What Madden Needs To Improve Over NCAA

[Bootzilla]

First and foremost, I enjoy NCAA 13. I will preface my comments by stating that I am almost exclusively an offline Franchise/Dynasty player so, my views are based on playing vs the AI. NCAA has its issues and I've been disappointed with some of the things I've seen. I think I'm more vocal with my negative criticism because I feel the game is pretty close to being a great game. My expectations are not unrealistic. I know the history of these games and I do not expect monumental gameplay changes. I understand there's tons of modes I will never touch. Here's what I consider to be reasonable expectations based on what we know about NCAA and the additional development time afforded Madden.

OFFENSE

Line play: I'm aware line interaction hasn't been touched but, I felt Madden 12 did a good job of playing assignment football. NCAA 13 has taken a step back in this regard in my opinion. Way too many blown assignments and outright weird stuff happening that I believe was designed on the higher levels to make the game artificially harder. Players should not have a man playing directly across from him decide against the design of the play to go all the way behind the line of scrimmage to block backside. I've seen this happen in NCAA and the only reason I feel it happens is so the defense can blow up your play.

Running game: This goes hand and hand with the line play. I hope the Infinity Engine is effective in providing some real physics. So far it looks like it's tied mostly to tackling and not necessarily with movement. We'll see. I'd love to see backs be more distinguishable from one another. I'd like to see spins, jukes, trucking and stiff arms be more responsive and more effective. They're pretty bad in NCAA.

Passing game: Markedly improved over any iteration of the franchise. I'd like to see coverage be better in Madden. I'd like to see more misses that aren't drops, deflections, or interceptions. With tighter windows I'd like to see more near misses with QB's trying to fit the ball in. I'd also like the defenses to be more aware of down and distance. 3rd and 8 or greater should be awful difficult to convert.

Overall make the passing game tougher but not necessarily more punitive in terms of interceptions. Now if you're playing stupid I'm cool with picks. But, in NCAA too many one on one's are won by the defense. I'd like to see more battles in which neither player ends up with the ball. Make the line not go brain dead in order to make the game artificially more difficult. Make playcalling, scheme, ratings, mismatches, down and distance matter. Make it a chess match.

DEFENSE

My biggest issues have been on this side of the ball.

D line: Simple, RE's, 3-4 OLB's need to apply better pressure. 3-4 DE's, LE's, DT's, NT's, not as much. I guess I should distinguish between pressure and sacks. If I'm playing the Bears I expect Julius Peppers to be wrecking havoc so, I'd better be leaving a back in to block and getting rid of the ball quickly. I've had 3-4 left defensive ends with single digit career sacks break Derrick Thomas' single game sack record. EA must do a better job of this. The DT throwing the guard to the side also needs to be toned down.

Back 7: I'd like to see better zone coverage and more players rallying to the ball. I'd like to see better awareness based on down and distance. Going against Revis or Ed Reed should be done at great risk. I guess I want players to play like they do in real life. I don't want players to go stupid when the cpu decides to make a comeback. Ratings, scheme, play call, etc should matter. Period.

Tackling: Tackles are simply way too over the top in NCAA. Everything is a hit stick by the cpu. Too many high tackles. A complete lack of momentum. Suction tackles. All need to be addressed in Madden. Again, I hope Infinity will improve this area. But, the cpu still needs to attempt more low cut tackles and more lower half of the body wrap tackles. Stop with the kill shots. Also, I'd like when I move the hit stick downward that the only thing it does is attempt to tackle low. When did that stop being the case? Worked perfectly before now it's entirely hit or miss.