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September 2007 - Posts
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Madden community member Therman Arrington sent us the following picture of a Madden themed birthday cake his wife made for him. Happy Birthday Therman!
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Every Thursday, a leader in the community will share a tip or two
to help you improve your Madden game. Next up is Chris Jacobs from the popular fan site Utopia College Sports.
The Importance of Special Teams
Football is a game of
field position and special teams play often helps dictate the outcome
of the game. Gamers should spend significant time in Practice Mode
once they get the game (or before a big game) working on special teams
play. Let’s break down the areas to work on in order to become more
successful at Madden 08 (and NCAA Football 08).
Field Goal Kicking:
Don’t let a win escape your grasp because of a missed field-goal!
Start with short-range kicks, with the ball in the middle of the field
and then on each hash-mark. Kicks from the hashes are significantly
more difficult, so as you move the ball further out make sure you are
comfortable with the timing and accuracy of these kicks. After a few
kicks at each location, move the ball back five yards at a time. Do
not move on until you can convert kicks routinely at the three
locations (left & right hash-mark and middle of field). If you
play with a particular team, make sure you know your kicker’s range.
Start with 30-yard kicks and keep working your way back until you can
no longer make the kick. If you are in need of a game-winning drive,
know how far you need to get the ball in order for your kicker to have
a chance. (Remember, to know how long the kick was, add 17 yards to
the spot of the ball. Ten yards for the length of the end zone, plus
seven yards from the spot of the ball to where the holder is.)
Punting:
If your team is routinely pinned deep in its own territory, use your
punter to help “flip the field.” Work on ‘coffin kicks’ (punting the
ball into the corners) and also punt coverage. If you can kick a long
punt and do not allow a long return (or any at all), the tables could
turn into your favor if your foe now has a long field in front of them.
Onside Kicks:
Don’t let a furious rally end because of a missed onside kick. While
odds are against recovering these kicks on a regular basis, you can
improve your odds through practice. There are two ways to kick an
onside attempt. 1) loft the ball into air (aim low on ball, use strong
power) or 2) drill ball into defender(s) and recover if they mishandle
it (aim high on ball, use strong power).
Return Game:
Working on kickoff and punt returns will aid in giving your offense
better starting field position. Learning to return the ball an extra
five or ten yards can be a huge difference when playing a foe of equal
or greater talent. On punt returns, don’t be afraid to ‘fair catch’ if
the defenders are closing in. Losing the ball on a muffed or fumbled
punt return could be disastrous. Do not run into your blockers! Let
them set-up a wall and/or block their man before trying to accelerate
downfield.
Fakes: In Practice Mode, work on running fake
punts and field goals. Sometimes a trick play can help bury your foe.
The better you are at field goals and punts, the less likely your foe
will expect a trick play. Determine early in games if your opponent is
running a ‘block’ or ‘zone’ on your kicks. The pressure from a FG
Block defense makes it tougher to execute a fake.
While
becoming an offensive mastermind or a defensive hotshot may take months
to become, any and every Madden player can become a special teams
wizard if they devote enough time and practice. Don’t let special
teams play cost you that big win versus your friend (and heated
rival). Now get to Practice Mode and shore up your special teams play!
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Online League play has been a huge part of the Madden community since Madden first went online for the consoles several years ago. Each Wednesday, we're going to hear from two of our community leaders who run popular leagues at their fan sites. This week we'll start with a quick introduction to each league. Community member Pastapadre will tell us about his custom Madden league at Pastapadre.com, while Shopmaster will tell us about his unique league at MaddenWars.com. Pastapadre on the Pastapadre.com Custom League: Pastapadre.com features a unique custom league run out of the forum.
The league consists of a tight knit group of nine owners that will
compete in a 10 game season leading up to the playoffs. The
custom league setup allowed for some interesting aspects such as a full
player draft. This gave the opportunity for each owner to strategize
and craft their team. In addition each team has their own unique
uniforms and stadiums.
Who will come out on top in the
Pastapadre custom league? Stay tuned for the latest league news recaps
right here on the EA Sports Madden website and keep track of the
standings as they are updated in the Pastapadre forums. Pastapadre.com
covers the latest in sports gaming news and provides original content
on many games such as Madden, NBA Live, and the upcoming NFL Tour. Shopmaster on MW: The League Maddenwars.com has one of the most unique leagues you will ever find
anywhere; it's called MW: The League. MW: The League for PS3 is not
your ordinary 32 team style league. MW: The League consist of 4 9-man
teams battling to secure 32 NFL Stadiums. To secure a stadium you must
posses 5 team flags at a particular stadium to claim it. To win a flag
you must win a certain battle mode at that stadium. Battle Modes are
what makes MW: The League so great and fun to be a part of. A battle
mode is a specific way a match between 2 players are played. We have 5+
battle modes that create distinct matches and fun games. For instance:
In our Starless Battle Mode, each team picks their respective team and
the opponent gets to choose 3 players that can not play from the
opposite team. This creates a lot of intriguing games and interesting
matchups throughout the season. MW: The League also has a growing farm
system of new players that will get called up to join a team if their
name gets called.
