The Cincinnati Bengals have been a sleeper team for a long time in previous Madden gamers but they will be on everyone’s radar for Madden 25.  We have the full breakdown below.

Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Offensive Strategy: Short passing game.  Ratings czar, Donny Moore, has never been too kind to Bengal’s QB Andy Dalton by giving him throw power ratings in the mid to high 80′s.  That takes away from the ability to utilize star wide receiver A.J. Green in the deep game.  Until rookie running back Giovanni Bernard gets some ratings love, it will be best to use him in a speed back role.

Defensive Strategy: Whatever you want.  The Bengals have so much talent on defense strictly in Madden 25 terms.  They have speed everywhere, high ratings and tons of depth.  They are every Madden gamer’s dream on defense.  A 4-3 defense is probably recommended but they have enough versatility to run pretty much any defense you want.

Impact Players: QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, TE Tyler Eifert, DE Margus Hunt, DT Geno Atkins, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, S Taylor Mays, S Reggie Nelson

Key Newcomers: OLB/DE James Harrison, TE Tyler Eifert, HB Giovanni Bernard, DE Margus Hunt

Biggest Strength: Defensive speed, talent, and depth.  Outside of the hugely overpowered 49ers, the Bengals have the top defense in Madden 25.  Speed at every position and high ratings where it counts will be a nightmare for opposing offenses.

Biggest Weakness: Running game/offensive line.  Drafting Giovanni Bernard was a huge step forward but there is still much to be desired.   It was nearly impossible to run consistently with the Bengals last year.  Until Bernard gets some rating boosts from roster updates, it will still be an uphill battle in the trenches.

Rating: Good.  The Bengals are a top 10 Madden 25 team.  If Andy Dalton were to see an increase in throw power to around 92 this team would be a top 3-5 team easily.

Let us know your thoughts on the Bengals in Madden 25.  Did we miss someone? Disagree with something?  Leave a comment below.

Today we start our series of breaking down all 32 teams in Madden NFL 25.  Who better to start with than the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens?  The information discussed below is only as it relates to Madden 25.  We will include some players who aren’t very good on Sundays but are awesome in Madden and we will leave out some beasts in the NFL that don’t make much of an impact in Madden.

Team: Baltimore Ravens

Offensive Strategy: Balanced.  Traditionally, the Ravens have been a team that has a game managing QB and a dominant running back.  This year the Raven’s have good Madden receivers as well as a good running back and quarterback allowing you to run a balanced offense.

Defensive Strategy: 3-4 Blitz Heavy.  With Elvis Dummervil and Terrell Suggs coming off the edge, you would be stupid not to use the Ravens defense to bring pressure.

Impact Players: QB Joe Flacco, HB Ray Rice, WR Torrey Smith, OLB Terrell Suggs, CB Lardarius Webb, DE Haloti Ngata

Key Newcomers:  DE/OLB Elvis Dummervil, DT Chris Canty, FS Matt Elam, MLB Arthur Brown

Biggest Strength: Balance.  There are plenty of teams that are built for one style of play in Madden 25, but the Ravens are not one of those.  They have a balanced offense and an always solid defense.

Biggest Weakness: Secondary.  With Ed Reed gone, all the Ravens have in the secondary is Lardarius Webb and possibly rookie Matt Elam.  In a pass heavy game like Madden always is, you need a speedy and good secondary which the Ravens no longer have.

Rating: Very Good.  The Raven’s are absolutely a top 5 Madden team but they don’t get enough love from the people in charge of ratings to be considered elite.  If Ed Reed and Ray Lewis had stuck around for 1 more year, the Ravens would be placed in the elite Madden team category but unfortunately they fall just short this year.

We want to hear your additions, disagreements, and thoughts in the comments section below.  If we missed a player or made a mistake, let us know and we will be happy to add to our Madden 25 Ravens team breakdown.

With Madden 25 right around the corner, we decided to compile a list of some of our favorite tips and strategies that hold true in every Madden game regardless of the year, console, or skill level of the person playing.

