what do I have to do to get my WR's to JUMP for a ball?!

[Rex Appeal]

I wont get into the philosophical debate about what you should and should not control. But to address the question at hand...

If you want your WR to jump for the ball it is really as simple (and complicated) as this..

-click on the WR as soon as you can. Instead of running straight for the catch indicator (the circle on the ground) and mashing the the catch button you want to time it so that you will be CLOSE TO/ SLIGHTLY IN FRONT OF the catch indicator when the ball arrives.

-instead of trying to time the catch by pushing the catch button right when the ball arrives PRESS AND HOLD THE CATCH BUTTON MUCH EARLIER. You can literally click on the WR then hold triangle (or whatever the xbox button is) as you run towards the the catch indicator. The WR will jump when the ball gets close.

-Go into practice mode and practice throwing jump-ball streaks against a cover 4 zone or something. To make it easier use a WR like CJ or Julio. You will soon start to see what does and does not trigger the jumping animation. You can also make diving catches by pushing the dive button instead of the catch button (looks awesome, just not consistent)

Good luck

P.S. for the record, I recommend turning auto sprint and auto strafe off as it seems it can "mess with" the way the players move..

[dfos81]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rex Appeal

-Go into practice mode and practice throwing jump-ball streaks against a cover 4 zone or something. To make it easier use a WR like CJ or Julio. You will soon start to see what does and does not trigger the jumping animation. You can also make diving catches by pushing the dive button instead of the catch button (looks awesome, just not consistent) Good luck P.S. for the record, I recommend turning auto sprint and auto strafe off as it seems it can "mess with" the way the players move..

thankyou, I mentioned this on the last page. Madden rewards user control. Kinda like most video games hmmm...

If guys wanna watch the cpu do it all for you, then just setup a franchise and spectate CPU vs. CPU. Madden was designed to reward the user control. Its been like this since the beginning of Madden time.
Its not something that EA is going to change, no matter how much people cry the user control will always be rewarded for good stick skills.
I think some may get Madden mixed up w/ an RPG but thats something Madden has never been.

[Gotmadskillzson]

In a way....I can see the OP's concerns. Since not everybody believes in User catching and then there are those who strictly play in Coach Mode.

So there are things that the CPU SHOULD do on their own automatically based on their ratings. WRs attacking the ball is a problem that has been in the Madden and NCAA series for years now.

[TheJustPull]

Quote: Originally Posted by dfos81

thankyou, I mentioned this on the last page. Madden rewards user control. Kinda like most video games hmmm... If guys wanna watch the cpu do it all for you, then just setup a franchise and spectate CPU vs. CPU. Madden was designed to reward the user control. Its been like this since the beginning of Madden time. Its not something that EA is going to change, no matter how much people cry the user control will always be rewarded for good stick skills. I think some may get Madden mixed up w/ an RPG but thats something Madden has never been.

I need to get in the habit of doing this, it's just in the heat of an online game it's hard to remember sometimes lol. I know I'm a noob and that's why my
Record online is what it is.

[TNT713]

Here's a few things I like to remind my football/Madden brethren:

1 - In the NFL, every catch is a USER CATCH.

2 - Players that watch plays being made when they should be making plays soon find themselves with butt splinters as they ride the pine.

3 - There's a huge difference between playing and spectating.

4 - It's more productive to USE your fingers to catch the ball during a play than to use them to point afterward.

5 - Anyone with eyes can watch a football game, it takes a special breed to play it.

Later

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT713

Stunts were a huge part of the game at one point... Again, blame the whining softies. Once upon a time in Madden '04 you could move defensive linemen around to create stunts because they maintained their gap assignment after being moved to another gap. A DE attacking the A-Gap would still try to penetrate the A even if he moved to the C. Likewise with a DE hitting the C being moved to the A.

I remember this...

I thought it was pretty cool and allowed for such creativity on defense. I think 04 was the first year I really go into Madden (meaning learning the game, fooling with sliders, difference in skill level, etc).

I would use the stunts for when I couldn't get pressure, then bring a blitz, and you could create your own blitz combination and overloads depending on the original set and formation you came out in.

I guess this one of those "last gen" things that disappeared...probably for good...along with the play editor...that was awesome.

[jd369]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT713

Here's a few things I like to remind my football/Madden brethren: 1 - In the NFL, every catch is a USER CATCH. 2 - Players that watch plays being made when they should be making plays soon find themselves with butt splinters as they ride the pine. 3 - There's a huge difference between playing and spectating. 4 - It's more productive to USE your fingers to catch the ball during a play than to use them to point afterward. 5 - Anyone with eyes can watch a football game, it takes a special breed to play it. Later

So you user catch EVERY time then I assume? since you are so good and all. BS, its not even possible to user catch all the time, so what should the game do then? just let the ball hit the guy cause there wasnt enough time to switch to the wr and hit the button?

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

I would use the stunts for when I couldn't get pressure, then bring a blitz, and you could create your own blitz combination and overloads depending on the original set and formation you came out in. I guess this one of those "last gen" things that disappeared...probably for good...along with the play editor...that was awesome.

Believe it or not, this disappeared during NG and for good reason. Madden '04 had a FG/XP Block glitch that required two men to be moved off the block formation and another merged (clipping - video game definition not football definition). In Madden '05 the men moved back to prevent the blocking to be fouled in this method.

Quote: Originally Posted by jd369

So you user catch EVERY time then I assume? since you are so good and all. BS, its not even possible to user catch all the time, so what should the game do then? just let the ball hit the guy cause there wasnt enough time to switch to the wr and hit the button?

Thank you for assuming I'm a good player. I'm no different than anyone else here. I win more than I used to, but not as much as I want.

My John Madden Football and Madden '92 (2 year span) win percentage was .000
My Madden NFL 2003 win percentage was .257 (online)
My Madden NFL 12 win percentage is .602 (online)

I know what it means to be absolutely HORRIBLE at Madden and I know what it takes to make honest improvement. Literally from 0 to 60 in 20 years. This year is the first year of online play that I've faced any single opponent player more than 3 times online.

Do I switch and make the play every time? No.

On offense, I user catch between 60-85% of my passes depending on the routes I'm running. I manually catch all my slants, outs, posts, corners, streaks, and hooks. I don't catch screens, drags thrown on the 3rd step, or flare routes.

On defense, I switch more often (as needed). About 90%. I switch as soon as possible after the throw and maneuver to the spot. I'm particularly good at defending deep passes out of necessity. Ideally, I won't need to switch defenders and can make the user pick/tackle myself with the player I'm controlling at the start of the play. It helps that I play all the defensive positions and know all 11 assignments for every play I call.

Difference is... When I don't switch to make the play I have absolutely NO FAITH that the play will be made. I fully expect the CPU to flub up and am surprised when it performs well.

I certainly notice when my opponent is NOT user catching... Then I attack the player they control because they are probably the weak link on the field.

Alas, there's a figurative DARK CLOUD that precedes the calm. To earn good user skills, you must SCREW UP HUNDREDS OF TIMES. Not only must you screw up, you must LEARN from those screw ups. To learn from them, we must critique our performances objectively. But once your skills of player movement and manipulation improves it exposes the football deficiencies. Once the USER SKILLS are set, it's just a matter of making reads.

It's hella hard to learn the USER SKILL while making reads. It takes time and effort. But it's worth it if you play Madden enough to care about winning.

Later