Out of the Darkness | Oakland Raiders (M13)

[jmik58]

As a person who rarely does a dynasty with my favorite teams, this is still a bit of a stretch for me considering that Oakland is the rival of my favorite -- the Kansas City Chiefs.

I enjoy the challenge of rebuilding and Oakland seems to be a perfect opportunity for that. I've updated the scheme and player emphasis and am already seeing a nice improvement in player ratings. It looks like Oakland has solid players but they're being utilized poorly.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, or leave feedback at any time. I hope you decide to follow along as I'll try to provide some nice graphics as well as gameplay video.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy the journey!

__________________

Offense: Spread (Heavy emphasis on running the ball and short passes with play-action. My style is very much West Coast)
Defense: 4-3

How I play: I don't play every game -- I will sim some of them to progress the season and dynasty along. To make it more of a challenge I also limit the amount of games I play when/if I make the playoffs. For example, the first year I make the playoffs I play the first game and simulate any subsequent ones. The next time I play two, and so on. It keeps a level of parity and creates a rewarding system, in my opinion.

Also. I don't play defense! I super-sim the defense and only play offense. I do this for three main reasons. I find that defense is too easy in Madden against the CPU AI, I like the variance of letting my defense's ratings play out, and I think it makes the games move quicker (obviously).

Enough of the info though, it's time for some updates!

[jmik58]

[jmik58]

Tennessee's Jerrod Jackson hopes to lead the Titans to glory in 2013.

[JaymeeAwesome]

How do you score 41 points with your offense only gaining approximately 110 yards?

[FaM0us Skins]

Great win in your 1st preseason game. I like how you did the Sportscenter video for the highlight of the night.

[jmik58]

Quote: Originally Posted by jaymee13

How do you score 41 points with your offense only gaining approximately 110 yards?

Haha, it does look strange but it's because it's a preseason game and the starters only played 1 quarter. I chose to highlight the starters because rarely does anyone care if the backup had a monster game in a preseason game. However, as you may notice, I do try to include at least one backup's stats.

Quote: Originally Posted by FaM0us Skins

Great win in your 1st preseason game. I like how you did the Sportscenter video for the highlight of the night.

Thanks! I'm waiting on my Elgato Game Capture HD to arrive in the mail. When it gets here I'll have highlights from the current game instead of showing random videos.

[jmik58]

[jmik58]

Seattle, Washington -- The Oakland Raiders may need to opt for two-hand touch in practice this year if they have any hopes of contending for a playoff birth.

The front line for the Silver and Black is packed with formidable players, but if the preseason has shown us anything it's that the Raiders can't afford injuries.

"As excited as I am with the ability of our starters to perform well in the first and second quarters throughout the preseason, it's concerning to see the backups fall apart throughout the rest of the game," stated general manager Mitch Houston. "We didn't see the kind of growth we were hoping for -- no one really emerged."

Having a guy like Carson Palmer certainly doesn't guarantee anything, but it appears that the Matt Leinart experiment may soon be over as well. Few players can top the bust level of JaMarcus Russell, but Leinart has quietly disappointed wherever he has gone -- be it Arizona or Oakland.

Seattle's Earl Thomas intercepted Leinart and returned the pick for six points on what should have been an easy completion on a flair pass to fullback Owen Schmitt. But Leinart's lack of arm strength and inconsistent footwork leaves his teammates and coaches in limbo.

"I certainly wish I could have that one back," said Leinart after the game. "But I think I performed pretty well and am showing the front office guys and coaches that I'm moving along well."

The disconnect between reality and perception makes things even more sketchy for the troubled franchise that is struggling to be relevant for the first time in ten years. If the injury bug hits Oakland this year, the dream state of the disillusioned Raiders may quickly be filled with nightmares.