Getting better at Madden in general?

[ChopperDave6609]

I wanted to know if there were any guides online (video or text) or things I should practice in order to get better at Madden games in general. But first, here are some facts on my current skill level and football knowledge.

I started watching football on a semi-regular basis last season, watching some games with my home team (Browns) and most of the play off games. This year, I plan on watching on a more regular basis. I know the rules of the game, the very basics of different plays(run or pass, man or zone), and some general categories of player positions.

As for football video games, I like Tecmo Super Bowl and NFL Blitz and I'm decent at them. I've wanted to get good at more current sim style football games like Madden for years now, but usually I just rent the new Madden when it comes out, get frustrated, return it, and try again next year. It's been like that since Madden 09. I'm renting Madden 13 through GameFly now (haven't used the online trial yet), but I also have Madden 10 and ESPN 2K5 (got them both cheap recently). I'm starting to get better playing on Pro, but I do poorly on All-Pro.

With play calling, I know some of the basics of choosing by formation, but I'm more comfortable using by play type. This is OK against the computer/online, but when I play against my friend locally, I know it would be to my benefit to pick by formation. Any tips on play calling would be appreciated.

I want to start using all the tools at my disposal in Madden. Calling audibles, hot routes, line/linebacker/secondary adjustments, all that good stuff. I'm not sure where to start, though. In practice mode, I'm starting to learn what buttons do what pre-snap, but I don't know what commands to use based on the situation.

I've tried searching recently and multiple times in the past for help, but most of the help I can find is either too simple, or above my head and more for competitive online play.

I'll provide more info on what I want to improve on if needed. Basically, I just want to get better at Madden, but I don't know how. I'm kind of at a skill plateau. If anyone would be willing to spend some time to play a game with me online to determine what I need to work on, I can start my free trial whenever and I have a headset. I have Madden 13 on the Playstation 3. Otherwise, I'm open to any advice, tips, links to guides/videos, etc. If you have read any of this, thank you for your time, and any helpful response is appreciated.

Edit: I was thinking of rephrasing the question. To anyone who can keep up with all pro AI or better, how did you start learning everything in Madden/sim football video games? How did you get better?

[Vitriolic]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

It's a little bit tough to determine exactly what areas you need help on... but if you're struggling to keep up with Pro AI then the obvious thing to say is that you need repetition first and foremost. The short list of things that I would do if I were just starting out to get better:

1. Play a lot.
2. Always play at a higher AI difficulty than is comfortable for you.
3. Always play as a LB or safety on defense. Even if you're really bad at it now, developing user-control skills is very important.
4. Play online and pay close attention to what your opponents do.
5. Keep watching actual NFL football and learn what you can about the game. Madden isn't the most realistic game out there but it's good enough that you can actually play better by applying real concepts and strategies. There are many good Madden players who don't realize this and are far more one-dimensional and limited than they could be because of it.

Your playcalling and command of the controls will gradually come to you over time. If you have a mic, I'd be willing to kill some time helping you out with Madden or football principles in general. Just add me on PSN (same name).

[ChopperDave6609]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

Thanks for posting, Vitriolic. I played a couple of games last night after posting. I wanted to try a higher ranked team against a lower ranked one. On pro, playing as the Steelers against the Browns, I think I won 17-0. I chose 95% of my plays in "By Formation", and it seemed to work well, but that was on Pro.

I have heard before that playing on a harder difficulty is good because the AI won't let you get away with certain things, so I'll play a game or two tonight on All-Pro. I'll also try playing as a linebacker or a secondary on defense (I always pick LB in TSB, so why not Madden? lol). I'll follow their roles for the play and try not to hold down X too much (only if I'm completely unsure of what to do). Hopefully it will be a good learning experience.

Maybe tomorrow I'll hit you up for a quick game, Vitriolic. I'll send you a message on PSN to let you know.

[rocyafellas007]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

Theres a TON of really good info out there. Just gotta dig it up....

Practice practice practice.

