Madden 13 Mock Draft

Raoul

BigBadRob83 wrote: »

From the last mock I did, we had 23 returning players from Madden 12.
Out: McG
Not sure: Mikemac1, Shane.C

Confirmed new: Mikeyt086, Brianon, Eli Manning
Possible new: ?? Raoul in touch with them

Based on that should be minimum 26
Max could be 29/30

Would be great to get almost full league

Talks have broken down with 1 when he asked "sounds great, its PS3 isn't it". :mad:

Another is worried about his net connection not being good enough until September or October. I said he should join anyway and if the net is too crap then he can always leave and come back.

Berty44

I would be pretty confident we would get 32.

As for the draft process as you know I am currently running one for the Pro Franchise (Dave/Ben/Heli/Adrian from here all involved with me). It has been a brilliant success so far.

Started Monday night at around 9pm, no specific time frame set for any pick, people just come on and make their pick. The reason I say its been a great success is by using that method the banter that has gone on has been epic. There is one thread to make your pick and separate thread to discuss the draft. In about a day and a half there are over 400 posts in the discussion thread. People anyalysing their choices, analysing picks made, urging people to hurry up etc.

Personally I think it would be a great idea to use that method for the boards draft. Would keep people discussing the draft ongoing and would be mighty crack.

As for the concern that someone may not make their pick and hold up the whole process you could set a deadline...say 12 hours after the previous pick has been made ( exclude midnight to 10am in calculating this ). Would guarantee people coming back to check and ramping up the banter.

Raoul

Berty44 wrote: »

I would be pretty confident we would get 32.

As for the draft process as you know I am currently running one for the Pro Franchise (Dave/Ben/Heli/Adrian from here all involved with me). It has been a brilliant success so far.

Started Monday night at around 9pm, no specific time frame set for any pick, people just come on and make their pick. The reason I say its been a great success is by using that method the banter that has gone on has been epic. There is one thread to make your pick and separate thread to discuss the draft. In about a day and a half there are over 400 posts in the discussion thread. People anyalysing their choices, analysing picks made, urging people to hurry up etc.

Personally I think it would be a great idea to use that method for the boards draft. Would keep people discussing the draft ongoing and would be mighty crack.

As for the concern that someone may not make their pick and hold up the whole process you could set a deadline...say 12 hours after the previous pick has been made ( exclude midnight to 10am in calculating this ). Would guarantee people coming back to check and ramping up the banter.

What do you think about using Ben's method and then just releasing 1 pick every few hours so that people keep coming back.

I'm not too bothered really either way just thought Ben's draft method was the fairest but possibly the most arduous.

madalig12

If there is possibly going to be 32, then maybe we should bump Berty down to 32nd, . He'll still improve more with the xp he will gain by completing challenges and by season 2 will no doubt have at least a mid-strength side, which by season 3 would be a top side I'm sure, bit unfair on him yes but it might make it more of a challenge for him. Obviously there are others who could be bumped in picks in favour of new starts. If it was someone of my ability coming in fresh and got one of the really weak teams I'd never get the xp to catch up if you see my point.

Raoul

madalig12 wrote: »

If there is possibly going to be 32, then maybe we should bump Berty down to 32nd, . He'll still improve more with the xp he will gain by completing challenges and by season 2 will no doubt have at least a mid-strength side, which by season 3 would be a top side I'm sure, bit unfair on him yes but it might make it more of a challenge for him. Obviously there are others who could be bumped in picks in favour of new starts. If it was someone of my ability coming in fresh and got one of the really weak teams I'd never get the xp to catch up if you see my point.

I was thinking about this too. It is extremely hard to know what to do.

Possibly we could have them play friendlies the week the game comes out say they have to play at least 4 different players and this should give us an idea of their ability. As in if the number 1 draft pick beats them then surely they should go on the top of the draft. Say if they hammer Berty then obvioulsy they should be down lower in the draft.

If they don't play these friendlies then we have no choice but to put them at the bottom of the pile.

What do you think?

madalig12

That sounds fair, you could play them, Berty, and two others of your choice then you guys could decide where to rank them, could be they'll all lose vs the better players. Which will make it hard to decide where to put them. it's a tough decision cos it could upset some people by moving them down a spot, but most don't know who we might get anyway.
If they all lose it could put them off joining altogether!

