Final Fantasy Tactics: War of The Lions walkthrough part 5

*************
Madden NFL 09 FAQ
For XBox 360, PS3
Version 1.2 (8/21/08)
Written by Brad Russell "TheGum"
Email: lunatic_252000@yahoo.com
Website: www.thechaosuniverse.com
*************

Version 1.0 – I could cover the modes and always go deeper into each team in
a later update.
(8/20/08)

Version 1.2 – Finished up the Madden Moments *gasps*, and added bits to other
places. I know there will be more than a few updates as the rosters settle.
(8/21/08)

*****************
Table Of Contents
*****************
Use Ctrl + F to quick find in this guide.

Section: Code:

1. A Brief Foreword
2. Controls ( CON2222 )
3. Starter Tips ( TIPS333 )
4. Teams:

4A. National Football Conference ( NFC123 )

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins

NFC North

Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers
Atlanta Falcons

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals
St. Louis Rams
San Francisco 49ers

4B. American Football Conference ( AFC123 )

AFC East

New England Patriots
New York Jets
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans

AFC West

San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs

5. Football ( PLAY555 )

Offense OFF1234
Defense DEF5678
Special Teams SPT9012

6. Glossary ( GLOS666 )

Football FOB27

7. Madden Test ( TEST777 )
8. Game Modes ( MODE888 )
9. Power Rankings
10. Author Info / Copyright

*****************************************************************************
* 1. A Brief Foreword *
*****************************************************************************

**The following is a note I would write to EA if any of the following were
applicable: A) if EA listened, B) if anyone else cared, or C) if there were
somewhere to send it – don’t worry, I haven’t and don’t plan to look.**

Dear EA,

I appreciate the effort of this year’s Madden, but this game is
becoming more and more unlike football. I understand programming AI
that can play football must be hard, but scripting, rubberband AI,
sliders, hidden sliders, and animations are not the answer. I’m sure
it’s nice and easy to copy and paste last year’s tackle animations to
this year, but if you actually compare those to how NFL players
tackle, you’ll see that your animations don’t fly.

The main thing to fix is how you let the CPU quarterback throw off
his back foot on any play. I’m sure Madden himself would say, "Now he
should have never thrown that ball off his back foot, boom!"

Is it too much to ask for players to walk into a game with both
teams on an equal field and the players decide the game, rather than
sliders, scripting, and animations? I have been a loyal fan for many
years, but other than crazy games against other gamers, I’m starting
to understand why many people have long lost faith in the Madden
franchise for not offering enough innovation. Madden 09 is just NCAA 09
in new packaging and some glitter to make it look better. For next
year, please try to make a game that better reflects the NFL.

TheGum.

*****************************************************************************
* 2. Controls ( CON2222 ) *
*****************************************************************************

This is the most comprehensive controls section I’ve ever made, so you better
like it. I hope they all match up with NCAA controls, as they are the same
games, except for pump fakes and throwing away, which was TONS of fun to
adjust to by the way.

Key:

When you see X (A), it means PS3 (XBox 360)

PS3 = 360

X = A
SQU = X
O = B
TRI = Y
L1 = LB
R1 = RB
L2 = LT
R2 = RT
LS = LS
RS = RS
D-Pad = D-Pad
L3 = L3
R3 = R3
Start = Start
Select = Back

=======
General
=======

Move player – LS
Sprint – R2 (RT) (can be bad at times)
Switch player – tap O (B), hold and direction to scroll
Show routes (playart) – R2 (RT) + Up; bluff with R2 (RT) + left/right
Audible – SQU (X)
Preplay help – R3
Replay – L1 + R1 (LB + RB)
Timeout – Select (Back)
Pause – Start

=======
Offense
=======

Hurry-up
——–
*Hold these after a play is over

Hurry – X (A)
Hurry and call last play – TRI (Y)
Spike – SQU (X)
Fake spike – O (B)

*NOTE: It’s much faster to just call a play like normal instead of using
these.*

Pre-Play
——–
*While at the line of scrimmage

Timeout – Select (Back)
Snap – X (A)
Fake snap – R1 (RB)
Audible – SQU (X) and then one of the receiver buttons that corresponds to
the pre-set play. These are displayed for you in this game.
Motion – hold O (B) + left/right to select a player, then press left/right
to send him in motion
Flip run – RS left/right
Slide Protection – L2 (LT) + up/left/down/right

**L1/R1 (LB/RB) during play selection to change packages, such as Spell HB.

Hot Routes
———-
*These are pre-play

Select player – press TRI and then the receiver’s button
Hot Route – after you select a receiver, press one of the following routes

Straight up – LS up
Come back – LS down
In/Out route – LS left/right
Fade – RS up
Drag – RS down
Slant – RS left/right
Block – left/right = L2/R2 (LT/RT)
Smart route – R1 (RB)
Cancel – O (B)

Passing
——-
*Keep in mind you can move in the pocket, and run and pass so long as you
never cross the line of scrimmage

Pass the ball – X, O, SQU, TRI, L1 (A, B, X, Y, LB);
tap for a lob, hold for bullet pass
Throw away (out of pocket) – click RS
Pump fake – R1 (RB)
Run – R2 (RT) (same as sprint)

Option Plays
————

Pitch/Lateral – L2 (LT)
Fake pitch – L1 (LB)
Fullback (triple option, hold at handoff) – X (A)

Running
——-
*This is when running to start, with the QB, or after a catch

Sprint – R2 (RT)
Spin – O (B); RS in a circle
Dive – SQU (X)
Hurdle – TRI (Y)
Stiff Arm – X (A)
Protect ball – R1 (RB)
Lateral – L2 (LT)
Juke – RS left/right/down
Highlight stick – RS up
High Step/celebrate – press/hold O (B) as you run to the endzone

Catching
——–

Switch to receiver – O (B)
Catch – TRI (Y)
Diving catch – SQU (X)

Blocking
——–
*I guess someone may want to do this, sadly

For a running play, switch to player like a hot route, then press L1 (LB) to
control that blocker after the snap. Press the RS up for an impact block, or
down for a cut block.

=======
Defense
=======
Of course after an INT or fumble, normal running moves apply.

Pre-Play
——–

Timeout – Select (Back)
Audible – SQU (X)
Jump Snap – L2 (LT)
Defensive line audibles – L1 (LB)
Linebacker audibles – R1 (RB)
Coverage audibles – TRI (Y)

D-Line Audibles
—————
*L1 (LB) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel

Shift – LS left/right
Spread/Pinch – LS up/down
Crash – RS right/left/down
DE contain – RS up

Linebacker Audibles
——————-
*R1 (RB) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel

Shift – LS left/right
Spread/Pinch – LS up/down
Blitz – right/left/all = RS left/right/down
LB Zone – RS up

Coverage Audibles
—————–
*TRI (Y) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel

Show blitz/Show man – LS left/right
Soft/Press – LS up/down
Safety zone shade – RS left/right
Safety shade – RS up/down

Hot Routes
———-
*Tap O (B) to select player, then press X (A) and one of these buttons, cancel
with O (B)

Hook Zone – LS up
QB Contain – LS down
Man Coverage – LS left + receiver icon
Buzz zone – LS right
Blitz – RS down
Deep zone – RS up
QB spy – RS left
Flat zone – RS right

After Snap
———-

Sprint – R2 (RT)
Switch – O (B)
Dive – SQU (X)
Strip ball – X (A)
Strafe – hold L2 (LT)
Intercept – TRI (Y)
Diving INT – SQU (X)
Swat – X (A)
Hit stick – RS up for high; RS down for low

<while engaged with blocker>

Bull rush – R1 (RB)
Finesse move – L1 (LB)
Hands up – TRI (Y)

=============
Special Teams
=============

Kick – LS change height and direction of kick; RS down until in the red, then
up in the direction when in the red or close to it for power. Don’t
adjust kickoff height please.
Punt – same as kick, just know low punts will be returned easier.
Fair catch – TRI (Y)
Kneel in endzone before leaving – don’t move
All other moves apply when returning.

*****************************************************************************
* 3. Starter Tips ( TIPS333 ) *
*****************************************************************************

#1. Be sure to quick save (LS) when you’ve done something, especially after a
win in franchise, but also after just normal wins.

#2. When playing, I always kick the ball to start a game. That way, no matter
what happens in the first half, you can start the second half with the ball.

#3. Not much harm in going for it on 4th down when the ball is near the
40, especially on Heisman where kickoffs and returns usually put the CPU team
on the 40 anyway.

#4. A basic tip while passing is to look downfield. Of course if you have
routes that take a while to develop, maybe then you can watch the pocket
collapse and enter scramble mode. You should see where the blitz is coming
from right after the snap and either respond or see if it’s picked up.

#5. It’s best to learn all the shifts before a play. There are three on
defense and one on offense. Then learn all the motions and hot routes for
offense; in time you may want to learn about the defensive hot routes too.

