Scouting

[jack58]

Quote: Originally Posted by tarantism

Sorting by potential makes it more than easy. It's an exploit. I agree that they should let people see 40 times and bench press stuff but it ought to become available during the combine and pro days, not during the regular season. Outside of that I feel like they did just fine with the scouting system this year. I don't know how knowledgable some of the critics are but the NFL draft is more of a crapshoot than anything. Teams are wrong way more then they are right, unless they get lucky.

Accuracy of the draft is NOT the issue here. ANY team that sends a scout to watch a player or team, has at least a minimum bit of info relating to players, thus the initial interest. THEN the scouts seek out more detailed info pertaining to game skills , etc. But to just give us a list of names with size and school is absolutely ridiculous! Makes the very first (and potentially most important) part of scouting a complete joke! Teams DO NOT decide on what players to scout based on a name, school and size ... those aspects are secondary to some type of skill that created initial interest.

I know, I know, it's just a game. But as they say on ESPN's pre-game show ... come on man!

[tarantism]

That's fine but it's only a problem if you have a solution. Are you saying more ratings should be unlocked? Combine times during the regular season? Some kind of written feedback from scouts during the season?

I am all about realism but you can't just say that there are problems without offering some kind of a solution. Otherwise it's just complaining.

[oneamongthefence]

Not only do we have names, age, size, school we also have projected round. Basically it forces you to come up with a draft strategy. For example, you need a HB and WR and there's only 1 of each projected in round one. 1 wr is top five and you already know you won't have a pick in the first 5. You're not gonna scout him but there is a lower tier hb in the 1st so you scout him. Besides, there's 4 scouting periods during regular season, combine, individual workouts. The scouting system works if you know how to use it. It takes time but you can find plenty about the people the first few inseason scouting reports. And you can eliminate who you're not gonna want. You have to have a draft board and a strategy that's all and it works.

My only real complaint is that prospects don't change their potential draft position. How cool would it be to have a qb start out in top five and as the season went on his draft stock would fall and by seasons end he would be a day three draft prospect? The real dilemna is do we continue to scout him or do we scout someone else. And he turns out to be an A potential.

[jack58]

Quote: Originally Posted by tarantism

That's fine but it's only a problem if you have a solution. Are you saying more ratings should be unlocked? Combine times during the regular season? Some kind of written feedback from scouts during the season? I am all about realism but you can't just say that there are problems without offering some kind of a solution. Otherwise it's just complaining.

Actually it IS a problem ... hence the need for a "solution".

Look, I didn't mean to turn this into an argument, and I think overall we both agree that "some" info at the initial scout screen would be both helpful, AND realistic.

I actually liked how they had it in the past. We at least had basic info on bench strength and shuttle speeds, thus we could make an educated guess on whether or not a player fit the mold we were looking for. Of course just like real life, once ratings became available some of the players worked out, and some didn't. I'm fine with ratings being locked until we have done some scouting, but at least give us "something" to base our initial interest in the player off of.

[raguel]

I've been fairly successful with this guide: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-scouting.html

IMO this turns the scouting system from too hard to about right. Some positions are easier to scout than others tho (e.g. OL vs. DL)

[jack58]

Quote: Originally Posted by raguel

I've been fairly successful with this guide: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-scouting.html IMO this turns the scouting system from too hard to about right. Some positions are easier to scout than others tho (e.g. OL vs. DL)

Agreed, that is a very helpful guide. After going thru all five steps of M12 scouting, I'd say EA did an excellent job as a whole. Only item I think they messed up was taking away player info during step 1 (in-season scouting). If they could switch back as it was in previous Madden games with some basic strength and quickness info ... I'd say they have it just right then.

[ryan36]

Can you actually sort by the hard-coded potential?

[kpkpkp]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

Can you actually sort by the hard-coded potential?

Yes, you can. As Tarantism said, its basically an exploit.

I dont think the Madden Dev's meant for you to be able to discover who has the best potential with this method.

Spoiler

Go to the Scouting screen and highlight the potential column. Hit "X" to sort once. The sorts the list from lowest to highest. Hit "X" again, this sorts the list highest to lowest. Now all A and B potential guys are at the top. Even though you cannot "see" thair potential this sorted list lets you know who has the most potential top to bottom.

I avoid using the exploit and I do scouting as I think the EA Dev's intended. So to answer OP's question:

I always scout by first deciding what positions I need to improve upon. Then I look at the guys available for those positions. I generally form a plan for my first 4 rounds of picks, with 2-3 "targets" for each pick. This leaves me with around 8-10 "targets." I scout these targets in the hopes of getting a few in tmy first picks.

As for my late round picks, I just hope to get a lucky gem. The first 3-4 draft rounds are the ones that matter.