So with 36 players, each person on a team can
jump on the server and play anyone from an opposing team. Winner wins
1 point for his team. Each Battlemode game (scheduled) is worth 10
points and each secured stadium is worth 50 points. Teams have been
drafted and competition is fierce in this league where teams rule and
and each victory brings you closer to being called a Champion.
Maddenwars.com
also has a 360 MW style league. Each week I'll spotlight one player in
the league, give a run-down of the standings, and keep you informed
about the best online league on the net today, MW: The League.
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As much time as I spend playing my franchise and superstar mode careers or getting in games online, the bulk of my time playing Madden is in practice mode. I like to think of myself as a "Madden Lab Rat;" someone who dedicates a lot of time to improving their skills in the game. Growing up I'd always played a lot against friends and then online when Madden 2003 was released, but at EA Tiburon I'm playing more head to head games than ever before. I'm in a Madden NFL 08 franchise league with 15 of my co-workers. The competition is so heated right now that every weekend when I sign in online, I see no less than three of my colleagues getting in some reps in preparation for their next league game. For several years now I've spent most of my Madden time in practice mode, but being a part of this league has made my time in the lab that much more important.
Over the years I've put together a good set of practices for my time in the lab. Here are a few Madden practice rules I live by:
#1 Find Your Playbook. For me this is critical. Every year when Madden comes out, I spend time trying out different playbooks to see which one suits my style. When I first started playing online, I realized very quickly that I wasn't a top tier player. I decided to pick one playbook and learn it like the back of my hand. This was a good decision on my part, because every year I've known my playbook well enough to have a play for any situation I might find myself in. #2 Random, Random, Random. Practice mode will only be so useful if you don't vary the circumstances. When you're practicing a certain play, make sure the other team has a random play selected so you are running that play against a number of different defenses. It's also important to play against different teams since each team has unique strengths and weaknesses. If you want to work on your passing game, you might try and practice against Denver, knowing that Champ Bailey and Dre Bly are going to make it tough to be successful. If you can pass on those guys, you can pass on anyone. #3 Repetition. This is a big one. Once you've got your playbook, you not only need to know the plays, you need to be able to execute them as well. When Madden 04 was out, I was in an online league and focused in practice mode on running the football. I ran certain plays so many times that I knew when and where my players were going to be at all times. This worked extremely well and I ended up rushing for close to 2,000 yards with my starting running back. #4 Know Your Opponent. This goes hand in hand with repetition. If you're playing in a league or often play against the same people, you know what teams you are likely to face. Practice mode gives you a chance to see where the mismatches are between your team and your opponent's. Run plays where you think you might have a mismatch and see how you'll be able to exploit that advantage. Also be aware of any advantages your opponent may have in order to avoid calling plays that are unlikely to be successful. #5 Lab With a Friend. The absolute best way to get better is to practice with different people; especially if you can find a lab partner who is more skilled then you are. Labbing either in practice mode or in an actual game setting is a great way to share information and set up situations you're likely to face in a real game. Come up with a good group of people to lab with and you'll be on your way to improving your game. 
This is what the practice field should look like when you're done. Those are five things I do to improve my Madden game every year. I know I'm not the only "Madden lab rat" out there, so I'd love to hear from some of you as well. Fellow lab rats, email me at footballcommunity@ea.com and tell me what you do to work on your game. I'll feature a couple of the best responses in and upcoming article on the site. See you next week! -Raczilla
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The Houston Madden Challenge 07 event is all wrapped up. Check out the video recap of all the action.
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An update for Madden NFL 08 is now available for the XBOX 360 version of the game. Users who have their Xbox 360 connected online will be automatically prompted to download the update when starting the game. This update fixes concerns with online connectivity and issues within Franchise Mode. An update for the PS3 version of the game will be available shortly.
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The Dallas Madden Challenge 07 event is all wrapped up. Check out the video recap of all the action.
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Every Thursday, a leader in the community will share a tip or two
to help you improve your Madden game. Next up is "Rhombic," a well respected member from the popular fan site Utopia College Sports. Mixing up your snap count
As you probably have noticed,
Madden has a new feature this year called "Jump the Snap." This
feature allows defensive players who correctly time the snap to surge
across the line of scrimmage, bowl over the blocker, and sack the
quarterback. To counter this on offense, make sure to vary your snap
count. Use the RB (XBOX 360) or R1 (PS3) to call for a
fake snap. You'll notice that the screen pulls back, simulating the
start of the play, which will often draw a defensive linemen offsides
for an easy 5 yards. More importantly, it severely reduces the
likelihood of the defense successfully jumping the snap in the future.
Mix up your snap count as the game goes on, by sometimes using a fake
snap or two to confuse the defense. Make sure not to get too carried
away though, or one of your offensive linemen could get a false start
penalty, setting you back 5 yards. This tactic works against both the
computer and human competitors.
