Madden 13 Online Franchise (360)

**TheMeInTeam** · 07-29-2012, 09:36 PM

We do/did allow RC (rocket-catch), nano blitzes (don't get out of control on nanos), motion, audibles (some guys do/did Peyton Manning audibles), player substitutions (SS in as LB, OLBs as DEs, TEs out wide as WRs or FBs, etc), and others but within reason.

My problem with "you can do this, but within reason" is that it got me burned in a previous league. I got kicked out of a franchise for going no huddle while winning 14-0, 2nd quarter. The rules said "no huddle is allowed, but don't abuse it". It was the first time I used no huddle on consecutive plays all game. Why did I do it? Because my opponent came out in dime vs strong I while he was losing losing on 1st and 10. I argued that most teams would love to force a timeout with that personnel grouping in the NFL and most would do so, except that nobody in the NFL actually comes out in dime vs strong I while trailing by 2 scores because it's extremely poor play.

But the commissioner interpreted that as abuse and I was kicked. I was upgraded to a permaban when I attempted to inform other members about what transpired ("undermining the league") because the opponent I played quit the game twice on me and said person was close with the commish. I pushed for heavy penalties on that person since quitting once in that league was clearly supposed to result in immediate suspension while quitting twice was perma-ban. Considering that person tried to lie and say I quit and that I took photo evidence to show otherwise, it was a very sticky situation. The commish considered it best to silence me by banning me off his forums/chat and kicking me out of the league.

Now, while it's unlikely that your league would be run that way, any time you leave in subjective rules it opens itself to interpretation and ultimately due to human nature, bias.

The obvious glitch plays are good bans but I will simply never join a league that has interpretive rules like "do this but within reason" again.

Remember, madden players are not NFL coaches. They usually don't have the experience, virtually never the decades of coaching knowledge, or the realistic control a coach would have. They DO have the ability to micromanage everything on-field players do. Even with the engine limitations aside, those realities *vastly* change what the realistic best approach to a game is. This is ALSO true for player opponents. Madden defenses are not built like NFL defenses. Because of that, it's hard to fault an offense for doing something repetitive when it's working. Every NFL team would run 1 play all game if it would work, but it doesn't work because NFL teams adjust.

That's why the only things I'm willing to work with in sim leagues now are EXPLICIT rules, things you can and can't do that are clearly described to players and easily enforceable through simple video clips or even pictures (as opposed to recording whole games or going by word of mouth).

I can't make your decision for you and ultimately it's your league and you have to run it best as you see fit. However, I do suggest you think about a more explicit set of things banned, such that players do not get retroactively penalized based on interpretation of whether or not they did something just BARELY too much. When you have clear lines and accessible reporting mechanisms, enforcement has much less potential to turn into a nightmare or cheat-kick someone who didn't actually violate rules...and it's also much easier to pin violations on people who actually cheat.

**speedegg** · 07-30-2012, 12:57 AM

Well...I can't really say anything about that league since I wasn't in it. Basically, you can take a chance and sign up or not and don't. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

As for the league, rules/guidelines is by what's in the NFL. We don't really have any issue with guys running hurry-up. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (currently more Tom Brady) run the hurry-up from the start of the game. They do that to keep defense in their "base" package and prevent substitution. Key games were the Patriots against the Jets. Brady ran the hurry-up from their 2x2 personnel to keep the Jets stuck in their nickel package. Also, see the article about running the hurry-up at: http://smartfootball.com/offense/the...empo-no-huddle.

Or, take the 49ers against the Saints. Big question for the 49ers defense was will they stay in nickel or dime against the Saints' Posse package with Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham on the field. I'm assuming if you're going to talk about other players not being coaches, you already know about the posse package.

Convention says use nickel defense, but depends on how you view Graham, is he a TE or WR? If you treat him as a TE, then you go nickel. If you view him as a WR, then you go dime. The 49ers did some unconventional things on defense, but not in the way you'd think. Same goes for the league some guys do unconventional things, but it's based on what works the NFL. Now if you use goalline from your own 20 and kept running it until the endzone, then yeah that will be an issue. You could do it in Madden, but no one runs it in the NFL.

I think you need to remember not all leagues are the same. While we aren't coaches, we follow coaches and players. While it is true the Madden engine isn't like real football, you can still be a student of the game to appreciate Madden. And speaking of being a student of the game, have you heard of guys like Greg Cosell, Doug Farrar, Rob Rang, Matt Bowen, or Chris Brown (and no, not Chris Brown the singer)?

**TheMeInTeam** · 07-30-2012, 07:00 AM

Now if you use goalline from your own 20 and kept running it until the endzone, then yeah that will be an issue.

I'm not saying crap like that should be allowed in a sim league lol. Then again, you can easily explicitly ban it, such that even a basic phone camera picture would be enough evidence. Those are the best kinds of rules.

I've yet to see anyone beat out good players using goal line exclusively though. You get to the point where you could ban fake FG pass on 1st and 10 or running a 4 WR toss play that will obviously get blown up too...but it gets silly. Goal line at the 20 works better in madden than in real life, but it's still pretty crummy. There's a reason you virtually never see it in ranked and that nobody used it in skunks (which is freestyle). Someone tried it one me once IIRC by going no huddle after converting 4th and short vs base 4-3 stack but quickly got out of it because the runs were consistently 2 yards or less too much.

That's why IMO the sim league priority should be on explicitly banning (and consistently enforcing said banning) glitch plays, certain ridiculousness like going for it on 4th and 10 on your own 30, and things that present as demonstrably overpowered that the league doesn't want to see. I think a major mistake most sim leagues make is banning things that can be and are consistently stopped by competent play. Much of real life NFL revolves around doing what works vs what doesn't; that force is also alive in madden although to some degree what works varies because it's a game. When you ban things that are both NFL legal and stoppable you run afoul of whether it's technically a true "sim" rule but more importantly add enforcement burden and complicate rules without adding much to the play experience of the league.

Side note:

TE are a serious problem for madden '12 defenses and I've found myself going +1 corner (IE nickel vs 2 wr 1 TE sets and dime vs 3 wr 1 TE sets) often. Only the super elite LB (like Patrick Willis) can cover TE 1v1 and then only sometimes, and you need that guy to line up over him consistently which in man is a pain. In zone you can get away with more base defenses (most LB are far better in zone in madden and zone is more forgiving statistically). In real life Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis, Finely, Gronk etc can put wr pressure on but in madden many relatively junky TE can do that too :/.

**speedegg** · 07-31-2012, 01:42 PM

Okay, the league is currently filled BUT a few people haven't confirmed via email.

Also, sorry if you expressed interested and I haven't gotten back to you. It's because there were a lot of emails and messages. Had to deconflict a lot of requests since most people want the same teams. Most people also want to avoid the same teams (Browns, Bills, Colts, Titans, etc), so that made it harder.

Anyway, if you're still interested, send me your GT, email, name, and top 5 team preferences. If your teams are already taken, I'll keep you in mind when someone drops. Not saying they will drop, but usually a few drop after a few weeks into the season.