Use A Custom Playbook in Madden 25

With the ability to finally use a custom playbook in connected franchise mode in Madden 25, you no longer have an excuse not to use one (other than you are just lazy).  Ask any pro Madden gamer how hard it is to stop over 300 of the best plays in the game consistently.  It is a living nightmare that your opponent will have to try to defend.  Unless you are in a Madden 25 league, tournament, or game that doesn’t allow custom playbooks, create one and get comfortable with it.

Pay Attention to What Your Opponent Is Doing

Does your opponent like to call a certain play when he comes out in a specific formation?  Does your opponent only run to the side of the field with the most room? Is your opponent only calling pass plays? All 3 of these questions can often be answered by a resounding, “Yes!”  You should be able to pick up on your opponents tendencies by the 2nd half.  Once you pick up what your opponent is doing, you can dominate any Madden game, especially Madden 25, without using any specific tips or money plays.

While paying attention can help you win games, their will be times when you are completely outmatched and you really have no shot of winning.  No matter what schemes or strategies you are using, nothing seems to work.  99% of Madden NFL players in this situation get frustrated and just give up by either quitting or mentally checking out.  But it is at this point that the elite Madden 25 gamer would take out a pen and paper (or a tablet for those of you technologically advanced) and start taking notes on what your opponent is doing.  If you can’t stop it, chances are a large majority of other people you play won’t be able too either.  Mark down things like what formation it is, who the open receiver(s) is, when they come open, what routes every other receiver runs, and the timing of the play.  Then after the game go find the play and head into practice mode to perfect it for yourself.  At this point you have just turned one of the most frustrating moments of a Madden 25 game into an entire year of dominance.

Focus on Defense

Every heard the saying, “Defense wins championships?” The same holds true in any Madden video game.  The best professional Madden gamers win the big tournaments because of their defense.  At the highest levels, everyone knows the same sort of tips, money plays, and schemes on offense.  Those Madden 25 tips will be shared on Madden-School.com, Youtube, and other websites.  Defense is generally harder to master and therefore harder to share.  Offense will come to you if you follow the tip above this and just observe what works for your opponent and simply incorporate bits and pieces of other people’s offenses into your own.

Participate in a Madden 25 Forum

We like to think that the Madden-School.com forum is one of the best Madden resources around but if it isn’t your cup of tea there are plenty of other communities you can join.  It really doesn’t matter which you decide to join as long as you find one and actively participate.  You’d be surprised at how much better you will get in Madden 25 just from reading about what works for other people.  Especially if you have a job or if you go to school, you can’t play Madden 25 all day.  It is much easier to hop on your phone or computer and see what helpful hints members of various Madden communities are offering up that day.

Become Comfortable With a Team

I’ve always suggested that any serious Madden player shouldn’t use fewer that 2 Madden teams but no more than 5.  At the minimum you should have a team that you have fun playing with (often a favorite or hometown team) and a team that you use when money or bragging rights are on the line and you absolutely need to win.  However, if you use more than 5 teams, you won’t have enough time in the day to really get comfortable with the teams you choose.  Especially with Madden 25 coming to the XBOX One and the PlayStation 4 as well as the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3, you don’t want to split your time up too much.  2 or 3 teams is what you should shoot for.

Feel free to contribute your own Madden NFL 25 tips or what has worked for you in past Madden games in the comments section below.

We have received word today from a few EA Sports GameChangers that Madden 25 will indeed have the ability to import draft classes from NCAA Football 14 to Madden 25.

When it was announced last year that the ability to import draft classes into Madden 13 wouldn’t be available, the sports gaming community went crazy.  Some of the outrage was due to the fact that this was kept a secret until well after NCAA Football 13 was released leaving many fans who bought NCAA 13 for the ability to import their favorite players in Madden 13 feeling ripped off.

EA Sports will not make the same mistake again this year.  In fact they have gone a step further.  You will now be able to use imported draft classes in your online connected franchises that you play with your buddies.  Be on the lookout for one of the guys in your league throwing his first year in an attempt to get Jadaveon Clowney or Teddy Bridgewater.

Has this news persuaded you to go out and buy NCAA Football 14?  Will you use imported draft classes in Madden 25?

Both Madden 25 and NCAA Football 14 are currently available for pre order.