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![]() Welcome to the first ever "Raczilla Report," your weekly connection to the Madden NFL community. My name is Will Kinsler, although I'm best known in the community as either RAC or Raczilla. I'm the content and community manager at EA SPORTS Tiburon for a number of our titles, including the Madden NFL series. Some of you may have seen me post on the forums from time to time, but a lot of what I do at EA is behind the scenes. I'm responsible for posting many of the stories that appear on this site. I post news, cover events, and worked with our amazing development team to share several producer blogs with you over the last 8 months. I also work with a group of football community leaders who own some of the larger Madden community sites around.
I'm going to post a new Raczilla Report every Monday here on the Madden NFL website. In this report I'll share thoughts about interesting things that are happening in the Madden community, Madden culture, and my own Madden playing experiences. I might even pose a question to all of you from time to time, so that you can share your thoughts with the rest of the "Madden World." Some of you have probably already seen the footballcommunity@ea.com email address that is sometimes posted here on the site. We'll continue to use that so you can give everyone your two cents about Madden and football related topics. And while I can't answer or use every email on the site, I try and read every email that comes through. So that's what the report is all about. I want to leave you this week with a shot of me earlier tonight at home getting in some Madden practice time. I'm about to watch my beloved Washington Redskins play the Eagles on Monday Night Football, but I found a little time to get in the lab and prepare for my Tiburon Madden league game (more on this in future updates). Enjoy the game tonight and I'll see you next week! -Raczilla 
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Madden fans, we have scheduled some maintenance on our Madden news and blog post sections at midnight EST tonight which may cause a temporary inability to access those pages. This should last no longer than 15 minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you for your patience during this time.
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Every Thursday, a leader in the community will share a tip or two to help you improve your Madden game. First up is "Moostache," a staff member from the popular fan site Madden Wars.
Practice Tip #1 - Master the Mini Games!
There is no better tool available on next-gen version of Madden than the mini-game drills. The best ones to me are the QB-challenge (especially for working on the timing of routes and recognizing defensive coverages), the RB-challenge (for learning to be patient and how to hit holes on running plays - also for learning how to recognize running plays on defense and learning how to react to them) and the DB-challenge (for learning how to get your stick up).
QB-challenge --> This is a great tool to use to learn how and more importantly WHEN to throw certain passes to certain receivers; in addition it is an invaluable tool for learning to recognize defenses. No one can have any kind of long term success; especially in online or competitive play situations, if they have no idea how to read a pass coverage - or even how to isolate parts of the field to attack specific areas. This is where the QB-challenge is very good for learning the fundamentals. More advanced players may find it quaint and would likely only spend time trying to break their previous high scores, but novice players MUST learn to use this...when on defense, the players can work on their ability to control a defender in pass coverage without totally running themselves out of the plays.
RB-challenge --> This is another great fundamentals drill. The thing about Madden NFL 08 that many players fail to recognize (as they have for years now) is that on a majority of plays, hitting the speed burst button behind the line of scrimmage is a recipe for disaster. This drill is all about learning patience, setting up blockers and hitting the holes. Since there are a limited number of players on the field and blocking, it can be more useful to newer players than actually playing the games in Play Now mode. On defense, it may even be more valuable for learning how to control a LB during plays. Many people simply shy away from using LBs in game because they get stuck on the DT or DE and never develop the skills to do it....this is a chance to change that.
WR-challenge --> There is no question that this is the hardest challenge; it is also much more valuable as a defensive drill than as an offensive one. Mastering this drill will mean that in all likelihood, you have developed "elite stick skills" and should be ready for Practice Tip #2.
Practice Tip #2 - Learn your playbook!
Go to the practice mode, pick a single play and run it against random defenses until you can consistently recognize both the defense being called and the rhythm of the play on offense. If it is a HB sweep, practice it until you know how to get behind a blocker to pick up some yardage and until you can avoid jamming the sprint buttons too soon and running yourself into a loss of yards.
If it is a quick slant pass, practice throwing to different WRs on at different times. Then repeat this, many, many times - just like real football teams do! - until you can get it to work against the CPU. Then bump up the difficulty level settings and do it all over again.
Mastering your abilities to read a defense (or at least identify man or zone, blitz or coverage) will instantly make you more competitive. Adding to that base, mastery of the stick skills used in the game and a knowledge of your playbook and the timing of your plays, will make you a formidable player all around!
Come back next Thursday for more tips from the community on how to improve your game!
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Challenge your friends on Facebook by adding the EA SPORTS Pro Football Pick em application.
- Make Picks: Select the outcomes of all the pro football games for the week.
- Challenge Friends: Invite your friends to match up with you. Revel in crushing them weekly.
- Live Leaderboard: The Leaderboard tracks your picks real time – see how you stack up as the day progresses. View your rank vs. your friends and everyone else on Facebook.
- Win Prizes: Get the most picks correct for the week and you’re in the running for a Madden NFL `08 game.
Click here to download the application. You must be a registered Facebook user to participate.
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The second Madden NFL 08 roster update is now available for download on XBOX
360 and PS3. Can't head online just yet? View all of the changes here to see how your favorite team looks. A current gen roster update will be available in the comings days. In the mean time, take a look at current gen roster changes here.
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