[mazhirui]

I think part of that is the AI. I noticed that when I my freshman FS had a great year (9 INT's I believe) the next season teams stayed away from him. They threw to the other side more and just generally wouldn't throw it with him in the area. On the other hand, my SS had a great year that season, coming up with 7 or 8 INT's. Now in the third season (same guy at FS, he started his freshman year), they're throwing more to the other side again and he's getting picks. I think he has 5 or 6 through 8 games. That's one of the things I love about this game is that the AI will change their gameplan based on how you play. Even though I've bumped up the CPU's RB ability and run blocking, they still won't attempt to run much on me because my run defense is so good. They typically come out passing right out of the gates. On the other hand, if they try to run and have some success, they stick with it until I prove I can stop them. It's just fun to watch. You have to sit there and think how long can I run the 4-4 to stop the run before they start throwing deep?

I also love reading defenses. When I see a safety start drifting one way, I know that my man on that side has 1 on 1 coverage and that if I time the pass right it's an automatic TD. On the other hand, if I throw that way a few times successfully, suddenly the safety is rolling the other way and double teaming that WR. The AI is good enough that I literally have to set up a progression before the snap. I'll use the coach's cam and decide which order I'm going to look at guys in. Soce is right, this is the best football game ever. I'm seriously considering returning Madden, I haven't played it in weeks.