Id say play online. You may get a crappy opponent, you may get destroyed. To me you can always get something out of it----even if its just more reps.

Also get yourself in practice mode. Work on those elements of your game that you know you struggle with, on both sides of the ball.

On offense, for me, it makes a world of difference when I feel like i really KNOW my playbook.
Once the ball is snapped you dont have time to be figuring out who is running what route. Know that ish. Play around w the playbooks see what you like and commit to that.

My 2 cents.

[Shogun613]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

Football has different levels of understanding. You can be knowledgeable as far as watching the game and understanding the rules, when to run, when to pass, why to run and why to pass, why defenses blitz, etc...

If your an X's and O's guy, it gets waaay deeper.
You think about the intricacies of line play, the timing of the pass routes, attacking certain D's with pass patterns, the numbers of steps in a QB's drop, Identifying the "mike", protection calls, etc...

It's a big beautiful sport, and there is lots to learn. On top of that, you never stop leaning. I've played the sport, been a fan for almost 30 years, watch religiously, and I still buy books, watch all the playbook shows, and google my *** off for football knowledge all the time. The game is constantly evolving, and that's the beauty of it.

If you really want to be a boss at this game, you want to be that X's and O's guy. I know it can be frustrating and intimidating to play against people that have that edge in knowing a little more than you (it still happens to me, lol), but learn, practice your *** of, and just keep playing. Football never gets old. Playing Madden never gets old. It sucks when you lose, but damn does it feel good when you win. Good luck on your "journey", because that's exactly what it is, brotha... but you're gonna love it.

[RyanFitzmagic]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

If you really want to be a boss at this game, you want to be that X's and O's guy. I know it can be frustrating and intimidating to play against people that have that edge in knowing a little more than you (it still happens to me, lol), but learn, practice your *** of, and just keep playing.

What's the best way to learn? I watch shows like Playbook on NFL Network and stuff, but it always seems like the only way to get knowledge on that level is to actually play the game at a college/professional (maybe high school) level.

[Shogun613]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

What's the best way to learn? I watch shows like Playbook on NFL Network and stuff, but it always seems like the only way to get knowledge on that level is to actually play the game at a college/professional (maybe high school) level.

If you've never played, I would suggest going to one of those websites that explain formations, coverages, and stuff like that.

[NFLpantherzNFL]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

What is the best Offensive Playbook for throwing to a fast TE
What is the best defensive Playbook for containing a fast quarterback?

[brandon.thezink]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

Now everyone who is good at Madden not only gets there a different way, but plays a different way. If you aren't all that great, pick a team you can run with. In any Madden 2012 or later, the Texans or Patriots are great teams to play with. Brady and Schuab are both good QB's, Ridley is okay, but Foster is amazing, and Johnson and Gronkowski allow lots of errors and they will still come up with the ball.

Now play conservative. Don't run a bunch of shotgun deep passes and pitches that have the potential of big plays, but are way too risky. To get better at learning to pass and run, run Power O runs, run it up the middle, a draw play if you know the D is running a zone. For passes, curl routes work great (make sure they aren't running a Cover 3 zone, where the OLB runs a zone near the line of scrimmage as they almost always block the pass) as well as drag routes. If you need some yardage, pick two guys that are running a safe but efficient route and follow them. More often than not one of them will be open.

If you love the deep passes, the best time to do this is when they are running a one safety defense. Pick your two fastest receivers and have them on opposite sides of the field (you can audible them there). Change their route to a streak and drop back. Wait to see which guy the safety is going to help with, and throw to the other. This guy will either be 1 on 1 or wide open, and if they are fast they will nearly always get the ball.

Another strategy is the speedy QB. There are a few good ones in the game (Cam Newton and Mike Vick are my personal favorites). Read options are great to run, especially with Vick (in Madden 12 you have to search to find them. Wildcat has a read option). But exercise all kinds of Offense. Don't run with your QB every time, you are too easy to shut down. Run PA then roll out and hit the short throw. Option and give and keep the ball. Run Draw plays. Unless whoever you are playing against is really good, you will march down the field and get some big plays here and there.

