Default All-Madden Slider Test

[crazyhorse]

Bengals 16, Browns 13 in OT

All team stats shown as CIN/CLE

First Downs: 13/19
Total Yards: 327/313
3rd Down Conversions: 5-15/8-19
Off RZ Scoring: 100% (4 att)/50% (4 att)
Sacks: 3/7
Turnovers: 3/4
Penalties: 8-77/9-120
Possession Time: 27:32/31:48

Leading Passers (COMP-ATT-YDS-TD-INT):
CIN C.Palmer 16-27-130-1-2
CLE T.Dilfer 15-28-156-0-3

Leading Rushers (ATT-YDS-TD-FUM):
CIN R.Johnson 30-144-0-0
CLE R.Droughns 41-104-0-0

Leading Receivers (top 3) (REC-YDS-TD):
CIN C.Johnson 5-49-0
CIN T.Houshmandzadah 4-36-0
CIN P.Warrick 3-26-0
CLE A.Bryant 5-57-0
CLE B.Edwards 3-23-0
CLE T.Smith 3-24-0

Leading Blockers (top 2) (PAN-SCK):
CIN L.Jones 21-1
CIN W.Anderson 11-1
CLE L.Shelton 6-0
CLE K.Jones 6-1

Leading Tacklers (top 2):
CIN K.Herring 12
CIN N.Webster 10
CLE O.Roye 7
CLE A.Davis 7

Sack Leaders (top 2):
CIN J.Smith 1
CIN J.Thornton 1
CLE O.Roye 2
CLE J.Fisk 2

Pass Defense Leaders (top 2) (DEF-INT):
CIN K.Ratliff 3-1
CIN T.James 2-1
CLE T.Law 2-0
CLE C.Thompson 2-0

Kicking Leaders (FGA-FGM):
CIN S.Graham 3-4
CLE P.Dawson 2-4

Punting Leaders (PA-AVG):
CIN K.Larson 6-37.3
CLE R.Williams 5-47.2

Game Notes:
An incredible defensive game! The turnovers were all legit, and I had more defensive pass interference and roughing the QB calls than I ever would have expected, especially at critical points in the game.

1st Q: The scoring started with Trent Dilfer trying to force one into double coverage, only to have it intercepted deep in Browns territory, which led to a Bengals FG (CIN 3, CLE 0). The next drive Dilfer moved the Browns well, and the defense was kept honest with Droughns running efficiently. Phil Dawson kicked the tying FG (CIN 3, CLE 3).

2nd Q: After a Rodney Williams punt pinned the Bengals back at their own 2, Todd Grantham had his defense blitz the edges, which opened up the middle for Rudi Johnson to rip off a 69-yard run. Two plays later, Carson Palmer finds his TE in the corner of the endzone (CIN 10, CLE 3). The Browns moved the ball well on their next drive, getting inside the Bengals 20. Maurice Carthon then called for a Braylon Edwards option (either streak or hook). Edwards ran the route so well, that even Dilfer was fooled. It looked as if Edwards would hook, so Dilfer threw it to where he would have been, but Edwards streaked and the ball was intercepted. The Bengals seized the momentum and marched methodically down the field, until Orpeus Roye hit Palmer as he threw, causing the ball to flutter in the air, and Gary Baxter intercepted it and ran it back 81 yards for a TD (CIN 10, CLE 10).

3rd Q: Trent Dilfer gets injured, and Charlie Frye comes into the game. Frye's second pass is intercepted deep in Browns territory, and the Bengals take advantage and kick a FG (CIN 13, CLE 10).

4th Q: Dilfer returns and leads the Browns the length of the field, but Droughns is stopped on a 3rd-and-goal from the 1. Dawson kicks the FG to tie it up, and time expires (CIN 13, CLE 13).

OT: The Browns receive the kickoff with a 5 MPH wind at their backs, and drive to the Bengals 32. A makeable 49-yard FG was missed by Dawson just to the left of the upright. The Bengals then get possession, and on a 3rd-and-11 from the Browns 40, Palmer's pass for Chad Johnson is incomplete, but they flag Gary Baxter for pass interference at the Browns 25. On the next play, totally taking the Browns off-guard, Palmer keeps it on a QB draw and runs all the way down to the Browns 5. Shane Graham then kicks the game-winning FG (CIN 16, CLE 13).

