Alright Boyz!! Madden 07 impressions thread!!!

[MizzouRah]

If they don't come out with a patch, I'm not so sure I can get into a dynasty.

For some reason, I am liking the game a lot though. TIFWIW - but I don't care that it's stripped down, it's fun to play.. but it needs fatigue to work in order for me to start a franchise. I hate running a long run with Jackson and then still having the stamina to run like a madman on the next play.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

If they don't come out with a patch, I'm not so sure I can get into a dynasty.

For some reason, I am liking the game a lot though. TIFWIW - but I don't care that it's stripped down, it's fun to play.. but it needs fatigue to work in order for me to start a franchise. I hate running a long run with Jackson and then still having the stamina to run like a madman on the next play.

Yeah, I see no way that I can get into a serious franchise until Fatigue is patched.

[Raiders Army]

ditto. I'm just practicing my drills and preseason games right now.

[Raiders Army]

Man, I just played this guy and it was a pretty good game. I went up 14-0 in the 1st quarter and then he came back to make it 14-14. I then scored a touchdown and then intercepted him and ran it back to make it 28-14. He scored and then returned a fumble to tie it up at 28. At the half it was tied. He scored on his first possession and then kicked a field goal to go up 38-28. I then scored two more touchdowns with 3:13 to go in the 4th quarter to go up on him 42-38.

He then went for it on fourth down with 2:30 at his 10 yard line. I stopped him, scored again to go up 49-38. He drives and there are 6 seconds left and he disconnects. Jeez. It's not like he was going to score, get the 2 pt conversion, recover the onsides kick and then kick a field goal in 6 seconds. I mean, if he was going to disconnect why wait until then?

Other than that, it was a great game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ok, since the fatigue patch isn't out. I'm definitely going to start a 3 year test dynasty. I'm going to look at stats for the leaders and the mean in multiple categories. I'm also going to try to work over the trade AI to help my Eagles in trouble areas. Also, I'll track big FA signings as well as draft AI. I'll try to look at the top 3 needs, as determined by the roster strength screens via position (which is a nice addition that I don't remember being in previous versions) and see if teams draft for need.

Oh yeah, Football Forever, has posted a work around that seems like it might help a bit with Fatigue, but unfortunately, early results are that it doesn't come close to completely fixing the problem. Hopefully, the patch comes out soon (and if it doesn't come out at all for any reason, I swear to myself that I'll never buy another Madden game unless it gets positively glowing reviews from many people that I trust...)

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm definitely going to start a 3 year test dynasty. I'm going to look at stats for the leaders and the mean in multiple categories.

Is the injury slider in the 360 version? If so, I strongly suggest you to max it out (for simmed games, obviously). That should help with stats.

[AgustusM]

I wish I never bought a 360 - complete waste of money. I only play sports games and they all are better/more complete on the OLD systems.

I am absolutely blown away that Microsoft is signing off on these half done EA games - I will be very wary of ever buying another Microsoft console.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ok, WR is clearly a need. I'm going to try my hardest to get Steve Smith at the cheapest price possible as he is young, he is a 97 rated WR, and I think he could be a huge upgrade to our WR core.

Darnerien McCants isn't going to get much better, so I'll try to package him along with a 3rd rounder to see if I can fleece the AI.

Unfortunately, I can only offer picks from this upcoming draft.

The Panther's reject that offer.


I up it to a 2nd round pick along with McCants...

The 2nd round pick is rated as a D+ by the trade engine. McCants is rated an F. Steve Smith is rated an A. The trade is rejected.


I offer a 1st round pick which interestingly is rated only a C+. I wonder if a team more likely to finish in the bottom 10 of the league would get a higher grade for their pick.. Anyway, the Panthers reject this trade as well.


Since the game allows a max of 3 for 1, I offer McCants, the 3rd round pick and the 1st round pick for Smith. 3rd round pick is rated an F in value. The Panthers reject the trade.


Now, I offer the 2nd pick (still rated D+) along with the 1st round pick and McCants for Smith. That is also rejected. It looks like I'm going to have to offer a better player if I want Smith. So far, so good.


I try offering Jabar Gaffney who is rated 79. He is also an "F" in the trade evaluation, however, the Panthers agree to take Gaffney, my 1st and my 2nd round pick for the 97 rated Steve Smith.


Josh Parry just isn't going to cut it either. Let's see if I can pull off any unfair 1:1 trades..

I try trading Parry for Bryan Johnson a FB who is 2 years older, but 12 points higher rated (Parry is 74), but that is rejected.

The Bears also reject a 1:1 trade for the 77 rated backup Jason McKie.


The Bucs refuse to take Parry for Alstott who is much older, but much better rated.

I also have several other trades rejected where the FB is only 2 or 3 points better.

It looks like I will have to give up another draft pick if I want to upgrade the position.


I decide to go after Justin Griffith of the Falcons. He is rated 92 and is only a 3rd year player. Of course, the Falcons reject the straight up trade. Griffith is a "C" in the trade engine while Parry is an "F."


They reject Parry and a 3rd for Griffith.

They'll accept a 3rd and a 4th (also rated "F") along with Parry for Griffith. So, maybe the trade engine doesn't handle 3 for 1 well, but from these limited attempts I've made it does decently well with 1:1 or even 2:1 trades..



Edited to add: I tried to add the Texan's first round pick to a trade just to see what it is valued at, and it is rated a B+. The different value for anticipated 1st round picks is a VERY nice addition to the trade engine..

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Emiliano

Is the injury slider in the 360 version? If so, I strongly suggest you to max it out (for simmed games, obviously). That should help with stats.

Unfortunately, I do not see the injury slider on the 360 version. About to start the season now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Since, there is no injury slider, it is worth looking at injuries at the necessary default level:


Week 1 sees Sammy Davis, SF CB, go down for the season with a foot fracture (apparently severe.)

