Should the Calvin Johnson Rule Be 'In The Game'

Feature Article

Submitted on: 01/12/2015 by Chris Sanner

Unless you live under a rock, and/or chose to boycott the NFL Playoffs this weekend -- you've probably heard about a certain incomplete pass thrown from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant. Bryant caught the pass, took three steps in lunging for the goal line and lost the handle of the football as he hit the ground -- by rule that is an incomplete pass in the NFL.

But yet, that is a rule you won't see enforced in Madden 15. Amongst various penalties which are hardly, if ever called, obscure rules like the Calvin Johnson rule are also not seen within the game. It's understandable given their highly complex nature, and no matter how EA did it they'd have an outcry from gamers in some fashion -- but one wonders if obscure rules should find their way into Madden.

Yes, people would rage quit if the exact same thing that happened to Dez happend in Madden. Yes, others would say it's not sim if you could somehow jump over the line to almost block a field goal like Kam Chancellor.

But at the end of the day, these are the things which make football so unique and so unpredictable -- and really, some realistic randomness is one of the biggest thing Madden's approach to football desperately needs to liven the experience up a bit.

Should there been more crazy things happening in Madden like what you saw this weekend? Let us know in the comments.

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Member Comments

# 1 F0rzaH @ 01/12/15 05:30 PM

I think that if we are aiming for a realistic simulation then it should be in the game.

I don't doubt that it would be an incredibly frustrating way to lose a game (luckily for me I'm a Packers fan) but it would also lend an incredible amount of tension and drama to proceedings.

I'm all for as much realism as possible.

# 2 cowboy_kmoney @ 01/12/15 05:37 PM

No I dnt like this made up rule to give a win to the home team that paided for a win. Because it's a catch all day.

# 3 adub88 @ 01/12/15 05:38 PM

I hate to be that guy, man we need some of the basic penalties to be put in the game. I still haven't see a pass interference call in M15.

# 4 Dr. Banner @ 01/12/15 05:38 PM

So tired of this story. And guess I'm the only one with eyes and clearly saw in replays he never I REPEAT HE NEVER lunged for the goal line, the pictures and replays that clearing shows him falling on his face and never extending for the goal line, he was simply falling! Why is it so hard for ppl to understand that!

# 5 fistofrage @ 01/12/15 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adub88


	I hate to be that guy, man we need some of the basic penalties to be put in the game. I still haven't see a pass interference call in M15.

No, we all need to be that guy. Let's see pass interference and a realistic amount of holding calls before we clamor for EA to put something else in the game that will be inevitably be broken or break something else that is working.

# 6 pjburrage @ 01/12/15 05:48 PM

Problem with games adding the variety we see at stadiums, arenas and on TV, is that if it causes incidents like Bryant yesterday the upshot will be that it will cause a confirmation bias, in human players seeing it happen too much at their expense in their own minds. This would cause all sort of worries for the gameplay designers in getting the tuning of such events fair.

In the perfect world this and the addition of more penalties/rulings would be great for the immersion of the game.

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# 7 adub88 @ 01/12/15 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fistofrage


	No, we all need to be that guy. Let's see pass interference and a realistic amount of holding calls before we clamor for EA to put something else in the game that will be inevitably be broken or break something else that is working.

I'd say it'd be a huge disappointment if M16 drops and we don't have these basic penalties, but would it really be??? People are still going to buy it and that's the tough part.

# 8 cjallure24 @ 01/12/15 06:00 PM

Should it be in the game, yes. If this product is going to be a representation of the NFL, then it should be in the game. Now do I have faith they EA can properly represent this rule? well, we all know the answer to that.

# 9 scottyp180 @ 01/12/15 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adub88


	I hate to be that guy, man we need some of the basic penalties to be put in the game. I still haven't see a pass interference call in M15.

I came here to be that guy. We can't worry about rules and calls that rarely occur until we get basic calls in the game. The NFL has become a penalty heavy league and this should be reflected, to an extent, in Madden.

I don't want penalties dictating my madden games; however I also don't want games to be decided by penalties that should be called.

Also a couple weeks ago me n my buddy were playing a game in madden and I saw my first ever offensive pass interference called. I had no idea they were in the game. Me and my friend were shocked. Not only have I never seen a PI call in madden, I never even imagine offense PI would be called. I also have no idea why it was called because I didn't see anything out of tje ordinary in the play.

# 10 elgreazy1 @ 01/12/15 06:06 PM

Wait, is this topic serious? The Madden franchise can't even implement proper penalty calls let alone match the Challenge system found in APF2K8.

# 11 scottyp180 @ 01/12/15 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy_kmoney


	No I dnt like this made up rule to give a win to the home team that paided for a win. Because it's a catch all day.

It's not a "made up rule". It is how the rule is written. The second I saw the ball pop out my mind went to the Calvin Johnson no-catch call from a few years ago. It is a crap rule and needs to be re-written but unfortunately for the Cowboys the league did nothing to fix the issue after the Calvin Johnson incident and now the rule is under scrutiny yet again after showing its ugly face in the playoffs. Hopefully the league actually looks into the rule this time instead of ignoring the issue.

