Operation Sports Forums - View Single Post - This is why we don't want college to be gameplay Madden clone

CM Hooe · 05-30-2023, 05:37 PM

With respect to a college football video game adapted from Madden, it’s gotta start with refreshing the playbooks.

Speaking strictly to what’s available in Madden 23, I think that there are a number offensive concepts that Tiburon will have to expand or otherwise offer some TLC. The shotgun zone read plays and RPOs which already exist all will carry over just fine, but there are a number of under-center jet motion plays in Madden 23 which flat-out do not work, as the backfield animations take too long to play out and the defense routinely blows up the play. Granted, not much college football is played from under center anymore, but it’s worth fixing nevertheless for the teams that do (especially triple option teams). Inverted Veer plays popularized by college coaches such as Gus Malzhan and Justin Fuente also probably need a look, as they currently exist in Madden 23 they are tricky to get working.

There are also some offensive concepts used in college which don’t really have a commonly-used analog in the pro game and thus don’t appear in Madden. For example: the slow-mesh action used by Wake Forest on zone read plays; more complex option plays such as screens with a trailing pitch man behind the slot receiver; and run concepts such as Dart, Wrap, and Midline Option.

Defense will also need some work. Notably, I don’t think it’s even possible to run a three-down Tite front with effectiveness in Madden 23 because every run defense is a single-gapping defense. The Tite front is literally everywhere all over college football right now, most notably it’s what the back-to-back College Football Playoff winning Georgia Bulldogs have based out of under head coach Kirby Smart. Additionally, similar to Madden, the match coverage library also needs an overhaul; outside of Bill Belichick, all the best-known teachers of match coverage are college coaches (Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Brent Venables, Gary Patterson). You can’t even begin to run their defenses authentically in Madden 23 due to missing formations, plays, coverage rules, and logic.

Finally, game balance might be an issue specifically on RPOs and screens, because of rules differences between the NFL and college. In college, ineligible receivers such as offensive linemen are allowed to advance three yards downfield beyond the line of scrimmage and avoid a penalty for ineligible receiver; in the NFL that’s reduced to one yard.

05-30-2023, 05:37 PM	#4
CM Hooe Dead! OVR: 45 Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Culver City, CA Posts: 20,963	Re: This is why we don't want college to be gameplay Madden clone With respect to a college football video game adapted from Madden, it’s gotta start with refreshing the playbooks. Speaking strictly to what’s available in Madden 23, I think that there are a number offensive concepts that Tiburon will have to expand or otherwise offer some TLC. The shotgun zone read plays and RPOs which already exist all will carry over just fine, but there are a number of under-center jet motion plays in Madden 23 which flat-out do not work, as the backfield animations take too long to play out and the defense routinely blows up the play. Granted, not much college football is played from under center anymore, but it’s worth fixing nevertheless for the teams that do (especially triple option teams). Inverted Veer plays popularized by college coaches such as Gus Malzhan and Justin Fuente also probably need a look, as they currently exist in Madden 23 they are tricky to get working. There are also some offensive concepts used in college which don’t really have a commonly-used analog in the pro game and thus don’t appear in Madden. For example: the slow-mesh action used by Wake Forest on zone read plays; more complex option plays such as screens with a trailing pitch man behind the slot receiver; and run concepts such as Dart, Wrap, and Midline Option. Defense will also need some work. Notably, I don’t think it’s even possible to run a three-down Tite front with effectiveness in Madden 23 because every run defense is a single-gapping defense. The Tite front is literally everywhere all over college football right now, most notably it’s what the back-to-back College Football Playoff winning Georgia Bulldogs have based out of under head coach Kirby Smart. Additionally, similar to Madden, the match coverage library also needs an overhaul; outside of Bill Belichick, all the best-known teachers of match coverage are college coaches (Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Brent Venables, Gary Patterson). You can’t even begin to run their defenses authentically in Madden 23 due to missing formations, plays, coverage rules, and logic. Finally, game balance might be an issue specifically on RPOs and screens, because of rules differences between the NFL and college. In college, ineligible receivers such as offensive linemen are allowed to advance three yards downfield beyond the line of scrimmage and avoid a penalty for ineligible receiver; in the NFL that’s reduced to one yard.