Also, Zach Piller, LG Titans, goes down for the season with a torn ACL.

Finally, Levin Barry, RT Packers, goes down with one of the worst bruised thighs I've ever seen. He is out for the season.



Other big injuries in week 1:

Dallas Clark, TE Colts, Foot fracture, 9 weeks.

Cedrick Wilson, WR Steelers, Broken Ribs, 9 weeks.

Cosey Coleman, RG Browns, High ankle sprain, 8 weeks.

Aaron Stecker, HB Saints, Broken Hand, 8 weeks.

Austin King, C Falcons, 8roken Tailbone, 8 weeks.

Kwame Harris, SF RT, Foot Stress Fracture, 7 weeks.

C.J. Brooks, LG Dolphons, Strained Knee, 7 weeks.

Laveranues Coles, WR Jets, Strained Back, 6 weeks.

Drew Strojny, LT Rams, Forearm Fracture, 6 weeks.

Ebenezer Ekuban, LE Broncos, Broken Tibia, 6 weeks.

Mack Strong, FB Seahaws, Strained Back, 5 weeks.

Dennis Northcutt, WR Browns, Strained Back, 5 weeks.

Kory Chapman, HB Colts, Broken Ankle, 5 weeks.

Kevin Shaffer, LT Browns, Broken Collarbone, 5 weeks.


Chartric Darby, DT Seahawks, Broken Ribs, 5 weeks.

Santana Moss, WR Redskins, Broken Collarbone, 5 weeks.


There are 8 guys out for 4 weeks.

Another 10 that are out for 2 or 3 weeks and 8 out for a week.

Also about a half dozen that are probable.



Not bad, certainly better than in past iterations. I'll check again around week 4, 8, 12, and the end of the season.

[Eaglesfan27]

In week 2, Marvin Harrison went out for the season with a torn ACL. Glad I didn't get him like I was considering doing. Ahman Green also went out in week 2 for the season with a "Severe Concussion."

After week 4, I have Michael Lewis and Dawkins as my two questionable guys with injuries and Lewis mixed week 3.


The rest of the league is getting much more banged up:


Besides the aforementioned injuries:

RT Fred Miller out for the season with a torn PCL.

CB Corey Ivy out for the season with a dislocated hip.

SS Michael Boulware out for the season with a severe concussion.

LT Matt Light out for the season with a torn hamstring.


SS Pierson Prioleau is out for 10 weeks with a broken tailbone.

LE Aaron Kampman is out for 10 weeks with a foot stress fracture.

Trent Dilfer (who was starting for the 49ers) is out 9 weeks with Broken Ribs.

FS Madieu Williams is out 8 weeks with a partially torn triceps.

RT Mark Tauscher is out 8 weeks with an arm fracture.


22 guys are out for 3-7 weeks including Deuce McAllister who has a strained knee.


14 guys out for 1-2 weeks including Jon Kitna who is recovering from a hammy.

12 guys either questionable or probable.

[Eaglesfan27]

At midway, we are 5-3.


The injuries continue to mount for other teams. We've either been lucky or..


At week 8, we have the following additions to the injury list:

C Trey Teague is out for the season.

CB Jason Webster is out for the season.

LT Leonard Davis is out for the season with a dislocated elbow.

WR Tab Perry is out for 9 weeks.

WR Troy Walters is out for 9 weeks.

OLB Lance Briggs is out for 9 weeks.

TE Charles Davis is out for 9 weeks.

LT Travelle Wharton is out for 8 weeks.

Reggie Wayne is out for 8 weeks with a broken jaw.

12 guys out between 3 and 7 weeks. None of them are HB's.

14 guys out for between 1 and 2 weeks including Big Ben who is out 2 more weeks with a broken jaw. Phillip Rivers will also miss at least 1 more week.

12 guys are questionable or probable including Larry Johnson.




At week 12:

We are 7-4 after the Colts just beat us 13-12.

McNabb strained his shouilder during this game and will miss 2 weeks.



New Additions to the injury list:


WR Bernard Berrian is out for the season with a torn rotator cuff.

WR Drew Bennett is out for the season with a foot fracture.

LT Like Petitgout is out for the remainder of the season with a broken collarbone.

Rex Grossman is out 8 weeks with broken ribs.


12 guys out for 4 to 8 weeks including Alex Smith with a strained back (4 more weeks.)

17 guys out 1 to 3 weeks.


13 guys that are questionable or probable including Drew Bledsoe with a bruised shoulder.

[Eaglesfan27]

Due to multiple QB injuries, the 49ers signed Craig Krenzel is week 13.


No CPU-CPU trades at all.


I have 4 guys with injuries ranging in 1-3 weeks at the end of the season.



Here is a look at newcomers to the out for the season list:

SS Kevin Mccadam

WR Lee Evans (torn ACL)

RG Jermane Mayberry (broken leg)

RT Mike Williams (severe concussion)


RG Eric Heitmann (Broken Elbow)

RT Vernon Carey (Broken Vertebrae)

RT Kelly Butler (Broken Vertebrae)

LG Pete Kendall (Dislocated Wrist)

LG Kyle Kosier (Dislocated Elbow)

OLB Ryan Nece (Torn knee cartilage)

FS Daniel Bullocks (Torn ACL)

WR Mark Jones is out for 8 weeks.

QB Trent Green is out for 7 weeks.

RT Jordan Gross is out for 7 weeks.

8 other guys out for 4-7 weeks.


18 guys out for 1-3 weeks including Shaun Alexander.


3 doubtfuls, 8 questionables, and 4 probables.




