EA Sport "NFL HEAD COACH"

[XiaNaphryz]

Originally Posted by rexallllsc

You hit on something interesting.

Why should they have hard and fast numbers and ratings? Why not just see percpection? What would cause you to all of a sudden see a coaches worth right after you hired him? Or maybe have the ratings always chaging and "honing" in on his true skill, as derived by the coach and/or his performance?

Supposedly, this is true with player ratings and coach perception. One coach may see a certain player at a certain rating range, but another coach will see a different range. Assuming this is true, maybe the coach ratings are similar?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Here another one. Full game played.
Posted at operationsports forum.

The "real" Raiders averaged about 60 snaps a game. Real Browns would have had about 56 offensive snaps a game.

As we feared, the numbers are low.

[FBPro]

I was able to play the demo in windowed mode but not the full version, anyonelse having this problem? Yes. I have changed the setting in the "ini" file and it still won't work and I don't see where it can be changed in game.

[SirFozzie]

again, 8 or 9 minutes would be perfect. hope they can patch it.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

again, 8 or 9 minutes would be perfect. hope they can patch it.

I think that'll just lead to the QBs throwing 14 interceptions instead of 7.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've just finished training camp and I LOVED it. I can see that some people would find it repetitive, but I thought it was great. I was screaming at the screen when McNabb was holding onto the ball too long in some drills. Likewise, Greg Lewis was pissing me off. He has such great speed that he would burn my 3rd or 4th CB, but his hands are SO unreliable. Chad Jackson dropped quite a few balls too, and I had to discipline the rookie a bit. Anyway, I finally had a few good last practices, and I'm about to start my first pre-season game. I'm playing the Browns and Trent Dilfer is rated very poorly while my secondary is rated very good, so it will be interesting to see how many picks we get.

Oh yeah, I'm actually not so critical of the Giants drafting a QB after I had my scout look at all of their QB's closely. Besides Eli, they had horrible QB's on their roster. Lorentzen was their #2 and he is rated very poorly. Jay Cutler gave them a very solid #2 and at #25 he signed a deal for just over 3 million a year. He is probably better than any of the FA QB's that were out there or at least cheaper and a relative better value.

Anyway, off to play my first pre-season game. I'll post stats afterwards. However, I also can't get it to be non-full window and I can't alt-tab out of the game so I'll focus on key stats.

[jbmagic]

Whats the deal with the screen pass issue? In the IGN review the guy said the play never works. QB always sacked, scrambles etc. Comments from those who have played the game would be appreciated. Thanks

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -


The difference in player ratings is really visible in this game. Chad Jackson was getting shut down by Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard and his confidence was plummeting. So, I put my #4 CB on him. He schooled my #4 CB and it helped his confidence some.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Whats the deal with the screen pass issue? In the IGN review the guy said the play never works. QB always sacked, scrambles etc. Comments from those who have played the game would be appreciated. Thanks

Unfortunately, my screen doesn't work either. My QB usually throws it to the WR. I'm hoping that can be patched.

[ShaneTheMaster]

What makes you think they would patch the problem of screen passes? You have not been able to run a successful screen, which is an important fundamental football play that nullifies blitzes, in the last 10 years in Madden.. and they have never fixed it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by ShaneTheMaster

What makes you think they would patch the problem of screen passes? You have not been able to run a successful screen, which is an important fundamental football play that nullifies blitzes, in the last 10 years in Madden.. and they have never fixed it.

ding ding

[RedKingGold]

I think the major problem with the draft classes is our perception of them. I bet this disappears once the fictional players are added in future years.

[jbmagic]

Some interesting things the modders are finding.

http://football-freaks.com/forums/in...howtopic=14980

Using Tdbview I opened the Settings file within the System folder. Don't know yet what can be done to modify this stuff but what I found was veeeeery interesting. Hopefully the attached .jpg is viewable.

If not, a couple key finds are:

Quarter length (0-14)
Accelerated Game Clock [Yes/No]

AI settings for gameplay
Penalty settings

There's even something in there for Ballboy shadows...

[DaddyTorgo]

oh lord please let quarter length and accelerated clock be moddable. even with the other problems sure to crop up if this was fixed i know i'd get my entertainment $'s worth out of it!