#6. I never play the 2 pt conversion on odd scores. Great if you can score
everytime, but I would rather take my 1 pt and then worry about cruncing #’s
later.

#7. I hope your realize there is a way to see what the offense is running
when making defensive calls. It’s usually to the side of your play sheet.

#8. If you struggle with anything, whether it’s run, pass, run defense, or pass
defense, you can run the "Madden Tests", or just go to practice and actually
put those skills to a better test. It’s best to try out all the moves. Of
course for any defense you could just play games – practice is really just
to get timing of passing routes down and running.

#9. Please, know what your team is good at. If you don’t know, feel free to
poke around the internet, or here’s a thought, watch the games. Yeah, this is
more an arcade game than a simulation, but bad defense is bad defense no
matter what.

#10. Please turn off weapons, they are stupid and make this game even more
arcade-y than it needs to be. This is an arcade game by the way, in no way
resembling anything close to real football, but it’s a fun version of football.

#11. Refer to my NCAA 09 guide for maybe some additional insight, but the two
games are different in players and some formations. Keep in mind large portions
of this guide are copied from that guide, and fittingly since the two games are
basically the same.

#12. When in the closing seconds of the game and behind, you’re in hurry-up
mode, but don’t use the hurry-up controls post-play, just call a play like
normal as it’s much faster.

*****************************************************************************
* 4A. National Football Conference ( NFC123 ) *
*****************************************************************************

Here is a rundown of all the teams in what is called the "weaker" division in
the NFL. It’s due to the thought that only a handful of teams could beat
whoever wins the AFC, while the AFC has many top teams.

Key

Rating: offense + defense = overall**
Key Weapons: best offensive options minus the QB; best defensive options for
you to play
Strength: best thing on this team
Weakness: one thing far below the rest

*NOTE: All of this is partly subjective on my part, but I try to stay honest
about it all. See, I put my hated Cowboys first, then my Eagles.*

**These will change, and I know they are not right at the time of this posting,
but the ratings and players are mostly in the same ballpark. Teams will change
up until the trade deadline, around week 6 or so in real time.

========
< NFC East >
========

Dallas Cowboys
————–

Rating: 96
Key Weapons: TO, Barber, Witten; Ware (OLB), Hamlin (FS)
Strength: offense
Weakness: defensive line

The Cowboys have one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and luckily for
you there is no choke factor in Madden. The only weakness on offense is the
fact that there is little behind Terrell Owens at WR. Romo has passing and
scrambling abilities, as well as the ability to evade some tackles. Couple
that with Jason Witten and Owens and you have short passing and play action
potential on every play.

The running backs are not gamebusters, but they offer speed and power. Marion
Barber is the work horse that gets you past 4th and 1 and goal line punches.
Felix Jones lets you run laterally, but he’s a rookie so don’t rely on him in
clutch downs.

The defense is solid all around. DeMarcus Ware is one of the best LB’s in the
game, and the rest of his LB corps is great too, and they need to be to cover
up the weakness in the d-line. Running offenses can find success up the middle,
but passing plays should look for zone coverage and pass through Roy Williams,
one of the worst zone defenders in the game.

Philadelphia Eagles
——————-

Rating: 91
Key Weapons: Westbrook, Curtis/Brown, Jackson, Smith; Dawkins (FS)
Strength: secondary
Weakness: LB

The Iggles offer a team that is very close to being elite. Donovan McNabb is no
longer the scramble-first QB of old, but he can still move around. He’s one of
the stronger QB’s in the game and always leaves open the threat of a deep
bomb.

Brian Westbrook is quite possibly the best all around offensive weapon in the
NFL. He’s a great RB alone, but combine that with the fact that he can act as
a WR on every play and the offensive potential is there for every play. If the
defense is playing run-defense, audible to passing play and send B-West into
a hot route.

The Eagle receiving corps is not great, but it does provide depth. Reggie
Brown and Kevin Curtis take a Randy Moss and split him into two – Brown being
tall and Curtis being fast. Playing in the shotgun puts in the rest of the
WR’s, mainly fast-guy Jackson, onto the field. Jackson is way fast, FYI.

For defense you have talent all around, except in the linebacking corps. Where
you may find trouble stopping the run you will not find such stopping the pass.
This is the best secondary in the NFL, with only Quinten Mikell the "weak"
link at SS, and he isn’t horrible by any means. Heck, even the average LB’s
can make a few plays.

New York Giants
—————

Rating: 94
Key Weapons: Burress; Pierce (MLB), try Phillips (FS)
Strength: offensive line
Weakness: defense

The Super Bowl Champs, or "the team that got hot at the right time to reach
the Super Bowl and then got REALLY lucky to win the Super Bowl" don’t offer
much talent at the key positions. Eli is kindly a better QB in this game than
in reality, but aside from Plaxico there aren’t many playmakers he can pass
to.

You’ll rely almost completely on the running game, which is bolstered by the
great offensive line. Jacobs and the other RB’s offer all kinds of running
styles, but aren’t spectacular at anything.

The defense isn’t terrible, but it too offers little. You have one of the best
pass rushing d-lines in the game with Osi and Tuck at defensive ends. Antonio
Pierce helps stopping the run. The rest of the defense is better than most, but
still not great.

Washington Redskins
——————-

Rating: 88
Key Weapons: Portis, Moss, Randle El; Fletcher (MLB), Landry (SS)
Strength: defense
Weakness: passing

The Redskins really don’t do anything exceptionally well, but you have spots
of goodness. Jason Campbell could one day be a great QB, but at the moment
he offers the classic run-first talents of scrambling QB’s. His speedy WR’s
help in crossing routes, but these receivers are short and not reliable over
the middle.

Clinton Portis is an above-average elusive back. Offense goes through him
since defenders won’t worry too much about the pass. You’ll need to get a run
game going with Portis or you could see pass coverage every down until you
prove otherwise.

The defense does well enough, with great LB’s and a deep secondary. The d-line
doesn’t stand out, so rely on the other positions to bring pressure and stop
the run.

=========
< NFC North >
=========

Green Bay Packers
—————–

Rating: 91
Key Weapons: Driver, Jennings, Grant; Hawk (OLB)
Strength: defense
Weakness: no Brett Favre (aka Aaron Rogers)

Brett Favre wasn’t gamebuster on the team, and Aaron Rogers doesn’t help this
team’s passing attack at all. You have two great WR’s in Jennings and Driver,
but it just depends on whether Rogers can get the ball to them.

Ryan Grant offers a bruising running game, but he’s not a gamebuster either.
Just like the Giants, you’ll need to establish a running attack with Grant to
open up the Rogers passing game.

The Packer defense is solid all around, with great CB’s, decent safeties,
two strong LB’s, and great DE’s. This is one of the better balanced defenses in
the game. You’ll need them too to cover up for the "rookie" QB.

Minnesota Vikings
—————–

Rating: 90
Key Weapons: AD (Peterson), Rice; Henderson (MLB), Sharper (SS)
Strength: Adrian Peterson
Weakness: QB

Another team with all the pieces in place except for QB. Tarvaris Jackson has
potential to be the next Donovan McNabb, but the arm isn’t there. He’s the
classic run-first scrambling QB, and along with AD you can overkill your run
game and then allow passing.

Speaking of AD, which is All Day, Adrian Peterson is the man-child out of OU
that will be one of the legends of the game if he stays healthy. He combines
power with speed, and he can catch if needed. Seeing 8 in the box isn’t much
of a problem, but anything less and the defense has made a huge mistake.

The Viking defense has one glaring flaw, the backfield. Up front you have the
best defensive line in the game in Jared Allen and the two Williams. You have
Sharper at SS, Winfield at CB, and Henderson at MLB, but other than that the
rest of the backfield is average at best. Feel free to use 4-3 zones or nickels
to make sure all your bases are covered.

Chicago Bears
————-

Rating: 80
Key Weapons: Hester; Urlacher(MLB)/Briggs(OLB), Brown (FS)
Strength: defense
Weakness: offense

A team in the Super Bowl a few years ago. You can only hope you have Rex in
at QB as he at least offers the deep ball. Sadly, that is the highlight of the
offense believe it or not. You better find ways to get Devin Hester on offense
because you’ll need him. No run game, no true WR’s, and all you have is Hester.

Speaking of him, your special teams may be your best bet at making offense.
Hester will go down as the best return man ever, so get good at reading returns
and making your moves. One score with him and you’ve made up for the bad
offense.

The Bear defense is always known for being the best part of this team. Strong
points are the LB’s and corners, but the safeties and linemen could use some
work. The corners help stop passes and the LB’s will stuff the run, the rest is
up to your playcalling.

Detroit Lions
————-

Rating: 78
Key Weapons: Williams & Johnson; Sims (OLB), Smith (SS)
Strength: WR
Weakness: running

The lovable losers. You have Kitna as a decent QB, but it’s best he gets the
ball quickly to one of his tall WR’s. Williams and Johnson offer possession
and speed, Roy and Calvin respectively. McDonald is you slot guy with better
moves than the others, so don’t be afraid to give him the ball and let him make
a play.

