Madden Tips, Madden 11 Tips, Madden 2011 Tips

Tim Tebow on Cover of NCAA 2011?

Rumors are circulating that Tim Tebow will grace the cover of NCAA 2011. EA in the past two years has put out multiple athletes on each console cover though, but word is that as dominating as Tim Tebow was they could go back to one cover this year.

You can read more on Tim Tebow and how experts are saying he will do on draft day.

Madden 10 Tip of the Week by Free Madden Tips – 46 Bear – Plug Cover 1

Wildcard weekend has passed we saw some great games played and some great surprises. Green Bay vs. Arizona was probably the best game all weekend according to most fans. Dallas seems to be on fire and we will see what they do against Minnesota this weekend.

We have a defensive Madden 10 tip today. This defense takes a little longer to set up but with practice can be done quickly. Be sure and check it out.

Enjoy and see you next week!

The Cultural Sacking of Running Quarterbacks

Historically over the years we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the emergence of the scrambling quarterback in the NFL. Names such as Warren Moon, Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young and most notably Michael Vick. A few years ago it seemed like “the runners” were carving a place for themselves in the NFL hierarchy. However, this refreshing new style seems to be going out just as fast as it came in. With the indictment and prison sentence of Michael Vick and the mental meltdown of Vince Young, the NFL has looked elsewhere to generate excitement. For example many NFL teams have abandoned running the ball and have elected to air it out most of the time.

Its crazy to see how the NFL has changed so much in just 2 year’s time. Seeing this immediate change in culture makes you wonder. What happened to the running quarterbacks? A few events, some related some unrelated all happening simultaneously. The biggest factor that led to the extinction of the running QB is injuries. After Carson Palmer, and most notably Tom Brady have suffered from season ending injuries. As a result players around the league seemed less willing to run for a first down and put their bodies at risk as a result. And the loss of Vick to jail hurt the popularity of the NFL to casual fans. other major factors helped contribute as well.

The media played a major role in the change of culture too. Analysts and announcers for years have helped generate much of the buzz that these QB’s received but also were highly critical of them in bad situations. (Interceptions, fumbles, etc.) Announcers imparticular would highly praise their speed and athleticism but would criticize their mechanics and compare them to the league’s best pocket passers. In doing this, they inadvertently would make fans pick sides. Most people I’ve met either like running QB’s or prefer pocket passers. What I’ve noticed is that many (not all) quarterbacks with great running skills don’t have great mechanics. However, in their defense many of them have mediocre offensive lines and receiving corps. Therefore their legs become the first (and usually best) option for scramblers.

For example, during Michael Vick’s tenor with the Atlanta Falcons they led the league in drops during the 2004 and 2005 seasons and their offensive line was a run blocking line. Therefore he transformed himself into the most exciting athlete the NFL had ever seen. Most notably in 2006 Vick set an NFL Milestone by rushing for over 1,000 yards in a season.Many have criticized Vick for being a great runner. Called him such things as a “Running Back playing QB”, a gimmick, etc. Other contributions deserve their acknowledgment as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Decade of Madden innovations, acknowledgement and reflection

A decade of dominance some call it. The pinnacle of sports gaming. The name in entertainment most synonymous with Football, Madden. Over this past decade Madden football has become the most popular sports game in the U.S. Over the decade its received annual graphics and gameplay overhauls. Brilliant innovations, such as the Playmaker, Franchise Mode, Hit Stick, and QB Vision. The games have majorly boomed on a consistent basis due in large part to their now “Built In” audience of dedicated fans. Over the years many of the technical innovations have been left on the cutting room floor and some editions of the game have suffered as a result (2006, 2007,2008). However the marketing giant EA Sports has managed to establish Madden NFL 10 as its best seller this decade, and added new features such as Online Draft Leagues, original AFL Uniforms, etc.

The real credit I give to EA is their excellent marketing skills. I’ve seen more Madden 10 commercials in the last 6 months than in the last 6 years. Celebrity football games, website ads, and TV spots equal marketing giant. To step away from marketing for a moment, the game in my opinion dosent get enough recognition for its great (but not perfect) gameplay. As I said before, over the years the EA Sports team, has slashed many of their own alterations to the game. Suprisingly Madden 10’s gameplay has been balanced because of the scale back. now the preplay offensive and defensive options are no longer overcrowded with tools, only hardcore players would use. Now due to the balance and easy accessability, many new casual Madden players have emerged as a result. Granted, no sports game will ever sell a freakish number of units like Uncharted 2, or Modern Warfare 2, but in a struggling economy with layoffs all around you have to respect EA for the great product they’ve managed to create.

Madden NFL 10 Wild Card Weekend Roster Update

The details have been released for the next roster update. There is one more roster update due out on Feb. 5th. Looks like a few people got the shaft on this update and some people got more of an increase that they deserve. Anyway, on with the ratings. Here is the posting from EA on the Madden 10 Wild Card Weekend Roster Update

Player Pos Team Update
Hamza Abdullah S ARZ Added
Mike Gandy OL ARZ Decrease, from 84 to 81OVR
Alan Branch DE ARZ Increase, from 57 to 60OVR
Greg Toler CB ARZ Increase, from 59 to 64OVR
LaRod Stephens-Howling HB ARZ Increase, from 64 to 67OVR
Ben Graham P ARZ Increase, from 76 to 83OVR
Beanie Wells HB ARZ Increase, from 78 to 79OVR
Gerald Hayes LB ARZ Increase, from 82 to 83OVR
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB ARZ Increase, from 86 to 90OVR
Matt Ware S ARZ Removed from depth chart
Robert James LB ATL Added
Chris Houston CB ATL Decrease, from 71 to 67OVR
Tye Hill CB ATL Decrease, from 73 to 70OVR
John Abraham DE ATL Decrease, from 94 to 92OVR
Coy Wire LB ATL Increase, from 59 to 65OVR
Chris Owens CB ATL Increase, from 63 to 70OVR
Thomas Johnson DT ATL Increase, from 67 to 71OVR
Brent Grimes CB ATL Increase, from 68 to 75OVR
Jason Snelling HB ATL Increase, from 71 to 74OVR
Stephen Nicholas LB ATL Increase, from 71 to 76OVR
Read the rest of this entry »