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh please let interceptions be moddable.. my first preseason game was uhhhmm.. interesting.


It started off with Dilfer throwing a pick on the 1st play. He threw deep and he threw it VERY poorly way over his guys head. Dawkins was there to play centerfielder. Westbrook fumbled his first carry and they got the ball right back. Dilfer proceeded to throw another pick. Dilfer threw a total of 6 picks in the 1st quarter! 3 of them were returned for touchdowns despite being thrown very deep. Dilfer's long accuracy in this game is crap (somewhere in the teens if I remember correctly.) He threw quite well when he kept it short, but when he threw it long it was a pick more often than not.

Anyway, there were some very good things in the game. The running game felt closer to realistic than any madden game I've ever played. The short passing game was quite crisp for both teams. It was fun, but the interceptions definitely puts a damper on the fun. I also hope quarter length is moddable, because I don't know how we can get a decent number of plays with 5 minute quarters. In my game, Cleveland ended up with the ball a lot since they had so many picks returned for TD's. They still only ran 57 plays from scrimmage. We only ran 34 plays from scrimmage and that was with me trying to get plays off ASAP. Here are some game stats:


Eagles:

McNabb 3 of 6 for 34 yards with 0 TD 1 PICK. 0 sacks.

Brett Elliott 2 of 6 for 73 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. 0 sacks.

Westbrook 5 carries for 16 yards.

Elliott 2 carries for 11 yards.

Addai 15 carries for 68 yards and a TD (no big runs either, just lots of 3 to 5 yard gains.)

Reggie Brown 1 catch for 66 yards and a TD.

L.J. Smith 1 catch for 17 yards.

Chad Jackson 2 catches for 16 yards.

Runyan 7 pancakes.

Shawn Andrews 6 pancakes.

Every other OL starter 3 pancakes.

Dawkins led the team with 8 tackles.

Trotter 6 tackles and 2 sacks to lead the team.

Dawkins led the team with 4 picks.

Lewis had 3 more.


We had 196 yards of offense from scrimmage.


Cleveland:

Dilfer 17 of 34 for 179 yards 2 TD's and 9 INTS!!! 7 INT's in the first half. Most of his completions came against the 2nd string defense which I put in at halftime as did both of his TD passes.

R. Droughns 13 carries for 39 yards.

Lee Suggs 7 carries for 18 yards.

T. Smith 3 carries for 6 yards.

R. Droughns lead the team with 4 catches for 58 yards. Dilfer did well when he threw it short to his backs or receivers.

A. Bryant 3 catches for 29 yards.

Braylon Edwards 3 catches for 24 yards and a TD.

D. Northcutt 1 catch for 14 yards and a TD.

L.J. Shelton had a whopping 16 pancakes!

R. Tucker had 11 pancakes. The rest of the team had 2 or 3.


B. Russell led the team with 5 tackles.

Gary Baxter had both of their picks.

They had 230 yards of total offense, mostly in the 2nd half against my 2nd string defense (with their 1st team offense still in.)

That brings me to what might be causing the picks. Dilfer is rated in the low 50's. My entire secondary was rated 80 or above and 3 of them were rated 90 or above. Also, my linebackers were all in the 80's and my D'Line got a lot of pressure on him (despite the high pancake numbers.)

Anyway, there is a lot that this game does right, but those interceptions are just too much out of line. Hopefully, that can be modded.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh yeah, the final score was 52-14 in favor of my Eagles.

[jbmagic]

Eaglefan27

It looks like, from that viewer I posted above, that Interception can be moddable.

I hope the modders can firgure out how to edit the file now they can open it with that viewer.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Eaglefan27

It looks like, from that viewer I posted above, that Interception can be moddable.

I hope the modders can firgure out how to edit the file now they can open it with that viewer.

The potential certainly seems to be there. Hopefully some smart modders will come up with something soon.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Like previewers have said, the game took about 45 minutes to play with 5 minute quarters. I would gladly spend an hour and a half if modders can give us adjustable quarter lengths with accelerated clocks and reasonable interception totals.

[spleen1015]

I think trading draft picks is broken.

As the Lions, I traded Rogers to the Saints for the #2 pick.

When I got to the draft, the Saints made the pick and Rogers is not on my roster anymore.

