Right back to basics

I bought Madden yesterday because it sounded like it would be great and something I wanted to get in to. I've never really payed attention to NFL before and this is my chance.

Trouble is, there's far too much going on for me to follow as a newbie and I need to nail the basics before I can get any good. I now understand a bit about the rules which I didn't before and am able to take part in the game instead of wondering what the hell is going on. Every game I play I get overwhelmed by the number of options and it all feels a bit random as to when I will come out on top in a move and when I make no yards at all. I've started to focus more on the short pass and rushing just to try to get me the 10 yards, sometimes taking 3 or 4 plays to get there! As for defence, again I really have no idea what I'm doing; I just choose a random player and then charge with him!! Who should I take control of, what is the role of each of the players?

Does anyone have any tips for an enthusiastic beginner? What things should I be trying to do? How can I improve? Any links to other useful threads?

Loving the game by the way. I've been a Fifa player for a long time and it frustrates the hell outta me. At least with Madden I know I'm rubbish and I have no one to blame but myself when it all goes wrong!

Welcome.Im glad that you have taken an interest in the NFL and Madden.I cant imagine not knowing whats going on in the game as ive watched and played football my entire life.,but you are going about it the right way.10 yds at a time and move the sticks.I rarely ever go for it all,to me its about 3-4 yds and ill hopefully break something here and there.Browse the forums and youll find everything you need to know.If you have a headset add me (blackmassrevrend) and ill explain things you need help with.Good luck

BlackMassRevrend wrote:

Welcome.Im glad that you have taken an interest in the NFL and Madden.I cant imagine not knowing whats going on in the game as ive watched and played football my entire life.,but you are going about it the right way.10 yds at a time and move the sticks.I rarely ever go for it all,to me its about 3-4 yds and ill hopefully break something here and there.Browse the forums and youll find everything you need to know.If you have a headset add me (blackmassrevrend) and ill explain things you need help with.Good luck

Thanks, I'm gonna read a lot of the stuff on the forums. I'm actually really interested now. I'm gonna see how much NFL coverage we get over here on the tele and maybe upgrade my Sky package to get it if need be. Been watching clips on youtube the past couple of days. Now I need a team to follow!

I've got a headset yeah, I'll add you later.

"Soccer" will still be favourite sport and can't wait for Fifa10 but I can really see me getting in to "football" and it hopefully won't be too long until I get the hang of the game.

american football is my favorite sport, but hey, i love football, but a few years ago i was just like you. i liked the sport, but it took me time to figure out what people were doing and why they were doing it.

in american football, its all about reacting. on a run, you want your team to react immediately and close in on the runner, but if you over-pursue and out-run the guy you're trying to tackle, he will cut back and find a lane to capitalize on. against the pass you want everyone on the defense to do their assigned job, whether that means they stay in zone coverage and stop anything coming their way, or if its man coverage and they have to lock up a certain receiver.

american football, like most sports, is like a game of chess. the offense is always gonna be trying to catch the defense off guard, and the defense will always need to mix it up to make sure they dont get caught. so yeah, stick to the basics and you'll learn fast. power running and short passing should win you some games for now.

i'm sure you could find a website that explains the absolute basics of football, for people in the exact same position you're in. really, football is supposed to be a basic game, just continually getting the first down. you just have to learn when it's best to pass and when to run. really, you can't go wrong either way, as long as you play to your strengths. do some research and you'll be fine.

Fodder007 wrote:

I bought Madden yesterday because it sounded like it would be great and something I wanted to get in to. I've never really payed attention to NFL before and this is my chance.

Trouble is, there's far too much going on for me to follow as a newbie and I need to nail the basics before I can get any good. I now understand a bit about the rules which I didn't before and am able to take part in the game instead of wondering what the hell is going on. Every game I play I get overwhelmed by the number of options and it all feels a bit random as to when I will come out on top in a move and when I make no yards at all. I've started to focus more on the short pass and rushing just to try to get me the 10 yards, sometimes taking 3 or 4 plays to get there! As for defence, again I really have no idea what I'm doing; I just choose a random player and then charge with him!! Who should I take control of, what is the role of each of the players?