The Standings at the end of the year:


NFC East:

1. Giants 12-4
2. Eagles 10-6
3. Cowboys 7-9
4. Redskins 7-9


NFC West:

1. Seahawks 10-6
2. Rams 9-7
3. Cardinals 5-11
4. 49ers 3-13


NFC South:

1. Panthers 9-7
2. Bucs 9-7
3. Saints 7-9
4. Falcons 6-10

NFC North:

1. Lions 10-6
2. Vikings 10-6
3. Packers 7-9
4. Bears 7-9


AFC West:

1. Chargers 12-4
2. Broncos 9-7
3. Raiders 8-8
4. Chiefs 5-11


AFC East:

1. Bills 8-8
2. Jets 8-8
3. Dolphins 7-9
4. Patriots 7-9


AFC South:

1. Colts 11-5
2. Titans 8-8
3. Jags 7-9
4. Texans 5-11



AFC North:

1. Steelers 12-4
2. Ravens 7-9
3. Bengals 7-9
4. Browns 7-9

[Eaglesfan27]

Top 10 QB's by Passer Rating:


1. Drew Brees 114.2, 3583 yards, 33 TD's, 2 INT's, 271 of 425 (63%).

2. Peyton Manning 110.1, 4033 yards, 34 TD's, 5 INT's, 323 of 490 (65%)

3. Philip Rivers, 107.3, 3083 yards, 28 TD's, 4 INT's, 215 of 365 (58%)

4. Tom Brady, 105.1, 4245 yards, 41 TD's, 10 INT's, 329 of 530 (62%)

5. Carson Palmer, 103.4, 3139 yards, 29 TD's 7 INT's, 240 of 393 (61%)

6. Trent Green, 101.3, 2978 yards, 25 TD's, 6 INT's, 236 of 382 (61%)

7. Brad Johnson 100.0, 3569 yards, 27 TD's, 5 INT's, 263 of 446 (58%)

8. J.P Losman, 97.4, 3164 yards, 26 TD's, 3 INT's, 248 of 433 (57%)

9. Matt Hasselbeck, 96.2, 3454 yards, 25 TD's, 7 INT's, 265 of 445 (59%)

10. Jake Plummer, 96.0, 3319 yards, 24 TD's 6 INT's, 253 of 430 (58%)


Mean: Brett Favre, 88.3, 3170 yards, 28 TD's, 12 INT's, 270 of 464 (58%)


Intererceptions seem too low as a group.


Aaron Brooks threw the most interceptions among all QB's with 15. Steve McNair was 2nd with 13 and Mark Bulger was 3rd with 12. Culpepper also threw 12, and everyone else threw 10 or less.


Yardage looks good with Brady leading the league with 4,245 yards. Most of the QB's have under 3500 yards on the season.

Michael Vick had the least among QB's who started every game with 2,911 yards. He also threw 22 TD's 7 INT's, and completed 54% of his passes (248 of 458)

Completion Percentage looks good. Only 6 QB's above 60. Most around 57-59. The bottom half around 54-56. Chris Simms is the lowest among starters with 52%.


Attempts looks good too. Bulger is highest in the league with 543 passes thrown.

Interceptions are the only thing really off with passing and that won't bother me too much.

[jbmagic]

do you know if the fatigue bug is happening in sims games too? Is the backup RB getting playing time in sim games?

[Eaglesfan27]

Rushing:

Tiki Barber sets a record with 2,114 yards on 366 attempts in the season.

He is the only back with over 2000 yards but L.T. just missed it with 1994 yards on 363 carries.


1. Tiki Barber 366-2114-22.

2. L.T. 363-1994-9.

3. Edge James 334-1884-14.

4. Clinton Portis 333-1831-10.

5. Warrick Dunn 359-1726-8.

6. Domanick Davis 347-1616-12.

7. Curtis Martin 346-1612-9.

8. Julius Jones 293-1379-10.

9. Ronnie Brown 321-1375-8.

10. Reuben Droughns 306-1369-6.


The top tier of backs seem to get a few too many carries and a bit too many yards, but not too bad.


The Mean Among Starting Backs:


Fred Taylor 232-1079-8.


22 backs with over a thousand yards. 3 backs with over 350 carries. 10 with over 300.


Avg per carry:

1. Barber 5.7

2. L.T. 5.7

3. Edge 5.6

4. Portis 5.4

5. Larry Johnson 5.2

6. Reggie Bush 5.0 (He had 175 carries for 886 yards with 2 rushing TD's. He also had 38 catches for 356 yards and 2 receiving TD's. One nice feature of the game is improved stat tracking and I can see that he has improved several attributes. He also has had better games as the year went along. From reviewing the Game by game stats that are available, I can see he had his best game against the Giants in week 15 when he had 14 carries for 127 yards. He also returned one kick for a TD.


7. Willie Parker 4.8

8. Shaun Alexander 4.8

9. Westbrook 4.8

10 Carnell Williams 4.8


28 backs had at least a 4.0 avg. Najeh Davenport was the worst among starting HB's with a 3.1 avg.



Receivers (By receptions)

1. Deion Branch 101-1799-17.

2. Torry Holt 86-1478-12.

3. Darrell Jackson 82-1384-10.

4. Brandon Stokley 81-1297-12

5. Joe Horn 80-1425-19.

6. Chad Johnson 79-1315-13.

7. Eddie Kennison 77-1071-8.

8. Joe Jurevicius 76-1060-6.

9. Antonio Bryant 75-1131-5

10. Chris Chambers 75-1323-5.


Briefly looking at them, receiving numbers look good although Horn's TD total is surprisingly high.

Horn and Branch are the only WR's with at least 15 TD's.

Best up is Chad Johnson with 13 and then T.O with 12 (along with quite a few other receivers.)


YAC looks good with L.T. leading the league with 528. Branch is 2nd with 471. Warrick Dunn is 3rd with 430.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

do you know if the fatigue bug is happening in sims games too? Is the backup RB getting playing time in sim games?

