Madden 2004 Running Game Opinions?

[LBzrule]

About the only thing I don't like about the run game in madden is the Stiff arm doesn't work that well at all. Other than that it's pretty good. Touch tackling while still there has been toned down a bit. I rushed for 260 on 22 carries in an online league game this passed week. What I don't like about madden is the defense. I don't know what it is. It feels a bit too slippery. Also I think for defensive playmaker control you should be able to tell the Linebackers and Playmaker defenders to flow left right or attack center. Matter of fact, I think that should be in all games. FEVER has the presnap macros, defend run right, left, Center, but it's more of a guess, I'd like to have that on the fly in all games since the logic for each position maybe too much or too hard for them to code.

[Jeff8275]

Personally I love the running game in Madden. In my Seattle franchise Alexander is averaging abour 115 YPG on 24 carries per game. I give the ball to my fullback around 5-10 times a game. I think my Team yardage is right around 170 yards rushing and 200 yards passing a game. I am a very methodical cram the ball down your throat type of footballer so I think the game is perfect for my style of play.

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DocHolliday said:

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Darth_Dorn said:
I'm completely dominating the running game this year, and it's quite sickening.

With Corey Dillon in my dynasty, I had one game where he ran for well over 300 yards. A couple of games later, I went out and had over 150 in one quarter. I started to pass some more and use my FB a bit more, and finally put in my backup halfway through the third, yet he still ended up with around 250 yards.

It just seems like they way over-compensated for last year. I couldn't get anything going last year in the run game, and this year it feels like I'm running against no defense.

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Yo Darth Moron, when you get that type of yardage, make a slider adjustment! It is really that simple. Your post was quite pointless.

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My sliders were favoring the computr, so it's not like I had them maxed out to my side.

I switched to All-Madden and am seeing a difference. I still break some pretty good runs, but the holes are much smaller and I'm being forced to juke into them now. I think the longest run I've had is a 60 yarder or so, and that was after the computer shifted their line and linebackers to the side I wasn't running towards.

And in the way I was saying it seems that they over compensated from last year. If you compare both games with the same sliders settings and on the same difficulty, last year it was hard to gain any yardage, but this year it's too easy. Not that I'm complaining because it's easier to make it harder than it is to make it easier.

[wco81]

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LBzrule said:
About the only thing I don't like about the run game in madden is the Stiff arm doesn't work that well at all. Other than that it's pretty good. Touch tackling while still there has been toned down a bit. I rushed for 260 on 22 carries in an online league game this passed week. What I don't like about madden is the defense. I don't know what it is. It feels a bit too slippery. Also I think for defensive playmaker control you should be able to tell the Linebackers and Playmaker defenders to flow left right or attack center. Matter of fact, I think that should be in all games. FEVER has the presnap macros, defend run right, left, Center, but it's more of a guess, I'd like to have that on the fly in all games since the logic for each position maybe too much or too hard for them to code.

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I've had some online games where I've given up huge yardage because of the broken tackles (that stiff arm animation is automatic a lot of times where the back just gets the handoff and there's a defender right there but the back stiff arms him way before a human could have reacted).

But again, I really have to wonder if Playmaker is MANDATORY sometimes to get the defenders to flow to the ball carrier. In 2003, they did that just fine but in 2004, they seem to be waiting.

Likewise, there are a lot of times when blockers just leave defensive linemen and go downfield. One prime examble is the TE on the strong side defensive end. Some times, he holds the block, other times, he leaves him. Two possible explanations:

a) You have to use Playmaker to keep him on the first level defender, in this case the DE.
b) It senses an LB or safety coming up on a blitz so the TE or the OL goes and looks for the second-level defender who's coming up.

I'll just be happy if they tone down the pinballing. I have a feeling they overcompensated in response to complaints about all the touch tackles. Those were ridiculous too but sometimes, they went too far the other way, letting ball carriers bounce off tacklers this year.