop passes when they are stuck with a Hit Stick during a catching animation. But if the receiver happens to have a catch in traffic rating in the 80s or 90s, defenders will want to play the ball instead of the man. In other words, they should go for a deflection or strip over taking an ill-fated "body shot."
3. Fumbles
Alongside the catch in traffic ratings, an opponent's carry rating should also be studied when building a weekly scouting report.
Backs with carry ratings in the 60s or 70s are especially prone to fumbles when shook with a Hit Stick, but coaches should also make a note of low carry ratings for quarterbacks, tight ends and receivers.
While most Madden running backs generally have respectable carry ratings in the 80s or above, it's the receivers and quarterbacks who tend to be the most fumble-prone, having carry ratings in the 40s or 50s.
A Hit Stick may not the best method of bringing down a quarterback who is able to fade back in the pocket, but if the QB happens to take off upfield for a short scramble, a well placed Hit Stick is almost certain to jar the ball loose.
Best Players to Hit Stick With
Madden is ultimately a game where ratings, not physics, determine the on-field results. So a Hit Stick is only as good as the hit power rating of the defender who is delivering the blow.
While it's possible to "shake the screen" with any player whose hit power rating is at least a 70, the elite hitters in Madden NFL 11 are the ones who generally cause most of the injuries and fumbles.
Because Madden only rates hit power up to 97, I have taken two points off the top of the 10-point scale and applied them to the bottom part of the curve. Here is my generated list of the game’s top hitters:
Hit Power
- (ARZ) Joey Porter ROLB - 95
- (ARZ) Gerald Hayes MLB - 91
- (ARZ) Adrian Wilson SS - 94
- (ATL) Curtis Lofton MLB - 90
- (BAL) Ray Lewis MLB - 96
- (BAL) Sergio Kindle LOLB - 92
- (CAR) Jon Beason MLB - 94
- (CAR) Thomas Davis LOLB - 96
- (CHI) Brian Urlacher MLB - 89
- (CHI) Julius Peppers RE - 88
- (CHI) Major Wright FS - 95
- (CHI) Chris Harris SS - 96
- (CIN) Keith Rivers ROLB - 88
- (CIN) Rey Maualuga LOLB - 97
- (CIN) Roy Williams SS - 97
- (DAL) DeMarcus Ware ROLB - 88
- (DEN) Joe Mays MLB - 89
- (DEN) D.J. Williams MLB - 95
- (DEN) Brian Dawkins FS - 88
- (DET) Ndamukong Suh DT - 95
- (DET) Zack Follett ROLB - 89
- (GB) Desmond Bishop MLB - 91
- (GB) Atari Bigby SS - 91
- (HOU) Darryl Sharpton ROLB - 93
- (HOU) Bernard Pollard SS - 92
- (HOU) Brian Cushing LOLB - 88
- (IND) Clint Session ROLB - 92
- (IND) Bob Sanders SS - 95
- (JAX) Daryl Smith LOLB - 93
- (JAX) Anthony Smith FS - 88
- (KC) Eric Berry FS - 90
- (MIA) Karlos Dansby MLB - 88
- (MIA) Channing Crowder MLB - 92
- (MIA) Reshad Jones FS - 90
- (MIA) Yeremiah Bell SS - 88
- (MIN) E.J. Henderson MLB - 92
- (MIN) Jasper Brinkley MLB - 88
- (MIN) Jamarca Sanford SS - 89
- (NE) Patrick Chung SS - 92
- (NYG) Keith Bulluck MLB - 88
- (NYG) Jonathan Goff MLB - 92
- (NYG) Chad Jones SS - 91
- (NYJ) Kenwin Cummings MLB - 88
- (NYJ) David Harris MLB - 91
- (NYJ) Bart Scott MLB - 93
- (OAK) Michael Mitchell SS - 91
- (PHI) Ernie Sims ROLB - 91
- (PHI) Akeem Jordan ROLB - 89
- (PHI) Joe Mays MLB - 89
- (PHI) Brandon Graham LE - 88
- (PIT) James Harrison ROLB - 94
- (PIT) LaMarr Woodley LOLB - 90
- (PIT) James Farrior MLB - 90
- (PIT) Thaddeus Gibson LOLB - 90
- (PIT) Troy Polamalu SS - 88
- (PIT) Ryan Clark FS - 93
- (SD) Shaun Phillips LOLB - 88
- (SD) Shawne Merriman ROLB - 97
- (SD) Brandon Siler MLB - 89
- (SD) Kevin Ellison SS - 91
- (SF) Patrick Willis MLB - 96
- (SF) Ahmad Brooks ROLB - 89
- (SF) Taylor Mays SS - 91
- (SF) Curtis Taylor FS - 88
- (SF) Michael Lewis SS - 89
- (SEA) Leroy Hill ROLB - 90
- (SEA) David Hawthorne MLB - 89
- (SEA) Kevin Ellison SS - 91
- (WAS) Brian Orakpo LOLB - 89
- (WAS) Perry Riley MLB - 90
- (WAS) LaRon Landry SS - 97
- (Free Agent) Todd Johnson SS - 93
- (Free Agent) Nick Ferguson SS - 88
Utilizing Backup "Hit Men"
While many of these players are star defenders with a wide range of talents, some are merely backups or special teams players.