It would appear some teams are definitely using their backups. I didn't see that many HB injuries, yet plenty of HB's have carries. Only a few backs (9 to be specific) have above 20 carries/game and none averaged more than 25 per game.


I bet if I wanted to edit each coach's profiles I could get more backup HB usage, but I'm reasonably happy with the sim stats so far except for QB's interceptions thrown being too low (but I can live with that once the fatigue bug is patched.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, EA might have taken a novel approach to solving the pancake problem in the game engine...


Simulated pancakes are quite high:

1. Langston Walker - 98 pancakes.

2. Kareem McKenzie - 95

3. Jon Jansen - 94

4. Jon Runyan - 94

5. Anthony Clement - 91

6. Zach Wiegert - 86.

7.Oliver Ross - 85

8. Todd Weiner 80

9. Max Starts 79

10. Shane Olivea 77.

Each of these "top" linemen allowed between 5-10 sacks on the year.



Marcus Johnson, the young RT of the Vikings, allowed 18 sacks which is the most in the league.



10 Leading Tacklers:


1. Earl Holmes, DET, 122
2. Randall Godfrey, SD, 120
3. Will Witherspoon, STL, 119
4. Brandon Chillar, STL, 117
5. Nick Barnett, GB, 117
6. Anthony Simmons, NO, 116
7. Ed Hartwell, ATL, 116
8. David Pollack, CIN, 115
9. Ray Lewis, BAL, 113
10. London Fletcher, Buf, 112


39 guys with at least 100 tackles.



Leonard Little lead the league with 12 tackles for a loss.



Sacks:

1. Dewayne White, TB, 14
1. Aaron Schobel, Buf, 14
3. Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ten, 12
3. John Engelberger, DEn, 12

7 tied with 11 including Simeon Rice and Leonard Little.


Ian Gold, ROLB, Denver had 14 interceptions.

4 guys were tied with 8 including Ty Law who signed with Seattle.

16 guys were tied with 6.

A bunch of guys with 1-4 interceptions (about 10 with 4)

Defensive Interception numbers look good (except for the odd 14 interceptions from a LB.)



Top 5 Kickers:


1. Jeff Wilkins 35-39 FG's (89%)

2. Josh Brown 34-39-87%

3. David Akers 40-46-86%

4. Josh Scobee 29-34-85

5. Joe Nedney 27-32-84.



Time to advance into post season and off season.

[jbmagic]

Don't worry about pancakes. It doesnt affect progression anymore.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the Wildcard Week:

Colts over Jets 35-23.

Eagles over Lions 34-19.

Broncos over Bills 27-7.

Panthers over Vikings 48-31.



Divisional Playoffs:


Steelers over Broncos 24-21.

Giants over Panthers 31-26.

Chargers over Colts 30-27

Eagles over Seahawks 38-35.


Championship Week:

Steelers over Chargers 34-17

Giants over Eagles 27-10.



Giants beat the Steelers in the SB 35-15.



Ok, I quickly imported an NCAA class, not to keep them but to see if the aging is a problem. My NCAA players all imported fine and appear to be the correct ages.


About 40 players retired including Brad Johnson, Marshall Faulk, and Junior Seau.


Good news. The stupid green bar telling you if a guy will accept a deal is gone. I tried to low ball William Thomas on his new deal and he wouldn't bite and there was no stupid bar to tell me what figure he would take. I wonder if I can piss them off enough to break off negotiations. I'll try it with a less important player (can't piss off my stars even in a test league.)


Unfortunately, they don't ever seem to actually break off negotiations (despite threatening to do so.) I wonder if that hurt my team rep at all though. I'll keep an eye on that next year. I lowballed Shawn Barbers and increased the offer by 10,000 for 10 times before I finally ended negotiations (hoping to find a better LB in FA.)


Most of the best FA's were re-signed by their old teams. The best rated FA in the pool is 10 year vet Mike Minter who is rated 89. The next best is WR Kevin Curtis who is rated 85.

Shawn Barber ends up being the best OLB available in FA.

It should be really interesting to see if he signs with me or another team.

Barber didn't get any other offers in 3 days and he re-signed with my team.


FA doesn't seem too much harder to negotiate, but the AI seems to be doing a better job of keeping good players under contract at least in this 1st off season.


Once, I'm done advancing through the FA in a minute, I'll analyze what I think each teams draft needs are as based upon the roster strength screen for each team.

[Eaglesfan27]

NFC EAST:

Eagles - OLB is the #1 need based on this rating screen. WR is the #2 need and DT is the #3 need.

Giants - CB is the #1 need. OLB is #2 need and DT is #3 need.

Cowboys - C is the #1 need. DT is the #2 need. FS is the #3 need. QB is a close 4th.


Redskins: TE is a #1 need. QB is the #2 need. P is the #3 need. DE is also a significant area that could improve.




NFC West:

1. Seahawks - FB is a need. FS is the #2 need. Guard is the #3 need.

2. SF - QB is a need (Alex Smith isn't rated well), HB is a top need, WR is a top need. Most defensive positions are a big need..

3. Arizona - C is a big need. G is an important need. OLB is a huge need. CB and FS are also big needs.


4. Rams - TE is a need. C is a big need. FS is a very big need.


NFC South:

1. Carolina - WR is #1 need. TE is #2 need. S is the 3rd need.

2. Atlanta - WR is #1 need. FS is a close #2 need. OLB isn't a big need, but it is the 3rd worst rated area.


3. TB - T is a need. WR is the #2 need. Several areas that might be #3. QB, FB, G.

4. NO - DT is the #1 need. T is the #2 need. Most of the Defense ties for #3, but MLB is a bit higher than other areas.


NFC North (will focus on AFC in next year's draft.)

