So I got a copy of Madden...

[Chimera]

Lay off the turbo, use it carefully. This madden seems more finesse based. More controlled and fluid moves are rewarded. Also, holding the button down or hitstick in the correct direction firmly without letting up will give added advantage with catching,separation, tackling, hitting, blitzing, edge rushing etc..

Cam does feel a little clunky...they do give him beast mode in the redzone, basically unstoppable. I love using our playbook for O and D. Put Ginn in as #1 and move Smitty around ..boom.. instantly upgraded offense. I also like putting Tolbert in as #2 TE sometimes.

I agree its tuff if you were used to the old madden with controlling a D line player, Im just now getting up to speed. If you like edge rushing, you are in heaven with our two monsters. Be carefull because you can lower your players stamina if you continuously use them over and over, so switching back and forth between Hardy and CJ is beneficial.

Some favorite O plays are PA, counter runs and the triple option. If you beat them down with power, iso, short passes and two TE sets, the PA, counter and option plays are icing on the cake. One particular counter is in the shotgun with all wr's to one side. Wait for that pulling guard and youre off to the races.

no, no...

None of that is important because I don't like the menu

/derp

[Cary Kollins]

Really did enjoy the NFL2k with the quarterback drop rhythm passing.

 

Last madden I had was 11 but I had to get 25 for Cam, Luke, Star, the black pants and the black endzones.

 

I really only play online and I kinda suck but I enjoy it. Playing D with the Panthers can be frustrating because they can't cover anyone they are rated so poorly.

 

Kuechly is literally the best pass defender. I have more INTS with him than anyone. He is the only guy that reliably catches the ball. I can't tell you how many drops my DB's have made my opponent snags everything in sight. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong.

 

Really wise they'd improve the impact of the Dline. The Panthers have great DE's  and they barely ever make impact plays. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

I really hate it when Olsen goes out injured every other game too but I use him way too much, I probably deserve it.

 

Why are Cam and 34 so slow tho? Its frustrating watching Cam get caught by every DE in the book from beind while RG3 as super jets.

 

Why is McFadden so unstoppable, hasn't done poo in years. I guess the Raiders need some weapon but cripes.

 

Anyone got some favorite plays they use? I only use the Rivera playbook for some reason.

 

 

With the dropped interceptions, are you switching to the defender yourself aka "ball hawking"?

 

You are much more likely to get the INT if you switch to the defender yourself.  Go through the tutorial to learn how to do it right.

 

But you are right about the corners not being able to cover anyone in man-to-man.  You just gotta do a good job disguising your blitzes and using zone coverages. One of my favorite defensive plays is the "Sugar blitz bluff".  It's in the nickel package and it looks like the linebackers are going in for the blitz but they drop back in coverage.  Alternate that with the actual "sugar blitz" and a lot of times the QB will throw you the ball for a easy pick.

[Cary Kollins]

Also don't know if you guys have tried it out, but I downloaded the free "Spread" playbook and it's my become my default playbook now.

 

 

Basically the guy that wrote all of the offensive plays went and picked out his favorite most dangerous spread formations.  It is really awesome.  I knocked off 9 straight wins recently using a variation of three or four plays. 

 

I spread the defense out with 4WRS, sometimes alternate Olsen instead, and have a RB next to Cam out of shotgun.  I start off with inside runs until the defense proves they can stop it. Usually the Dline and linebackers are spread out so the RB can knock off 6-7 yard runs with ease.

 

Then when the D comes in to stop the run, you have all these weapons outside.  One of the other favorites out of the spread formation is the QB draw. Just when the defense thinks you are passing it for sure, Cam drops back but then takes off with a wall of Oline blocking for him.

 

That offensive playbook is basically  unstoppable.

[bleys]

Also don't know if you guys have tried it out, but I downloaded the free "Spread" playbook and it's my become my default playbook now.

 

 

Basically the guy that wrote all of the offensive plays went and picked out his favorite most dangerous spread formations.  It is really awesome.  I knocked off 9 straight wins recently using a variation of three or four plays. 

 

I spread the defense out with 4WRS, sometimes alternate Olsen instead, and have a RB next to Cam out of shotgun.  I start off with inside runs until the defense proves they can stop it. Usually the Dline and linebackers are spread out so the RB can knock off 6-7 yard runs with ease.

 

Then when the D comes in to stop the run, you have all these weapons outside.  One of the other favorites out of the spread formation is the QB draw. Just when the defense thinks you are passing it for sure, Cam drops back but then takes off with a wall of Oline blocking for him.

 

That offensive playbook is basically  unstoppable.

 

CHEATER!  

[Cary Kollins]

CHEATER!  

 

 

 

I like to think of it as maximizing the offense's potential muahaha.  It's similar to a college "air raid" offense to be honest.