There is no running game, so let’s move on. You’ll need to pass to set up the
run, FYI.

The Lion defense is pretty lame as well. You have a good LB in Sims and one
good DT in Redding, but that’s about it. Dodden is a good enough corner, but
he is the only highlight of the secondary.

=========
< NFC South >
=========

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
——————–

Rating: 91
Key Weapons: Galloway; June(OLB)/Brooks(OLB)
Strength: defense
Weakness: offense

It may sound odd to say this offense is a weak point if you were to be around
the NFL a few years ago. Garcia, my boi, is getting old and he doesn’t have
stellar weapons around him. You could probably make some strange formations
using more than one of these 3 above-average RB’s. Dunn, Graham, and Williams
are toss-ups to which one is better, so it’s your call. Joey Galloway is
still a speed guy at WR, but the rest are possession guys at best.

The Buc defense is still the strength of this team. You have a strong LB corps
in Brooks and June, and Ronde Barber will keep his guy mostly quiet. The other
CB Buchanon is quite fast. The linemen are not bad, but not great.

New Orleans Saints
——————

Rating: 87
Key Weapons: Colston, Bush, Shockey; Vilma (MLB)
Strength: offense
Weakness: defense

In a complete 180 of the Bucs, the Aints offer a pro offense, but a defense
that couldn’t stop USC. Drew Brees is an extremely good QB, and he has many
weapons to throw to in Colston and Shockey. Reggie Bush may not be a great
RB, but he is a solid receiver.

The running game is still solid, but not stellar. Bush is a better RB in this
game than in reality, but if you can get him in space he can do good. Deuce
is a power back good for short yardage. Keep in mind what RB you have on a
running play as the two are very different.

Defense is horrible for this team. You have Vilma and some good linemen, but
that’s it, and I mean it. Fujita may be the best other guy on the team, but
that’s not saying a whole lot. You’re giving up points, so deal with it.

Carolina Panthers
—————–

Rating: 86
Key Weapons: Smith; Beason (MLB), Harris (SS)
Strength: Steve Smith
Weakness: running

Lucky for you, no suspensions will be served in this game. Steve Smith and Jake
Delhomme are you offense, so get that straight. There is really nothing else
on offense, I swear. You have to sit in the pocket and wait for Smith to be
open.

The two RB’s are average and very similar, so you could toss a coin as to
which one you want to use. They are pretty inexperienced, so keep that in
mind.

The defense has Peppers and Beason, but nothing spectacular anywhere else.
The defense isn’t bad, but not enough to win you games.

Atlanta Falcons
—————

Rating: 67
Key Weapons: White?
Strength: none
Weakness: all

Come on, they had some players last year, but this is a fresh team with
nothing. You have a defensive end in Abraham, and maybe a burner in Michael
Turner, but that’s it. I could talk about this team if no other team had
superstars, but most teams do and this team has none.

========
< NFC West >
========

Seattle Seahawks
—————-

Rating: 87
Key Weapons: Tatupu (MLB)
Strength: defense
Weakness: running

A team that is on the decline, but still tops in the NFC. Hasselbeck is in
the upper tiers of QB’s, and he has decent weapons to throw to. Branch, Engram,
and Burleson are all #2 wide receivers, so they aren’t bad.

Shaun Alexander could have made the run game better since his stats would have
been better in this game than in real life. As it stands, you have Jones as a
decent small RB, but he’s not great by any means.

The defense will keep you in all your games. Tatupu and Peterson make for
one of the best LB corps in the game, and the secondary isn’t too bad either.
On the line you have Kerney, which is probably enough.

Arizona Cardinals
—————–

Rating: 78
Key Weapons: Fitzgerald & Boldin, James; Wilson (SS)
Strength: WR
Weakness: defense

You have a great weapons, but not really a great gunslinger at QB. Warner is
a pocket passer, but Leinart isn’t much better. You’ll need to quickly get the
ball to your two great wideouts, Fitz and Bold. Fitz is your big, deep threat
while Boldin will make your catches over the middle.

Edge is a solid RB, and nothing to sneeze at. He’s not top-shelf material,
but he’s good enough as a runner.

The defense has a decent secondary, but that’s about it. Average LB’s, one
good DT, and the rest of the line is sub-par. Expect to see a few runs against
you.

St. Louis Rams
————–

Rating: 77
Key Weapons: Holt, Jackson; Witherspoon (MLB), Atogwe (FS)
Strength: Steven Jackson
Weakness: defense

Good for you virtual Jackson doesn’t hold out. Bulger is was supposed to be
the next great QB, but he is still below the upper tiers. He’s good, but he
doesn’t have much to throw to. Holt is the solid veteran, and the rest are
there.

You’ll need to ram the ball up the middle with Jackson. The FB isn’t too bad
either, so I formations and play actions will work really well. You’ll see 8
in the box to start games, so pass to Holt and company to open up the
space for Jackson to truck forward.

The defense is not bad, but not great. A few guys at postions, Witherspoon at
MLB and Atogwe at FS, but not much else. Next year the Long guy could be better
than now, or maybe as the season progresses.

San Francisco 49ers
——————-

Rating: 72
Key Weapons: Gore; Willis (MLB), Lewis (SS)
Strength: defense
Weakness: QB

Wow, you don’t have a QB, so don’t think otherwise. You really don’t have
much to throw to anyways. Davis at TE is good, but the rest of the wideouts
are #3’s at the best.

Luckily for the passing game, you have Frank Gore to lower that FS. Gore is
fast and strong, but not a gamebuster. Offense on the 49ers goes through him.

This is the overall best conference because you have the "19-0" Patriots,
the powerhouse Colts, flashy Chargers, power Steelers, up-and-coming Browns,
and then a few other teams from the South not named the Texans. On any given
Sunday these top teams could beat another in an AFC championship.

Key

Rating: offense + defense = overall**
Key Weapons: best offensive options minus the QB; best defensive options for
you to play
Strength: best thing on this team
Weakness: one thing far below the rest

**These will change, and I know they are not right, but teams will change
throughout the season, but at least you have some idea where a team ranks.

========
< AFC East >
========

New England Patriots
——————–

Rating: 97
Key Weapons: Moss, Welker, Watson, Maroney; any LB, Harrison (SS)
Strength: passing
Weakness: secondary

Ah, the team that wears 18-1 t-shirts to work. The Pats are right up there as
a top team based on talent alone. Brady and Moss will be legends of the game,
and they have no flaws in their game. On top of that, Brady has Welker across
from Moss and then Watson at TE. Combine that with the other WR’s and the
catching RB Faulk, you understand why this team can win games by playing the
shotgun all game long.

Maroney isn’t a bad RB, he just can’t win a game for you. He’s good for short
yards, draws, and screens, but he should be any player’s second option to
the passing game. He’ll see plenty to time late in games when you’re running
out the clock.

The line is solid, and running a 3-4 they need to be. The linebackers are
old, not fast, but they can stop the run. So a solid line and strong LB’s,
that means you’ll need to pass against the Pats. You have an old SS and
decent corners. Passing isn’t automatic, but it’s the only weak point in this
defense’s armor.

New York Jets
————-

Rating: 76
Key Weapons: Coles & Cotchery, Jones; Harris (MLB), Rhodes (SS)
Strength: no weaknesses
Weakness: no strengths

I swear I made the strengths and weaknesses for all teams the day before the
Favre trade and this team had QB as a weakness. Favre doesn’t make them the
New England Patriots in passing, but they have two good WR’s and an old legend
at QB. The run game isn’t too bad with Jones and Washington, and that new line
helps open up lanes. This team doesn’t have killer weapons on offense, but
it’s good enough if used correctly.

Defense has a guy at each position who is solid, but not strong in any one
thing. If anything, the LB corps is very promising, and could be better as the
season rolls along. Defense isn’t a big negative, but the whole team is about
average all around.

Buffalo Bills
————-

Rating: 82
Key Weapons: Evans, Lynch; Crowell (OLB), Whitner (SS)
Strength: Marshawn Lynch
Weakness: QB

Here is one of those up-and-coming teams that could be great down the road.
As for now, there is no QB. At least there is one good WR in Evans. Lynch is
your best weapon as he is the utili-back, capable of doing a little bit of
all the things RB’s can do.

The defense is actually pretty good. You got a few guys on the line, a couple
of above-average LB’s, and then a solid secondary. Defense could be a bigger
plus than the running game, but either way you know the Bills will make some
stops.

Miami Dolphins
————–

Rating: 67
Key Weapons: Brown; Porter (OLB)
Strength: running
Weakness: passing

At least there are a few good runners on this team, more than the Falcons have.
Brown and Williams are both solid, with the nod going to Brown. Williams is
fast enough to maybe catch some passes for you. No receivers on this team,
so with no QB you’ll be using a lot of Brown on 1st and 2nd down.

