Madden NFL 15 News Post

Madden NFL 15 Players Actually Don't Want to Touch the Ball

10:10 AM - November 11, 2014 by RaychelSnr

I'd celebrate too if I didn't have to touch something I was highly allergic to.

It happened on the very first offensive play of my Eagles connected franchise. There was one-on-one coverage on the edge: Riley Cooper vs. Darius Butler. I wanted to take a shot deep.

As soon as the football began its quick descent, both Cooper and Butler stopped in their tracks, staring at the ball as if it were some kind of UFO passing overhead. By the time the ball got to each of them, Cooper threw his hands up meagerly and came down with the catch. Not only did it look disappointing, but it felt disappointing as well. It was a terrible throw, and Butler was in great position. Why didn�t he make a play on the ball?

This is an unfortunate example of one of Madden�s biggest issues, and one many still overlook: the players on the field don�t want the ball.

It isn�t just a problem while the ball is in the air, either. Defensive ends don�t look to poke the ball out of the QB�s hands when they�re winding back for a pass and offensive lineman don�t look to dive on the ball when their running back fumbles it to the ground. There�s an unfortunate lack of urgency to complete the game�s most basic goal, and that�s to be the team that controls the football.

Moving into the future, Madden needs to program a basic instinct for the AI to fight for the ball. The sheer lack of receiver/corner interaction in the secondary makes the passing game hundreds of times less interesting than it should be.

With so many of Madden's generational issues being taken care of (however slowly), fans of the series have to ask: why isn�t the fight for the ball being given a look?

Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 42 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 Cardot @ 11/11/14 10:25 AM

Having played EA football games for years, plays like this seem to suggest that the outcome of the play has been determined well before the ball actually arrives. Not saying that it is "scripted", but as the ball is released, it seems the game makes some calculations to determine the outcome (instead of have the WR and DB battle). Just a theory, but it would explain the lack of "Organic" feel that Madden often suffers from.

# 2 cmehustle @ 11/11/14 10:26 AM

Im still waiting for the WR/DB interaction to get attention. It looks nothing like whats seen on Sundays. For that matter even with the work done on D/O line interaction it still looks incredibly basic. For instance why would I not double Ndam whatever Sue on every running play? Instead we just have to work around it until they decide to make that a priority over at EA. Oh well, I guess Ill just get my hopes up for next year....

# 3 @marcusjiles @ 11/11/14 10:31 AM

I remember playing Madden on the ps2 and if you dared to throw a deep ball the corner without looking would jump 7 feet in the air and swat it. There HAD to be a good chunk of separation.

I stopped playing Madden this year. I bought it. It looked good. It looked damn good. It's the same game, tho cleaned up in parts it's always been. The feeling of players not wanting the ball I feel is a little bit of a stretch but it makes the point that there's damn sure no urgency to go get it.

# 4 SVCbearcat10 @ 11/11/14 11:17 AM

This is why I had to trade in Madden. After a month, it gets boring because of this exact issue. Each game feels so identical to the last that it gets old feeling, fast. I bought the game thinking it was great, then the legacy issues persist while the new features wear off. There's an organic nature to NHL and FIFA games where a play opens up that's so unqiue, you feel like it's the real thing. Despite their flaws, it adds to NHL's and FIFA's replay value. Madden doesn't have those moments, it's more rinse, lather, then repeat.

# 5 Sturzinator @ 11/11/14 12:05 PM

Worse yet, you get a one on one with your WR having a step and a half on the DB. You haul back and let one rip (with forward stick to lead the WR downfield) and 9/10 times the ball is horribly under thrown, regardless of QB THP.

The DB stops and comes back to make a play on the ball while your WR continues on his merry way - seemingly oblivious - with his hands making a basket to catch the ball that will never come. Ball gets swatted or picked.

It's one of the most annoying flaws in the game. It's to the point where I question the viability of even looking deep anymore. I don't want to watch this animation play out again.

Gets old REAL fast.

# 6 Birdman18 @ 11/11/14 12:24 PM

If you look at the online cfm's here you'll find the opposite thing. The DB's make all pro plays all over the field without even seeing the ball... interceptions are rampant all over online cfm

# 7 Cabish @ 11/11/14 01:25 PM

(Turn around,put hands in pocket ) this is why nfl2k need to come back ,to put some fire u red ea's butt to fix things...when criticism like oh the other game has this and has that..

# 8 Jerros @ 11/11/14 02:19 PM

The one thing I will disagree with the poster is that they haven't taken care of Jack sh@#t. The game is still a sloppy mess plagued by a multitude of issues. Rubber Band A.I. Man coverage is abismal, zone coverage is still nonsense. What happened to the player sense 2.0? The list is endless. Still a very long way to go before this game resembles real football.

