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4 Qualities That Separate Pro Madden Gamers From The Rest

Gamers looking to take their skills to the next level always come to us and ask what separates “Pro” Madden players from simply good Madden players. Most people assume it is a magical nano blitz or some sort of unstoppable money play. However, the reality is that those things are vastly overrated. We put together our list of the 4 qualities that truly separate the great from the good.

Clock Management – The best Madden gamers will always score at the end of each half. This gives you 2 more possessions with the ball than your opponent will get. When you consider that many Madden 16 games only have about 8 total possessions, those 2 extra possessions come in very handy. If you forget about the game clock and simply think of the game in terms of possessions, in an average game you will have 5 chances to score while your opponent will only have 3 chances. Obviously that is a huge advantage.

Patience – This quality goes along with clock management but expands it a little further. It takes patience to score at the end of each half instead of as soon as you possibly can. It also takes patience to continue to stick with something even if it isn’t working immediately. The downfall of many potentially great players in Madden 16 is becoming one dimensional. If something doesn’t work for you early on, come back to it later in the game instead of just scrapping it from your gameplan immediately.

Practice – This doesn’t mean practice in a general way. The best Madden gamers practice in very specific ways. So many people come to our Madden forum asking why they aren’t seeing results after they spend hours practicing.  The answer is simply that they are practicing the wrong way. Don’t just call random plays in practice. Choose 1 play and test it against all kinds of defenses. Don’t stop until you know your reads against every defense . This may sound insane but a lot of the best players can run passing plays with their eyes closed. Getting the timing down for each play is essential.

Save Your Best Plays For Last – Even the worst and most inexperienced Madden players have money plays. What separates the “Pro” Madden gamers from the rest is their ability to keep those money plays in their back pocket all game until they absolutely need them. When the game is on the line you can whip out a completely unique play and catch your opponent off guard.

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Matt Vorwald
Matt Vorwald
11 years ago

Did you stop to think about the simple math that was butchered in the writing of this article? How does scoring at the end of a half give a player “2 more possessions” in any scenario? Answer: it doesn’t. When you suck at math, it takes credibility away from your point. Scoring at the end of each half ONLY GIVES A PLAYER A +1 ADVANTAGE IN POSSESSIONS.

If Player 1 received opening kickoff:
Player 1 possession
Player 2 possession
Player 1 possession
Halftime
Player 2 possession
Player 1 possession
Game over

If Player 2 received opening kickoff:
Player 2 possession
Player 1 possession
Halftime
Player 1 possession
Player 2 possession
Player 1 possession
Game over

josh
josh
11 years ago

ya dude, you just took that whole 2 extra possession thing way to far, intensity-wise. These guys are trying to help ya out anyway, and for free. Quite being a douche. I think I just have a question or two. First, is it safe to assume that the lions share of online players have good knowledge of cheats and glitches? Second, is it reasonable to think that you can beast these guys without spending copious amounts of time practicing? I don’t have trunk loads of extra time, but its not even worth playing for me if I lose 80% of all my games. I’m not a noob at madden, been playing for many years, but never before thought about using codes or cheats. thank you for your time.

Deric Martin
Deric Martin
7 years ago
Reply to  josh

Usually its not cheats or glitches in UlimateTeam, people just buy packs to make a team.

HailRemix
HailRemix
11 years ago

It’s not unclear at all. People kick the ball so they get an extra possession at half. Obviously. A lot of times the player that kicked the ball to begin with gets a chance to score before the half which is one possession, but that’s still not my point. Think about scoring with 30 seconds left in the first half. Honestly, ive always practiced defense before offense always believed defense in madden wins games not “money plays”. Anyways i leave thirty seconds on the clock on purpose. To trick the other player into thinking he has a chance to put points on the board (If you’re a run heavy team may not be for you unless you’re the vikings of course…) Anyways by giving you 30 seconds left and your common knowledge of me getting the ball back at half I’ve forced you to force throws you wouldnt usually make. Can’t tell you how many times that strat has worked. If they get a regular return (to 20-30) call a pass protect as i call it your favorite pass protecting play. (Everyone has one most have a few) Be agressive on the pic, and if you do get it don’t be greedy. Somewhere around 20 seconds and 2 timeouts is plenty of time. Go for the field goal not the TD may only be three but its also another possession you’re up. Trying to bash someones math here doesnt help anyone. I’m a really good madden player but wouldn’t say pro but do you see how I incorporate patience (refering to a comfort level of me driving all the way down the field and scoring 2 minute drill) Practice (I purposely leave you a considerable amount of time, which sets me up to make one of my signature defensive plays) and since I purposely do this and have certain plays I call defensively two man, cover 3, cover 4 with show blitch, ect. I’d say that covers practice and clock management. Now save your best play for the end my play style doesnt quite mesh with. I run a lot of the same formations all game and throw 5-10 yard passes I do this a lot along with the draw. After usually only a short while I abuse the madden anger as I call it and take my shot deep when you decide to drop a safety to try to stop my short passes and draw game because you see me running the same formation and what you think are the same plays. Patience, Clock management, Practice, and abuse of user frustrastion

mel
mel
11 years ago
Reply to  HailRemix

So you are a cheeseball is what you are saying

chris
chris
11 years ago

Honestly, what Seperates pros from the rest is that they can glitch the AI better than anyone else. There’s no such thing as a madden pro, just who is the best AI Glitcher on Offense and defense.