The defense is average at best. Porter at LB is your best defender, but an
average line and only average CB’s. Believe it or not, this team is just a
tiny bit ahead of the Falcons, despite a 1-15 season.

=========
< AFC North >
=========

Pittsburgh Steelers
——————-

Rating: 94
Key Weapons: Ward, Holmes, Parker, Miller; any LB, Polamalu (SS)
Strength: defense
Weakness: WR

Big Ben has the ability to run out of the pocket, which is more than either
Anderson or Palmer in the next two teams can do. Unlike the next two teams,
Ben has less weapons to throw to. Ward, Holmes, and Miller are good, solid
options, but they aren’t gamebusters. Sure, you can move the ball with the
pass, but it’s an area to improve. Fast Willie and the rookie RB provide a
punishing run game.

The defense is pretty well-rounded. You have above-average corners, a great
safety, a solid LB corps, and a two great linemen. If anything, you could test
those corners with better wide receivers.

Cleveland Browns
—————-

Rating: 88
Key Weapons: Edwards, Winslow, Lewis
Strength: passing
Weakness: defense

The defense isn’t bad, but this team is certainly on the brink of having an
elite offense. Anchoring that offense is the surprise QB Derek Anderson. He’s
a traditional pocket passer, but for it you have Winslow at TE and Edwards at
WR, two of the best at those positions to pass to. Jamal Lewis is a power
runner, good for short yardage.

The defense has two good players on the line, but the LB’s and DB’s lack any
real stars. They aren’t bad, but not great.

Cincinnati Bengals
——————

Rating: 80
Key Weapons: Johnson & TJ
Strength: passing
Weakness: defense

It should come as no surprise the Bengals and Browns hooked up last year for a
50+ point performance on both sides. Just like the Browns, these cats are
strong in the pass, but weak on defense. The Bengals actually have a better
QB in Palmer, and two superb wideouts in disgruntled Johnson and under-
appreciated TJ Who’s-yo-momma. Palmer can sit in the pocket, wait for either
of the two to streak up the field, and then let it fly. Both WR’s can catch
almost anything.

Sadly, Rudi Johnson isn’t a blazing RB, but he can do good enough. Kenny Watson
could possibly be better as the year goes on, but either way you know you got
a good backup. The FB isn’t bad either. So the run game is solid at the least.

Where the Browns have an average defense, the Bengals are a step below that.
A lesser line, LB corps, and secondary. At least they’re in the way of the
offense.

Baltimore Ravens
—————-

Rating: 81
Key Weapons: McGahee, Mason, Heap; Lewis (MLB), Reed (FS)
Strength: defense
Weakness: offense

To fittingly, this team combats the better offenses in this division with the
best defense, one of the best on paper. You have two great ends, a great LB
unit, two great corners, and then one of the best defenders in the game, Ed
Reed at FS. It’s an older defense, but it won’t be easy to score in any way
against the Ravens.

Oh yeah, there is an offense, somewhere. No QB, great RB, good TE, and at least
one okay wideout. Trust me, anything you get out of the offense is a big win.
Remember, you can choose your own QB. Flacco, Boller, and Smith are all
about the same. Flacco is the rookie with a big arm; Boller is a solid backup
to any other QB, but may be your best bet; and then Heisman winner Troy Smith
offers more legs for ya.

=========
< AFC South >
=========

Indianapolis Colts
——————

Rating: 95
Key Weapons: Wayne, Harrison, Addai, Clark; Brackett (MLB), either safety
Strength: offense
Weakness: running defense

A team on level with the Patriots, so it’s not surprising the two teams have
such a good rivalry going. Peyton can carve up any defense with stellar
wideout Wayne, veteran Harrison, slot guy Gonzalez, and TE Clark. On top of
the pass attack, you can hand the ball off to Addai, a borderline top-tier
RB. Rhodes is back as a backup runner, a good RB on his own.

The secondary is great with the best defender Bob Sanders at FS, then you have
Bethea at SS, and two above-average corners. The LB’s are average as a whole,
and despite two great defensive ends, those two are great pass rushers. This
means you have your best bet running the ball against the Colts.

Jacksonville Jaguars
——————–

Rating: 93
Key Weapons: Taylor & Drew; Peterson/Smith (LB), Nelson (FS)
Strength: running
Weakness: WR

Here your have one of the best running attacks in football. Fred Taylor offers
you speed and power, while Jones-Drew offers speed and elusiveness. You could
play either one at any time, but Taylor has a slight edge over Pocket Hercules,
Drew.

On top of the great run attack you have a pretty solid QB in Garrard and a
few good wideouts. You don’t have any great guys, but all of them are about
in the middle of the road, and Reggie Williams is pretty good.

The defense is very good. The only weak point is where the line where you
still have a great DT. Stellar LB’s in Peterson and Smith, and then you have
two good players in the secondary in Mathis and Nelson. It’s not an awesome
defense, but it’s certainly above average.

Tennessee Titans
—————-

Rating: 89
Key Weapons: Chris Johnson, White, Crumpler; Bulluck (OLB), either safety
Strength: defense
Weakness: WR

A team that stays in games on its defense. Vince Young is the top running QB
in all of football. Sure, he can pass, but he has magic feet. Of course all
defenses will know this, so you must plan on passing first, then run. Notice
how I really haven’t talked about this QB’s weapons, it’s because he has
none except for old TE Crumpler. When your best wideout has average speed,
time to rethink the pass attack.

Thankfully, this team is built on running. You have LenDale White, a very
solid RB who can get short yards. Then you have the rookie Chris Johnson who
is possibly the fastest runner in the game, so don’t be afraid to see if he can
turn a few corners for ya in HB Sub packages.

Of course a good d-line with two great players, an above-average LB corps, and
then a solid secondary. Hope is a great player if you play SS, and then Bulluck
is great for you linebacker players. This is a team hard to throw and pass on.

Houston Texans
————–

Rating: 78
Key Weapons: Johnson; Ryans (MLB)
Strength: Andre Johnson
Weakness: running

There isn’t much to this team, but this isn’t a bad team. Schaub has a few
good options to throw to in Davis, Walter, and Daniels. Let us not forget
Andre Johnson, a gamebusting wideout who is your main option. You will not win
many games unless you’re throwing to this guy. The run game is average at the
very best.

The d-line is very good with Okoye and Williams. You even have a good MLB,
but sadly there are no big playmakers in the secondary.

========
< AFC West >
========

San Diego Chargers
——————

Rating: 95
Key Weapons: LT, Chambers, Gates; Merriman/Phillips (OLB)
Strength: LaDainian Tomlinson
Weakness: WR

The AFC West is the Chargers and a bunch of used-to-be-good teams. The weakest
point of the offense is the QB Rivers, and he cracks 90 overall. He’s a
traditional pocket passer, but he has good weapons in Chambers and Gates, and
Gates is your best receiver. Heck, you could put him out at WR and he would
still be elite.

Now for the good part, LT. Tomlinson is the best player in the game – on
offense for sure. Feel free to run goal line’s with LT and just cause major
havoc. But everyone will load up for LT, so you’ll have to pass to open up
his running lanes.

The defense is just as great as LT. When your weakest point is the safety
position, you can do a lot more right than wrong. You have the two great d-
linemen, two great LB’s, and two solid corners. Remember, this team uses a
3-4 defense, with only three linemen and 4 LB’s.

Denver Broncos
————–

Rating: 84
Key Weapons: Marshall; Williams (OLB)
Strength: passing
Weakness: running defense

Here is a team that is kinda hard to figure out. For one, they have one of the
biggest QB arms in Cutler, and lucky for you EA has looked kindly upon Brandon
Marshall and gave him a very nice rating. You also have an above average TE
in Scheffler.

Secondly, the o-line is kinda weak, and worst the RB’s are all at par or less.
Young is the best option, but the two backups aren’t too far off. The run game
isn’t terrible, but you won’t win many games on these guys alone.

The defense could be an overall weakness, especially after the departure of
overrated SS John Lynch. That doesn’t help the weak d-line, average LB corps,
and now weaker secondary. The two corners are your best defenders, and you have
one good LB in D.J. Williams. With solid corners, you’re forcing the other
teams to run on your weak line.

Oakland Raiders
—————

Rating: 71
Key Weapons: Walker, McFadden; Morrison/Howard (LB), either safety
Strength: defense
Weakness: passing

Raider Nation finally can say with confidence, "We might have a good team."
Promising QB Russell (no relation) can scramble and pass with his rocket arm,
but he’s not accurate at the moment. Walker and Curry are average receivers,
but at least you have something to throw to.

Most interesting is the run game with rookie McFadden and Justin Fargas. Both
are about equal now, but it’s very possible McFadden will turn into a junior
Adrian Peterson.

You got the standard two good d-linemen, two great LB’s, and then a very
solid secondary. The secondary is the strongest with two above-average safeties
and then two great corners. The Raiders have a defense, now it’s just a
question of whether the offense can score enough points.