If you are defense oriented, I'd go Seahawks, Texans, or 49ers. All of these teams have a usable offense, but some real shutdown D's. J.J. Watt is a beast to use (Texans) and you should get 5 to 6 sacks a game with him.

I hope this helped.

[mathteacherct]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

I'll admit, I'm not a pro at Madden, but I love the game. One thing that as helped me out on offense is being able to read a defense. Look for tight coverage or caoverage backing off. Tight coverage will almost always lead to a pick if you run a curl route. Loose coverage will make the long pass hard to hit. Look out for a blitz if you're running play-action. The time it takes to fake the handoff will almost always lead to being sacked.
I'm a big fan of the short pass. Try to anticipate the open reciever befor the snap. Plan your progression of where to look and know what button that reciever is. The key is to not think, just react to what you see.
when running the ball, get off the sprint button. It makes you faster for a short time, but it also gives less balance. Don't try to be fancy when you start out. Look for the blokers and the holes. 4 yard runs are successful runs.

On defense, well I'm still working on that. I have seen that 3rd and long is a good time to use man-cover-2. It will get beat by a short slant, so be ready with the LB.
Don't try to use the hit stick or dive tackle all the time. Fundamentals of football...wrap up the tackle! If you watch NFL you will see a lot of "bad" tackles. The pros focus too much on hard hits and causing fumbles. Every college and HS coach will tell you, wrap up your man.

The more you paly the faster your reaction time becomes. Understand that when things go wrong it could be a multitude of reasons. You're mistake, better opponent, or just plain old bad luck. try to learn from your mistakes and don't make them agian (my biggest is forcing a tight pass, lead to pick-6) If you have a better opponent, copy them! Bad luck, get a rabbit foot (lol). I usually assume that I made the mistake. making excuses only leads to more excuses. If you listen to interview after the game they always talk about what they could have done better to win. Rarely do they say "we played great, we justgot beat" Look to improve, even after a win.
The computer can be predictable, so playing against human oppenets will always steepen the learning curve. Play longer games and look for trends in the oppenent. do they run on first all the time?. when do they long bomb? Are long passes to the sidelines or in the middle? Do they run the same play over and over. (btw, if they blitz all the time, run a screen pass)
Those are some of my tips from a few years of playin g Madden and many years watching the game. I'd offer to play some, but I'm on xbox. Good luck, keep playing!

[mathteacherct]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

What is the best Offensive Playbook for throwing to a fast TE
What is the best defensive Playbook for containing a fast quarterback?

I find West Coast good for fast TE because it gives a lot of short passes. The TE can often get open on out routes and sometimes streak up the middle.

For def against a fast QB, try a 3-4. It gives more LB who are usually faster than the DL. It will open you up to more runs up the middle by a good, strong RB (McFadden)

[Pvt_JOKER]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

I'd recommend getting "Prima Madden Official Madden13 Strategy Guide." This book offers tips/advice on plays (offense and defense) for all 32 teams, explains how to read defense, it also has a glossary for the football lingos, etc.

The book is very useful for all levels. I've been playing Madden for 10 months. I still need to improve, but I felt I vastly improve due to the in-depth book. Good luck!

I wanted to know if there were any guides online (video or text) or things I should practice in order to get better at Madden games in general. But first, here are some facts on my current skill level and football knowledge.

I started watching football on a semi-regular basis last season, watching some games with my home team (Browns) and most of the play off games. This year, I plan on watching on a more regular basis. I know the rules of the game, the very basics of different plays(run or pass, man or zone), and some general categories of player positions.

As for football video games, I like Tecmo Super Bowl and NFL Blitz and I'm decent at them. I've wanted to get good at more current sim style football games like Madden for years now, but usually I just rent the new Madden when it comes out, get frustrated, return it, and try again next year. It's been like that since Madden 09. I'm renting Madden 13 through GameFly now (haven't used the online trial yet), but I also have Madden 10 and ESPN 2K5 (got them both cheap recently). I'm starting to get better playing on Pro, but I do poorly on All-Pro.