Gai2k13
Gai2k13
11 years ago
Reply to  Madden School

I know a lot about football, but I don’t know any glitches.

mel
mel
11 years ago

You can beat cheeseballs. Big key to winning tough games… don’t turn the ball over

FatalQt
FatalQt
11 years ago
Reply to  mel

and don’t get stopped on offense

cosulliv
cosulliv
11 years ago
Reply to  mel

Most “cheeseballs” come in the same form. They are incredibly good(i say good, but it entails the nonsense people do) on offense, and in turn never really care about defense. The key to these guys is simple. Learn 100% what they are doing, and user bait them into throwing it to where they think they know their man will be open. This paired with their usual bad defense. Gives you the chance to slow the game down, and boils down to what mel said. Don’t turn the ball over

Rugerru
Rugerru
11 years ago

Can any anybody help me stop the run that’s all. Thanx in advance

mdids42
mdids42
11 years ago
Reply to  Rugerru

The key to stopping the run, is getting comfrotable user controlling your linebackers, for me, the MLB. I choose the player thats man up on the RB, and follow his movement, its as simple as that, once you get used to timing, and start to recognize the different runs as they develop.

Madden Mayhem
Madden Mayhem
11 years ago

I see a lot of complaining about glitchers and cheaters but I’ve played like 400 online games and only a handful of times has someone D/C glitched me to where I was winning, but then got the loss because of the cheating.

mdids42
mdids42
11 years ago
Reply to  Madden Mayhem

when most people say cheating or glitching, i think they refer to OP’d routes, such as TE/HB streaks, that are just a bit more difficult to stop. It may be a little “cheesy” or cheap, and definitely frustrating, but in no way is it cheating, or glitching.

quincy
quincy
10 years ago
Reply to  mdids42

the game is about match up’s and tacking advantage of them. how many people sub in a wr for the te knowing the middle lb or any lb will have trouble keeping up with him, or he gets up on the safety both don’t have great coverage skills or is used to pull the backers & db out of the way for underneath routes. Do I do it all the time no, but do I absolutely. is it cheating when playing with the Vikings to use the run balance playbook and base my game plan around the I formation big and use a back up line man as a te? no not all playbooks come with unbalanced line options so you make your own. and why would you stop when you know someone cant stop you. Perfect example this morning played someone they were 49ers I was the steelers. using pitt playbook & bears d book.
steelers single back trips bunch to the right inside & outside run deep wheel routes middle runs a deep skinn. now because I spent time labbing how to perfect this formation it’s cheating & glitching. you tweet plays to make them hard to stop. send the middle on a fly the outside on a slant the inside 9 times out of 10 will be open either right away or deep u have to line protect other times send the outside in motion to the far right pulls the cb with him make pre-snap reads & throw. out of the I big if u have 2 good te side by side put both on streaks motion one out to the wr spot 9 times out of 10 the te left on the line will have a favorable match unless its an elite lb with good coverage skills speed doesn’t = coverage ability. you learn all this from putting in time & being able to make pre-snap reads. most importantly you need to be able to precision pass. every qb can make almost every throw in the game but it’s their attributes that make them consistent & elite

Snooze
Snooze
8 years ago

Top 3% online. There’s several types of player.

1) Rookie. Knows a couple plays that work well and runs only these plays. Throws pix when he deviates. Tends to lose often.

2) Teenage douchebag (not age specific). Winning is the most important thing, so douche tactics abound. Rocket catch/mossing/counter run/01 trap cheeser/PA end around. Strictly cover 3s b/c it stops most all plays. Not particularly skilled, but knows about cheeseball money plays, promoted by youtube starlets and sites like this. Can’t/won’t adapt when the cheese is stopped (or, really, just slowed down – the nature of cheese plays makes them nearly impossible to fully stop)

3) skilled and knowledgeable, but reluctant to employ A.I. cheese plays. Tries to call plays appropriate for the situation. Results in the most fun games. Hard to find these players.

4) skilled and uses cheese plays consistently. “Labs” (as dumb as that term is) plays to know what works based on A.I. deficiencies. Can be a fun game, but often is tedious. Same dudes who try to use the clock, because winning is more important than playing for the enjoyment of the game. Again, tedious dudes.