So this has nothing to do with fantasy sports but I thought I would open up the site to a more well rounded audience. I have a few ideas on how to improve the Madden NFL video games in the future.
I would like to see a training mode implemented. What I mean is that your players improve from training and game experience so that your team is getting better and your players develop in a natural way. EA Sports has already done this with Fifa 2008. It has growth mode and is a favorite of users. Even more than just training individuals on your team would be training your whole team in the offense you want to run and defensive schemes for the upcoming week. This would allow your team chemistry to improve and for you to game plan for each opponent every week. Imagine training your team in the zone blitz to confuse a rookie QB or training the cover two for a high flying offense you dont want to get beat by. The training of individual players and your schemes would coincide. The depth that this would bring the game would really be great and if someone didnt want to do this they could just turn it off.
The draft needs to be updated. You have to make it more exciting. The talent levels have to be deeper and you have to have some sleepers. Potential can be a huge part of it and could go along with the training option to develop your young superstars. To make the draft better you have to have more trades and mock draft beforehand. Scouting prospects shouldnt be tedious. You should have a scouting firm and they look at as many players as they see fit. If they miss someone too bad. They will make up a draft board based on your input of what you like in a position and what you need. You can decide to take the best player available or reach for a need.
The blocking in the game has got to get better. Your oline should not ignore the guy right in front of him. Fullbacks should have more intelligence and should be trained and learn your running style to block better.
QBs have to have their feet planted and be looking forward to complete a pass. Anyone can run backward and then just lob it deep and a good WR will catch it. That is terrible. A pocket QB should stay in the pocket.
I want to see WRs get free from corners by making moves or the Defense messing up. What I mean is that a WR with speed should be able to blow by a slower corner with no help or a CB that is low in awareness thinks he has help but doesn't and lets a WR go. This would be a lot more real and would make defenses adjust to the top WR talent. This would also work in zones that were played by teams not strong in the zone.
One play should never work more than 5 times in a game. A defense should be able to adjust. Now if you are mixing up the look at the line or change the players/formation enough than maybe or if the defense is terrible but the defensive AI has got to get better.
Please make the playbooks deeper. I have seen the same plays since the beginning of time in madden. Please make it deeper.
That is all for now. Please comment and let me know what you think. I love madden and have owned every game ever made and will continue to do so. I just want a better product and the training thing is the key.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Injuries
Injuries are piling up around the league and the DLs are getting full for every team. It is the time of year where the minor leaguers get called up and the waiver wire is active. I have a few guys I like going forward you may be able to pick up. These guys are owned in less than 50 percent of leagues:
Carlos Delgado, 48.4 percent of leagues(ESPN).
Ben Francisco, 43.1 percent of leagues
Nick Swisher, 37.9 percent of leagues
Lastings Milledge, 32.4 percent of leagues
Fred Lewis 31.4 percent of leagues
Cody Ross, 16.2 percent of leagues.
Pick them up now.
For pitchers:
Darrell Rasner 39.8
Justin Masterson 33.4
Scott Olsen 28.2
Daniel Cabrera 22.9
Jon Garland 18.3.
I will post their numbers after a few weeks to see how you could have done if you picked them up.
Carlos Delgado, 48.4 percent of leagues(ESPN).
Ben Francisco, 43.1 percent of leagues
Nick Swisher, 37.9 percent of leagues
Lastings Milledge, 32.4 percent of leagues
Fred Lewis 31.4 percent of leagues
Cody Ross, 16.2 percent of leagues.
Pick them up now.
For pitchers:
Darrell Rasner 39.8
Justin Masterson 33.4
Scott Olsen 28.2
Daniel Cabrera 22.9
Jon Garland 18.3.
I will post their numbers after a few weeks to see how you could have done if you picked them up.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Fantasy Baseball Strategy
So, I am in my second season of fantasy baseball and I thought I would post my thoughts on my struggle for greatness. First, I play with 9 other guys who are all serious baseball fans. I like baseball but am not a die-hard fan. We are doing a keeper league with 3 utility players on top of your normal fielding positions and 6 Starting Pitchers and 2 Relievers. The stats we use are: Runs, RBI, AVG, HR, SB, ERA, WHIP,K, W, AND SV. Onto my fantasy theory:
You cannot win all ten categories. I go for 7 and disregard the other three. The 3 I dont go for are: HRs, AVG, and RBI. Those 3 are the most fought over stat by everyone and would be hard to win even if I had great players with those stats. On the hitting side of the ball that leaves Runs and Stolen Bases. There are certain players that fit this mold that you can get for cheap or go for broke and get the upper echelon players. I will break it down by players you get cheap and the guys you have to draft high or trade to get.