1. Vikings - QB is a huge need with Johnson's retirement. OLB is a need. DE is a need.


2. Chicago - WR is a big need. TE is a big need. K is a need.

3. Lions - T is a big need. FS is a need. QB is a need.


4. GB - HB is a need. C is a big need. G is a need. WR is also a need among quite a few others.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ok, the draft board with Mel's picture looks kind of neat. However, with the default draft class (not NCAA) Mel's top 5 projected picks are all DE's!

Actually, his top 10 projected picks are all DE's!!!


#12 projected pick is a HB.

In fact, Mel projects 18 DE's to go in the 1st round on his board. Let's see what actually happens..



SF with the 1stpick takes a DE who runs a 4.71 and was projected (along with 9 other DE's) to be a #1 pick.


Arizona takes the top rated OLB with their #2 pick overall. They get a guy who runs a 4.38 and has the hands of a "Derrick Brooks" according to Mel.


KC with the 3rd pick takes a big DE who runs a 4.68 and has 38 reps on the bench.

Houston with the 4th pick takes a smallish DE who only has 19 reps but runs a 4.35 in the 40.


5. Atlanta takes the best FS available from USC. He runs a 4.58 and has great hands according to my scout. They pass on a slew of DE's that Mel rates higher...


6. Cleveland takes a DE.

7. Cin takes a DE.

8. Baltimore takes a DE.

9. Jacksonville takes a DE.

10. Chicago takes a DE.

11. Pats take another one of the super 10 DE's.


12. G B gets the best QB in the draft. Apparently, they weren't a fan of Rodgers. Our scout says that he has a fumbling problem, but has good arm strength and is never rattled by pressure. Very good at playing through minor injuries.


13. The Redskins give up the 13th pick for the jets 1-21 and 3-21 pick. So, CPU-CPU trades do occur at draft time at least. The Jets take the last of the super DE's that populated this first round (they all run sub 4.7 or close to it.)

14. Dallas gets the best HB in the draft. He runs a 4.37 in the 40 and is a very quick small back.

15. New Orleans continues the run on DE's.

16. Despite having Ronnie Brown, the Dolphins take the 2nd best HB available here. He does look like a beast and he is probably quicker than Brown with a 4.44 in the 40.

17. Oakland takes a DE.

18. Tennessee takes another of the DE's.

19. Rams take yet another DE.

20. TB takes a DE. (I need a macro or something)

21. Washington takes a HB despite that being a reasonably strong area.

22. Vikings take a HB which is also a need, but a QB worth a 1st rounder was available according to my scouts.

23. Buffalo gets a good OLB.

24. The Lions should probably take that QB. Instead they get the best tackle available. At least that was a key need.

25. Denver gets a DE.

26. Carolina (with my pick) takes a DE. They pass on a borderline WR who might be a 1st round pick.

27. Seattle takes the best QB available.

28. The Colts add a HB in the 1st round.

29. The Panthers get the WR with their own pick in the 1st round. That was kind of cool.

30. The Chargers use a 1st round pick to get a QB to backup Rivers..

31. The Steelers pick up an OLB.

32. The Giants apparently needed a backup for Eli as they take a probable 2nd round talent QB at the end of the 1st round. (HE is a great scrambler though.)

[Eaglesfan27]

2-1. SF takes a FS.

2-2 Arizona takes a HB.


2-3 KC gets a HB to backup Larry.


2-4 Houston adds a CB.

2-5. Atlanta takes a DE.

2-6 Cleveland takes an OLB.

2-7 Cincinatti takes a HB.

2-8 Ravens get a CB.


2-9 Jaguars get a CB.

2-10 The Bears take a OLB.

2-11. The Patriots get a CB has excellent speed.

2-12. Packers get a HB from USC.

2-13 Washington gets a CB.

2-14. Cowboys get a CB.

2-15. The Saints take the Best G in the draft (who was projected as a 2nd round pick.)

2-16 The Dolphins take the next best RG who wasn't projected to go until the 3rd round.

2-17 The Raiders take a HB from Florida who is supposed to be a great 3rd down back.

2-18 Tennessee takes a CB.

2-19 The Rams take a CB.

2-20. TB takes the best QB available still.

2-21. The Jets take a CB.

2-22. The Vikings gets a DE here.

2-23. The Bills add another HB to the mix.

2-24. Detroit takes a corner back.

2-25. Denver takes a HB who was at the top of Mel's board at this point.

2-26. Carolina adds an OLB with this pick (from me still.)

2-27. Seattle takes a guard.

2-28. The Colts take a DE.

2-29. The Panthers take a RG.


2-30. The Chargers take an OLB.


2-31 The Steelers take a FS.


2-32. Sheesh. The Giants take ANOTHER QB. Why do EA programmers think the Giants need to waste so many picks on QB's? This sometimes happened in Head Coach as well.. Furthermore, this QB was projected by Mel to be undrafted. This is the 1st huge reach I've seen. Why?


Also, the clumping of talent at positions is terrible. From this draft, the AI of the draft appears to be a big let down.


Edit: But, I'll try another draft either tonight or later tomorrow to see if the talent dispersion/draft picking is any better.

[Eaglesfan27]

One good thing (I think?) is that with my 5th-7th round picks, I got garbage except for a good punter that I took with the 6th round pick.


I got a D+ for my draft grade. Every other team got a B- or better.


Here is a look at how teams filled holes:

1. Bears - Never took a WR. Never took a TE. Never took a Kicker.

They took a DE, OLB, LT, OLB, SS, C, and RT.


2. Lions - Got their T in the 1st round. Never took a FS or QB. They took a RT, CB, FB, CB, C, RT, and WR.


3. Packers - They took a QB, HB, LT, MLB, SS, FS, and WR.


4. Vikings - Never got a QB and will probably have the worst starting QB in the league this year. They took a HB, DE, OLB, LG, RG, WR, and DT.


NFC South:

Bucs: Got a QB, two WR's, and a T which was also needed. Took a DE, QB, RT, MLB, WR, WR, and FS.


