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Madden 2010 News Post

Just wanted to drop a note to you guys and let you know how the game is playing here in mid-May. I played two games yesterday, one against our development manager Ryan Ferwerda...and the other against lead franchise mode designer Josh Looman. Let me just say, the game is so much fun right now! This is no PR blah-blah deal here, we honestly had moments that were making us say wow. Plenty of things to keep us busy for the next month or so, but man this game is going to knock your socks off. OK, enough jibber jabber, on to the juicy details.

Game 1
Green Bay at Chicago - Franchise Mode (All Pro) - Week 1 - 5 min qtrs/no accl clock

Ryan is Green Bay. I am Chicago.

-1st quarter - screen pass to Forte, Packers blitzing hard, Cutler gets it off to Forte who has at least 2 OL ahead to block. 75 yards later, 7-0 CHI.
- Bears get a stop. Next drive, handoff to Matt Forte. Boom, he goes down and it doesn't look good folks. I'm not sure initially of the diagnosis, but I know it's bad because Kevin Jones just stepped onto the field for the Bears.
- Towards the end of the 1st quarter, the report comes in. Forte, compound leg fracture, out for season. Boom. Franchise year one roasted. It was a crazy moment for me (Ryan loved every minute of it - he's a diehard Packer nut). I go from planning on giving Matt Forte about 25-30 touches to having to scramble with Kevin Jones, Garett Wolfe, and the Other Adrian Peterson. Let me tell you, those guys are about 5 steps down from Matt Forte. Huge drop in terms of talent in the game and it is noticable in my opinion.
- It is a slug fest throughout, we head into the 4th quarter 10-3 Bears. Ryan ends up putting a really nice drive with Aaron Rodgers nickel and diming me with Donald Driver over the middle (the guy does not drop passes, his catch in traffic is one of best in game). He ends up pounding it in with Grant. 10-10. About 2:15 seconds left in game then boom. Crash game over. Already have this bug fixed, but man this was a damn fun game at 10-10 in the 4th!
- We both had less than 200 total yards offense at that point (we had just gone into pause menu to look at stats). I had no running game whatsoever, and the Bears have a rag-tag WR corp, so it's tough for Cutler to do much.

Game 2
- Seattle at Carolina - Exhibition (Pro) - 10 min qtrs/accl clock ON
Josh is Carolina. I am Seattle.

-First quarter is brutal defensive battle. DeAngelo is not doing much for Josh. We are deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the 2nd QTR. Overall, DeAngelo pretty quiet. Something like 70 total yards and 1 score. Most thru the air from what I remember.
- Then it gets exciting. T.J Duckett was my feature back dejour today with Seattle, they really have a thin crew back there at RB this year. Julius Jones was mixed in and had one big run for me (mainly due to Josh's infamous 'switch-n-ndive' technique). Back to Duckett, he and his 74 SPD break out for a 49 touchdown gallop. It was a thing of beauty. Couple of big power moves and a huge stiff arm at the end on Charles Godfrey sealed the deal. Duckett had 10 carries for 88yards and 2 scores on the day BTW.

- Delhomme was erratic all day, putting up some big yards but also throwing the INTs. Had over 300+ yds, and 2 scores, to go along with 3 picks.
- Julius Peppers had Josh and I in awe with this amazing leaping INT (he called a play that dropped Peppers back in coverage) and 60 yard return for touchdown.
-TJ Hoosh was effective but not dominant for me and Seattle with 5 catches for 60+ yds. Didn't drop much, but he never broke any big plays and can't get too far with his 82 speed (but 90+ Routes, CTH, CTH in Traffic).
- As for how the game ended. I am up with Seattle (had over 150+ yards with J Jones and Duckett), late in the 4th, score was 35-24. I kick a 53 yard FG with Mare to go up by 11 (game over right?). He then promptly takes it down the field with Dwayne Jarrett of all people making a real big play on 3rd and 15+. He gets in with DeAngelo short yardage...38-32 (after two point conv).. He tries to onsides but I get it....there is 1:30 remaining...he uses some timeouts, and forces me to punt back....i punt back and he has no timeouts and there is like 11 seconds left.

-Last play Steve Smith, gets open about twenty yards downfield on a corner to the left sideline...then he starts running almost sideways, not gaining yards, but distancing himself from all my guys (I was an idiot and was controlling Brian Russell who is no speed demon!) and Smith made it all the way to score TD with no time remaining. Kicks the extra point, Final score, 39-38. [Although, let me say, Brian Russell made some big plays in that game, he had one pick and a lot of tackles].

Both Phil and Ryan were working on something in Phil's office but had to come out and watch the end of this one!