Madden 25 is bringing back one of the most beloved features in it’s 25 year history: Owner Mode.  Fans will be able to act as if they were the owner of their favorite team by hiring advisers, upgrading their stadium, setting merchandise and concession prices and even relocating the team to a different city.

A few other notable changes to the connected franchise mode in Madden 25 include an overhaul to the player progression system.  Older players will no longer be able to progress nearly as fast as in Madden 13.  Young players have always commanded a huge premium in the Madden NFL franchise and this news will only add to that.

Breakout stars can now emerge as well.  In last year’s game if you had a good season, you could only progress a few points.  That wasn’t realistic and it looks like it will be addressed.  If you have a player on your team who has been putting up stats like a 90 overall player, he will start to progress to that point much faster even if he is only a 60 overall at the time.

You can check out the owner mode trailer below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section or on our Madden 25 forum.

Now that the first round of the NFL Draft is complete, it’s time to analyze each pick’s potential Madden impact.  Plenty of teams in the first half of the draft completely wasted their picks while some teams toward the back half found some absolutely Madden 25 gems.  See what our experts think below.

1. Chiefs – Eric Fisher OT – In terms of Madden, this isn’t a very good pick.  Unless you have 4 or 5 beasts on your o-line, you won’t see much of an impact out of any of them.  He will have an 80+ overall rating from day 1 but Chiefs fans won’t notice much of a different with him in the game
2. Jaguars – Luke Joeckel OT – Again, although it makes sense for the organization, this pick has no immediate impact on Madden 25.  80+ overall from day 1
3. Dolphins – Dion Jordan OLB – While this may have been a reach for the Dolphins, it was not at all a reach in terms of Madden impact.  Pass rusher is a hugely important position in Madden and they got a ratings freak.  Look for around a 78 overall but very good stats that matter (Speed, finesse moves, acceleration, etc).
4. Eagles – Lane Johnson OT – Out of all of the offensive tackles taken in the first round, Johnson will have the biggest impact.  Madden 25 ratings czar, Donny Moore, confirmed via twitter that he will have 78-81 speed.  He will be a great fit for a Madden team that runs screens and moves their lineman around often.  Keep in mind though, that he is an offensive tackle so his impact will be minimal.
5. Lions – Ziggy Ansah DE – He will come in with good stats. Decent speed, high strength, servicable pass rush moves.  Look for him to make an impact similar to Dion Jordan at #3.
6. Browns – Barkevious Mingo DE – In Madden 25, Mingo will essentially be a poor man’s Dion Jordan.  Good speed and ability to rush the quarterback.  He’ll make an impact right away on the virtual gridiron.
7. Cardinals – Jonathan Cooper OG – Rumors are that he will have an 84 overall rating in Madden 25 which would be the highest of anyone taken.  The problem is that the difference between a 74 overall guard and an 84 overall guard isn’t noticable.  In terms of Madden, this is a completely wasted pick.
8. Rams – Tavon Austin WR – Huge boom or bust pick in the form of a Desean Jackson or Ted Ginn Jr pick.  None of that matters though in Madden.  He will have insane stats like 96+ speed, 96+ elusiveness, 96+ accel, 96+ agility, and decent catching attributes.  If this draft was run by Madden 25 general managers, he would be a top 3 pick for sure
9. Jets – Dee Millner CB – Any experienced Madden gamer will tell you that the one position you can’t even have enough of is defensive back.  It is common for 6 or more to be on the field at any one time.  That makes Dee Millner a great Madden NFL 25 pick just based on the fact that he will have great coverage skills coming into the game.
10. Titans- Chance Warmack OG – See our comments on Jonathan Cooper and apply them to Warmack.
11. Chargers  - D.J. Fluker OT – See our comments on Fisher or Joeckel above.  No real Madden impact to be had here.
12. Raiders – D.J. Hayden CB – Anyone else remember the Raiders Madden dominance from Madden 09 to Madden 12?  That was all due to having a whole stable of fast, talented, and athletic cornerbacks.  Hayden fits that mold exactly.  This was an awesome Madden pick and Raiders fans will see an impact on the virtual gridiron right out of the gates.