Falcons: FS was a big need, but surprised they took 2. However, it was a big need. They still got a WR too, albeit late (which is where the majority of WR's went.)

They took: FS, DE, TE, OLB, FS, OLB, LT, WR, RT.


Panthers: Never got their WR. They did take a Tackle, but it was in the 7th round. They took a DE, HB, OLB, RG, TE, K, CB, MLB, and LT.


Saints: They took a RE, RG, SS, LG, SS, RT, and WR. They really needed a DT and didn't take any.


NFC West:


1. Cardinals took a OLB, HB, TE, CB, TE, DT, and C. Center was a big need, but not sure how good their 7th rounder will be.

2. 49ers took a DE, FS, F, ROLB, WR (higher than most teams), TE, and another WR. Lack of a HB was big, but maybe Gore will develop.

3. Rams took a DE, CB, C (which was a key need), CB, P, TE (another need), and WR.

4. Seahawks inexplicably took a QB. Then they took a LT, SS, OLB, LG, MLB, and another MLB.


NFC East:

1. Cowboys took a HB, CB, OLB, LG, OLB, DT, and WR.

2. We took a WR (5th roundP), P, and C.

3. The Giants took a QB, QB, HB, MLB, P, WR, and LT.

4. Redskins took a HB, CB, OLB, LT, OLB, RG, C, and LG.

Very few teams drafted for need (at least how I identified need.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Sigh -

I just found my first thing that might really turn me off to a serious franchise (assuming fatigue is patched.) I'm at the beginning of the Pre-Season in 2007 and ALL of the FA's appear to have disappeared. If they weren't signed to some team in FA of 2006 they appear to have disappeared.. Hopefully they will reappear soon, but I was planning on signing a 3rd QB at this point since I didn't see any worth drafting during the draft.



EDIT: Nevermind, I just went back into the FA screen, and there are PLENTY of FA's available. Not sure why I couldn't see them before.

[MizzouRah]

Thanks for the information EF. I've read about the DE issue and I think the fix is to use NCAA draft classes, but that would mean I would have to go out and spend some cash for the transfer kit.. which sucks. Why you can't use a jump drive is beyond me? I mean, c'mon Microsoft.. you make OS's for a living but your console can't use that technology????

If that's all I need for a fun franchise run in Madden, I just might go out and get one.

[Eaglesfan27]

At week 4 of 2007, there are over 40 guys injured. 18 guys for at least 8 weeks including Tom Brady who is out for 10 weeks.


8 QB's out for at least 3 weeks including Eli Manning who is out for 6 weeks (perhaps the Giants needed those QB's after all. )



At week 8, the following QB's are injured:

Trent Dilfer, David Greene, Aaron Brooks, Donovan McNabb, Kelly Holcomb, Matt Hasselbeck, Eli Manning, Drew Bledsoe, Rex Grossman, Charlie Frye, Andrew Walter, Tom Brady, and Culpepper.


However, relatively few HB's are hurt: Chris Brown, Marcel Shipp, Mewelde Moore.


Plenty of other guys at other positions hurt. 17 guys out for the season, including one of my WR's.


We are 8-0 at the half point of the season.


Hehe. Chad Hutchinson re-signed with the Cowboys in week 10 as Romo went down with an injury.



At the end of the season, the Packers and 49ers fired their coaches.




At the end of the year, there were 12 QB's out for at least a week.

24 players are out for the year. 22 more are out for 6 weeks are more (effectively the rest of the year.)



2007 Standings:


NFC East:

1. Eagles 14-2
2. Redskins 12-4
3. Giants 10-6
4. Cowboys 10-6

NFC West:

1. Seahawks 13-3
2. Cardinals 7-9
3. Rams 6-10
4. 49ers 4-12


NFC South:

1. Saints 9-7
2. Falcons 8-8
3. Panthers 8-8
4. Bucs 7-9


NFC North:

1. Bears 10-6
2. Vikings 9-7
3. Lions 2-14
4. Packers 1-15 (Aaron Rodgers started all year.)



AFC West:


1. Broncos 11-5
2. Chargers 11-5
3. Chiefs 8-8
4. Raiders 6-10


AFC East:

1. Dolphins 9-7
2. Patriots 7-9
3. Bills 5-11
4. Jets 4-12


AFC South

1. Jags 11-5
2. Colts 10-6
3. Titans 6-10
4. Texans 5-11


AFC North:

1. Steelers 14-2
2. Bengals 8-8
3. Browns 6-10
4. Ravens 5-11

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Thanks for the information EF. I've read about the DE issue and I think the fix is to use NCAA draft classes, but that would mean I would have to go out and spend some cash for the transfer kit.. which sucks. Why you can't use a jump drive is beyond me? I mean, c'mon Microsoft.. you make OS's for a living but your console can't use that technology????

If that's all I need for a fun franchise run in Madden, I just might go out and get one.

If my 2nd year draft is messed up tonight when I get to it in a bit, I'm going to try using one of my draft classes from NCAA. I just won't pay attention to specifics too much as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I will see if the drafting is more realistic. I plan on using all NCAA Files when I do my "real" career anyway.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

If my 2nd year draft is messed up tonight when I get to it in a bit, I'm going to try using one of my draft classes from NCAA. I just won't pay attention to specifics too much as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I will see if the drafting is more realistic. I plan on using all NCAA Files when I do my "real" career anyway.

I've read using those makes the draft much better.. just wish there was a way to use those without always having to buy extra equipment.

Maybe EA will patch it.. yeah like they have the fatigue.

[RainMaker]

Why is everyone so sure that fatigue is going to be patched? I've read a ton of people on boards saying they are waiting for a patch, but are we sure this is even going to be addressed?

