Your Season So Far

Paully D

There's still a long way to go in season two, but yet we're over a third of the way through. It's a good time to discuss how your season has gone so far and how you're shaping up for the final two-thirds.

New Orleans Saints

Overview:

With a 6-0 record (and only one CPU game) the season couldn't really be going any better for me, with my schedule so far I never would have predicted that sort of record beforehand. I seem to have got over my habit last season of keeping games close but just coming up short at the crucial times and turned it around to win a few close ones myself this year. The overtime thriller against Raoul the highlight so far.

Offseason Moves:

Notable free agents in - Michael Turner (HB), Derrick Coleman (FB), Sione Pouha (DT)

Notable free agents out - Brian De La Puente (C), Chris Clemons (FS)

Notable trades - Tyler Bray for a 2nd round pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Haloti Ngata for 2nd, 6th and 7th round picks in the 2015 NFL Draft (happened in week five of the regular season)

Drafted - Delano Billups (1st round, C), Keithen Vincent (3rd round, FS), Mason Teller (4th round, WR/KR), Kristoff McElroy (5th round, C), Latteral Reve (6th round, FS), Blake Morales (7th round, HB)

Team:

Offense - The Saints currently rank 2nd in rushing yards and 27th in passing yards per game (just inside the top 10 overall in terms of offense if I remember correctly) so that gives a clear indication of the Saints offensive philosophy this season. The retirement of Brees led to a change, but sophomore QB Tyler Bray has proven he can do it when called upon with over 1,200 yards passing which has him 17th overall, so just about halfway, proving it's not about just stopping the run when playing the Saints.

Defense - The defense has been the most pleasing aspect of my game this season. It's not perfect by any means, but a ranking of 13th overall thus far is a massive improvement on last seasons effort where I ranked in the bottom five. Interceptions, forced fumbles, sacks and points allowed per game totals are all much, much better than at this stage last season.

Players:

Offense - Darren Sproles is obviously my main man but free agent acquisition Michael Turner has big cleats to fill and gets his time to shine as Sproles is done for 6 weeks with a broken collarbone. Tyler Bray has performed about as good as could be expected, perhaps even outperforming my expectations thus far, and has been helped in part by an excellent O-line who have allowed only one sack. Jimmy Graham has been a bit quieter this year due to the running game taking over, but has been his usual reliable self, while the WR core trio of Colston, Moore and Teller give me a lot of differing options.

Defense - Sione Pouha had performed really, really well for four weeks but I couldn't resist getting Ngata in when the opportunity presented itself. Ngata hasn't been as dominating as I would have hoped just yet, but it has only been two games and he will take me a bit of getting used to. The outside linebackers of Haralson and Galette have offered canny pass rush with 10 sacks between them, while Lofton in the middle leads MLB's in INT's. Kenny Vaccaro has been an absolute beast at strong safety and my MVP on defense so far - if he hits you cleanly the ball is coming out.

Draft Class:

I've been delighted with my draft class so far.

After seeing De La Puente want to explore free agency and my backup centre leave too, I had no player at that position so that was where I needed to target first. Luckily, no one in the first half of the draft needed a C and I was able to pick up the best player at that position, Billups, who now ranks 89 overall and has been better than De La Puente and obviously is much cheaper too.

The Chiefs had my 2nd round pick, so in the 3rd I had to target a FS after Clemons did a runner after less than one season in New Orleans. With Vincent (and Teller) it showed the benefit of spending time (or even just a couple hundred points on their overall rating) scouting players that the game ranks very low, as I hit on two gems. Vincent was arguably a first round talent and I just nipped in there ahead of Pudsy who was set to pull the trigger on him one pick after me. He now ranks out at 83 and alongside Vaccaro makes up probably the youngest, but arguably one of the best safety corps in the league.

Mason Teller was my fourth round pick and I was looking for a speedy slot guy and found him. He has been quite reliable so far but does have a habit for dropping catches sometimes which is frustrating but should improve as I upgrade his catching attribute. He's also a specialist kick returner for added value.

The rest of my picks were just roster depth, but backup centre Kristoff McElroy will likely end up around 82/83 OVR come the end of the season so might be a nice trade piece for me.