[spleen1015]

I really hope Leinhart isn't put on my team after the draft.

I picked Vince Young with the #9 pick to get my QB.

[Eaglesfan27]

Hmmm. I traded for a pick (50th) and it worked just fine.

Did you trade during the draft or before the draft?

[spleen1015]

Okay, this really stinks.

My 3rd round pick was part of the Rogers to Saints deal. I didn't get to make that pick. So, I traded Rogers and a 3rd rounder to NO for a scrub RB.

Guh!

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Hmmm. I traded for a pick (50th) and it worked just fine.

Did you trade during the draft or before the draft?

I traded the first opportunity I had, so probably 3-6 weeks before the draft.

[spleen1015]

Okay, it was Roy Williams I traded, not Carlos Rogers.

Either way, they got the player and all of the draft picks and I got Aaron Stecker out of it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wierd. I traded 6 weeks ahead of time for the 50th pick with no problem. I got my pick just fine and Dallas got my picks just fine.

[dbd1963]

When they ask you if you want to sim ahead to the next section.. you really don't want to do that, do you.

I drafted seven, signed one. Not even Matt Leinert is on my team. 1st round pick. Not on the team.

So I'm starting over.

And I learned what the deal was with the coordinators. You aren't supposed to hire them, you are supposed to promote them. If you have all your position coach spots filled, then the guy you hire next will go to the appropriate coordinator spot. I am not a fan of this way of doing things.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

There is quite a bit to like about this game (if you don't mind micromanaging) but I'm going to hold off progressing with this career for a few days to see if any more news come from that thread that jb posted and there might be some mods.

[Eaglesfan27]

Don't ever sim ahead even when it tells you it is ok. Always go day by day. Then, you can release any players that you need to, in order to make room for the draft picks.

[Kam]

Okay, I just got done playing my first game online (and for the one and only time in my life I am in the top 100 leaderboard...#7)

Anyways...

Final Score:
Raiders (me) 34
Steelers (bigbenXLImvp?) 18

Final stats:
Passing
Pitt: 14/30 passing for 225 yards with 2 INTs
Oak: 9/17 passing for 190 yards with 1 INT

Rushing:
Pitt: 27 for 163 yards
Oak: 21 for 47 yards

Recieving:
Pitt: 7 players
Oak: 5 players

Punting:
Pitt: 2 for 82 yards, long of 43 - He went for it on 4th down frequently
Oak: 5 for 51.7 avg., long of 67 yards

Offense:
Pitt: 381 yards, 15 1st downs
Oak: 222 yds, 8 1st downs

Now the stats are off a bit because he went for it on 4th down inside his end of the field a few times, so I had a couple of short (less than yards) drives.

Notes:
-1st play from scrimmage Brooks completed a 73 yard TD to Moss
-A few possessions later Rothlisberger completes an 82 yard TD pass (Ward?)
-Brooks was intercepted in the end zone (PITT took a knee)
-at the end of the half, the PITT receiver tried to get out of bounds with 2 seconds left. I THINK the OAK defender tackled him in bounds...although it was close...clock ran out.
-17-12 at half - PITT went for 2 point conversions on both TDs
-2nd half - PITT fumbled the ball, about 5 players looked at the ball including 2 or 3 Raiders before PITT recovered ball 5 yards in front of line of scrimmage
-PITT Parker had a nice 62 yard TD run, took the ball outside and was barely touched
-OAK scores TD on QB sneak [QB sneak was run a total of 3 times in the game and it was always successful, including one for about 4 yards....]
-PITT went for it on 4th down, were unsuccessful but the audio said "32 Yard Gain on the Play"...uh, no...although it may have been the 32 were I took over the ball
-OAK scored a TD on an INT return by Fabian Washington - 20-25 yards...no one in front of him
-the 2 Minute warning...as someone previously said, it comes with 40% of the quarter remaining...YUCK
-PITT throws in to triple coverage - I did not notice if anyone was open, but it was a very bad choice to make the throw
-Only one flag in the game...Delay of Game in final moments

Overall:
-It was VERY hard to run with Oakland
-There is NO time to talk to players...I tried to talk to my O-line and I missed 3 plays
-I think there is a lot of potential when the game is played between serious football fans who know football strategy...
-BUT...the game lasts a LONG time...almost an hour, so if your opponent is stupid/yucky, etc. it can be a VERY long game (my opponent kept going for it on 4th down, but his running game kept him in the game).