Raoul

madalig12 wrote: »

That sounds fair, you could play them, Berty, and two others of your choice then you guys could decide where to rank them, could be they'll all lose vs the better players. Which will make it hard to decide where to put them. it's a tough decision cos it could upset some people by moving them down a spot, but most don't know who we might get anyway.

Its just in the interest of being fair. Best just to play as many friendlies as possible but maybe at least 3. If they don't play 3 then its bottom of the pile. I am sure the friendlies thread will be packed next week anyway.

Pudsy33

Im up the other end of the draft, in second, so I'll play people if need be.

Berty44

I would no problem with going along with something along the lines of what you suggest. I probably would not have time to play friendlies but I'm sure Raoul can organise some kind of assessment.

There is nothing between Ben and myself, in fact he has had more Superbowls than me so I would keep us together. Maybe an idea to slot people in wherever you feel fit. If that means Ben being 31 and me being 32 then so be it ( not sure of Ben's thoughts on this ! ).

I do think its daft however for someone at pick 20 to have to submit a list of 20 preferred teams.

madalig12

I agree it is daft, thinking give people a certain amount of hours if they fail to pick the pick goes to the next in line or they are given the best team available.

adrian522

Personally I don't think newcomers should draft ahead of people who have been playing since the beginning, though I'll happily go along with this if that is what is agreed.

Berty44

That is the other point of it. Everyone in the draft has proven themselves to be "good" members, play by the rules and organising their games, most for the 2 years. It would be very frustrating to see people slot in and then maybe drop out a few months later. So serving an apprenticeship does make some sense. In the Pro Franchise even if you are a member you must have a minimum no of games played in the previous season to enter the draft otherwise you pick at then end. Adrian indeed has personal experience of this as he has been subjected to this rule and picks at then end of that draft even though he is currently a member just not having enough games played. On that basis his opinion should carry more weight.

On the other side however if newbies join, pick after the current members, get poorer teams, they are more likely to struggle and maybe drop out.

Decisions for the Boards Men of Power to make !

BigBadRob83

Fully agree with Adrian's post

Paully D

Berty44 wrote: »

I would no problem with going along with something along the lines of what you suggest. I probably would not have time to play friendlies but I'm sure Raoul can organise some kind of assessment.

There is nothing between Ben and myself, in fact he has had more Superbowls than me so I would keep us together. Maybe an idea to slot people in wherever you feel fit. If that means Ben being 31 and me being 32 then so be it ( not sure of Ben's thoughts on this ! ).

I do think its daft however for someone at pick 20 to have to submit a list of 20 preferred teams.

Personally I think you should be allowed to draft in your current position (26 or whatever it is). You played all 3 seasons and should have the chance to get a team ranked around there. Ideally it would be just left the way it is, but if we were going down the route of moving people back down then I think the only fair way it could be done is to just have a completely random draw for selections and if the best players get the top picks then so be it.

Pudsy33

I am not sure of a fair way to incorporate the newbies. I can see issues with putting them in at the bottom of the draft pile, but also problems with moving long standing members down. I think the friendlies idea seems the best, so we can gauge peoples skill and place them accordingly. Although if we decided to totally randomise the draft order I'd be all for that too.

Paully D

To be honest, and this is not to criticize anyone so please don't take it the wrong way, from my personal experience I think there's probably 3 people in the league that are much better than everyone else. These three would be Berty, Santry and Ibmax, Shane too actually but it's not certain if he's coming back. Looking at Rob's data, this also seems to be backed up by the figures. After that, I think all of the other players could beat each other on any given day. For example, and again not to single anyone out so please don't take it the wrong way, Empacher is 22nd on the list but yet there's rarely been anything more than a field goal between myself (ranked 7th) and him when we've played, yet the Bills are ranked 5th and I bet them comfortably in season 2 last year. That's one of the reasons the franchise is so good, because the vast majority of games are between players of pretty much equal ability and for that reason aside from the top 3/4 guys the results are very difficult to predict.

