Do I have a chance?
 

Heres the deal. I love the NFL and I like at least 3 players on every NFL team. Ive been an avid fan since 1995 when the Cowboys won the superbowl (now a redskins fan go figure)......

I have a nice circle of friends that I've grown up with. Were now in our 20's all of us. And heres the Tally in terms of who's been the best in football videogames each year:

1998: Eugene (Gameday 98)
1999: Me (Gameday 99) undefeated
2000: John/Josh (NFL 2K)
2001: John (NFL 2K1)
2002: Me/John (Madden 2002)
2003: John (NFL 2K3)
2004: Me (NFL 2K4/Madden 2004)
2005: John (NFL 2K5)
2006: John (Madden 06)
2007: John (Madden 07)
2008: (I hope its me!!!)

Thats the breakdown and as you can see "John" has been the champ of our circle 3yrs. and running. He loves to play with mobile QB's and started winning with this when T.O. (his favorite player) went to the Eagles. He has since then been a force to be reckoned with. And even last year he was on a surge with Stallworth and that West Coast Offense.

Eugene is a diehard Cowboys fan and has gone as his team went since 1998 but he hopes to have a great outting this year to reclaim his title for his own "10th anniversary".

And me? I had Rickey Williams the last time I was on top and when he up and retired I may as well have too. I dominated Madden 04 and NFL 2K4 that year and went into a slump up until last year when a friend helped me find my game in Madden after having to convert.

So heres the delimna (sp?):

I dont like playing with:
Colts, Patriots, Ravens, or any other team that would be considered a "powerhouse" on the game. I like to take second tier teams and Coach them up into being like a powerhouse. I try to find a perfect balance between my own skill and a good team. I want to play with the skins of course, but with a young QB and a non-existent D-Line Im not sure if I can overcome their weaknesses.

Now I know that My friends will be playing with the Cowboys and the Eagles. Both teams have strong defenses and pretty balanced offenses. The guys I play against play nothing alike. One is a chessmatch-type and the other will attack you until your team can no longer compete.

Is there any chance that I can be the best this year in my circle without having to ride a powerhouse team to victory?

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

hey man well it really depends on your way of playing... you obviously want a good defense and stuff personally i'm thinkin the raiders will surprise a lot of people on madden, not necessarily real life... but with Russell at QB and Jerry Porter at WR you can keep the deep threat alive all game long and just occasionally bomb it deep just to keep the D honest to open up the running game and quick out patterns to Mike Williams... plus the Raiders have Dominic Rhodes the RB from the superbowl winning Colts last year and Michael Bush the Rookie RB that should make a nice 1-2 punch to always keep a fresh RB in the game..... the offensive line needs a LOT of help, but i think because its a videogame and with the correct play calling you can overcome the weaknesses... like quick WR patterns and screens and just hitting the Running backs in the flats... i personally use the backfield a lot in both the running AND passing game... the Defense was 3rd in the league last year which is crazy because they were on the field probably 80% of the game every game because the offensive coordinator was DUUUUUMB.... they have very youg VERY quick corners.. Fabian Washington the #2 corner had 97spd in the game last year... but ya that's who i'd go with just as a surprise team... then you got the Bucs if you wanna pound away with Cadillac plus have good D, the Bucs drafted for defense this year..... when you get the game just try out some teams and see what you like.... your playcalling and the way you play the game has a HUGE impact on what team will be right for you.... or just pick a team you think will be good and practice a lot and come up with a good gameplan with the team....

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

From the looks of it John wins because he is flat out better, it hasd nothing to do with using the Eagles. Honestly in 07 I loved playing with thr 49ers, nobody could beat me when I played with them, they aren't great, but the is was well balanced in my eyes, and this year they'll be even better.

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

Me and my friends play tourneys all the time. I am a little in your situation, me and this kid are always at the top. And now we have crews, theres about 8 of us, some of us (like me) are in the 360 class (aka the Evil Empire), the other half rocks the PS3 (aka the Alliance).

I am the leader of the Evil Empire, I rock the 360, once your in, your in. Ive recuited plenty of players to come in, even the guy who is at the top with me. He was a Sony guy, and I got him to turn. But now, its me and him fighting in the same division, but were a strong division.

Anyway..

I don't like to use powerhouses either, but I do like my Colts. But let me give you some good teams that people might overlook.

The Rams - (especially this year coming up) I find myself using them, and I really like what I can do with them. They have a big running game with S-Jack, and everywhere you look on that team there is a good WR (Holt, Bruce, Bennett, Hall, McMicheal). Bulger is a good QB. Their defense (in Madden) isn't that bad, sure it can be better, but you can score points, they will do their job. Players like Tye Hill, L.Glover, W.Witherspoon, C.Chavous, L.Little and now Carriker are good players.

The Cardinals - they are not a good team, I know. But in this game, I like them. I like Boldin, Fitz and Edge, he is still a beast in this game. Along with Lienart you have a great solid base here. A.Wilson is a playmaker on D, and the additions of Terrence Holt and Rodrick Hood will be good for them too.

The Jags - The Taylor and Jones-Drew tandum is crazy in this game. The only thing is I wish they had a better QB, but Leftwich is fine in the game. Matt Jones and Ernest Willford are decent WR in Madden and the addition of Jermaine Wiggins will be good at TE along with the growth of Mercedes Lewis. On D, there great. Peterson is awsome, when he plays. And Mathis is a playermaker in the secondary.

There are more, but those are my surprizing teams I would use when I didn't feel like using a powerhouse. Other I would see myself using in 08 are the Niners, the Broncos, the Lions (yes, the Lions), Bengals, and Ravens.

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

John will dominate again this year !! Sorry you have no chance ! I think your lying about 2004 Johnny dominated that year too! :y4: I used to keep stats like that for the hockey games.

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

John Madden will beat you again this year. Why? Because his name is on the game and he's the king. Hail to the king baby!

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

I didnt say this in the original post but I really didnt play in 2001, 2003, and I wasnt that good at Madden 06 (had just converted from 2k).

We are usually neck-n-neck but he was really good early on with doing everything as a (User) like picks, catching, etc. I beat the curve last year was really good on ps2 (we split the record for Madden 07 last gen), and I didnt really get into madden 07 for xbox 360.

And to the guy who gave a team breakdown thanks.

Re: Do I have a chance?
 

honestly, John will probably continue to be better for the timing being.. the thing that separates decent from good and good from great is the players ability to do things himself, like tackle, pursue and intercept...depending on how your stickskill is compared to his , thats the gap u'll have to make up

Example.. im good at play calling, but sometimes i get lazy and will just call basic routes and go get the ball myself b/c i have quick hands.. if you let the cpu guard this, you'd never stop it.. same thing defensively, routes are very predictable at times, if a guy can jump routes himself and pluck the ball.. you simply wont win

goto minicamp, work on that stick, and ull get em