13. Jets – Sheldon Richardson DT – For the 13th overall pick, this is a huge waste in terms of Madden.   Sure good defensive tackles can have a little impact but the Jets have so many more needs in Madden 25 like pass rusher, speedy running back, wide receiver, cornerback, and linebacker.  Wasted pick.
14. Panthers – Star Lotulelei DT – See the Jets comments above except that the Panthers aren’t nearly as bad of a team as the Jets in Madden 25.
15. Saints – Kenny Vaccaro S -First round safeties in Madden are about as dominant as can be.  Even if they turn out to be huge busts, they will maintain their important stats.  If you get a good one, you have a huge impact player (Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Earl Thomas, Eric Berry, etc) or you get a bust that is still an insanely good Madden player (Reggie Nelson, Laron Landry, etc).  You can’t go wrong with this pick.
16. Bills – E.J. Manual QB – You can’t go wrong with a smart, athletic, and strong armed quarterback in Madden 25.  No matter how bad he performs in the league, he will still maintain his speed and throw power rating which are both essential to any qb in Madden games.
17. Steelers – Jarvis Jones OLB – The Steelers drafting a linebacker in the first round pretty much guarantees he will be a stud.  The problem is the bad 40 time Jones ran at the combine will affect his speed rating coming into the year.  Pass Rushing outside linebackers with under 80 speed are fairly useless in Madden.
18. 49ers – Eric Reed S – See out comments on Kenny Vaccaro at #15.  By plugging him into the 49ers already amazing Madden defense, you will notice a difference right away.  Again, even if he turns out to be a bust, he will have the raw stats that hardcore gamers drool over.
19. Giants – Justin Pugh OT – Probably the most useless Madden pick of the first round.  At least with the other tackles taken, you will see a high overall rating.  With Pugh, you likely won’t see a rating over 75 overall.
20. Bears – Kyle Long OG – See our remarks above on Pugh and apply them here.
21. Bengals – Tyler Eifert TE – He will be a big time playmaker in Madden.  He will have great catch, spectacular catch, and catch in traffic.  Couple that with decent speed, great jumping, and his big body and you have a top 5 Madden 25 player in this draft.
22. Falcons – Desmond Trufant CB – You can never have enough defensive backs in Madden so this is a great Madden value pick.
23. Vikings – Sharrif Floyd DT – While this was probably the steal of the draft, it is a useless Madden pick.  The Vikings will have an awesome tandem at DT but that doesn’t do as much as having an awesome tandem of wrs, cornerback, running backs, linebackers or safeties.
24. Colts – Bjoern Werner DE – 3-4 defensive ends don’t do much for you in Madden unless you are talking about absolutely beasts like Haloti Ngata.  Colts fans shouldn’t expect much of an impact right away from Werner in M25.
25. Vikings – Xavier Rhodes CB – Awesome Madden 25 pick that will make a difference right away.  Noticing a theme here on how important good cornerbacks are in Madden?
26. Packers – Datone Jones DE – Again, like many above him, absolutely awesome player but he just doesn’t play a position that makes him all that valuable in Madden 25.  Solid combine numbers will make him fairly relevant though.
27. Texans – Deandre Hopkins WR – A great pick based purely on Madden.  He didn’t have great combine numbers which is the only thing holding this back from being an awesome pick.  He will make an impact on the virtual gridiron.
28. Broncos – Sylvester Williams DT – Not at all a helpful pick in terms of Madden.  The Broncos could have really used a halfway decent running back to put them into the category as an elite team in Madden 25.
29. Vikings – Cordarrelle Patterson WR – The vikings knocked this pick out the park.  Big play wide receivers are so hard to find in Madden and that is exactly what Patterson is.
30. Rams – Alec Ogletree LB – A young elite MLB is truly one of the rarest things to find in Madden 25.  He will have the raw stats to make an impact right away.
31. Cowboys – Travis Frederick C – Terrible Madden pick
32. Ravens – Matt Elam S – See Kenny Vaccaro and Eric Reid above.  With first round safeties, you truly cannot go wrong in Madden.

Which rookies do you think will have the biggest impact in Madden 25?  Let us know in the comments section below.