I know people are saying if the new guys coming in end up with the worst teams they might struggle and it is a bit different this year than everyone being able to get a good team because there's no fantasy draft, but I'd be very confident that even with the lower ranked teams the newbies will still do well. I think it's more to do with the divisions you end in than the teams this year, as fair enough, if you end up in a division with both Santry and Berty then you're fucked (:pac:) whereas if you're in a division with 3 other people ranked outside the top 3/4 on the power rankings you're going to have a chance of going to the playoffs regardless of your team such is the unpredictable nature of games between players of similar ability.

If the newbies were coming in without having played the game before or without getting time to practice before the league starts then they would be at a disadvantage but, 1) a lot will have played Madden before so know the score and 2) even if they haven't played before, we're going to have 2 weeks or that to practice so by that time the vast majority would be up to speed, especially after playing friendlies with the other Boards lads in those 2 weeks.

Rob's power rankings are brilliant IMO. If I was asked to rank everyone in the league, although with a some exceptions I will admit, Rob's probably got it more or less spot on and the formula he has used is certainly the fairest way of deciding who drafts in what position. It would be a big shame to waste that. However, if people want the likes of Berty, Santry and Ibmax at the very end of the draft then the only fair way to do that IMO is to take our chances on a random draw. I know I'd prefer to have them guaranteed to be picking at 25/26 rather than giving them a 1 in 22 chance of getting one of the top ten teams in the game. Playing friendlies against the new guys to determine their draft position is too subjective, time consuming, and someone saying ''play the best players in the league to see where you should be ranked in the draft'' certainly wouldn't encourage me to join the league if I was coming into it.

Overall my proposition would be to leave the people who have been ranked already on Rob's spread sheet as they are and randomly draw the new guys into the remaining spots at the end of the draft.

Raoul

Add PerrinV2 to the list of new members.

I know what you mean Adrian but if a new member comes in and they aren't very good and is last pick and has the worst team in the franchise then they might not be bothered to play.

On the other site, I was drafted the Browns, it was awful. Colt McCoy was terrible, I literally couldn't pass. I was playing games just to play them, didn't enjoy it at all, was a struggle to do anything without throwing 2 ints a game.

Paully D

Raoul wrote: »

Add PerrinV2 to the list of new members.

I know what you mean Adrian but if a new member comes in and they aren't very good and is last pick and has the worst team in the franchise then they might not be bothered to play.

On the other site, I was drafted the Browns, it was awful. Colt McCoy was terrible, I literally couldn't pass. I was playing games just to play them, didn't enjoy it at all, was a struggle to do anything without throwing 2 ints a game.

The thing to remember this year though is that with a properly working salary cap, teams are going to have to shed good players and they will be picked up by the likes of the Browns. For example, below is a list of free agents and salaries they go for in Madden 13, taken from Operation Sports:

1. FS Nick Collins (87) - $5.00M
2. WR Plaxico Burress (88) - $4.48M
3. DT John Henderson (88) - $3.80M
4 MLB James Farrior (87) - $3.50M
5. RE Luis Castillo (86) - $3.32M
6. DT Fred Robbins (87) -$3.00M
7. LE Shaun Ellis (86) - $2.90M
8 DT Albert Haynesworth (85) - $2.59M
9. TE Jeremy Shockey (81) - $2.50M
10. DT Kelly Gregg (84) - $2.42M

There's a whole lot of others too that are similarly rated but go for cheaper.

Teams will have to constantly shed good players every year so it will be much easier for the likes of the Browns, who have a lot of cap space, to build a good team after a couple of seasons.

The_Gatsby

i think new members should just be put at the end. From a new member point of view, I'd expect that to be the case. I wouldn't expect to come into a new league and be given a decent draft pick straight away. I don't really think that having a good team makes all the difference, it's mostly to do with the player, how they can read and play the game.

BigBadRob83

All this talk got me thinking, with updated team ratings and new members, we need another new mock draft!



*Usual caveat of me having no idea what I'm talking about applies

Raoul

This is the only time that being in divisions with Santry, Dave and Paddy works out for me. My human v human record is appalling.

Paully D

BigBadRob83 wrote: »

All this talk got me thinking, with updated team ratings and new members, we need another new mock draft!