Kansas City Chiefs
——————

Rating: 71
Key Weapons: Johnson, Bowe, Gonzalez; Johnson/Edwards (OLB)
Strength: offense except QB
Weakness: defense

Basically you have a good WR in Dwayne Bowe and a great RB in Larry Johnson.
However, you have no QB, so good luck with that. Don’t forget about future
HOF TE Tony Gonzalez.

This defense losing Jared Allen means it’s weaker than it already was. You have
no d-line, so accept it. You actually have a good LB corps of guys I’ve never
heard of but have good stats. You don’t have a secondary, so accept that too.

*****************************************************************************
* 5. Football ( PLAY555 ) *
*****************************************************************************

A lot of this section is subjective on my part. This is what works for me, and
if you find yourself losing using this advice, feel free to use what you
think works best.

Please note that most of this comes from my NCAA 09 guide, so some of it may
sound weird, but I try to correct where I find it.

Golden Advice
————-

It’s just like basketball, baseball, and other sports, you can’t always play
lights-out offense, but you can always show up and play shut-down defense.

If there is any part of your game to improve, it’s most likely defense. Sure
you can’t win unless you score, but good defense is like good offense, and the
opposite is true as well. There are a million reasons to play bad offense, but
not many for bad defense.

Before You Play
—————

Know your team first, or at least know your key players. The players to know
about the most in order: QB, RB, WR, TE, MLB, FS, and SS. Notice that I’ve
changed these from NCAA, and I’ll explain now.

*NOTE: There are weapons, but I will not get into those because I hate
weapons, and so should you.*

QB – Mainly you need to know if this guy can run or not. QB’s like Vince
Young, Donovan McNabb, and Tarvaris Jackson are scramblers, while Peyton
Manning and Tom Brady and most others are pocket passers.

RB – You got big backs and small guys, and then there’s speed and power. For
the NFL, LT, Peterson, Westbrook, and then a few more are impact RB’s, the
rest are not going to impact games. Most can catch, and that’s a good thing.

WR – More so than the college game, these guys are your QB’s best friend. If
in doubt, sometimes you can just chuck it up to these guys and hope for the
best, usually putting touch as high as you can so they can jump up for it. It’s
really cool if you have a team with a deep WR corps as you can stretch the
field.

TE – If you look at some plays where you threw a pick or made a bad pass, 70%
of the time your TE was wide open over the middle. Lots of these guys can
outrun LB’s, so play actions and bootlegs are almost always open.

MLB – I put him up because if you play LB, you probably need to play this
guy, but it not then feel free to play one of the outside guys. If you play
this guy, your job is to protect against the run, blitz, and cover guys over
the middle. Your biggest weakness is when someone runs out in the flats. For
this, I have added another defensive position…

FS/SS – For Madden I am playing safety, usually the one on the side of the
strongest WR. For it I make sure that no matter what, my guy is only tasked to
drift back, usually a cover 1. So what I do is drift up to the line to protect
against possible runs, but my main job is to protect against curl routes on the
best WR. This is the money route for CPU’s, and if the WR curls I just jump the
route. Of course if the WR keeps running, then it’s all up to your skills,
which you should develop as you play.

*NOTE: Linemen are your only other option if you just suck at the other two
positions. I say this because as a linemen you don’t really affect the play
in either way, but as a good linemen you can possibly cause havoc and you’ll
need to know your guy’s best moves. Never play corner unless you have some
massively wide screen TV, and even then, playing CB is tough enough.*

=======
Offense OFF1234
=======

There are three plays: run, pass, and play action. All have their own
formations, and those formations can themselves be used to trick the defense.
Ace formations favor running plays but leave open passes. I-formations mean
you will run and weakly keep open the ability to pass. Shotguns mean you are
passing, so it’s usually a good idea to really run it up the middle.

Your goal is to gain 10 yards in three plays and at some point get to the
endzone for a score, and if you break a big play then so be it. A successful
drive makes it between both 40 yard lines. When on the 40 it may be a wise idea
to go for it unless you’ve mastered how to punt the ball out of bounds, or
keep it out of the endzone for a touchback.

The biggest mistake would be to get near the red zone and not get at least 3
points. Sure, if you get to a 4th and 1, go for it, but you would be surprised
in how many close games where you would say "had I only kicked that FG way
back when I would have won this game instead of going into overtime" or
something like that. Two field goals and one stop on defense is as close to
a touchdown as it gets.

Running Away
————

The Run – You can run iso up the middle and just push forward. You may notice
this will net less and less yards if you keep running it. That is when you
need to look for lateral runs, but only if your RB is fast. You have the
stretch, the pitch, sprints, the toss, counters, and the other plays that
don’t go straight up the middle. If your guy is super fast, perhaps you can
out-run the safeties and other players to the sideline and then turn the corner
to go up the field, or maybe you see a hole through your blockers and turn it
up field, or maybe you feel lucky and decide to juke back and reverse your
field (not wise).

In order to improve your running, I want you to go to practice mode, choose
normal, play as the Chargers, call either a power-O or iso in the I-formation,
then have the defense run a zone play, and have at it. There are several
things to keep in mind.

+Don’t sprint as soon as you have the ball. Going slow can draw the defenders
to you, maybe into blockers, and then you can explode, maybe.

+Know where you are supposed to run through your blockers, and see how they
are blocking at that point – which means whether or not the d-linemen are
being pushed into the hole. If so, you may need to run AROUND the side of
your blocker, not straight into the defender.

+Keep an eye on the LB’s; if they are up close, you need to try and bounce it
outside.

+If you are running up the middle, you need to dance around. That doesn’t mean
use a ton of moves, but don’t run into oncoming defenders. You can try to
spin away, juke, or just run in the other direction. If you go up the middle,
you may be surprised how well running in an "S" and then spinning works.

+If you want to run outside, you must not touch the blocked DE or he will do
a "Magnet Tackle", something these Madden games are famous for.

I say run this as many times as you can until your realize that using moves
at random works pretty well, and that simply running at weird angles up the
middle works remarkably well. One thing that is hard to explain is once you
are on the other side of the d-line, try to run parallel to them at their
backs, or just do a spin move. It sounds crazy and doesn’t work often, but if
done right you may let all your blockers get a defender, and then you can
slip free. Basically, when in doubt use the spin move (if your guy can do it
that is).

After you run this play over and over, try running against man coverage,
then 46, then whatever. The idea is to get a sense of running correctly. Not
all plays can work, no matter how well drawn up, but so long as you keep your
running instincts each time your run, there will always be that chance of a
modest to great gain. A bad run is 1-3 yards, a good run is 4-6, and a great
run is anything over 6 yards. Keep in mind, calling ten run plays in a row
does not work. You need to mix up your calls between pass and run, and then
between all the formations.

As far as formations, each run play depends on how many defenders are crowding
the line of scrimmage. If there are six defenders close to the line, even if
you have an I-formation, it may be wise to call a play action or pass. If you
have a shotgun and the defenders are spread out, audible a run, which is
hopefully a draw. And even a perfect call could fail, but at least you’re
making the defense think.

In Madden, I say to counter all the cheapness of the CPU against the run,
feel free to run goal line sets. Of course you can’t overuse these either,
but if you notice how perfectly higher level defenses defend even the best of
running games, all’s fair in my mind. Once you do get these plays to work,
feel free to start using more traditional formations.

It’s best to realize what kind of defense you are up against. Strong d-lines
and/or LB corps mean you need to pass more than run. Yes, it’s not true to
real football, as everyone can run to some degree on everyone else, but there
is no "outsmarting" the defenses on this game. And know that most big runs are
from complete flukes of someone breaking 5 tackles or so, so feel free to use
those moves.

—–

Here are my big tips for successful running:

*When running through blockers, take your time, which means don’t hold down
sprint from the start. You need to develop vision where you see the defenders
and where they are coming from. If you are running up the middle, maybe it’s
best to juke to the outside if the LB’s are crashing in; maybe for a stretch
you need to try and run to the sideline and turn the corner instead of cutting
through blockers. But if there is a hole, hit it with the speed. Just know
that sprinting is meant for catching up to receivers on defense and then
outrunning defenders after catching a pass. As a RB, you only sprint when
pursuing tacklers are behind you.

*Mix up your calls between up the middle plays and runs that go outside. If
the defense is in man coverage, a stretch/toss/pitch will usually work really
well. If the defense is spread out, like for zone, a run up the middle may
be best.

*The spin move is your best friend as it seems to do more than just spin I’ve
noticed. Sometimes I’ll press the spin move too late, but my RB will still
break the tackle. I’ve also noticed that the spin move works much better than
juking. Just know you have to press the button before the tackler goes into
his tackle animation.

*Juking, highlight stick, and spinning increase your chance of fumbling, so use
in moderation during a single run. Pressing up on the highlight stick seems to
protect the ball, so do that when being tackled is your only option. However,
I can attest to how little these moves make your fumble. I’ve fumbled more by
normal tackles than using these moves while being tackled, so I say use them
as much as you need.