The Future:

A full human division has made the NFC South very enjoyable but also one of the toughest divisions in the game. At 6-0 I'm two games ahead of Empacher's Buccaneers but we still have to play each other twice, with the first game in the series coming in week 7. The Panthers are only 3 games behind at 3-3 so could still have a big say if they go on a run. I'm aiming to win my division but it looks like it will most likely come down to those games against Empacher and how we both do against Heli, Giffney and Rock in the AFC South matchups.

In terms of wildcard spots, it looks like a three-way battle between the NFC North, South and West for the two NFC wildcard spots.

So that's the Saints story so far, what about yours?

Pudsy33

Good: Brent Grimes

Bad: Everything else, I'm bloody winless

madalig12

One word: Over.

Knex*

Happy with my 5-1 record so far, albeit, 3 wins have come from CPU games.

Had to play those 3 CPU games on the bounce, and then came up against the 49ers and lost 69-59 in an absolute shootout.

Felt utterly helpless on defence, and not really sure where to go with that tbh. Its such an annoyance in this years Madden. I usually employ a high risk, high reward type of defence as I find it so hard to consistently slow down an attack, so instead go for the turnovers too aggressively at times. Couple of times in my last few games I've moved the CB up for the pick only to see the ball somehow morph through him into the receivers hands, who then has an open field to run into. Missed tackles in my last game, or bouncing off the receiver was a massive, and somewhat new issue, for me.

Offensively, I always fancy myself to drive the field, although sometimes I get too aggressive with Barkley at QB and try to do things that perhaps I shouldn't with a man of his ability. His throwing power is an issue for me at times, but luckily I've a good OL that affords him time to stand tall in the pocket and wait for Hilton and Maclin to break free. Shady McCoy needs no introduction. He's the go to guy here.

Barkley has over 1900 yards and the most TDs in the leauge when I last checked, although his INTS may have been in double figures as well. Think its something like 22 TDs and 10 INTS. He's doing fine for his first year as a starter.

Not getting carried away yet, conceding 69 points in a game has to be a massive concern going forward into future games, but I'm hopeful of making the playoffs.

Happy with my Roster too. Fairly balanced, if nothing spectacular. McCoy is the only real stand out player, but I feel I have enough to stay the season if injuries stay kind. At the moment I've only one real concern, and that's DE Thornton who broke his ribs early on, but he's expected back before long.

helimachoptor

4-2..

Destroyed the Colts :pthen got disconnected so played the CPU
Beat the Bengals by 3, Beaten by a better Panthers team same for the Buccs
CPU win over the Falcons that could have went either way in a game and then a CPU win over the Steelers

Presuming I win my CPU games, that gives me 8 wins,

I've only played Paddy twice in total and i think we've split the series so our game could go either way, he's got a great RB and CB so i'll need to watch out for those.
I fully expect to lose both Texans game (and both within the last 2 minutes!)

Saints.. I have beaten Paully once in a friendly.. however he's trounced me a lot, Good news that Brees retired and Sproles will be out, but Turner is a serious power back and will no doubt fall forward once tackled!
Graham will be a tough one to keep in line never mind the WR

I think i've had the rub of the green while playing Mike that last couple of times so would hope that will continue and then my last game against the Colts.. again it could go either way!

From my own team perspective Locker is having an ok season so far, need to cut down a few stupid mistakes. Johnson has 9 TDS so far and averaging over 100 yards a game, his yards after contact is pretty poor but thats no surprise.
Locker is really spreading the ball around and Marc Mariani (60 something rated WR) is really turning into a redzone and KR/PR threat. Hunter and Wright are leading the line and have 2 TDs a piece

My run D is awful, but my DBs are picking off passes quite well and having 3 pretty good CBs in Robinson, Verner and MCCourty along with a resurgent Griffin means my D as a whole is not awful though im giving up a lot of yards i am generating turnovers so its boom or bust in Nashville!

Browns
Jags X 2 (CPU)
Texans X 2
Chargers (CPU)
Saints
dolphins (CPU)
Ravens
Colts

mikemac1

banned for Week 1, 6 & 7 :pac:

Blundered and took a 5 million cap hit for a player who isn't even on my roster anymore :rolleyes:

4-1 and top of the division :cool:

adrian522

mikemac1 wrote: »

banned for Week 1, 6 & 7 :pac:

Blundered and took a 5 million cap hit for a player who isn't even on my roster anymore :rolleyes:

4-1 and top of the division :cool:

:mad:

I've lost 3 games to Heli, Padgaig and Berty and been pretty **** in all of them. I've won 1 game I think.