# 9 l8knight1 @ 11/11/14 04:15 PM

Not that this is a fix-all, but are any more significant patches expected? Rex pretty much admitted that gang tackling, wr/db interaction and multiplayer true-step, were not in this year game, but I'll take whatever they can patch that improves the game at any level.

# 10 K_GUN @ 11/11/14 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cabish


	(Turn around,put hands in pocket ) this is why nfl2k need to come back ,to put some fire u red ea's butt to fix things...when criticism like oh the other game has this and has that..

2K did A LOT of things better & beautifully but DB AI was not one of them....

# 11 Greenblood60 @ 11/11/14 07:31 PM

And there you have it: it's our back of the box feature for Madden 16.

"Fight for the ball !"

# 12 talucchesi @ 11/11/14 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVCbearcat10


	This is why I had to trade in Madden. After a month, it gets boring because of this exact issue. Each game feels so identical to the last that it gets old feeling, fast. I bought the game thinking it was great, then the legacy issues persist while the new features wear off. There's an organic nature to NHL and FIFA games where a play opens up that's so unqiue, you feel like it's the real thing. Despite their flaws, it adds to NHL's and FIFA's replay value. Madden doesn't have those moments, it's more rinse, lather, then repeat.

wow, you said this so perfectly

# 13 greenbuk75 @ 11/11/14 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l8knight1


	Not that this is a fix-all, but are any more significant patches expected? Rex pretty much admitted that gang tackling, wr/db interaction and multiplayer true-step, were not in this year game, but I'll take whatever they can patch that improves the game at any level.

Funny thing is, I feel like sometimes the DBS are programmed to jump the route on a receiver, I remember one game I had a tight end skinny post and watkins running a slant as the original play, so to put the safety on an island I audible him to a fly.....next thing you know i snap the ball and the corner runs RIGHT TO the spot I would have thrown the slant at, completely ignoring watkins running by himself down the field

# 14 greenbuk75 @ 11/12/14 04:21 PM

seriously give it a shot with armorsword's sliders ( I think its his name?) in the sliders section....it makes for a much more interesting and close games on all pro so you dont get the all madden rubber band AI

# 15 Jerros @ 11/12/14 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbuk75


	seriously give it a shot with armorsword's sliders ( I think its his name?) in the sliders section....it makes for a much more interesting and close games on all pro so you dont get the all madden rubber band AI

Lol, I tried his sliders and several others. Same nonsense no matter what you do. You can't fix fundamentals, broken physics and broken A.I. with sliders. Sorry, but the game needs more than that. At this point, you may as well wait to see if M16 is better.

# 16 Fist Of Kings @ 11/12/14 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenblood60


	And there you have it: it's our back of the box feature for Madden 16. "Fight for the ball !"

I'm hoping to see a montage of a qb, wr, ref, and snow background on the cover for next year's game lol.

# 17 IlluminatusUIUC @ 11/12/14 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbuk75


	Funny thing is, I feel like sometimes the DBS are programmed to jump the route on a receiver, I remember one game I had a tight end skinny post and watkins running a slant as the original play, so to put the safety on an island I audible him to a fly.....next thing you know i snap the ball and the corner runs RIGHT TO the spot I would have thrown the slant at, completely ignoring watkins running by himself down the field

I've been convinced for years that the AI deliberately pulls your players out of position when it wants to make a big play. My all-time example is from NCAA 12. I was in an online dynasty vs. the AI and it came to 4th and inches on the opponent's 40 for the game. I chose the QB sneak to try to convert. My center completely ignored the nose tackle - the nose tackle - so he could run upfield and block a linebacker. The NT fired directly out of his stance into my QBs chest. I've never seen such an egregious AI fail in my life.

Lest we assume that this is a relic of an older generation, I was playing a CFM this year on current gen. On a 3rd down conversion, I threw the slant to Cordarelle Patterson who had body position. The DB reached through his chest and swatted the ball down. Straight through the numbers.

# 18 Boilerbuzz @ 11/12/14 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_GUN


	2K did A LOT of things better & beautifully but DB AI was not one of them....

Wasn't perfect, but it was much better than Madden. The day Madden plays true zones is the day we can argue that point.

# 19 greenbuk75 @ 11/14/14 09:53 PM

Maddens zones play a hella lot better than man does this year..but they either jump the ball way to easily on passes or sit back and let you rack up yards small balancing needed to zones but its much better this year

# 20 Gman 18 @ 11/15/14 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenblood60


	And there you have it: it's our back of the box feature for Madden 16. "Fight for the ball !"

Wasn't that on the back of the box for madden 10?

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