*Of course having a fast QB means all plays can be runs for your team, but
just like in the real game, a scrambling QB can fill up the highlight reel
while filling up the loss column. You need to pass the ball.

*Whenever running, use your blockers. If a slow lineman is running with you as
best you can, but there are some defenders incoming, it’s a good idea to slow
it down and not turn on the jets. There is no right way to go as the blockers
could do nothing, but again, just make a sound decision rather than just
sprinting on every run.

Passing the Rock
—————-

The Pass – Passing can be to set up the run, or running to set up the pass.
Passing is not wise when the defense is in zone coverage. Sure, there are holes
in the zone, but those holes are extremely small as the difficult defenses
are faster and your receivers are slower. The best time to pass is in man
coverage, when the receiver has the defender beat and it’s just a matter of
placing the ball in front of the receiver, given that no other defender could
intercept the ball.

It’s possible to pass all the time, just spread out your formations and have a
wide variety of playcalls and routes, but you need to mix in runs, even small
runs to open up the receivers. Ideal passing is when your blockers have picked
up a blitz, which means someone is most likely open.

*NOTE: If you have a run called and see defenders crowding the line of
scrimmage, audible a pass or play action. The opposite is true as well.*

Don’t be afraid to air it out, but only wisely. Don’t throw 40 yard bombs
every other play because a lot of shorter routes can be expanded to longer
plays with much less effort. Usually your long passes will be open in the
middle of the field, but only in the area between the safeties and linebackers,
and don’t be surprised if those passes are knocked out of the air a lot. In the
NFL, some of your #3 or 4 wideouts can outrun their defenders, so keep that
in mind for go routes in man coverage.

I like short passes. It’s the same problem the Indianapolis Colts face in
that defenses would rather let you nickel and dime your way up the field than
let you have the deep pass. Slants, crossing routes, and posts are easy routes
to know if they are open or not. Every now and then you may want to try a deep
pass, but when you do, always have a few backup routes if the play falls apart.
In Madden, quite out routes are your best friend, but they are only open at
the receiver’s cut.

The pass rush determines your pass selection while the play is happening.
It’s a bad idea to look at your line to see if it’s broken, but you do need to
maybe see if anyone has broken through at the start of the play. If every
defender has dropped back in coverage, usually the four pass rushers won’t
reach you for 3 seconds, so you have some time to let a route develop for a
guy to get open. If defenders are blitzing, someone is open so find them and
let it fly. Whether the pass rush is close or the blitz is on, having a QB
that can run out of the pocket can extend passing plays, on top of being able
to run with the QB. It’s even better to already have two buttons in mind and
have those routes as main options, and it’s always nice to have one route
ready if you see those corners blitz.

—–

My tips to successful passing:

*Hesitation is the mating call of bad passing. If you see a guy open, throw it.
Of course "open" means there is no one in front of him. So if a guy is open
and you see him open, pass or else he won’t be open for long.

*To extend the first tip, most passes are open right after the snap, especially
some slot routes. On a similar note, most passes are open only as/before the
receiver makes a cut in the route. Reacting to an open receiver is usually
not wise, it’s best to trust his running and have the ball waiting in the open
area.

*Slant routes are your best bet to get the passing game going. Slants to big,
elite receivers are gold, especially if nothing else is working for you. It’s
a matter of trust of course, so have some way of forcing the near-side safety
to go away.

*I love to make decoy routes to open up crossing or slants routes. What this
means is I send two receivers on one side up the field. This creates an open
area where they just left if the defense is in zone. So wouldn’t it be great
if a receiver or RB were to catch a pass in this empty area? Yes, but again
it’s only against man coverage, with very limited success against zones
(probably the decoy routes are your best option against zones).

*It’s less important to shift your o-line in this game as the defenders are
super fast and could break through from the side you slide away from. Good
for bootlegs or plays you intend to pass out of the pocket.

*You only lob a pass, tab the pass button, when the receiver is streaking
down the field and no one is ahead of him. Other than that, just throw bullets
with touch.

*Touch is never precise, and it may not be in this game, but I’m pretty sure
it is. Touch is when you are throwing a ball to a spot, rather than directly
to the receiver. If your man is running a slant with a defender behind him,
and the pass would hit the defender, the best thing would be to throw the ball
a bit ahead of the receiver so he is the only one to catch it. To do this you
simply hold the LS in the direction you want the pass to go. Again, it’s not
precise or exact. You can try throwing high to where your guy has to jump to
get a pass in traffic, and of course his pain is only virtual. Low passes
can be just as effective, but of all of this, never apply touch to make a pass
worst.

*Check-downs are passes to either your tight end, half back, or full back that
is parallel to the line of scrimmage. They are worthless if a defender is
following them, but if there is no one covering the checkdown, throw it because
it will ensure you gain yards. Aside from positive yards, you extend the drive,
wear out the defense, and maybe your checkdown can gain a lot of yards.

*Comebacks, hitches, curls, and screens have low success rates. Comebacks
only work on man coverage, and only if the right touch is applied. Screens
rarely work for many reasons. For one, the developers of this game thought it
wise to occassionally let the linemen flow out with the RB about 50% of the
time. Secondly, even if you get the pass cleanly to the RB, your blockers
usually just let the defenders get you, and/or go block linemen who would
never catch you. These plays are trash, so don’t even use them, and thank EA
if you don’t like it.

*Just recently I have found the short, crossing patterns to be most effective.
For one, there’s little risk as you should clearly know whether it’s open
or not. And secondly, defenses tend to back up to cover the deep passes, and
that usually leaves all the short stuff open. Ace and shotgun packages will
have plenty of plays with crossing patterns for either the TE or a WR. If the
defense is in man, the pattern will work, usually. Of course if the crosser
is far from the QB, the chances of completion are less, so you’ll have to put
touch far ahead of the receiver or the defender could jump the pass and score
a TD.

*Master your hot routes and sending players into motion pre-play. If the
default play gives you few options, hot route a few receivers; if you sense a
blitz or a mis-match, tell someone to go straight and toss them the ball the
moment you see the blitz coming; and if your RB can catch, send him out there
too.

*A cheap way to buy time is to keep drifting back. Of course it reduces how
far upfield you can throw it, but it helps buy time for short routes to get
open, and so long as no pass rushers are chasing you, you can frustrate the
defense all day. Really make them mad by reading the rush and going through
your linemen so the defenders are blocked yet again.

*The key to my offense is what I creatively call the "running receiver". It
could be from my Sundays of seeing Brian Westbrook double as the Eagles’ best
running and receiving option. I like calling a hot route and either giving my
RB a slant or fly, and then send him to the side of the field to either act
as a decoy or make sure he will be open in that slant on the other side of the
field. If you got a fast back that can catch, there is no linebacker that can
keep up. Do this a lot against real players and you can really mess with their
heads’.

*NOTE: For hot route RB’s, you can even keep them in the backfield and call
slants. It’s like a flat route only it means the RB will be going more upfield
than a normal flat.*

*Trust me, the CPU doesn’t like it when you pass all over it. It’s wise to
start running the ball after a bunch of successful passes because you’ll start
to see defenders make phantom plays to intercept you. You need to believe me on
this because slow defenders will start to run faster as the ball is thrown to
give the illusion that they are playing good D. So please, run the ball a
little. Of course sometimes you get the good bounces, but not often.

Faking It
———

Play Action – If you are mixing enough runs and plays, the play action is
always on the table. A play action, or PA, pass is one where you fake a run
play which is really a passing play. It’s a better play in real life because
real players would bite on the fake, but in this game it only buys you a step
or two for your receivers at the most. There is no such thing as a broken
play where someone is wide open for no good reason.

It’s pretty simple, if it’s 4th and 1 and you’ve had mucho success running the
ball, call a PA and toss it to the FB running in the flat, or run with your QB
if possible. The only time I would second-guess a PA is at the goal line
where there is little room to pass, but it’s possible.

There is just one thing to think about when considering a PA: perhaps it’s
better to call a shotgun play where the field is spread and opens up the
QB to run in most cases. Why? Because what defense would call zone coverage
if you need a yard? The defenders would follow your guys and the QB should be
free to run if not being spied. Just something to consider.

*NOTE: When playing the CPU, don’t be so naive to think they don’t know what
play you’re running and won’t let a DT come free. So on 4th and inches, unless
you have a great running QB to make something happen, just know the CPU isn’t
above pulling a fast one.*

=======
Defense DEF5678
=======

The goal of defense is to make the offense do as much work as possible. No,
it’s not to prevent them from scoring because even the worst of teams can put
points on the board. So what does "do as much work as possible" mean? It means
pressure. The worst thing you can do is let the opposing QB sit back there
in the pocket and pick you apart. If you let him do that then what is the
difference between letting them march down the field to letting them break a
big TD pass? The difference is that if they score on a long pass it is because
you applied pressure and the defender covering the receiver made a bad
tackle. The tricky part is that on the same kind of play the QB could throw a
pick out of panic and your defender could run it back to the house.