Thinking about trading Dalton.

helimachoptor

Ban mike for the season.. ravens win the SB!

Knex*

adrian522 wrote: »

:mad:

I've lost 3 games to Heli, Padgaig and Berty and been pretty **** in all of them. I've won 1 game I think.

Thinking about trading Dalton.

Nick Foles says hello! (For the right deal, of course )

adrian522

Knex. wrote: »

Nick Foles says hello! (For the right deal, of course )

I have another QB I'm happy with. Just offered him a big money deal so probably not even trade able.

davetherave

I asked Eli to throw his two cents in on what is wrong with the giants this season but it got intercepted.....

Rock Lesnar

Colts are 3-3, Lost to Heli in 1st game, made the mistake of playing with the Chiefs D in that, and its a mistake that will not happen again.

Lost to the Broncos and then the Buccs in a mess of a game, despite keeping Martin to only 60 odd yards rushing, i conceded 2 and possibly 3 no huddle TD's to them and lost their onside kick in the process.

Beat the Browns and then the panthers but the AFC is gone for me now.

Delighted with my trade for Cam so far but hes off at the end of the season unless i can find money to Tag him, Desean Jackson hasnt worked out as good yet, Reynaud at RB has been my best player again, hard to believe he was only rated 72 when i took him from FA last season.

On defense: Robert Mathis has been my best player here, 5 sacks and numerous tackles for losses, closely followed by Darrin Walls a FA pick up who has 3 int's

Berty44

Just playing my games in this league and no other madden. Been lucky in that my 5 games so far have been all against humans, consequently have had great chats during them which made them all the more enjoyable. Now about to run into a few CPU games. Lost my 1st game deservedly to Perrin and his Chiefs but since that been winning, but need to with the Patriots doing well.

Also made a big blunder by signing Sanders to a 5 year deal in FA. Still cannot believe I did that, only thing I can think of is that I got completely wrapped up in the 20% bonus calculation and missed that it was a 5 year deal, my bad. I was surprised when he signed for me, now I know why ! although he really is no better than the rest of my receivers. As soon as the Commissioner pointed it out I released him but it has cost me 4.5m in cap penalties. Furthermore Heli also said I was further penalised by having to get everyone at the madden night out a free beer tonight........

adrian522

Berty44 wrote: »

Furthermore Heli also said I was further penalised by having to get everyone at the madden night out a free beer tonight a night of free beer........

fixed your post there Berty.

guns4all

New England Patriots:

Sitting at 5-1 in the 2 horse race AFC East, level with Berty with one more game to play against him.

50-50 in terms of human and CPU games as the moment with 4 CPU games left in the season. Really wishing there were more human teams in the division, but hey, using the CPU games to build up Mallett to take over from Brady next season.

Have a tough schedule ahead, with Broncos, Colts and Chiefs one after the other in the next few weeks.

Off season moves

Danorio Alexander: Not really as explosive a player as i thought he would be. Leads the team in TDs but 4 of those came in one game!

Tracy Porter: Ah Tracy!! Tying the league lead with 6 INTS. Great player in the last few Maddens and one i always try to pick up.

Trindon Holliday: 3 KR TDs and an avg of 40 per return. Dont be stupid, just kick it out the end zone!!

Other FA pick ups have slotted in well and thank god because my draft was a disaster, with only one player making regular contributions to the team!!


Offence

Currently ranked 2nd in the league, 11 TDs each from Brady and Mallett. And both are spreading the scores around with only Ridley and Sudfeld without a receiving TD so far. Run game has gone a little flat and my increase in picks thrown so far is a little alarming, 12 altogether when i only had 4 this time last season.

Defence

Pass defence is fine. CBs and safeties playing at a high level. No problem there. Pass rush however is falling flat as the Jones Boys consistently fail to beat their blockers. Might need to change defensive formation and trade for a few 3-4 pass rushers. But that the least of my worries and my run D is absymal!! Only the Falcons and 3 CPU teams have worse run D's than me.