[Eaglesfan27]

7 QB's with a rating of over 100 and Phillip Rivers leads them all with a 118.9! He completed 69% of his passes for 3,829 yards with 35 TD's 2 INT's.


The Manning Brothers are 2 and 3 in QB Rtg (Peyton is #2) Hasselbeck, Brunell, Plummer, and Brees are the others. Bledsoe and Trent Green are just below 100 as is Carson Palmer.


19 guys above 90 (due to the very low number of thrown picks.)

Kitna threw 14 which is the most in the league. Vick threw 13.

Mike McMahon started in Minnesota all year and he threw 12.



Brooks had the worst completion percentage at 48%. Rivers was best at 68%


Bulger had the most attempts, 494.

Rivers thew for the most yards while Chris Sims was second with 3733 yards.


Rivers threw the most TD's with 35.



Tiki broke his own record with 2,321 yards on 396 carries! He also had 15 TD's.

Portis has 2014 yards on 365 carries with 13 TD's.

L.T. had 351 carries for 1986 yards and 21 TD's.

Alexander had 332 carries for 1830 yards and 7 TD's.

4. Edge had 301 carries for 1730 yards and 11 TD's.

5. Larry Johnson had 300 carries for 1720 yards and 8 TD's.


Fred Taylor was the only other back with at least 300 carries and he was 10th with 1476 yards.

Westbrook was 6th with 1631 yards on 299 carries.


8 backs had at least 1500 yards.


24 had at least 1000 yards.



No one broke 100 receptions.

Darrell Jackson was 1st in the league with 94 catches. He also led the league with 1408 yards. He also led the league with 21 receiving TD's.

Marvin Harrison was 2nd with 19.

No one else had more than 14 (T.O along with a few others there.)



Jon Jansen led the league with 104 pancake blocks. 8 guys with at least 90.


Urlacher led the league with 143 tackles. 5 other guys with at least 120. 42 guys with at least 100.

Kenechi Udeze led the league with 17 sacks. Julius Peppers was second with 14. 5 guys with 13.

Mike Doss led the league with 12 interceptions. 5 guys with 8. A bunch of guys with 5 or 6 (who throws all of those picks if the QB's have such low number of thrown interceptions?)




In the Wildcard:

Reggie Bush had 155 yards rushing as the Saints beat the Redskins 36-23.

Culpepper with a big game as the Dolphins beat the Chargers 42-32.


The Giants beat the Bears 20-17.


Colts beat the Broncos 27-24.



In Divisional Week:

Eagles beat the Saints 34-10.

Steelers beat the Dolphins 22-21.

Colts beat the Jaguars 30-14.


Seahawks beat the Giants 49-23.


Steelers beat the Colts 35-31.

Eagles beat the Seahawks 38-23 to make it an all PA Superbowl.



Eagles beat the Steelers 38-31 in the Superbowl thanks to a 157 yards rushing by Westbrook.


I'll try one more "Game generated" draft later tonight. Now off to try to play RA in an online matchup

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Why is everyone so sure that fatigue is going to be patched? I've read a ton of people on boards saying they are waiting for a patch, but are we sure this is even going to be addressed?

Because they have told the moderators of several boards that they will be patching it. Specifically, Operation Sports as well as Madden Nation. If they renege on that, the back lash will be huge.

[MizzouRah]

You know EF, I'm starting to think they might not patch it. The had said they would probably have something around release day, but I haven't heard anything sense.

Who knows at this point?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

You know EF, I'm starting to think they might not patch it. The had said they would probably have something around release day, but I haven't heard anything sense.

Who knows at this point?

Really? I never read anywhere that they said it would be around release date. I just read that it was the "highest priority" of the development team. I figure it's probably going through Microsoft's approval process.

If they back out of their statements, I for one will not buy any more EA Football games unless I hear absolutely glowing reviews about them from many people before I purchase. However, I still think the patch is coming out.

About to try one more draft now (without using NCAA files), since RA and I were disconnected in our attempt to play an online game.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Because they have told the moderators of several boards that they will be patching it. Specifically, Operation Sports as well as Madden Nation. If they renege on that, the back lash will be huge.

Oh ok. Didn't they also tell the moderators there that fatigue wasn't something they missed and was really working but only effected fumbles? I'll give them a week or so before I Ebay it, but I'm not going to hold my breath with a company like EA. To program fatigue into a game is probably a tad complex and I'll be skeptical if a patch is going to completely fix that.

[Raiders Army]

Ah, I see what you meant about this thread. Hadn't checked it lately.

[Eaglesfan27]

My 2nd draft (2007)



There is a franchise type QB along with a Franchise HB in the top 5 along with about 10 DE's expected to go early. The Packers trade the 1st pick to the Chargers for the 1(21) pick and the 2(21) pick. A bad trade for the Packers I think, and I'm really interested to see what the Chargers do with this pick considering Rivers and L.T. are in the prime of their careers...


Of course, they take a DE, who looks great. However, there are at least 5 other DE's that look great too.

Detroit with the 2nd pick passes on the franchise QB (who they need) and takes another very good DE.

With the 3rd pick, the 49ers take another DE.


With the 4th pick, The Jets who just lost Curtis Martin to retirement take the SS who is projected to go top 10 and is a great SS.

The Ravens with the 5th pick at least take the franchise QB.


The Texans take another very good S with the 6th pick.


The Bills continue their stockpiling of running talent with the franchise HB with the 7th pick. In their defense, he was the highest player on Mel's Board.


The Browns take a DE with the 8th pick.

The Titans take a DE with the 9th pick.

Oakland takes the top CB in the draft with the 10th pick. Not as bad as last draft, but 4 of Mel's top 5 remaining are DE's. Still too many DE's being valued as 1st round picks over other positions.


