Random Questions from Madden Newbie

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Let me start off by saying I have played NCAA for quite a few years, but never seemed to enjoy Madden as much. I did try 12, but got very frustrated with the broken draft stuff that I gave up. My wife got me 13 for Christmas and have enjoyed it so far.

I am the Browns, simmed the first season so I could simulate Schumer getting fired. I just finished to draft and things didnt go too bad, but I have some questions.

1. During the season the top QB was a guy from UCLA, but he got injured and never appeard on my draft board so I couldnt scout him or anything. Yet he was drafted by the Giants. I checked and he has a 69 injury rating, but why could I never see him to scout him or even draft him?

2. Practice. Is it worth it? I know I get XP points, but what happens if I dont do it? It gets boring after a while. It does help me get more comfortable with the game, but is it worth it for the team?

3. Free Agency. How do I see the attributes of the players I may want to resign? I ended up signing a DE who was a "good fit" but had a 53 INJ rating, thank goodness it was a 1 yr deal without a bonus so I could cut him.

4. During FA, how do I see what draft picks I have?

5. Kickers. Dawson keeps wanting a 1 year deal (over $3 mill a year) but he dropped to an 82 this season. Is it better to sign a younger kicker with lower skills, I found one with same KP but KA was about 2 lower, and try to build him, or just keep signing the older one who will drop in skills?

Thanks for the help...I am sure I will have more questions as I go forward.

[bobloblah1980]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrnwsBucksFanNC

Let me start off by saying I have played NCAA for quite a few years, but never seemed to enjoy Madden as much. I did try 12, but got very frustrated with the broken draft stuff that I gave up. My wife got me 13 for Christmas and have enjoyed it so far. I am the Browns, simmed the first season so I could simulate Schumer getting fired. I just finished to draft and things didnt go too bad, but I have some questions. 1. During the season the top QB was a guy from UCLA, but he got injured and never appeard on my draft board so I couldnt scout him or anything. Yet he was drafted by the Giants. I checked and he has a 69 injury rating, but why could I never see him to scout him or even draft him? 2. Practice. Is it worth it? I know I get XP points, but what happens if I dont do it? It gets boring after a while. It does help me get more comfortable with the game, but is it worth it for the team? 3. Free Agency. How do I see the attributes of the players I may want to resign? I ended up signing a DE who was a "good fit" but had a 53 INJ rating, thank goodness it was a 1 yr deal without a bonus so I could cut him. 4. During FA, how do I see what draft picks I have? 5. Kickers. Dawson keeps wanting a 1 year deal (over $3 mill a year) but he dropped to an 82 this season. Is it better to sign a younger kicker with lower skills, I found one with same KP but KA was about 2 lower, and try to build him, or just keep signing the older one who will drop in skills? Thanks for the help...I am sure I will have more questions as I go forward.

1 - If it is a season ending injury then u may not be able to scout him until stage 7 of the offseason if at all

2 - I don't personally but that's because i want to play games. I am sure others will weigh in here

3 - you can't that's the whole " gamble " with free agents

4 - U can see all your draft picks as long as the "trade Players" in personell section is not locked anytime during the season or off season

5 - that's more of a personal preference. If you are a cheater type there is a draft guide here that can tell what players do what as far as ability goes.

Or you can scout blind like real life and roll the dice! up to you

[roll2tide]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrnwsBucksFanNC

1. During the season the top QB was a guy from UCLA, but he got injured and never appeard on my draft board so I couldnt scout him or anything. Yet he was drafted by the Giants. I checked and he has a 69 injury rating, but why could I never see him to scout him or even draft him? See previous poster. 2. Practice. Is it worth it? I know I get XP points, but what happens if I dont do it? It gets boring after a while. It does help me get more comfortable with the game, but is it worth it for the team? Yes. Earning XP is the only way your players will progress. They don't just automatically get better anymore. 5. Kickers. Dawson keeps wanting a 1 year deal (over $3 mill a year) but he dropped to an 82 this season. Is it better to sign a younger kicker with lower skills, I found one with same KP but KA was about 2 lower, and try to build him, or just keep signing the older one who will drop in skills? I would sign a younger, cheaper one to a long term deal. You'll be doing the kicking anyways, right? Thanks for the help...I am sure I will have more questions as I go forward.

Side question for you. I'm just the opposite of you....I've always played Madden and just didn't like NCAA. How does NCAA play to you? I know about the DB glitch but Madden pretty much has it too. Do they play a lot different to you or are they really pretty similar games?

[cl34v4g3]

A little point/tip about your kicker.. First, the ratings for kickers really don't matter.. As long as they have +90 power and +80 accuracy, all kicks inside of 50 yards will be almost automatic.

I play as the Titans, and Bironas' contract ends after the first year. He wanted a lot of money, even after he declined in ratings the first year. I look in free agency and there's Blair Walsh, an under 25 kicker with mid 90s power and high 80s accuracy. So I sent Bironas on his way and have a new kicker for the next 10-15 years.

[cottageboy789]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrnwsBucksFanNC

Let me start off by saying I have played NCAA for quite a few years, but never seemed to enjoy Madden as much. I did try 12, but got very frustrated with the broken draft stuff that I gave up. My wife got me 13 for Christmas and have enjoyed it so far. I am the Browns, simmed the first season so I could simulate Schumer getting fired. I just finished to draft and things didnt go too bad, but I have some questions. 3. Free Agency. How do I see the attributes of the players I may want to resign? I ended up signing a DE who was a "good fit" but had a 53 INJ rating, thank goodness it was a 1 yr deal without a bonus so I could cut him. 4. During FA, how do I see what draft picks I have? Thanks for the help...I am sure I will have more questions as I go forward.

3. As far as I'm concerned, you can't. This seems to be one of the biggest issues for me.

4. The way I do this, is I go to the trade players menu and just look from there.

[dcmantommy72]

Tip. Use a draft guide. I know some might say its "cheating" but its really not.. Its fun to know what players to target and you can really stratagize around them. Target fast or star dev players only.
If you dont, you can play 10 seasons and never once draft a good player.. Dumb risk not even fun to take.

[funnyfiggy]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcmantommy72

Tip. Use a draft guide. I know some might say its "cheating" but its really not.. Its fun to know what players to target and you can really stratagize around them. Target fast or star dev players only. If you dont, you can play 10 seasons and never once draft a good player.. Dumb risk not even fun to take.

With any sort of passable scouting, you should not need a draft guide. To get a solid baseline, do 3 things.

1. Scout every offensive player's awareness. Anyone with a B or higher is worth a follow-up. Some players with C awareness can be stars.

2. Scout every defensive player's play recognition. Everyone with a C or higher is worth a follow up.

3. Scout every defensive player with a play recognition of at least C's awareness. If a player has at least one B and one C, scout their other stuff.

After all intangibles are scouted, I generally have around 30,000 points left, though I do have the upgrade, which is a necessity. From there, make sure the player fits what you like to do and scout away.

My last draft, with 7 picks I got 5 star players and 2 fast players.

Don't encourage using draft guides; let players find out for themselves whether they like the challenge of scouting.

[redlasers123]

Practice? We're talkin about practice.

Despite what allen iverson says, practice is important since you can develop young guys who just ride the bench all season. I usually just run the 2 minute drill because its short, fun and i train coming from behind situations