*Usual caveat of me having no idea what I'm talking about applies

Nice one Rob. Just to break it down further into the divisions then:

AFC East

Patriots - davetherave
Bills - ibmax
Jets - Danger_dave1
Dolphins - CPU

AFC North

Ravens - Pudsy33
Steelers - madalig12
Bengals - Daflood
Browns - CPU

AFC South

Texans - BigBadRob83
Titans - Heli
Jaguars -Mikeyt08
Colts - CPU

AFC West:

Chargers - adrian522
Broncos - notyalc666
Chiefs - SantryRed
Raiders - CPU

NFC East

Giants - Empacher
Eagles - Barbara Curved Overlord
Cowboys - Paully D
Redskins - PerrinV2

NFC North

Packers - Nelbert
Bears - Linebacker52
Lions - Stev_o
Vikings - CPU

NFC South

Saints - Raoul
Falcons - LukeBray
Panthers - matthew8
Buccs - Berty44

NFC West

49ers - NekoChan
Seahawks - Eli Manning
Rams - etloveslsd
Cardinals - CPU

Certainly some interesting divisions there. The NFC South would be seriously tough and the NFC East would feature 3 of the players who played in it for Madden 12.

Raoul

Getting excited now!! Don't think I would take the Saints, hard to know who to take. I love my run game these days, so I really like having an elite RB and then someone I can rely on to take a few snaps. Also don't think I would take the Lions, have them in another franchise already so would like to play with a couple of other teams considering that this isn't a fantasy draft.
Would love to be reunited with CJ2k even though I am sure he won't be as good this year. I think we should start talking draft dates now.

Edit - Actually don't really need a poll, was thinking of the proper draft. What about next Wednesday we start drafting teams, looks like most people want to just draft by posting up their pick.

helimachoptor

Rob happy to hopefully have you in AFC south! And me too obviously!

A big if, the the titans are gone will be Seahawks for me

matthew8

That would be a hell of a division for me. Playing against the 2 people who lower their game significantly whenever they play me (raoul and luke) and 2 chances a year to see where I'm at.

Berty44

Raoul wrote: »

Edit - Actually don't really need a poll, was thinking of the proper draft. What about next Wednesday we start drafting teams, looks like most people want to just draft by posting up their pick.

Way to go Boss !!!

Raoul

matthew8 wrote: »

That would be a hell of a division for me. Playing against the 2 people who lower their game significantly whenever they play me (raoul and luke) and 2 chances a year to see where I'm at.

Sorry, I am just not good at defending the HB Screen Pass every single play :pac:
Not sure if you played me towards the end of last season. Think Ben was about the only person to beat me in a long long time on here and on the PFL site. Your trash talk makes me want to pick a division with you in it

matthew8

Raoul wrote: »

Sorry, I am just not good at defending the HB Screen Pass every single play :pac:
Not sure if you played me towards the end of last season. Think Ben was about the only person to beat me in a long long time on here and on the PFL site. Your trash talk makes me want to pick a division with you in it

The only time I played you in the league was 34-17 until the last second disconnect, didn't complete a pass and it was 34-3 before garbage time. Then I played you in a friendly and beat you something like 28-7 or 28-14 with the 49ers. You claimed to be hungover. I'm pretty good at the friendlies though. Came within 3 of Berty in our only friendly. And by the way, I didn't even attempt a screen pass all last year. Got to keep people guessing, though I did a poor job of that again last season, this year is the one I get more creative.

madalig12

Raoul wrote: »

Sorry, I am just not good at defending the HB Screen Pass every single play :pac:
Not sure if you played me towards the end of last season. Think Ben was about the only person to beat me in a long long time on here and on the PFL site. Your trash talk makes me want to pick a division with you in it

I dares ye!
Hang on wasn't this why we were gonna do it secretly so people wouldn't know who they were up against.

Raoul

matthew8 wrote: »

The only time I played you in the league was 34-17 until the last second disconnect, didn't complete a pass and it was 34-3 before garbage time. Then I played you in a friendly and beat you something like 28-7 or 28-14 with the 49ers. You claimed to be hungover. I'm pretty good at the friendlies though. Came within 3 of Berty in our only friendly. And by the way, I didn't even attempt a screen pass all last year. Got to keep people guessing, though I did a poor job of that again last season, this year is the one I get more creative.

I was only messing.