Oh yeah...when you sign up for your online account [I am sure I have another one, but who knows which email address I used...so I made a new one] you have the option to pay $2 to avoid ads...or let ESPN "pay" the $2...I let ESPN pay, but did not notice any ads...so I don't know

I had trouble connecting with the first person I invited to play...he had 3 green bars which I thought meant he had a good connection...but the second player I tried to connect with had only ONE Red bar and the connection held for the whole hour.

My EA player name is kamphoto22.

[spleen1015]

I will mess with verifying it tomorrow. I've been at it 5:30 hours with this game tonight and this has disappointed me.

So, for 5:25 hours, I was really enjoying myself.

[Eaglesfan27]

Despite my wacky pre-season stats, I've had a lot of fun playing it for almost 12 hours today

[yabanci]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Total Offensive Plays:
Oakland 50, Cleveland 53

This is not exactly good, but not too bad. My stats show the real life Raiders averaging 62 offensive plays per game and the Browns averaging 58.

Originally Posted by Kam

Final stats:
Passing
Pitt: 14/30 passing for 225 yards with 2 INTs
Oak: 9/17 passing for 190 yards with 1 INT

Rushing:
Pitt: 27 for 163 yards
Oak: 21 for 47 yards

57 offensive plays for the Steelers, 38 for the Raiders. This is more troubling.

[Eaglesfan27]

Similar stats in my game Yabanci as far as only about 90 total plays.

I just downloaded Tdbview because I was curious about the modding potential, but I can't even find the systems folder that the thread talks about to view the settings file.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Well, I won't be getting this game. Way too much time committment. 45 or more minutes for one game. No chance to get into any sort of career. For the same reason, I don't call plays in FOF. Sheesh. I wasn't a fan of 5 minute quarters but go for 8-9 minutes, and I would have to quit my job to play this game.

It's not an indictment of the game per se, just that it doesn't mesh with my lifestyle.

[Groundhog]

If it's possible to tweak the sliders out-of-game (yet another reason why I wouldn't dream of buying a game like this for console) than I'll shell out cash for this game. If not, no chance.

I don't know how anyone at EA can playtest their own game and not get put off by the interception-a-minute ratio even with the default level in Madden. With it turned down to a 1 out of 100 in Madden, the amount of times a QB still throws it right at a defender is stupid. They may not pick them off as many times, but it just looks terrible having the ball bounce right out of the defenders hands every 3rd passing play.

[sooner333]

What are the system rec's for the PC game? I picked up the Xbox game, and I had to go to work this evening before I even got to the combine, but if it turns out the PC game is modable and is a better game, I might try to get that...however, I have a three and a half year old Dell laptop that might not support the graphics well of the games and practices.

[Eaglesfan27]

I just opened that settings file, and it is very interesting. Jbmagic's screenshot cuts it off, but there are seperate "slider" settings for the CPU and Human among many other things, and there is an option there that sounds like it could turn "player control" to classic which makes me think like Madden. Very interesting file. Hopefully Modders can use Tdbwrite or something else to make some needed changes.

[yabanci]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I just opened that settings file, and it is very interesting. Jbmagic's screenshot cuts it off, but there are seperate "slider" settings for the CPU and Human among many other things, and there is an option there that sounds like it could turn "player control" to classic which makes me think like Madden. Very interesting file. Hopefully Modders can use Tdbwrite or something else to make some needed changes.

I'm confident some kid in Latvia will be able to save the day.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I just opened that settings file, and it is very interesting. Jbmagic's screenshot cuts it off, but there are seperate "slider" settings for the CPU and Human among many other things, and there is an option there that sounds like it could turn "player control" to classic which makes me think like Madden. Very interesting file. Hopefully Modders can use Tdbwrite or something else to make some needed changes.

Sounds very much like they are using the Madden engine after all with all these remnants of Madden options hidden away.

[Eaglesfan27]

That is what I'm thinking too. There are even options to affect the graphics of cheerleaders, the field, and such. Anyway, if it wasn't obvious, I would say that anyone who wants realistic stats should hold off on buying this until either a patch or a mod comes out for it.