Slider notes:
I'm not very concerned about the turnovers. The Browns 4 interceptions thrown were all poor decisions by me to throw the ball. I didn't notice any super-human LBs or anything like that making a play. The Bengals 2 interceptions were legit as well. Palmer was hit just as he threw on one of them, and the other was tipped at the line and hit Daylon McCutcheon in the numbers. The Bengals also muffed a punt return, which the Browns recovered.

The sacks were a bit high for Cleveland (7), but three of those came when Jon Kitna had to replace an injured Palmer for a few plays. Kitna couldn't find anyone open and just held onto the ball too long. The other sacks were a good mix of blitz packages. The DEs, DTs, and LBs all were in on the action.

The punt averages were way out of whack. Those will probably need to be adjusted in the CPUs favor if that trend continues, after the season is over.

The pancakes were also totally off. The Bengals O-lineman crushed my Browns D-line, and the Browns O-line was decent against the Bengals D-line. After seeing how many pancakes the Bengals got, I'm surprised I got so many sacks. That slider will probably be another one I mess with after the season is over, assuming that trend continues.

Overall it was a very, very fun opening game! I had my chances to win (two redzone attempts with no points, couldn't get a TD from the Bengals 1, missed FG in OT), but I couldn't capitalize.

Next up: At Green Bay

[didy]

Quote: Originally Posted by crazyhorse

The entire first season of my Cleveland Browns franchise will be played using All-Madden default AI. I'll make other tweaks, such as penalties and injuries, but the AI sliders will not be touched. I will record scores and stats from every game, and we'll see how they look at the end of the year. I will use the following settings for the original Xbox: 12-Minute Quarters Sub In 84% Sub Out 77% QB Vision, Auto Pass, Auto Strafe OFF Offense Catch Assist, Defense Pass Assist ON In-Game Injuries 103 Sim Injuries 33 Penalties all MAX except Holding 9, Facemask 7, and Clipping 8 Audibles will stay as originally picked for Coach Crennel on offense and the 3-4 on defense. I will have Madden call all of my plays for two reasons: 1. This will eliminate money plays and force me to learn Coach Crennel's playbook for added realism. 2. Madden tends to call plays that fall in line with your coaching strategy. Wherever you move the offensive and defensive coaching sliders, the plays Madden calls will follow that tendency. Since I will not change these sliders, I can more accurately determine how my coaches (head coach and coordinators) are doing with their playcalling and game management throughout the year, so I can better decide as to what coaching changes I need to make in the offseason, if any. Again, more realism. Another important point regarding the playcalling is that whoever the primary receiver is on a passing play is the person I will look to get the ball to first. If he is covered, I am then forced to go through my progressions until I find the open man. Yet again, more realism! I won't allow myself to get carried away with hot routes or audibles, unless the defense has my play pretty much doomed from the start and I need to check at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes it takes a little creativity and a lot of discipline to make this game have that realistic feel to it that we're all searching for. Well, I guess that's it for now. Time to make some necessary roster moves, and have some fun!

hey baller i like your idea, was gonna try somthing similar myself however got to ask you, do you let madden call your defensive plays as well, reason iam asking is becouse he tends to call some stupid plays on defense from time to time.

[crazyhorse]

Quote: Originally Posted by didy

hey baller i like your idea, was gonna try somthing similar myself however got to ask you, do you let madden call your defensive plays as well, reason iam asking is becouse he tends to call some stupid plays on defense from time to time.

Yeah, I let him call plays on offense, defense, and special teams. I enjoy it, because instead of getting bent at Madden for calling a bonehead play, I get mad at either Romeo Crennel or one of his coordinators! If plays get too crazy and I give up a lot of big plays on defense, then Todd Grantham's job might be in jeopardy once the season is over.

The defensive play-calling was pretty solid against Cincy, though. I just need to stop the run better.

[ticklme2]

madden 2006 for xbox 360 has got tobe the worst game made!

[bcruise]

Good idea. I just started trying to get back into Madden and I was thinking about doing something similar (I've had a lot on my plate lately). I'm going to just go back to the basics and just try to have some fun with it.

In the few games I've played at the defaults just recently, I've had some of the most competitive games I've played on this year's game. I think the biggest difference from how I was playing before has to be the blocking. Previously I had always lowered those sliders to zero or close in a (futile) attempt to lower the offensive line pancake blocks, which unfortunately cause a player progression issue (too many pancakes equals your OL progressing more than it should). But turning it down too far seems to cause its own problems like sacks, and also plays a part in really poor QB play, which results in interceptions.