 

 

The playbook is nuts, I haven't even used 75% of the formations.  They have all of the Saints spread plays, Patriots, Packers etc.  They are all in this playbook. 

[CelticCat]

Also don't know if you guys have tried it out, but I downloaded the free "Spread" playbook and it's my become my default playbook now.

 

How do I use this. I actually use the shotgun a lot since '11 using Clausen.

 

Just learning how to run better. Not too good with the option, had a few fumbles with pitching to Delo so ive kinda avoided anything but Cam keepers.

 

34 drops it a lot for me, even on short passes, so I use Tolbert as my 3RB, he has the best catch rating, I'll try Barner too as someone else suggested for speed, just so many running choices with Stewy too.

 

I think my problem is holding down the triangle button, I think im just tapping too quickly.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, feel free to add more of your secrets. Newby needs help.

[bleys]

I like to think of it as maximizing the offense's potential muahaha.  It's similar to a college "air raid" offense to be honest.

 

 

The playbook is nuts, I haven't even used 75% of the formations.  They have all of the Saints spread plays, Patriots, Packers etc.  They are all in this playbook. 

 

just kidding..  people say the same thing about various facets of the game, such as overload blitzing...

[E CaT PanTHer]

NFL Blitz on N64 was the only football game I ever owned ...

 

I did the suicide blitz on every defensive play ... half resulted in sacks, the other half resulted in TD's :-) 

[CelticCat]

just kidding..  people say the same thing about various facets of the game, such as overload blitzing...

The only thing that irritates me (and I haven't actually seen it in this game yet I don't think) is when someone runs backwards like 20 yards with their QB and throws an awesome pass.

 

And kickoffs, how the hell do I audible to an onside kick when someone decides to pull 1 in the 1st quarter and im already setup for a regular return. Ive seen other people do it and im sick of wasting TO's.

[bleys]

NFL Blitz on N64 was the only football game I ever owned ...

 

I did the suicide blitz on every defensive play ... half resulted in sacks, the other half resulted in TD's :-) 

 

first sentence explains the latter.  

[bleys]

The only thing that irritates me (and I haven't actually seen it in this game yet I don't think) is when someone runs backwards like 20 yards with their QB and throws an awesome pass.

 

And kickoffs, how the hell do I audible to an onside kick when someone decides to pull 1 in the 1st quarter and im already setup for a regular return. Ive seen other people do it and im sick of wasting TO's.

 

I didn't buy this game..  previous controls were audible(X) and hit LB or RB..  there were rare instances where you would be screwed if you didn't call a timeout because it wouldn't let you audible.

 

I've only seen people run back 20 yards and throw a pass within team play, but never in a 1on1 game..  

 

As long as you set your feet though, you should be fine.  I don't know why anyone would ever do that since you are sacrificing your pocket and allowing DE's (and any blitzing LBers) to run a straight line to your QB...  If people do that consistently enough, I would think a buc cover 2 while spreading your DL wide would help combat that.  Anything that provide enough coverage so your DE's can track down the QB..

[Cary Kollins]

The only thing that irritates me (and I haven't actually seen it in this game yet I don't think) is when someone runs backwards like 20 yards with their QB and throws an awesome pass.

And kickoffs, how the hell do I audible to an onside kick when someone decides to pull 1 in the 1st quarter and im already setup for a regular return. Ive seen other people do it and im sick of wasting TO's.

Don't even worry about audibles if someone tries an onside kick and you aren't in onside return formation. 90% of the time the other team will touch the ball before it goes ten yards and the other 10% you will recover. I played against a guy that did every kick onside and this happened every time.

The only time I didn't recover an opposing onside kick was when I was actually in onside return formation and the ball bounced off Olsen's hands.

[Cary Kollins]

How do I use this. I actually use the shotgun a lot since '11 using Clausen.

Just learning how to run better. Not too good with the option, had a few fumbles with pitching to Delo so ive kinda avoided anything but Cam keepers.

34 drops it a lot for me, even on short passes, so I use Tolbert as my 3RB, he has the best catch rating, I'll try Barner too as someone else suggested for speed, just so many running choices with Stewy too.

I think my problem is holding down the triangle button, I think im just tapping too quickly.

Thanks for the advice guys, feel free to add more of your secrets. Newby needs help.

From the main menu screen find the option for "community" or something like that. Then find the most popular playbooks to download and the Spread Playbook should be one of the top ones. Once you've downloaded it you have to select it from the head to head screen before you select "ready" for an online match.

Go to the advanced options screen (as if you were changing jersey before the game) and the new Spread playbook should be at the beginning of the playbook options....scroll through all the teams and the Spread will be at the start of the teams, should be right before the Bears.

[carolina-chuck]

ESPN 2k5 was my favorite game. Madden cant touch ESPN.