Marking Your Zone
—————–

Zone Coverage – My mind has change of zone coverage from NCAA to this game.
My pressure-only defense does work, but it seems like Madden QB’s love to
throw off their back foot, even though you really can’t. So once you’ve
accepted that nugget of reality, it may be time to rethink defense.

I’ll cut the story and just tell you it came down to me playing safety, either
FS or SS, on the side of the strongest WR. For zones, I call cover 3, never
cover 2, and assume the role of playing up toward the line, kinda like a
46 where my safety is up near the LB’s. But my job is to cover the strong
receiver’s curl routes. Of course for faster WR’s you may need to be ready for
go’s, but they don’t do that too often.

Anyway, zones means everyone else are covering their circles on the field,
so it’s strong against passing downs, but weak against medium passes, called
the "holes in the zone." These are usually 10 yards up the field. They are
created by the corners drifting up and the LB’s staying low. I’ll tell you
this much, I rarely use a pure zone play because of this. The CPU just has
these holes ready for an old "off the back of foot pass."

Most of my zones are just cover 1’s, where the safeties are in backfield
zones, purely as protection against streaking receivers. But again, for my
covering of the WR, I make sure my safety is assigned to this far zone so
that my drifting up doesn’t really affect much. It’s only bad if someone
goes through your zone and you’re not there, but you should be covering the
best receiver, so it works.

If you do want to call a pure zone defense, I suggest a zone blitz. It
causes pass rush and it defends the pass, but again, most rushers are picked
up and the QB makes the right pass.

You can call a pure, cover 3 a lot of the time. It means you don’t want to
make any brash plays, but you’re prepared respond to a good pass. It could
even double as a way to spread out your defenders to defend runs. Of course
with pure zones I like to either call "show blitz" or to call press coverage
as an audible. The idea is at least the defenders who should be flowing back
will be closer to the line and maybe have a better chance of picking off those
medium passes.

A very safe defense is the 46 or any kind of formation with a cover 4. Even
better if you tell the coverage to press or show blitz. Really take it to the
next step by telling an LB or two to blitz.

Defenses I hate are anything involving cover 2. You leave too many soft spots
unless you have the fastest secondary on earth. I also hate prevent defenses as
cover three is usually good enough. I can safely say I haven’t seen a deep
completion against a 3-3-5 cover 3 zone. Even if you want to defend a deep pass
it is better to vacate the middle of the field to blitz, which forces a
completion there and so long as someone tackles the catching receiver it will
waste clock.

Man Up
——

Man Coverage – This is my primary coverage. Basic man means aside from blitzing
defenders and the d-line, all other defenders will follow the receivers. If
there is a speed difference between the players, it will show in no time. Of
course if you give the QB time this will prove to be the worst defense
possible as it will result in big gains a lot.

With that in mind you should agree that rushing only four is not the best
way to play this coverage. Rushing the four linemen and then one linebacker
isn’t good either since all plays have five blockers, and in this game the
o-line blocks un-godly well.

What used to be a good scheme was blitz in the 3-3-5 LB Ram Dogs, and it
worked in NCAA 09 and past games. It still works to a degree in this game,
but not as a primary defense. The idea was to force a quick, bad pass and
hope someone can pick it off.

It could work, but thanks to QB’s passing off their back foot, it has a high
chance of failing. So I can’t really call many blitzes at all in this coverage.
Now my preferred play is the 4-3 Cover 1, not forgetting to flip the play so
my safety is on the #1 WR side, of course. This play is for 2 or 3 WR sets. It
is mainly man coverage with your CB’s and LB’s, but the safeties are both in
zones. Depending on how you flip it or not, one safety is in a middle-mid
zone (yellow) and the other one is in a high-deep zone (blue). It’s this deep
safety that can afford to double-team the best WR as it should be rare any
other WR makes it to where the deep safety should be.

So what do you do as a safety as opposed to an LB? You play up to around where
the LB’s wait, not next to them, but capable of going after a run while
keeping to the #1 WR. As soon as the play starts you will drift back, keeping
your eyes on the QB, but drifting back no matter what. If there is a run and
you see the runner going, go after him, but not when the ball is handed off
in case of a PA. So the play is going on and now you are reading the #1 WR
near you. If he goes up field and then stops, quickly run a bit ahead of him
so you can stop and pick off the pass, or at least bat it down. If the WR
happens to keep going or cross, you need to run either with him or some other
receiver. Don’t forget, you are supposed to be deep up the middle, but if
the #1 WR is fast, like Randy Moss, consider just sprinting straight up the
field.

Every now and then you may want to throw in a man blitz, the LB Ram Dog, or a
4-3 Free Fire, or a 46 blitz, but all of these usually result in your safety
covering a TE. This is a nightmare because any out or even a corner post
route usually means you’re beat. It’s best to play up on the TE and then
react to where he goes, but not a press. You just need to be aware that most
TE’s run curls. I don’t know, against the CPU calling a blitz just means
you’re letting them complete a pass, so it’s not wise at all. Good man blitzes
are when you are covering a runner, and don’t let motion throw off who you
cover.

*NOTE: When your defender is in man, you can usually read the offense to
determine who covers who without seeing the playart. Of course against the CPU
you can see the playart, but on quick snaps it’s always best to develop a
sense of who usually covers who in man. You should notice it’s a matter of
where the receivers line up, knowing only three can be on one side.*

*NOTE: Keep in mind, playing as a safety means you want to get an INT, that is
your goal.*

Run Block
———

Of course there are no defense that only stop the run. Even if you do only
want to defend the run, you call too much 46 and you’ll get passed on like
crazy. I only add this tiny section to let you know stopping the run just
happens. You could call 3-3-5 all day if you want and runs won’t kill you.
Sure, more d-linemen increases run-stop potential, but then you are weak
against passes. It’s better to think pass-first in this game when playing D.

One cool thing about playing as a hard-hitting safety is that you can track
down runners who have gained lots of hards and come in for a crushing hit to
force a fumble. It’s happened for me more than once and turned bad defenses
into perfect defenses.

=============
Special Teams SPT9012
=============

Special teams is when you are changing from offense to defense or defense to
offense, or salvaging 3 points from a promising drive. Special team players are
just the extras on your team, with some starters mixed in.

Kicking the Bucket
——————

Kickoffs are done after you score points, or at the start of one of the halves.
Keep the default angle in place, or only aim a bit higher if you have a power
kicker, but only ever so slightly. You also kickoff if your team gives up
a safety, and for those you may really want to aim high.

—–

Titans Turnaround – Just hold onto the 14 point lead and win before OT. You
start with 1st and goal, so try to make another goal line stand like a
previous moment, and then just go from there. Feel free to score a few points,
it’s really up to you – just win baby!

*NOTE: The backup, rookie RB Chris Johnson, #29, is hella fast.*

—–

Houston Heroics – Luckyily you don’t have to score all of the points. It
starts out 22-35, and you have the ball. Just call a slant to Johnson for
this TD, and just kick the extra point. On the kickoff, just kick it deep and
use all your timeouts to force a three and out; they’ll run on all three plays,
FYI, so call goal line defenses (Jam Cover 1 and plays as the FS). Then it’s
just hope for a big return, and when driving, if you can’t go out of bounds,
just call a play with haste, don’t hurry up. And remember, just kick the
extra point.

—–

Beat the Bolts – You start on 4th down, so convert and then march for a
score with the best passing offense in the land. Sure, it may require a lucky
bomb to Wayne on a streak route, but remember, just call a play like normal,
it takes less time.

—–

Don’t Kick it to Him – This is new, as all you need to do is return this
punt for a TD. Eh, run in zig zags, turn your field, and use moves. It’s
really just random, so good luck. For some stupid reason, calling a punt block
makes him punt out of bounds, so you have to call a punt return. The only thing
I could even remotely recommend is to pull off a lineman to act as a blocker,
then as Hester just stop for a second or fake a step to one side, and then
sprint to the other. No matter what, this is all about luck, and if you
weren’t sick of home crowds booing after failing in this moments, you’ll be
just as sick as I am very soon.

*NOTE: More than once you can even try to run backwards to the endzone, and
what the hell, it might work! Hey, it was the only thing I got to work!*

—–

Cowboys Wild Ride – Yeah, I had to crucify myself after this one. Actually,
I used hypnosis to take myself to when I was 5 and stupid and a Cowboy fan
so I could play this. Use Whimpen, Homo, and Blowens to win this stupid
moment. I hate you Bills! They gave you every chance to win and you all had to
crap up the place! By the way, you need a TD, a stop, and a field goal – no
need for an onside. *shivers*

—–

You Kicked it to Him? – Ah, no running backward this time (or is there?). It’s
actually pretty easy as I could do it on my first try! Just make sure Hester
gets it and not the other guy. Run to one side, then at around the 20 reverse**
your field and run to the other side. Should be just one guy to shed with a
spin or something, then you should be able to hit the sideline and run to
daylight.