Ever since I went back to the defaults I've seen none of that. CPU QB's usually finding the open man, actual incompletions instead of always pass deflections, average QB percentages, even (GASP!) a semi-decent return game. Yes, the pancakes are far too frequent, but at this point with this game and series, I'm into the "To make an omelette, you gotta break some eggs" stage. And it seems like lowering the blocking breaks even more eggs than the defaults do.

This is not to slight any of the people who make slider sets - far from it. I know firsthand how much work goes into that. But I have to admit that sometimes I get too carried away with it, and lose the fun factor. Sometimes it's good to just go back and start over.

BTW, I have the PS2 version.

[crazyhorse]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

Good idea. I just started trying to get back into Madden and I was thinking about doing something similar (I've had a lot on my plate lately). I'm going to just go back to the basics and just try to have some fun with it. In the few games I've played at the defaults just recently, I've had some of the most competitive games I've played on this year's game. I think the biggest difference from how I was playing before has to be the blocking. Previously I had always lowered those sliders to zero or close in a (futile) attempt to lower the offensive line pancake blocks, which unfortunately cause a player progression issue (too many pancakes equals your OL progressing more than it should). But turning it down too far seems to cause its own problems like sacks, and also plays a part in really poor QB play, which results in interceptions. Ever since I went back to the defaults I've seen none of that. CPU QB's usually finding the open man, actual incompletions instead of always pass deflections, average QB percentages, even (GASP!) a semi-decent return game. Yes, the pancakes are far too frequent, but at this point with this game and series, I'm into the "To make an omelette, you gotta break some eggs" stage. And it seems like lowering the blocking breaks even more eggs than the defaults do. This is not to slight any of the people who make slider sets - far from it. I know firsthand how much work goes into that. But I have to admit that sometimes I get too carried away with it, and lose the fun factor. Sometimes it's good to just go back and start over. BTW, I have the PS2 version.

You said it perfectly with "I get too carried away with it, and lose the fun factor." I think that holds true with messing around with the sliders extensively for anyone. I begin to think that people put more time into developing sliders than actually playing the game!

I'm definitely not knocking those that put work into developing sliders. I understand that there are areas that need improvement, and slider shifts are necessary. My whole point with this is to show that default sliders for All-Madden aren't that far off the path to realism as the majority seems to think. You just need to pay attention to the plays called, show discipline, and play smart. My most recent game in Green Bay had the Packers (88 overall) up 17-10 at the half over my Browns (85 overall).

Unfortunately, this slider test is no more. I am selling my Xbox and looking at getting a PSP. For those of you who want to follow my lead with this and don't want to get locked into Slider Hell, just play a season on default All-Madden, or even All-Pro, depending on your skill level. After that season is done, evaluate your stats and experience in the gameplay. Then adjust the sliders you think need changed 1 click at a time. This is important!!! Even if you feel that the CPU Punt Length slider, for example, needs to be raised a few clicks, just move it one click at a time per season! This will show at least a little improvement in that area of play, but you won't be second-guessing how many clicks you went as you play each game.

Stress-free, fun game playing is the entire objective here, with gradual slider adjustments at the beginning of each season. Never during the season! Take care!

[Silent Nature]

That's exactly how I approach to my slider-making strategy. That strategy works out the best in my opinion. In fact, I'll do the same thing along with you. I have been playing NCAA 06 for some time now so I'm taking a break and making my return to Madden. This topic motivated me to do so.

I'll be doing a fantasy draft, which will be done at random (as in letting the computer selecting the players without my help.) It should spread out the talent more evenly to all teams than the default roster.

That'll give me a close match up with almost every team. This way, I will be able to test out the sliders more effectively.

I'll create a topic soon after the draft gets done. I will be using NCAA 06's draft classes for 5 years.

I'll go ahead and use the exact same restrictions and the same time length, etc.

By the way, I'll be keeping QB Vision on, but that's the only thing that is different than yours. I prefer playing with QB Vision because it adds to the realism. I feel more earned for my effort when I make a completion.

I'm assuming that it's set with Accelerated Clock being on, because there's no way that I'm going to play 12 minutes quarters with Accelerated Clock being off. I have everything set on except for Coach Mode in Game Settings.

[njkroc]

Okay so I trade in my xbox last week, Then I try and play madden for the 360 for the 10th time. Then I go and watch ea's madden tournament today where duka with the ravens beats this cat who is using my bengals.

Next I come on here find this thread and 150 dollars later I buy a brand new xbox and madden.

I guess today was a good day.

Be looking forward to what you guys come up with. I personally like to start with all sliders at 0, but that is just me.

Well I'm off to find some rosters.