Top players(You must get at least 2 of these but hopefully more):
Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford, Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfanso Soriano, Grady Sizemore, David Wright, BJ Upton, Brandon Phillips and Alex Rodriguez.
Sleepers: (Try to get 4 or more of these guys)
Bobby Abreu, Shane Victorino, Ian Kinsler, Brian Roberts, Jacoby Ellsbury, Eric Byrnes, Willy Taveras, Juan Pierre, Rafael Furcal, and Rickie Weeks.
Ok so now that you have those names in your mind you should know that all the top players will be drafted early so you have to snatch them with your top 2-3 picks. The sleepers may not start going til the tenth round or so depending on the depth of your league. Note: I drafted Ellsbury in the 18th round but his value has shot up and he has the potential to be a top 10 pick. At this time he is not an everyday player but if you can get him give up your power hitter and get him.
The general idea here is to get so many runs and SBs that your leaguemates cannot catch you. These guys all put up fairly decent stats across the board but that is just a bonus.
Ok. So now that is the hitters side of things. Here are my pitching theories:
Everyone competes for ERA and WHIP because inevitably they will be pretty close for everyone. The three keys are Wins, Strikeouts and Saves. You must get two top closers that will give you saves often and are dependable. Draft your closers high and don't look back. They will give you very meaningful points against guys who will ignore saves altogether and guys who didn't draft closers high. You want to take Closers on winning teams. I know that sounds obvious but you cannot get Saves if the team doesn't win. As for wins, you have to have winning pitchers on winning teams. Again, that is obvious but some people take good pitchers from bad teams and hope that they can win some games. The last thing you need is strikeouts. Draft the guy who has a history of the strikeout over a guy who will have slightly less ERA. Ks mean more. ERA will all get watered down. You have to get Ks and get the early. I know you are thinking that I am crazy because I am telling you to take everyone early. I will explain how it works (don't worry). The pitching list to look at when you form your team:
Closers to be taken as soon as you think someone will take your guy:
Jonathon Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, Joe Nathan, Billy Wagner, Bobby Jenks, and Mariano Rivera.
If you cannot get these guys then take a look at whoever is hot and follow the waiver wire. Get the hot closer and make sure they are getting you saves.
Starting Pitching Studs:
Brandon Webb, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, C.C Sabathia, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, Felix Hernandez, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Carlos Zambrano.
This list is probably a "duh" list to most of you but you should have at least 2 of these guys and try to get as many as you can.
Sleeper Options:
Edison Volquez, Ryan Dempster, Chad Billingsley, Javier Vazquez, Ted Lilly, Shawn Marcum, Ervin Santana, James Shields, and many more.
Do your own homework and know the waiver wire. It is your friend. Ill update the list of pitchers I like as much as can.
Ok so here is what your team should like and how you should get it:
C-- Any guy will do. Take someone you like or rotate catchers from the WW.
1B-- Only draft this position early if it is a great value, then trade the player for one that fits the scheme.
2B-- Try to get Phillips or Upton or check sleepers. Important position.
SS-- Reyes or Ramirez or J Roll are a great 1st round pick and good base to this plan.
3B- Arod but yeah you probably dont have the ammo or you have the 1st pick so check out Figgins or Wright.
OF-- If you didnt get the IFs that were mentioned then you gotta get some of the studs here. Also many sleepers are outfielders so try to pick them up late when you can.
So your draft should look like this:
1st round: A stud of your choosing from the hitters list.
2nd round: Another stud of the list.
3rd round: Take a top pitcher now.
4th round: Either top pitcher or another stud if one is available.
5th round: Either top pitcher or another stud depending on what you have done before.
6th- 8th round: Same as the previous rounds
9-11th: Closers should be on your team now from these rounds or before depending on your paranoia of not getting your closers rounds before this. Take another a catcher or 1B for trade bait.
12-16th-- Prime sleeper rounds for pitchers. Take a ton of SP and make sure they can win and get you some Ks.
17th-End-- Take best of what you can. Follow guide.
If you have already drafted then try to trade your guys for this type of strategy.