-Steve Smith ended up with good overall numbers, but kept him quiet for most part with a 4 catch, 130, 1 TD day (he got like 60 yards on last play).
-Aaron Curry was a beast to control on defense for Seattle. He is going to be a lot of fun in franchise mode.
-Nate Burleson is baaaaaacck people! Ha, he got open for abig play here and there for me, and hearing real good things out of mini-camp about him in real life. He had 4 catches for 80 yards...
-Hasselbeck had a nice day, like 22-28 for 225 yards. West Coast offense, short passing all day long.

OK folks, hope you enjoy, thought you might like some "detailed" info about how the games are actually playing at this time of year. From someone who is actually playing Madden NFL 10 right now!! jealous!!?

-Donny

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Member Comments
# 61 PlatooN @ 05/13/09 10:46 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donny_Moore
Game 1

- Aaron Rodgers nickel and diming me with Donald Driver over the middle (the guy does not drop passes, his catch in traffic is one of best in game).
YAaaaaaaaa Baby
 
# 62 The_jank @ 05/13/09 10:59 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by drae2
Great read, but I hope you can answer this question. In Madden 09, I had a major problem with the passing game. Meaning that a lot of times when I was throwing crossing routes, I would lead the receiver whom would be open by 4-5 yards, only to have the receiver turn in back of himself to catch the ball, which in turn would take a potential 15-20 yard gain and make it a 7 yard gain. I thought maybe it was the QB I was using(Orton), so I played with the Jets(you know who), and the same thing was happening. The question I have is has anyone else complained about this, and if so has it been addressed? Thanks for all the info.

Ive been checking these boards since new info started coming out and finally took the time and joined up today.

great reads and much thanks to all the guys posting here and on twitter ect.

this is one of my biggest issues with '09...RB's and TE's in the flats being led with the pass only to go into that weird jump and turn animation to get nailed instead of catching on the run and turning the corner..

anyways im sure everyone is aware of it

Go Lions!
 
# 63 Deegeezy @ 05/13/09 11:23 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donny_Moore
Actually led to a pretty good bug find by our dev manager Ryan Ferwerda, we had too many long term and significant injuries occurring in-game (we had recently tuned those up to occur more often - a constant back and forth this time of year in franchise tuning). So i went in and tuned those back down now to occur less often.

And remember folks, you can always turn injuries off if the thought of broken bones makes you cringe.
Does this mean that we should expect more short-term, one game injuries? That would be nice!

So many injuries go unnoticed on Sundays simply because most of them only hold a player out for a series or two or the rest of the current game they are in. We need more injuries like that which would force our depth to finally be a big factor in franchise mode.
 
# 64 cowboyscowboys @ 05/13/09 11:41 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Autumn Wind
Just some impressions from a hopeful football fan . . .

What I liked:
--the injury
--the dropoff in quality from starter to backup
--the fact that the Bears' subpar WR made for an inconsistent passing game

What I want to know more about:
--completion percentages: Hasslebeck's 78% performance could happen, sure, but most of the games need to be in the 55% range, with a good number even below that. Marino, the best pure passer of all time (perhaps), finished with a career mark of 57%. I'd be very interested to see some other numbers on the passing game, both HUM vs. HUM and HUM vs. CPU.

I know that this is bonus information, not a request thread, but those are my impressions, and if more information were to come out, I'd like to hear some on that issue, given its prominence in '09 and the centrality of realistic QB play to a "sim" experience.
Your a little off on your completion percentages. Many QB's are around 70% these days.
 
# 65 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 11:43 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Autumn Wind
Just some impressions from a hopeful football fan . . .

What I liked:
--the injury
--the dropoff in quality from starter to backup
--the fact that the Bears' subpar WR made for an inconsistent passing game

What I want to know more about:
--completion percentages: Hasslebeck's 78% performance could happen, sure, but most of the games need to be in the 55% range, with a good number even below that. Marino, the best pure passer of all time (perhaps), finished with a career mark of 57%. I'd be very interested to see some other numbers on the passing game, both HUM vs. HUM and HUM vs. CPU.

I know that this is bonus information, not a request thread, but those are my impressions, and if more information were to come out, I'd like to hear some on that issue, given its prominence in '09 and the centrality of realistic QB play to a "sim" experience.
You gotta remember, though, that Hasselbeck was using the West Coast...short, high percentage throws...so I'm sure if you open up the passing game, his percentage would go down pretty drastically...or, at least I hope so.

Donny, very great to hear that the game is coming along together...it is a little bit frightening to hear that Josh is getting Franchise in its "final form" when we have heard next to nothing about it other than "it is enhanced"...any idea when we'll be hearing more from the franchise folks?

Again...thanks for sharing...it makes the wait even more unbearable.
 
# 66 therizing02 @ 05/13/09 11:44 AM
Thanks for the info Donny. Like many others, I am also curious to hear more details vs. the CPU. USER vs. CPU.