Does anyone have any tips for an enthusiastic beginner? What things should I be trying to do? How can I improve? Any links to other useful threads?

Loving the game by the way. I've been a Fifa player for a long time and it frustrates the hell outta me. At least with Madden I know I'm rubbish and I have no one to blame but myself when it all goes wrong!

My friend from across the pond...welcome to US football. Hope you become a life long fan. If you are looking to catch some NFL games, I have something for you. It is a link to a live feed of NFL ****. It is almost always up and running. It does have downtime every once in a while but it is pretty reliable and is always streaming. May you learn a lot...

http://www.justin.tv/sky_high_5

PS...hitting the "popout" button will give you video in another screen that you can adjust the size for. Right now, NFL **** is running replays of all the pre-season games. Please note they may be at commercial when you first click on it.

Hmm...I"m new to the site...am I missing something that the name of the NFL's own **** is censored?

Thanks for your comments.

Something with Madden yesterday made me furious!! I was playing on Rookie and am starting to get the hang of it all now. I was 23-0 up with 2 mins left in the 4th, this was in my second preseason game in franchise mode. Suddenly the CPU AI completely changed and it wouldn't let me get anywhere near the ball. They got a TD, then, when I was expecting them to kick the ball to me, they rolled it along the floor, picked it up and started another attack (I'd never seen that before and was raging!). They got another TD and kicked the ball to themselves again, I then pushed them to 4th and 8, they played it to get 1st and 10 and then another TD. I managed to hold out for 23-21.

Can someone please tell me what the hell happened! I was crusing with 2mins left and then the so-called rookie AI got 21 points and wouldn't let me touch the ball. I really was fuming!

Loving the game and really getting the hang of it, much better awareness on my passing and much higher pass completion but that's just a major step backward!

That rolling kick is called an "onside kick." There is a rule that if the ball goes over a certain distance (10 yards) the kicking team can pick it up and keep possession. This allows the opposing team a chance to snatch it as well and also makes it harder to keep the kick short enough to recover.

This is a risky play and only used in desperation times (normally). You don't constantly do this because it gives opponents GREAT field position and puts them in scoring range to start the drive.

As you play/watch, you'll get a grip for the rules and nuances. I remember playing as a younger kid and wondering what things like play action meant and why the ball wasn't handed off! Stick with it, best of luck.

And if you get into that situation again, remember that running keeps the clock moving and incomplete passes don't.. so you want to drain the clock out there generally. When they go to kick off select "onside return." To audible from normal return to it is and R1 if someone tries it on you.

yeah, if you think your opponent will try an onsides kick (usually they really need the ball back), go into onsides return by going up one in the play calling screen. if you hit regular kick off return, but you see the camera angle different then it would usually be, it's an onsides kick. audible into an onsides kick return by pressing and L1, i think.

Thanks. It caught me completely by suprise and tbh I really don't think a rookie AI should be making a come back like that anyway, it's like the difficulty was suddently switched to All Madden!

I haven't done much with the audible defence/offense. What are the most useful things you can tweak after selecting your play?

well, there are a couple different things you can audible to once your play is picked. if you picked a run, but you notice a lot of men stacked to the side you're running towards, you might want to audible to a quick passing play. and vice versa, if you see the middle of the field open because the defense is dropping a lot of guys into coverage, you might want to audible into a running play. another thing to do is hot route receivers. this is changing their route at the line of scrimmage. the main i audible to is a slant route, if i notice man coverage and the defender is playing off of my receiver.

fodder, remember, football is like chess. you have to think 7 steps ahead, you have to remember what happened 7 plays ago, you have to anticipate his next move, and you have to anticipate him anticipating your next move.

its a lot of fun when you actually get down to calling plays like you were a general in a way leading your army.

Look man, One play at a time. It takes a while to learn the game. I'm 27 and I've been playing since middle school. I'm still learning. Take it one play at a time. Try this too, watch football on T.V. If you can't handle watching one full game a week, do it anyway, make chicken wings, order pizza, whatever. You can sick back and learn the game.