**Reverse your field means run horizontal, not upfield at an angle, or maybe
at a slight angle, but mostly horizontal.

—–

Rally the Rams – Now for a pretty stupid one, an onside kick. You need to aim
high and to the right side of the ball, then kick like normal. Try different
variations of where to the right and how hard you kick it. For all the times
you fail, and there will be many, just run whatever to let the clock run out
so you can retry. My best one was hitting it sorta in the middle and with like
just two bits of power on the kick. Even less power is better.

*NOTE: Feel free to complain to EA that only the CPU can audible in special
teams, and for some reason time stops for the CPU. Yeah, it happened in the
last game too. Also note that 100% of onside fails are because of those famous
"magnet catches" that plague Madden games.*

As for the tie or win, either call outs to the sidelines or slants with
Jackson to the sidelines. Gun>Bunch TE>Stick is a good play, and send Holt
on a slant. You have two normal plays and then maybe one quick slant to
the sidelines to gain about 25 yards for a kick. Eh, at least you know how
to recover onside kicks now.

*NOTE: Ask yourself, "Who on earth picked this moment of all the moments from
last season?"*

—–

Lions Roar for 34 – You just need 34 or more points in 10 minutes, and you
start close to the goal line. For one, get this TD no matter what. That’s 7,
or maybe 8, and so long as the final score is 37 for you, it’s good. Use
Johnson and Williams, and you could even let the Bears score, so long as you
come out on top, I think. Rifle>Snugs Flip>WR Corners is a solid play for
both of the top WR’s; be sure to audible the inside WR to streak up on
either side of the o-line too (even slant the other top WR).

—–

Heads Up Play – Call FG Block Return, and the rest is just like the Hester
kickoff return. Run one way and then the other. It’s actually easier than
you think since it’s mostly linemen you need to elude. And I think it was
Cromartie, FYI, not Sproles that really did the return.

—–

Shootout in Atlanta – Similar to "Rally the Rams", only this time you also
need to score a TD first. Remember, TD, extra point, onside kick, field
goal, and then win in OT. If I recall, this was a "trash game", so why is it
here? Also, you could even try a 2 pointer for that first TD and win on the
field goal. The Snugs Flip plays are all good as this WR corps is deep. What
I did was get a big completion on a streak up the middle with 9 seconds left
and no timeout, then I quickly called a field goal and kicked before the
screen was settled; I expect you’ll do something similar.

*NOTE: The 2 pointer is your best bet, and even failure means you can try to
score a TD.*

—–

Historic Kick Return – One more kick return, only this one with someone not
as exciting as Hester, but still, same rules apply. Up one way and then the
other. You could also try up the middle, zig zagging it, or whatever against
the terrible Falcons special teams. I got it on a broken tackle up the middle,
so maybe that’s your best bet too. I’m pretty sure you can do it with either
guy.

—–

Giant Upset – Eh, I actually simmed the Super Bowl as the Giants and it came
out 24-20 or something real close to what actually happened. Start by
converting this 4th down with a slant outside to your TE. Then just drive and
score a TD, just like Eli! For the life of me I don’t know why the Giants don’t
want to catch anything, but oh well, deal with it I guess.

—–

So what have we learned? That the Ravens are a much better team when only
their overrated defense is on the field.

==========
Mini Games
==========

You have a few games:

Forty Yard Dash
Bench Press
QB Challenge
RB Challenge
Coverage Challenge
Lineman Challenge

All of them are tests that both you and the CPU play and see who does better.
For the plays, each side gets a shot playing offense and defense. If anything
they are a slow way to build ring progress, but they are poor substitutes for
practice.

========
Practice
========

You can choose your play and the defenses play, and even switch sides. You
can run offense only if you like, and even work on special teams. These are
the best way to practice as it is just like playing real games, without any
of it counting.

============
Other Things
============

Go to "My Madden" from the start screen, choose Rosters, and then you can
either create a team or a player. Both are probably not as fun as you think,
but those are on the table.

You can also assign free agents and even trade players, and not just to your
team, you can do it for all the teams.

You can also make a fantasy team online and import it to your game and play
them.

*****************************************************************************
* 9. Power Rankings *
*****************************************************************************

These are just my rankings of HOW FUN these teams are to play, not the odds
of them winning the Super Bowl or something, but that could be true too. At
least the Giants made top 8 NFC… and we’ll see how long those ’Boys can hold
onto top NFC.

As of now I’ve only played like 8 of these teams, mostly the Eagles of course,
but I can safely say the Eagles play better than the Vikings and Packers. I
ain’t touchin’ the Pats or Cowgirls, so those teams are only tops out of
respect for their frontrunning fans.

Power Rankings (8/19/08) :

Patriots Highest rating, for whatever reason
Colts Passing is easy, great RB, and Bob Sanders
Chargers LT, Gates, and that D
Cowboys They do only have one WR, I expect them to fall

Eagles Fly Eagles fly!
Steelers Great defense and QB, but average receivers
Vikings Weak secondary, WR’s, and QB; great everything-else
Cardinals Fun passing attack and capable defense

Browns Fun passing attack, but weak defense
Packers Great overall team, just nothing awesome
Jaguars Best running attack and solid D
Seahawks Solid defense and great QB

Jets Brett Favre on a solid team, good enough for me
Bengals Really strong passing attack, but that’s it
Titans Fun to run around with VY, but offense is difficult
Redskins Solid everything-but-QB

Giants An okay defense, but the offense did only get 17 in SB
Rams They got Jackson and a decent WR, that’s about it
Bills Below average team all around, but could climb
Saints Potent offense, dummy defense

Lions Two great WR’s, that’s it
Buccaneers Lots of average RB’s, several QB’s, but just one WR
Raiders Promising young team
Texans One great WR, okay everything-else

Broncos Cutler has a few weapons
Chiefs Bad QB, average-at-best defense, good WR-TE-RB
Panthers Okay pass attack
Ravens Great defense, one RB for offense

Bears Great defense and Devin Hester
49ers Good D, whatever good that does ya
Dolphins Ricky Williams?
Falcons They’ve just bled out all their good players

Keep in mind, I expect these to change, both for player moves and my own
changed feelings. Very little of the change will be from reader thoughts, but
you never know.

*****************************************************************************
* 10. Author Info / Copyright *
*****************************************************************************

——-

Credits

Wikipedia – for some glossary help

—–

———–

Please contact me if you need any help, if you want to praise me, if you want
to talk, or if you want to ask a question. All flames are deleted, so you’re
just wasting your time. All help is appreciated, but that doesn’t mean it
will be included in the guide.

***Please have ’Madden’ in the title. Or anything to show it’s not spam.***

My email:

lunatic_252000@yahoo.com

Extra points for good spelling, and the easier the question is to answer, the
more likely I’ll reply. Which means the better you set me up, the easier it is
for me to knock it down.

PS – To GameFAQ’s users, if you like the guide, click "recommend" at the top
of the guide, but only if you like it.

———–

———–

I have other guides floating around too. They are:

Resident Evil 4
Dead Rising
Gears of War
Lost Planet
Crackdown
GRAW 2
Rainbow Six Vegas
TES IV: Oblivion
Shivering Isles
Knights of the Nine
The Darkness
BioShock
Halo 3
Half-Life 2
HL2: Episode One
HL2: Episode Two
Call of Duty 4
Assassin’s Creed
Mass Effect
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Perseus Mandate
Sam & Max Episode 203
Devil May Cry 4
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Okami
Grand Theft Auto 4
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Metal Gear Solid 4
Alone in the Dark (360)
NCAA Football 09

————–

—————

I’ve also been published in GamePro magazine, June 2007. Pretty cool if you ask
me, and all because I write these little guides.

Also, I am in the October issue as well, which should be out at the time of
this guide’s release. At least I ain’t a one hit wonder.

In a nice surprise, I didn’t even know I was in the March 2008 issue of
GamePro, but I am. Maybe I’ll be in more I don’t know about…

Look to Gamerhelp.com for a slew of other articles written by me in the
featured article section.

—————-

—————-

Here is my list of sites:

GameFAQs (main host site)
GameSpot
GamerHelp
IGN
OCModShop.com
TheGameReviews
wiredgamingcommunity.com
gametower.org
SuperCheats
GamesRadar
CheatPlanet
CheatCodeCentral (cheatcc.com)
GamersTemple (http://www.gamerstemple.com/)
gamerevolution.com
cheatingdome.com
unlimitedgamer.net
and more here and there, too many to keep up with
and even a few foreign ones too!

*NOTE: There are many more with single guides, and then others with a few, and
some that I just don’t keep track of.*

All other sites must ask permission if they want this. All I ask is that the
guide be ad-free and in this text format.

And if you want to make a donation at my site for hosting a guide, that is
fine too.

——————-

————–

Here is my website:

www.thechaosuniverse.com

You’ll find all my other guides here too and perhaps something else you may
like.

————-

———
COPYRIGHT
———

This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.

Copyright 2008 Brad Russell