-How does the CPU call plays?
-Is the adaptive AI being used by the CPU on the offensive AND defensive side of the ball?
-Does the CPU know how to manage the clock properly at the end of the half/game with no huddle, spikes, and time outs? (big gameplay killer in 09)?
-Does the CPU throw the deep ball? I STILL have not read any post that confirms this. I always thought that the reason the QB completion percentages were so high last year is because 95% of the passes were under 10 yards. IRL, QB percentages would be higher if all passes were under 10 yards.
-Do CPU teams play like their real life counterparts?

Those are a few of the issues that people want know if they've been addressed.

Thanks again.
 
# 67 Nature_Boy @ 05/13/09 11:58 AM
Thanks for the info Donny.
 
# 68 ShimSham @ 05/13/09 12:36 PM
Please just tell me the Packers have black cleats like they're supposed to this time around.
 
# 69 RogueHominid @ 05/13/09 12:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by cowboyscowboys
Your a little off on your completion percentages. Many QB's are around 70% these days.
Actually, you're off bro. Hasselbeck's career mark is 60.1%, and this is a guy who plays in a WCO and is accurate.

Brady, arguably the most accurate QB in the game, is at 63% for his career.

Manning is at 64.4%

Cutler is at 62% and Mcnabb at 58%.

And those are the elite quarterbacks. The rest of the bunch is in the mid 50% range.

Players do have games in the 70% and 80% ranges, but not many of them, and they're career-type days when they happen, not just another day at the office.

The Madden system as implemented last year is 10-15% inflated. Montana's 70% year was historic, in the best offense of the decade and with some of the best talent in history around him. Anything above 65% is a very, very good year, and above 60% is nothing to sneeze at. In last year's game, you could put your punter at QB and easily meet these benchmarks.

Check profootballreference.com.

Anyway, that's just in the interest of accuracy. I did like some of the other stuff I heard, to reiterate the positives.
 
# 70 g2thecore @ 05/13/09 12:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by backbreaker
Thanx for the update. What I would like to see you post is a 4 qts. 10 mins a qts vs the CPU on All pro.
Off topic, but that's an AWESOME avatar....
 
# 71 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 12:50 PM
I understand what you're saying Autumn Wind...but you also have to think that this was human v human...maybe Donny checked down often because Josh had good coverage? I mean, it's not unheard of for QBs to have good games...and if Donny checked down to his TE or a runningback, then it's entirely plausible...if he had 78% completion in every game he played, I'll be concerned...but we don't have enough to go on to say that it wasn't addressed...although conversely we don't have enough to go on to say it was...

So...I guess we're at square one?
 
# 72 RogueHominid @ 05/13/09 12:58 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII
I understand what you're saying Autumn Wind...but you also have to think that this was human v human...maybe Donny checked down often because Josh had good coverage? I mean, it's not unheard of for QBs to have good games...and if Donny checked down to his TE or a runningback, then it's entirely plausible...if he had 78% completion in every game he played, I'll be concerned...but we don't have enough to go on to say that it wasn't addressed...although conversely we don't have enough to go on to say it was...

So...I guess we're at square one?
No doubt, that's why the initial post was about wanting more data. There's too much we don't know to make conclusions, but given that this is clearly an issue and that the numbers are so drastically inflated, I wonder about it.

The stats are just to provide context. I think many fans of the game and of real life football have an unrealistically high expectation of how many passes QBs should or actually do complete. 78% isn't a "good" game, it's an "incredible" game; 60% is a "good" game. I'm all for incredible games, and even lots of good ones. I just want a game that will also deliver a realistic proportion of average and below average ones such that QB's like Eli can have a 54% season like real life.

To me, it's like balls and strikes in The Show. I'm fine with the fact that strike percentages are inflated at default by a good 10% because there's a strike percentage slider that, when adjusted to 0, gives realistic strike ratios from 50% for marginal starters to low to mid 60% for good ones. If a similar option is in Madden, it's a win-win for everyone.

But I agree with the premise of your post, it's all wait and see for now .

Again, I really like the actual threat of injury, and the differences between starters and backups. That right there is huge. And I'm liking the ability of Pro Tak to help with line stuff too.
 
# 73 rudyjuly2 @ 05/13/09 01:02 PM
Great read but why the hell did Josh go for two in the 4th quarter on the one touchdown? Is he a cheezer at heart?
 
# 74 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 01:13 PM
By going for two, he put himself down 6, instead of 7...scoring on that Smith reception allowed him to nail the Point After and seal the game, instead of having it go to overtime...smart play to play for the win, not OT.

And it's great to see Josh playing with the Panthers and making Seattle fans everywhere sick of Steve Smith again.
 