The NFL and referees have a lot to go over this off-season. Bad calls have been an on going problem in the playoffs and inconsistent offciating had been a theme all season. The league needs to rewrite rules and make sure refs understand what they are calling because I am sick of lookong back at games and wondering if the officials effected the outcomes.

# 12 BA2929 @ 01/12/15 06:13 PM

I'll get this back on track so it doesn't become a complaint thread:

How could they even begin to put this in the game where it didn't feel completely random and forced?

It happens so rarely where this call actually affects the outcome of a game that the last instance people can remember off-hand is Megatron "dropping" that pass back in 2010.

Can EA put in something that affects a game once every 4-5 years?

I know you guys think "if it happens in real life, it should happen in the game", but let's be realistic. I've watched every single Chiefs game since 2008 and I can't remember this rule ever coming into play. Does it really need to be IN the game for Madden to be an accurate representation of the NFL?

# 13 Lisac @ 01/12/15 06:16 PM

My answer is a BIG no! We can't even get penalties that work or challenges that work. Let's get those things right in the game 1st than maybe I'll change my mind.

# 14 braves_94 @ 01/12/15 06:45 PM

I beg to differ. Once in a block kick attempt, one of my guys got blocked in the back and knocked completely over the offensive line doing a back-flip, but he landed directly on his neck and it wasn't as graceful as Kam's.

# 15 scottyp180 @ 01/12/15 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA2929


	I'll get this back on track so it doesn't become a complaint thread: How could they even begin to put this in the game where it didn't feel completely random and forced? It happens so rarely where this call actually affects the outcome of a game that the last instance people can remember off-hand is Megatron "dropping" that pass back in 2010. Can EA put in something that affects a game once every 4-5 years? I know you guys think "if it happens in real life, it should happen in the game", but let's be realistic. I've watched every single Chiefs game since 2008 and I can't remember this rule ever coming into play. Does it really need to be IN the game for Madden to be an accurate representation of the NFL?

If you think about it this is already somewhat in the game its called complete and incomplete passes. If a player makes a catch the games recongizes the play as a catch, if the player does not catch the ball it is called incomplete. They could add animations or physics so that the ball can be dropped or knocked loose upon making contact with the ground, again this might already be in the game, but I don't want it to get to the point where I need to question whether ot not madden refs screw, although it akready happens.

I think it is more important for madden to get penalties and challenges correct. Penalties are nearly non-existent and you can only challenge if and when the game let's you. There have been plenty of times where I want to challenge a call and the game simply does not allow me to.

# 16 snc237 @ 01/12/15 07:34 PM

I would love to see more penalties in madden. Maybe have them turned off for online play so somebody doesn't get a fluke win however it would be nice to see vs a friend or cpu to add that relism to the game.

# 17 rudeworld @ 01/12/15 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by young6s


	Madden is a joke. It really is unbelievable to think that 2k put out a better quality game 10 years ago than EA has in its whole existence. The exclusive deal ruined sports gaming.

It would be difficult to add something like this into madden, without people complaining about it happening too many times. Also that play in yesterdays game (as well as the Calvin Johnson play)is a judgement call. When I saw the play I thought Dez Bryant made a football move when he lundged to the goal line which should have resulted in a spectacular catch, dive, fumble at 1/2 yard line and a recovery in the end zone.....

Should it be in the game? Yes.... Does "its in the game" even matters anymore? Which brings me to even if the play was in the game.... Would the correct challenge be in the list of challenges available to pick from??...

# 18 jyoung @ 01/12/15 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudeworld


	It would be difficult to add something like this into madden, without people complaining about it happening too many times.

All they'd have to do is give these kind of events an appropriate probability of occurring.

All-Pro Football 2K8 had bobbled snaps, dropped hand-offs, blocked kicks, and bad snaps flying way overhead. Plus in bad weather, there would be plays where the athletes just slipped and fell down. But those things happened so rarely in APF 2K8 that they were just cool and interesting when they occurred, not frustrating.

A little randomness, even if the random event punishes the player, can go a long way towards making a sports game feel more tense and exciting.

# 19 NINJAK2 @ 01/12/15 08:56 PM

I echo everyone else here. Madden needs to get penalties integrated in a realistic manner 1st before they worry about adding something like this. DB/WR interactions need to be a focal point so that it is atleast on the level of 2k5. Most of these penalties aren't even called and if they are sometimes there is zero visual cue of them such as DPI,OPI, etc. I remember Madden made a big deal about putting in the David Tyree helmet catch and adding it to the game the following year because that was the in thing at the time. this is not important enough imo.

# 20 timhere1970 @ 01/12/15 09:14 PM

No need for it. It would only be an animation as passes are already complete or incomplete. No need to add an animation that happens less than once a year. So many more important things ard crying for attention

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