[dbd1963]

I have found that you can offer the coach a specific job. It's in the negotiation screen. And they won't necessarily take the position coach job either if there's a coordinator's job open.

I have also found that, since you want to match philosophy with your coaches, you really shouldn't fire too many coaches the first year, or you'll wind up with an irate owner (and short a few coaches).

Another thing -- on the right side of the negotiation screen it lists out some of the coach's attributes, I guess the ones you got a feel for in the interview, so that you do know something about him before you hire him (if the interview answers didn't clue you in, but they actually do a good job of that).

Re: moddability, I think if you can see those sliders, then a mod can mod them. I suspect the interceptions and quarter length are going to be ironed out to at least an acceptable level. Madden never becomes perfect no matter what you do with the sliders.

I agree the game is fun, even if starting over again is too exhausting a prospect for me right now (want to hire the coaches right, dang it!).. off to bed.

[sabotai]

I threw this up on my GameFly list to see how it plays on the XBox. I would imagine that the interface is identical. With the layout from the demo that I saw, it would probably be easier/faster to use the controller....and that's pretty sad.

[Izulde]

The more I play this game, the more it's giving me a headache. It's a pain in the ass to navigate to the player you want and it also can't add.

I have 3 QBs signed and 2 SS. The game insists I only have 2 QB and 1 SS.

This is angering me.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I threw this up on my GameFly list to see how it plays on the XBox. I would imagine that the interface is identical. With the layout from the demo that I saw, it would probably be easier/faster to use the controller....and that's pretty sad.

I have found that it is easier to navigate with the keyboard than with the mouse. I haven't found anything that I can't do with the keyboard.

I am definitely glad I got the PC version. I was going to get the PS2 version because the interface is designed for a console. I'm glad I changed my mind. The patching and modding ability of the PC version is well worth it given my draft pick bug.

[Bee]

The offseason portion sounds pretty interesting overall, but it sounds like the in-game portion misses the mark by quite a bit. If modders can dig around and get the in-game part working a little more realistically, it might be worth picking up the game.

[jbmagic]

spleen1015

Regarding the draft pick bug you mention above.

Did you sign any RFA players. I was reading another forum mentioning that if you sign a RFA player, you lose a draft pick according to nfl rules. Not really clear on the specifics but that might be the reason.

[kcchief19]

I only got about an hour and a half of gaming in last night, but it was a fun time. The line between an FOF and this is pretty clear from the start, though. You don't have the financial depth with contracts and negotiations, and the game doesn't do a real good job of providing you with information and the impact of decisions like FOF does.

I hate the way the roster screens are done. It's obviously designed for a certain type of console gamer.

I think this could be a fine diversion. I'm not expecting the depth of an FOF, but so far I find it more enjoyable than Madden -- but then again I haven't been a Madden fan for about 10 years.

[Adamski47]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Dola -

Like previewers have said, the game took about 45 minutes to play with 5 minute quarters. I would gladly spend an hour and a half if modders can give us adjustable quarter lengths with accelerated clocks and reasonable interception totals.

Based on your posts (I have not finished reading the thread) I do not think the problem is with the INTs themselves; if a QB throws a flyball to CF the ball should be caught. I'd much rather see that then drop after drop after drop in regards to an INT. The problem is in the play-calling, knowing Dilfer sucks a D for throwing deep, or in the player himself being too confident in his abilities (EA isn't that smart...just a glitch).

Interesting reads so far...I'll finish in a bit. I had one question though:
I did not see the point in using office hours because I was simply using them to set my depth charts and I could only move 2 players at a time (wtf is that?) and they didn't save anyway. So I just started skipping my office hours since I was told I could handle this stuff later (pregame etc). Am I screwed? I could care less about creating plays for now and had just planned on using a playbook that was already made. I don't want to have to start over!

[Adamski47]

Originally Posted by yabanci

This is not exactly good, but not too bad. My stats show the real life Raiders averaging 62 offensive plays per game and the Browns averaging 58.



57 offensive plays for the Steelers, 38 for the Raiders. This is more troubling.

Don't forget that punts and FG attempts still count as offensive plays. Maybe you already counted these?