[Weewam]

Before I go into my post, I have to say that I played this game with a different set of sliders than what you put up Wiz. I kind of mishmashed my own using your 0 set philosophy and other slider explanations that I found on the internet. So I have to apologize, because this post doesn't really provide the feedback you wanted for your sliders. With that said, I just played the most heartbreaking game I've ever played on Madden, and I just felt I had to share it.

So, I started a season as the Washington Redskins, mostly because of RGIII. He's been freakin' fantastic this season in the real NFL. I quickly found out that in Madden though, his offensive line is just TERRIBLE, so his season started out kind of rough, taking a lot of sacks and averaging a pick or two a game. Anyway, he started to really gain some momentum a couple of games ago, and this game was the second game rematch against the Giants, so I was excited heading into it.

RGIII's hot streak continued as he led an opening drive for a touchdown, aided by a 3rd down pass interference penalty on the Giants. That was pretty much it for the first quarter, as both defenses were playing pretty well.

The second quarter started much as the first quarter ended, but the Giants were able to march down the field to set up a Lawrence Tyne's 54-yard field goal. A couple of possessions later, Graham Gano answered with a 30-yarder of his own, but that's when I made a HUGE mistake. A couple of plays into the Giant's next possession, I blew my man coverage, letting Hakeem Nicks go untouched for a 77 yard TD. After I stalled on another drive, the Giants made another push and got the ball down to the 1. We made a nice goal line stand, and I thought we were going to hold them to a field goal, but Ahmad Bradshaw made a leaping jump into the endzone on third down, making the score 17-10 at the half.

The third quarter was another defensive standoff, and boy did the Giant's pass rush show up. They recorded a couple of sacks to end a couple of my drives. RGIII was feeling the pressure from left and right, and even his fabulous footwork wasn't able to help him. We lost the field position battle, getting pinned at the 1-yard line by a Steve Weatherford punt, and a probably ill-advised screen pass to Roy Helu Jr. resulted in a safety. In addition, the Giants scored another field goal, giving them a 22-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

My troubles continued in the fourth quarter as I made another mental mistake. Only :10 seconds into the quarter, I tried to force a pass to Santana Moss, needing to make a play, but Prince Amukamara played great coverage to pick it off, and returned it 50 yards for the score. At this point, losing 29-10 in a tense divisional game, I was feeling pretty frustrated. I had made some dumb mistakes against a tough defense. I wasn't quite ready to give up yet, though. We buckled down and made some headway in the field position battle, but still couldn't quite get it in the endzone. At one point, we made it to the Giants' 2-yard line, but came up short through three downs. I decided to go for it on fourth because we needed a touchdown, but RGIII got sacked again, and actually left the game for a few plays with muscle cramps.

So, the score is 29-10, about 4 minutes left in the game, and I'm feeling beat. RGIII comes back in for one last drive, starting from our own 20. I call Hail Mary, because I figure, what the heck. Everybody runs downfield, pretty well covered, and that's when I realize the whole right side of the field is open, and hey - I'm RGIII. He takes off and picks up 41 yards before running out of bounds. Feeling some momentum now, he makes a couple of short throws before connecting with Santana Moss down to the 1-yard line. With less than 3 minutes left in the game, Roy Helu Jr. rushes for the TD, making it 29-17.

Obviously, I need the ball back, but I figured I'd try to force the punt before trying the onside kick. A holding penalty on the kickoff return put the Giants at their own 13, and a couple of blitzes took us to the two-minute warning with a 3rd and long. Another stopped run on 3rd down forced me to burn a timeout, and brought the punt team onto the field. I've got about 1:55 left to score twice, so I'm already planning a few deep throws from RGIII after the punt. Brandon Banks had other ideas.

72 yards. He scores on the punt return.

I'm like, holy s.hit. All of a sudden, it's 29-24. I'm a score away from pulling off a major upset comeback. I've got 2 timeouts, and about 1:45 to play. I figure there's no way to force another punt, so I've got to try the onside kick. Too bad it never works.

Except for this time. I don't think the ball went 10 yards, but it bounced off of a Giant and one of my guys recovers it. I am stoked at this point. 2 timeouts, 1:40 to score, and only 40 yards to go. I can do this! RGIII starts hitting passes he's missed all game; you can tell the momentum is on our side right now. The Giants are demoralized, and we're feeling invincible. 2 quick passes and we have a first down; the next pass misses and stops the clock. Steve Smith is open on an out route on the next play and steps out of bounds to stop the clock. About :50 left now, and 20 yards to go. That's when Umenyoria comes up for his second sack of the game. Feeling the pressure now, and wanting to get a quick completion and some yards, I call the screen pass to Roy Helu Jr. He's been getting things done for me all year, and was playing pretty good in this game too. The pressure converges, and RGIII waits til the last possible second to get the pass out. Roy catches it and turns up field. Steve Smith throws a fantastic block, and suddenly, Roy has some room to work. He turns it on, and manages to spin out of one defender's grasp. He jinks down to the 7 -yard line. Suddenly, it seemed like out of nowhere, 3 Giants came up to stop him, 1 in front and 2 from the right. Roy lowers his head and tries to barrel through....AND THE BALL GETS KNOCK OUT AT THE 3 YARD LINE. Amukamara recovers it with :27 seconds left and I'm left with my mouth hanging open at the greatest loss I ever experienced playing Madden.