You cannot win all ten categories. I go for 7 and disregard the other three. The 3 I dont go for are: HRs, AVG, and RBI. Those 3 are the most fought over stat by everyone and would be hard to win even if I had great players with those stats. On the hitting side of the ball that leaves Runs and Stolen Bases. There are certain players that fit this mold that you can get for cheap or go for broke and get the upper echelon players. I will break it down by players you get cheap and the guys you have to draft high or trade to get.
Top players(You must get at least 2 of these but hopefully more):
Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford, Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfanso Soriano, Grady Sizemore, David Wright, BJ Upton, Brandon Phillips and Alex Rodriguez.
Sleepers: (Try to get 4 or more of these guys)
Bobby Abreu, Shane Victorino, Ian Kinsler, Brian Roberts, Jacoby Ellsbury, Eric Byrnes, Willy Taveras, Juan Pierre, Rafael Furcal, and Rickie Weeks.
Ok so now that you have those names in your mind you should know that all the top players will be drafted early so you have to snatch them with your top 2-3 picks. The sleepers may not start going til the tenth round or so depending on the depth of your league. Note: I drafted Ellsbury in the 18th round but his value has shot up and he has the potential to be a top 10 pick. At this time he is not an everyday player but if you can get him give up your power hitter and get him.
The general idea here is to get so many runs and SBs that your leaguemates cannot catch you. These guys all put up fairly decent stats across the board but that is just a bonus.
Ok. So now that is the hitters side of things. Here are my pitching theories:
Everyone competes for ERA and WHIP because inevitably they will be pretty close for everyone. The three keys are Wins, Strikeouts and Saves. You must get two top closers that will give you saves often and are dependable. Draft your closers high and don't look back. They will give you very meaningful points against guys who will ignore saves altogether and guys who didn't draft closers high. You want to take Closers on winning teams. I know that sounds obvious but you cannot get Saves if the team doesn't win. As for wins, you have to have winning pitchers on winning teams. Again, that is obvious but some people take good pitchers from bad teams and hope that they can win some games. The last thing you need is strikeouts. Draft the guy who has a history of the strikeout over a guy who will have slightly less ERA. Ks mean more. ERA will all get watered down. You have to get Ks and get the early. I know you are thinking that I am crazy because I am telling you to take everyone early. I will explain how it works (don't worry). The pitching list to look at when you form your team:
Closers to be taken as soon as you think someone will take your guy:
Jonathon Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, Joe Nathan, Billy Wagner, Bobby Jenks, and Mariano Rivera.
If you cannot get these guys then take a look at whoever is hot and follow the waiver wire. Get the hot closer and make sure they are getting you saves.
Starting Pitching Studs:
Brandon Webb, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, C.C Sabathia, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, Felix Hernandez, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Carlos Zambrano.
This list is probably a "duh" list to most of you but you should have at least 2 of these guys and try to get as many as you can.
Sleeper Options:
Edison Volquez, Ryan Dempster, Chad Billingsley, Javier Vazquez, Ted Lilly, Shawn Marcum, Ervin Santana, James Shields, and many more.
Do your own homework and know the waiver wire. It is your friend. Ill update the list of pitchers I like as much as can.
Ok so here is what your team should like and how you should get it:
C-- Any guy will do. Take someone you like or rotate catchers from the WW.
1B-- Only draft this position early if it is a great value, then trade the player for one that fits the scheme.
2B-- Try to get Phillips or Upton or check sleepers. Important position.
SS-- Reyes or Ramirez or J Roll are a great 1st round pick and good base to this plan.
3B- Arod but yeah you probably dont have the ammo or you have the 1st pick so check out Figgins or Wright.
OF-- If you didnt get the IFs that were mentioned then you gotta get some of the studs here. Also many sleepers are outfielders so try to pick them up late when you can.
So your draft should look like this:
1st round: A stud of your choosing from the hitters list.
2nd round: Another stud of the list.
3rd round: Take a top pitcher now.
4th round: Either top pitcher or another stud if one is available.
5th round: Either top pitcher or another stud depending on what you have done before.
6th- 8th round: Same as the previous rounds
9-11th: Closers should be on your team now from these rounds or before depending on your paranoia of not getting your closers rounds before this. Take another a catcher or 1B for trade bait.
12-16th-- Prime sleeper rounds for pitchers. Take a ton of SP and make sure they can win and get you some Ks.
17th-End-- Take best of what you can. Follow guide.
If you have already drafted then try to trade your guys for this type of strategy.
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