# 75 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 01:21 PM
I think that a major reason why the CPU didn't attempt many long passes last year is because the logic wants them to make successful plays as often as possible...with curls and slants being so lethal last year (and downright uncoverable) the CPU could get first downs with these passes...couple that with the fact that there is no running game for the CPU last year so its a pass-happy offense, and you get huge completion percentages...if a Post was a sure-thing play (super-DB prevented that for the most part) then there would have been more long passes from the CPU I hypothesize.

But I agree...and they have said that teams will play like their Sunday counterparts more than ever...so here's hoping.
 
# 76 rudyjuly2 @ 05/13/09 01:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII
By going for two, he put himself down 6, instead of 7...scoring on that Smith reception allowed him to nail the Point After and seal the game, instead of having it go to overtime...smart play to play for the win, not OT.
That's not a smart play imo. I don't know a single NFL coach that would have gone for two at that point. Every single one of them would have kicked the XP and made it a 7 point game. After the second TD, some may have gone for two to avoid OT. But I really don't think any coach would have gone for two on the first TD.
 
# 77 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 01:28 PM
I dunno...I mean, I see what you're saying...but if you go for one on that play...you're essentially saying "Let's go to overtime"...although if he missed the 2 pt conversion, we'd be second-guessing him...so i guess it's a calculated risk.

I probably would've gone for 2 though...down by that much with so little time left...

And plenty of NFL coaches will make calls like that...the aggressive coaches will, anyway...which isn't really something John Fox is...but....
 
# 78 cedwebb @ 05/13/09 01:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Autumn Wind
No doubt, that's why the initial post was about wanting more data. There's too much we don't know to make conclusions, but given that this is clearly an issue and that the numbers are so drastically inflated, I wonder about it.

The stats are just to provide context. I think many fans of the game and of real life football have an unrealistically high expectation of how many passes QBs should or actually do complete. 78% isn't a "good" game, it's an "incredible" game; 60% is a "good" game. I'm all for incredible games, and even lots of good ones. I just want a game that will also deliver a realistic proportion of average and below average ones such that QB's like Eli can have a 54% season like real life.

To me, it's like balls and strikes in The Show. I'm fine with the fact that strike percentages are inflated at default by a good 10% because there's a strike percentage slider that, when adjusted to 0, gives realistic strike ratios from 50% for marginal starters to low to mid 60% for good ones. If a similar option is in Madden, it's a win-win for everyone.

But I agree with the premise of your post, it's all wait and see for now .

Again, I really like the actual threat of injury, and the differences between starters and backups. That right there is huge. And I'm liking the ability of Pro Tak to help with line stuff too.
I am pickin up what your puttin down dude. The passing in Madden across the board is all to accurate. I think it derives from the inflated player ratings we get every year. When you have QBs rated in the 90s and there accuracy rated in the 90's you get a very unrealistic outcome in the land of video game.

Just as you were saying, a game where a QB throws over 60%, that is concidered a very good game, but in Madden we see our QBs throw 80-90 percent in a single game. There just needs to be some adjustment in the logic saying what a good QB should be throwing. This can be translated by having even your best QBs throwing balls that are not on the mark most of the time. Sure if Favre is sitting there throwing to a reciever in practice he will hit 80-90% of his throws, but in a game situation its not that easy. There are way too many variables that are created by things like the defense, weather, timing to the routes etc. and that hasn't been a big enough factor. The QBing in Madden IMO just needs to come down a bit.

I have no problem rating a QB like Hasselback rated whatever you want to rate him, but even the best QBs in the best systems are throwing 50-60% in a single game. We just arn't seeing that represetation yet, I stress yet, hopefully that will change.
 
# 79 Maelstrom-XIII @ 05/13/09 01:42 PM
Hopefully, with the revamped logic for pass accuracy (as depicted in the "Improvements to the QB Position" blog) there will be many more incompletions...especially for those with accuracy that is lacking....ie the Tarvaris Jacksons, Jamarcus Russells, etc.
 
# 80 xanmank @ 05/13/09 01:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII
You gotta remember, though, that Hasselbeck was using the West Coast...short, high percentage throws...so I'm sure if you open up the passing game, his percentage would go down pretty drastically...or, at least I hope so.

Donny, very great to hear that the game is coming along together...it is a little bit frightening to hear that Josh is getting Franchise in its "final form" when we have heard next to nothing about it other than "it is enhanced"...any idea when we'll be hearing more from the franchise folks?

Again...thanks for sharing...it makes the wait even more unbearable.

I was a little concerned about reading this too... Since we know very little about franchise, and that means once we do get more info, any feedback we give will be too late to impliment.

However, from playing Head Coach I have a lot of faith in Josh and Donny (I hope all of the off season aspects of HC made it into franchise mode )
 


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