Is Madden Motion Sim?

[Palo20]

Since most people here are clamoring for realism, I just want to look at how the offense in Madden uses motion. Is it really sim? I love the option to motion any player I want at the line of scrimmage, but if we look at how NFL teams use motion, it’s not realistic. A couple examples:


You come out in I Form Normal, running a Power O to the right. Here is your formation:








A common Madden strategy over the past 10 years or so is to motion the WR from the right to the left to help determine if the defense is in man or zone, and if the defense is in man, the CB on that side will obviously follow. This is important in Madden because not having a CB to the play side kind of “breaks” the run defense. The OLB or SS rarely makes the adjustment to have contain on that side, and it’s often an opening for a big run. This is not an uncommon strategy in the real NFL, but in video game life, the CPU (or human for that matter) is rarely able to make the proper adjustments.

If the defense is in zone, another common move would be to audible back to the original play and keep the WR on his original side. It’s bad Madden strategy to motion the WR opposite playside unless he’s taking the CB with him.


Here’s why it’s not really sim: the motion that occurs on an NFL play is pre-determined, not a last minute adjustment at the line. Every now and then the QB will have a bad play call and maybe motion a TE to the backfield to help with blitz pick up, but for the most part, the motion is called in the huddle.


So I propose making the motion predetermined in Madden as well. I’d like to have an extra screen right after the play call where every motion for that formation is available to be selected. So it would look like this:


Play: I Form Normal Power O


Motion Options (Would have diagrams):

Z Across
Z Short
X Short
Y Across
Y Return
FB Right
FB Left


So the motion would be selected before going to the line, just as it should be. I’d like to see a similar option on defense where the play is selected, followed by various pre-snap looks. I’ll post on that soon.

Any thoughts?

[ryan36]

wow, fix the smileys in that please.

[Palo20]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

wow, fix the smileys in that please.

Should be good now.

[Senator Palmer]

Man, I love the idea of breaking up the playcalling elements into screens. I'd also like to see one for different protections and run schemes. You're absolutely right, though. There should be more motion options.

I'd also like to see the option for more shifts tied to the motion. Obviously, not every offense does this, but guys like Saunders and Gibbs were notorious for it. The Falcons last week against the Bucs came out in a two tight, two wide, one back personel. But the initial formation was a basic I Formation.

Ryan came to the line. The TE in the fullback position motioned next to Gonzalez and Roddy White shifted in next to him. Suddenly, an I formation turned into a singleback bunch, and they ran a basic trap play off of that.

I'm not exactly sure how you integrate it, but a separate screen with the motion sounds doable. To take it a step further, I think this might solve the complaints about the custom playbooks and such. There technically are no set number of plays in an NFL playbook, only a set number you take into gameday, but plays change week-to-week based on a subtle differences in route combinations, blocking schemes, etc.

How cool would it be to be able to call your routes on one screen to your receivers "679 YStop" or something to that effect, then a motion, then a protection?

"Empty, Fan, Zshort, 679 YStop, First Sound."

Formation: Empty
Protection: Fan
Motion: Z Short
Routes: 679 YStop

Also, this may be nitpicking, but I've always wanted the option to call the snap count in the huddle, and I'm not talking "hut one", or "hut two", but options like "first sound" or "blue go."

Just throwing this all out there off the top of my head. Obviously, there would have to be some pre-packaged plays, but this combo of routes to formations and motions would take gameplanning to the next level.

[TNT713]

Please NO!!!

Nothing wrong with motion the way it is...

Later

[Palo20]

Quote: Originally Posted by Senator Palmer

Man, I love the idea of breaking up the playcalling elements into screens. I'd also like to see one for different protections and run schemes. You're absolutely right, though. There should be more motion options. I'd also like to see the option for more shifts tied to the motion. Obviously, not every offense does this, but guys like Saunders and Gibbs were notorious for it. The Falcons last week against the Bucs came out in a two tight, two wide, one back personel. But the initial formation was a basic I Formation. Ryan came to the line. The TE in the fullback position motioned next to Gonzalez and Roddy White shifted in next to him. Suddenly, an I formation turned into a singleback bunch, and they ran a basic trap play off of that. I'm not exactly sure how you integrate it, but a separate screen with the motion sounds doable. To take it a step further, I think this might solve the complaints about the custom playbooks and such. There technically are no set number of plays in an NFL playbook, only a set number you take into gameday, but plays change week-to-week based on a subtle differences in route combinations, blocking schemes, etc. How cool would it be to be able to call your routes on one screen to your receivers "679 YStop" or something to that effect, then a motion, then a protection? "Empty, Fan, Zshort, 679 YStop, First Sound." Formation: Empty Protection: Fan Motion: Z Short Routes: 679 YStop Also, this may be nitpicking, but I've always wanted the option to call the snap count in the huddle, and I'm not talking "hut one", or "hut two", but options like "first sound" or "blue go." Just throwing this all out there off the top of my head. Obviously, there would have to be some pre-packaged plays, but this combo of routes to formations and motions would take gameplanning to the next level.

Yeah, I love the idea of getting formation shifts back. I like that it was in last gen, but I always thought they should just let you pick a formation to shift from, similar to my idea on motion.

Would love to see your idea about calling protections too, but I think that might be wishful thinking at this point.

[Palo20]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT713

Please NO!!! Nothing wrong with motion the way it is... Later

I know that motion right now isn't bad, just not how it's done in the NFL.

I think having the option for predetermined motion would expand the playbooks tenfold.

For instance, when I'm on defense, no matter who I'm playing, when the offense comes out in Singleback Twin TE with auto motion to playside, the play is almost always a Power O or PA Power O. I know this because almost every team has this same exact formation and pre-snap motion and the play options with that exact set up are very limited.

In the NFL, most teams really don't run an inordinate number of plays, they just disguise them with different personel, formations and motion.

I would love to see this in Madden where every play could have 15-20 different ways it could be run. Instead, I see TE motion and KNOW that Power O is coming because that's how every team has run it for the last 3 years in both Madden and NCAA.

[BigUnit]

I like the idea of an extra screen for motion. There is a ton of motion in the NFL, and this would help make each game feel a little more unique.