How do I get better kickoff coverage?

[bears5122]

I think this was done on purpose guys. I know everyone has been saying that it's a bug, but they purposely lowered the kickoff team's awareness and speed. Take the fastest guy on your team, someone rated higher than their returner, and watch as the returner will outrun him every time. I can't fathom that's an accident. Seems more like "the 12 year old will want to run back a lot of kicks" type move.

[babyfat9]

Yeah the CPU seems to be very very fast. Sometimes I wonder if speed burst even works.

[Boregard]

This is the kind of crap that kills any "goodwill" EA creates by having producers on the forums. These issues are absolutely ridiculous, there is no way this would have happen if I was a tester for this game. It is so obvious from the first kickoff, in the first game you play.

How does stuff like this make it through the testing phase???

Every person involved in testing this game would be fired if I were running EA. In fact, I would make sure they never worked on an EA product again!!! These issues make it really hard to believe that the guys who work on the game ever play it, before it gets released!

The issues that are in NCAA 09 are not terrible, but the fact that every year EA screws up stuff that wasn't broken the year before is getting really old. EA needs new leadership, and a completely new testing staff. Every year something that worked the year before gets screwed up, every year they add a useless feature aimed at "casual gamers", every year they fail to live up to even the "middle of the road" expectations, every year EA misses the boat, and every year we hear them say "we couldn't do that, but we are looking to get it done next year"!!!

And I am sick of waiting for "next year"!!!

EA has handled both of their football franchises extremely poorly for the last 5 years. If Madden 09 has a laundry list of issues that should have been caught before release, then I will never buy an EA product again. And I know several guys who feel the same way!

[babyfat9]

I don't know if any of these testers they have even watch football. It's totally unrealistic having a returner returning the ball to the 40 yard line or so play after play on a kickoff. Where is return right and return left, wall right and wall left on punts, it's just ashame.

[ukskarate]

It helps to control the kicker and run him down the field with a speed burst. Most of the time he won't make the tackle of course, but he takes up a spot where another player would be getting blocked. He's basically useless as a safety becuase he is son easy to outrun to the sidelines.

[Jackets333]

I tried kickoff left one time and put it close to the edge of the endzone and about 3 yards deep. I stopped the guy at the 20. Granted it was only once. I tried it a couple other times and didn't work as well. You pretty much have to kick it perfect.

[fishepa]

The kickoff coverage is definitely frustrating. I think the farthest back I've stopped the CPU is the 28 yard line.

[jackw]

Quote: Originally Posted by PlyrzNumber1

The stuff that's broken with the kick off/kick off return is nothing in comparison too the joke that is punt returning against the CPU. I was able to run in circles with my return man (literally in circles across the field) while waiting for the punting team to get to me. When they got close, I was still able to return the punt for ridiculous yardage. After that happened, I haven't put the game back in.

That's exactly why I haven't touched the game since. Madden 09 is looking better and better. Every year it's always something different. When will they ever get this game right.