But Madden coaches should not overlook the importance of having an arsenal of heavy hitters at the backup linebacker and safety spots.
Because second-unit linebackers and backup safeties make up a large portion of the special teams units in Madden NFL 11, it is important to have big hitters on your special teams units who can cause turnovers and provide that one crucial extra position.
Defensive Linemen Disrespected
Going over the list of Madden NFL 11's hardest hitters, it is surprising to see how few defensive linemen received high hit power ratings.
While hit power is evenly spread across the linebacker and safety positions, only nine defensive linemen in Madden NFL 11 ranked in the 80s with their hit power — rookie Ndamukong Suh (95 hit power) is the only defensive lineman with a hit power rating of 90 or higher.
Madden ratings, especially measurable ones like speed and strength, often seem as if they are a science completely unto themselves that ignores any real-life data provided by NFL scouting services. No where is that more obvious than when examining the lack of hit power given to the game's defensive linemen.
Take the aforementioned Ndamukong Suh for example:
Suh recently appeared on the television program Sports Science, and while tackling a practice dummy he registered an astonishing 3,200 pounds of force.
But in Madden NFL 11, Suh’s 95 hit power ranks lower than that of Ravens Linebacker, Ray Lewis (96 hit power).
Lewis, who also has appeared on Sports Science, registered only 1,000 lbs of force during a similar tackling demonstration -- a good 2,000 pounds less than the force generated by Suh.
Suh is not the only defensive lineman to have appeared on Sports Science either. Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins participated in his own tackling demonstration in which Jenkins inflicted 1,600 pounds of force onto Sports Science host, John Brenkus. This is about half the force produced by Suh but still 60 percent more force than was measured for Ray Lewis.
Yet in the "unscientific" world of Madden ratings, Kris Jenkins' hit power barely registers, weighing in at a pathetic 66 rating. Forget about Jenkins not being able to measure up to linebackers like Ray Lewis, Jenkins' hit power cannot even measure up to a cornerback. In fact, 28 corners in Madden NFL 11 have a higher hit power rating than Kris Jenkins.
Going through the ratings position by position, it's impossible not to notice that hit power is evenly spread amongst linebackers and safeties, yet pathetically thin when it comes to the game's largest players: defensive linemen.
Middle Linebacker
- 80-89 hit power: 41 players
- 90-plus hit power: 13 players
Outside Linebacker
- 80-89 hit power: 43 players
- 90-plus hit power: 14 players
Free Safety
- 80-89 hit power: 25 players
- 90-plus hit power: 4 players
Strong Safety
- 80-89 hit power: 27 players
- 90-plus hit power: 12 players
Defensive Tackle
- 80-89 hit power: 9 players
- 90-plus hit power: 1 player
Defensive End
- 80-89 hit power: 14 players
- 90-plus hit power: 0 players
The disparity between hard-hitting linebackers and safeties is simply a function of most NFL rosters containing twice the number of the former in comparison to the latter. But with the number of defensive linemen and linebackers being generally equal across NFL rosters, there is no explanation for the massive hit power gap that exists in Madden NFL 11.
EA Tiburon may not be known for putting out football games with great physics at this point, but at the bare minimum, one would at least expect Tiburon to make a football game that respects the basic principle of force:
- Force = Mass x Acceleration
Looking at the Madden NFL 11 ratings, Tiburon actually has it right on one front. In the game, most defensive linemen have higher acceleration ratings than the average quarterback (Madden rates Suh at 85 acceleration, with Romo at only 80 acceleration).
What needs fixing, then, is to take the mass of defensive linemen into account, such that their force (hit power) finally measures up to the linebackers and safeties who seem to dominate Madden NFL 11's list of heavy hitters.<
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