With play calling, I know some of the basics of choosing by formation, but I'm more comfortable using by play type. This is OK against the computer/online, but when I play against my friend locally, I know it would be to my benefit to pick by formation. Any tips on play calling would be appreciated.

I want to start using all the tools at my disposal in Madden. Calling audibles, hot routes, line/linebacker/secondary adjustments, all that good stuff. I'm not sure where to start, though. In practice mode, I'm starting to learn what buttons do what pre-snap, but I don't know what commands to use based on the situation.

I've tried searching recently and multiple times in the past for help, but most of the help I can find is either too simple, or above my head and more for competitive online play.

I'll provide more info on what I want to improve on if needed. Basically, I just want to get better at Madden, but I don't know how. I'm kind of at a skill plateau. If anyone would be willing to spend some time to play a game with me online to determine what I need to work on, I can start my free trial whenever and I have a headset. I have Madden 13 on the Playstation 3. Otherwise, I'm open to any advice, tips, links to guides/videos, etc. If you have read any of this, thank you for your time, and any helpful response is appreciated.

Edit: I was thinking of rephrasing the question. To anyone who can keep up with all pro AI or better, how did you start learning everything in Madden/sim football video games? How did you get better?

[ZeroSymbolic7188]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

I am 25 and I was born in Nebraska, where football is a religion. On Madden I use the Detroit Lions, and I have a winning online record. Games that I lose are usually close, but I do occasionally get crushed (visit pick city, bad luck, outcoached). So with credentials out of the way. Here is a condensed version of what I know about football.

Offenses work in schemes.

Power Running
These teams play a very conservative game based around the running back. The advantages they enjoy include; low turnover risk, ball and clock control, and a scheme that is usually very easy to grasp for young teams and QBs. The big disadvantage is that these teams can't come from behind very well. You need a great defense to go with this scheme. (RL example: 49ers)

West Coast
The west coast system is based on a short and consistent passing game. Advantages include again a low risk for turnovers, you don't need elite QB arm strength, and everybody gets the ball, so it is difficult for Defenses to Key any player. The disadvantage is that you need a very accurate QB, and a smart team because west coast books get pretty complicated. (A bunch of teams do this in the NFL)

Spread Offense
These teams often come out in at least a 3WR set, more often 4 or 5. The idea is to spread the defense out and make use of space. The spread can be ran as a passing offense (Patriots) or as a way to get your scrambling QB some room to operate. Mediocre Risk and Reward. It's all about how you do it.

Vertical Offense
Get an Elite QB and a Big Time Wide Reciever, chuck it deep and play some high-risk high-reward football. (Detroit Playbook)

There are other subtleties, but this is just an overview.

Defenses usually consist of a either a base 4-3 or a base 3-4 scheme. The first number refers to how many Down Linemen are in the formation and the second number refers to how many linebackers. So the 4-3 has more beef against inside runs and a stronger pass rush. The 3-4 has either more coverage, or a better disguised 4th rusher at the expense of some inside run protection.

In general run your base defense against 2 WR sets.

From there you have a nickle, dime, and quarter set. each of these exchanges linemen and or linebackers to put more cornerbacks on the field. You want to match up according to the offense.

Always try to match up because if you don't people will abuse your mismatches.

-------------
Here are my two biggest starter tips for how to win:

1. Don't beat yourself. What I mean is don't throw picks, don't fumble, and don't try to make 4th down conversions. Losing because you got outcoached is acceptable, but losing because you did a bunch of risky stupid stuff really bites. You can win a lot of games, by just not shooting yourself in the foot.

2. On defense Madden is all about turnovers and tackles for loss. So sell out and try to make user plays. If you get lazy on defense almost everybody online can beat the AI.


That's all for now, but if you ask me some specific questions I can give you better answers.

[Chris Hitchens]

Re: Getting better at Madden in general?

practice mode with offense! the best thing u can do to make urself competitive is being able to pass the football.