Players

The Gronk An absolute beast. Think ive only seen him drop one pass ever! And thats with him having 2 or 3 players hanging off him regularly. Currently 4th in receiving yards and only way is up.

Brandon Spikes Another beast, this time on defence. A fumble making machine and top tackler to boot. Was distraught when he went down and is out for 5 weeks, hopefully Dan Connor can be an effective replacement for him


The Future

So 4 CPU games, so hopefully thats 9 wins. Will probably need 10 or 11 wins to clinch a wildcard spot. Bright spot is that Berty's Jets have lost a game already, however the next 4 weeks will be tough as i have 4 human games and the Jets have 4 CPU ones.

giffney1991

Houston Texans

Currently 4-1 and in my bye-week at the moment. Top of AFC south!

Pretty happy with my start, lost to Berty (naturally) and due to a sim, beat perrin. I was planning on being 3-2 at this stage so happy out.

Schedule for rest of season:

Panthers
Ravens
Bengals
Titans
Falcons
Colts
Saints
Jags
Titans
Colts
Steelers

Pretty tough run in, 11 games broken down to 9 human and 2 CPU. 4 of those games are division match ups swell.

Don't get to take advantage of Saint's Sproles being injured so that's a real tough match up.

Titans have been trying to psych me out by declaring me to win both our games but always a last gasp win by me so still could go either way.

Colts have powered up their team this year so expect these game to be tough.

Panters, Ravens, Bengals, Falcons: Never played any of them so haven't a clue how it's gonna go but really looking forward to it!

Offense
Timmy McDonald came in the 1st round after Hester didn't come to me in the FA and instead sold his soul to the Bills. He has been a real asset, doing better than both his stats and my expectations. FA pickup Havail FB has been doing the business after letting Jones go! Pretty happy with the whole situation on offence. Andre Johnson is a beast, but with less yardage this season as I'm playing better players this season through schedule, picks are a real issue. Hopkins isn't really useable if opposition have a great 2nd CB. Schaub is alright, has last year stats so decent at everything but he just isn't elite. Foster, on the other hand, is my go to man, breaking tackles and burning on the edge!

Defence

Much happier this year. New purchase Fairley from the Lions has been great, paired up JJ Watt. Pea and Smith on the other side do the business as week. CB Routt is great, really plays the slot receiver well. Cushing as MLB adds up to a pretty good defence all round that are creating stops unlike last season

The_Gatsby

Falcons are 1-5 this season so it looks like it's pretty much over.

I feel like I should have had at least 1 more win against the Eagles in week 2 and I don't think my poor record entirely reflects how my play in general has been.

Offense
One of the best passing attacks in the league which I'm delighted with although it was held in check against the Buccs last week. I have a tendency to throw picks which I really need to cut out. Although when I'm passing 80% of the time I suppose more picks are to be expected.

Defense
It's been non-existent. I think I'm the worst defense in the league among human teams which is pretty shocking. However, having played against Sproles and the Saints twice hasn't really helped me. I struggle on defense because I keep switching to user controlled and missing tackles so that's something I need to eliminate.

As far as my draft class is concerned I'm very happy. I have a great TE in McAvoy who I think is close to leading in receiving yards. I've also found a solid RB in Bennett. Attributes-wise he's very good but his numbers don't really do him justice. I think a lot of that is down to my poor play. I've also found a decent DT but still see this as my biggest area of weakness.

Overall, a pretty disappointing season record-wise but I don't think my play has been too awful. The NFC South is not an easy division.

Carroller

49ers 5-1

Very happy with my season so far considering this stage last season I was 0-6! Apart from getting dominated by the patriots(I think) in week 2(I think again) iv had some good wins 2 against CPU and 3 user wins.

Offense

Was a loss to lose manningham to free agency but picked up Aguleir in the draft and the man is a beast! His strength is something else and has great catching but he's now out for 5 weeks with injury. Frank gore is out for 8 also after my game against CPU steelers. If I didn't have a mobile QB is be doing a lot worse than I am I'd say as I enjoy running with kap but also get out of a few tricky situations.

Defense

Pretty much same D as last year and am improving overall on defense but letting 59 points in against the eagles is a bit of a concern but once I'm winning I'm happy.

Hopefully I can push on for playoffs now but that'll come down to the game against the Seahawks and how I control Lynch:P