[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

...Jerry rice wasn't known as a burner, but he had had quick feet and a break away burst. He was never caught from behind, and as he said, he "ran scared." 40 time is not the end-all/be-all of speed. Acceleration plays a part as well. I believe they talked about this on NBC with Usain Bolt and how he does not have a great 40 time because he build up to his top speed a little slower, but his overall top speed is very high. So, for example, and I'm just making up these numbers, he might have 105 speed in Madden, but only 92 acceleration.

What's Rice's acc in Madden? Seems like they could put it at 100, keep is speed realistic and everything would be cool. And like you said, the opposite for Bolt, if he played. I think his acc would have to be lower than 92 though. That's still pretty high.

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

When I say that EA is afraid of speed, I am referring to how in the past they have said they don't really like it when people can take a very fast player who hasn't proved himself on the playing field and dominate with him in Madden. A lot of this has to do with awareness though. With user control, the player on the field is only as good as the user, and in the hands of a talented user with a "god cam" to see the action from, that player can play at an All-Pro/Hall of fame level. For example, ever since Madden 07 I have been tearing people apart with Vernon Davis. Though to be fair, Davis isn't used very much by the 49ers. Alex Smith tends to forget he is on the field. [until last week]

Yeah, awareness and user control is a problem. I still don't think Madden does a good enough job with other ratings though... some seem not to work well, some I disagree with. Route running & man coverage need major work. A speedy WR with no route running skills can be kept in check without artificially reducing his speed. I think awareness is really only a problem for RBs.

Limited animations also play a part. No reaching/grabbing tackles on smaller players, for example. DB/WR interaction.

But you can't just shaft a player on his speed rating just because he lacks awareness. What happens when these guys get in the open field?

But I think there are other issues effecting this:

1. Engaged Play Mobility (I'm crusading until this gets in) - Because engaged players are stuck in one spot until someone wins, the spacing & timing of the game is waaaay off. Ball carriers have too much space to work with, so speed is that much more of a factor. And instead of addressing the issue, engaged player mobility, they add another band-aid... speed differential.

2. Realistic Footwork - Another major element ruining the spacing & timing. Players cover ground waaaay too quickly. Again, until this is addressed, speed will be a bigger factor than it should.

Check out this vid of Chris Johnson. Probably the fastest back in the league. But notice how even he has to deal with traffice on outside runs because engaged players can still flow towards the play. Good examples at :18, 1:26 & 3:02.

The 1st 2, he doesn't get the corner... ends up cutting inside of OLBs & DEs. That last one is a cutback where he actually gets outside of the BACKSIDE OLB while still between the hashes. You won't see this in madden until they implement engaged player mobility.

This vid also shows why Madden needs to address run fits, which would also help to keep those unaware, speed RBs in check.



Now compare that to this Hillis run in Madden... something I just grabbed from another post where I was trying to make the same point. We all see this happen on outside runs quite frequently. It's just not football. Only the fastest RBs take the corner like this, and it's rare for them as you can see in that Chris Johnson highlight vid.