I'm not sure how many teams you can control in a Franchise (I know it is more than 1) but I might run a test where I run all 32 franchises if possible and let the AI do auto running of everything but the draft for the other 31 teams, and run the draft, because even with NCAA files, I wonder how smartly teams are going to draft.


I think this league test has shown me a few things:

Trade AI isn't bad at all, particularly for 1:1 or even 2:1 trades. 3:1 trades become a bit more questionable.

Re-signing players is a bit more tricky in that the green bar is gone, however, demands probably aren't high enough for elite players (I was able to re-sign my top T's for about 7.5 million/year each.)


FA's are still a bit too easy to sign.

Simulated stats are pretty good except for too many carries/yards for some HB's (which I think may be due to HB's not getting injured as much as other positions.) Also, there are too few interceptions thrown by QB's. Other stats look reasonable to me.


Anyway, I might just overlook the draft flaws or I might try running the draft for all of the teams, but I think I can get a good amount of fun out of the game IF fatigue is patched.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Yes, apparently it can be done. I just started a franchise where I control all 32 teams but I'm able to turn almost all of the options to CPU for 31 of the teams. However, for some reason the "fill roster" option is set the same for all teams. That isn't too bad as the game sends messages when a team doesn't have the mininum number of players at a position and then I'll just sign the best FA at that position for the team. So, I'll probably play this way and run the draft for every team doing it based on what I believe their needs to be.

About to look at the talent spread (according to Mel's board which seemed to be how most of the drafting went last time) with NCAA Imported Rosters.

[Eaglesfan27]

Double Dola -

The NCAA Imported Class looks MUCH better, and it was easy to sim through a season even with controlling all 32 teams. Also, the teams seemed more aggressive in FA, or it might have just seemed that way since I had to repeatedly hit "A" over and over again to finalize FA deals that the CPU assistance offered them. However, I'm fairly sure the AI was more aggressive in signing players.


Anyway, the top 10 (in no particular order) on Mel's Board:

Troy Smith, QB Ohio State University, 4.46 40 and good rating for his arm according to my scouts.

Victor Abiamiri, DE ND, 4.6 in the 40.

Laron Landry, FS LSU, 4.38 in the 40.

Justin Harrelll, DT Tennessee.

Adrian Peterson, HB Oklahoma 4.38 in the 40.

Vince Hall, MLB VT, 4.48 in the 40.

Brian Brohm, QB Louisville, Mel says he has great durability and a strong arm.

Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech WR, 4.35.

Michael Bush, HB Louisville, 4.44 in the 40.

Interestingly, my big USC guys, Lawrence Jackson and Dwayne Jarrett are both predicted to be late 1st round picks. Anyway, only 2 DE's in the top 15. Nice.

[Raiders Army]

Big question. Have you seen the computer sign any HOF FAs? I heard they will show up in your franchise which is pretty stupid.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I hope I don't regret going with the 360 instead of the PC version. We'll see down the line, but I'll wait for a couple of weeks in anticipation of a patch.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Big question. Have you seen the computer sign any HOF FAs? I heard they will show up in your franchise which is pretty stupid.

There is a fix for this. Don't save anything but your franchise. Go over to OS for more information.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Really? I never read anywhere that they said it would be around release date. I just read that it was the "highest priority" of the development team. I figure it's probably going through Microsoft's approval process.

If they back out of their statements, I for one will not buy any more EA Football games unless I hear absolutely glowing reviews about them from many people before I purchase. However, I still think the patch is coming out.

About to try one more draft now (without using NCAA files), since RA and I were disconnected in our attempt to play an online game.

There was a post right at the beginning of all of this fatigue talk and someone from EA said they thought they would have something around release day, it's since been removed so who knows.

What will it cost for me to get NCAA draft classes into Madden? I just want to play some console football and it seems like this will at least allow me to play more than one season.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Big question. Have you seen the computer sign any HOF FAs? I heard they will show up in your franchise which is pretty stupid.

I made sure I started a franchise before getting any Gamer Levels. If you do that, you have no worries. If you've already gotten Gamer Levels, you can backup your profile to a memory card, then delete it from the hard drive and re-start a franchise after that. It's annoying, it shouldn't be necessary, but it isn't too hard to do.

Alternatively, if you don't care about your Madden Gamer Level, just delete it and then restart the game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

There was a post right at the beginning of all of this fatigue talk and someone from EA said they thought they would have something around release day, it's since been removed so who knows.

What will it cost for me to get NCAA draft classes into Madden? I just want to play some console football and it seems like this will at least allow me to play more than one season.

I wish Sports locker would work for this game, so I could just send you my files. I don't think it does unfortunately.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

There was a post right at the beginning of all of this fatigue talk and someone from EA said they thought they would have something around release day, it's since been removed so who knows.

Ahh, I totally missed that post.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I wish Sports locker would work for this game, so I could just send you my files. I don't think it does unfortunately.

I've read over at OS, there might not be a way to download NCAA draft classes even if you have a transfer kit as some are saying there is no separate file(s), they are stored in your profile.. can you confirm this?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I've read over at OS, there might not be a way to download NCAA draft classes even if you have a transfer kit as some are saying there is no separate file(s), they are stored in your profile.. can you confirm this?

I probably won't be able to look tonight as my wife has taken over that TV, but I should be able to figure out if that is true tomorrow.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I probably won't be able to look tonight as my wife has taken over that TV, but I should be able to figure out if that is true tomorrow.

How dare her!!

Thanks!!!

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I made sure I started a franchise before getting any Gamer Levels. If you do that, you have no worries. If you've already gotten Gamer Levels, you can backup your profile to a memory card, then delete it from the hard drive and re-start a franchise after that. It's annoying, it shouldn't be necessary, but it isn't too hard to do.

Alternatively, if you don't care about your Madden Gamer Level, just delete it and then restart the game.

That's great. Once the fatigue bug is squashed, I'll delete my profile and start a franchise.