EA Sports has announced the schedule that they will use to reveal the new features in Madden 25.  Last year there were 1-2 hour webcasts, but sports gaming news site VG Strategy has obtained confirmation via twitter that we will not be seeing those this year.  Nonetheless, we have the release dates for when you can expect your Madden 25 news below.

There is a noticable gap between 5/20 and 6/24 which we attribute to E3 taking place in early June.  Right now most people in the media are speculating that is by design so EA Sports can announce Madden 25 on the next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 and XBOX 720.

The Madden 25 release date will be on Tuesday August 27th, 2013.  The Madden 25 pre order is now available on the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360.

Run Free (4/25)
Unlock the power, precision and creativity of an NFL ball carrier.

Connected Franchise Part 1 (5/6)
Cement your legacy as one of the all-time great NFL players or coaches in the new and improved Connected Franchise.

Connected Franchise Part 2 (5/20)
Take ultimate control of your franchise

Madden Share (6/24)
The best content from around the Madden NFL universe, right at your fingertips.

Madden Ultimate Team (7/1)
Enjoy new ways to play and build your team in this year’s edition of Ultimate Team.

What feature are you looking forward to most?  Let us know in the comments section below.

The final four has been set in the Madden 25 cover vote.  Adrian Peterson is taking on Arian Foster in the new school semi-final while Jerry Rice is battling Barry Sanders in the old school semi-final.

Barry Sanders defeated Joe Montana last round while Jerry Rice beat out Deion Sanders.  On the other side of the bracket, Adrian Peterson beat out Robert Griffin III while Arian Foster squeaked out a victory against Russell Wilson.

The final 4 voting is taking place now on the ESPN Sportsnation page.  The round ends on April 17th.  The finals will take place from April 17th until April 24th when the winner will be announced.

News continues to leak out concerning Madden 25.  It is scheduled to be released on August 27th and is already available for pre order at PreOrder.org on the XBOX 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Look for some important Madden 25 information to trickle out in late April or May.  We should expect to see the first gameplay trailer at that point.

Who do you want to see win the Madden NFL 25 cover?  Let us know in the comments section below or on our Madden forum.

The 64 man bracket to decide the cover of Madden NFL 25 was unveiled today by EA Sports.  One side of the bracket features throwback players such as Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, and Marshall Faulk while the otherside of the bracket features current superstars like Robert Griffin III, Adrian Peterson, and Patrick Peterson.  1 current player and 1 older player was included from each team.

The first round voting will take place from March 11th through March 20th.  Every round after that will include one week of voting with the finals taking place from April 17th to April 24th.  The brackets are structured to guarantee that one legend will take on one current superstar in the finals.

The Madden 25 cover vote left out some of the best quarterbacks in the league such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers.  Plenty of the newer breed quarterbacks were included in the vote such as Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill, Colin Kaepernick, and Russell Wilson.

Some notable head scrathers included in the brackets are Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer and Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

You can place your vote now over on the ESPN SportsNation page.  If you know that you plan on picking up Madden 25 this August you can pre order your copy at PreOrder.org today.

Who do you want to win the Madden NFL 25 cover vote?  Let us know in the comments section.

The release date for this year’s version of EA Sports’ mega-series Madden 25 has leaked its way onto the internet.  You will be able to get your hands on the game starting August 27th, 2013. As is customary, the 27th of August falls on a Tuesday.

Right now the only video game consoles that Madden 25 has been confirmed on is the PlayStation 3 and the XBOX 360.  That doesn’t mean we won’t see the popular NFL video game on the upcoming PlayStation 4 or XBOX 720.  When those details come out, we will be sure to pass them along to you.

Most expected this year’s game to be titled Madden 14 but since this is the 25th year of Madden NFL video games, the name was announced as Madden 25.  25 years of one video game franchise is really quite an accomplishment.  Franchises like Call of Duty are considered to have remarkable runs but those have only been around for a decade.

Congratulations to EA Sports and John Madden for creating such a lasting video game.  We are all looking forward to the release date of Madden 25 on August 27th.  Will you pick up this year’s game on the first day its available?  Let us know in the comments section.