Bill Abner's first Head Coach Impressions

[bcruise]

So, in case you've been living under a rock or haven't visited OS in the last couple of days, you know Bill Abner has the CE version of Madden. And of course, that means Head Coach as well. I guess he wanted to take some time out from that debacle to dive into HC - and I'm liking the first impressions:

Quote:

NFL Head Coach and Technical Difficulties If you are reading this tonight you are most likely not using IE7. Blogger appears to be bugabooed right now. If you CAN read this -- here's some early Head Coach thoughts: This might be too much game for me! I’m going to be simulating a lot of the day to day stuff because it’s info overload! The day to day grind I find boring. But the tasks are cool – My GM told me to trade a LB on the roster. And I was approached by Philly with a trade that I declined but we went back and forth 3 times in negotiations. But the game is pretty cool. The engine looks like Madden PS2 but in HD. This is NOT the 360 game in coach mode. Graphics are way different. On the first play Jamal Lewis took a draw play 70 yards for a TD and I was thinking, "oh boy..." That isn't an ideal first impression, eh? But for the rest of the half he was held in check for the most part. I played one half and Lewis came out after the first quarter (preseason) and had 6 carries for 97 yards. Derek Anderson overthrew THREE receivers! I almost cried with joy. Anderson played the first quarter of the Jets preseason game and was 5/8 for 50 yards and a TD. The Jets QB, Clemmons, same deal – he actually missed an open receiver on a deep fade route that landed 5 yards out of bounds. Now answer me this: why can this engine do that and the new one can't/won't? Why do the guys making Madden refuse to put poor throws in the game? Anderson throwing a pass too high for Braylon on a 18 yard deep post -- would that really upset Madden gamers? Anyway, I can’t find a camera angle I like yet and the rosters are *bad* ratings wise -- Ken Dorsey better than Brady Quinn and the Browns 3rd round pick out of Mizzou (TE named Rucker) is rated a *23*. A TWENTY THREE! Why is Greg Spires on the Browns roster? He hasn't been in Cleveland in years. I think he retired actually after playing with Tampa. Shaun Rogers is a 78? I know he has that lazy tag but he has PRO BOWL talent. A 78? Damn that's kinda harsh. Still, lots of potential and I want to get some more time in tonight if I can. There is a TON of into presented and I really have no idea what I am doing right now in the off season practice sessions, but coaching the games is pretty cool and it looks like you can simulate all of the minutiae if you want to.

Talk about night and day from Madden. The roster quibbles don't bother me much (never do, really), so this is really great news. Looking forward to hearing more in the days ahead.

[The GIGGAS]

Good stuff.

[DougSupreme]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

So, in case you've been living under a rock or haven't visited OS in the last couple of days, you know Bill Abner has the CE version of Madden. And of course, that means Head Coach as well. I guess he wanted to take some time out from that debacle to dive into HC - and I'm liking the first impressions: Talk about night and day from Madden. The roster quibbles don't bother me much (never do, really), so this is really great news. Looking forward to hearing more in the days ahead.

guess he doesn't realize that the player with a 23 rating doesn't really fit into the system of the team he plays for. send him somewhere else and he may be considerably better. And he's complaining about too much information? Tell Bill to stick to Madden.

[DLaren]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

Talk about night and day from Madden. The roster quibbles don't bother me much (never do, really), so this is really great news. Looking forward to hearing more in the days ahead.

I don't think he understands that the ratings are dependant upon how well each player fits within the team philosophy.

On-topic, Bill saved me $60 on NCAA'09 and has alerted me of the issues I'll be faced with in Madden'09 (which means I'll probably sell it to a friend)...

Bill if you happen to poke your head in here, I thank you and ask that you really sit down with the game to learn all of it's intricacies before you come to any conclusions. Hopefully you'll play the heck outta this game and report back with a lot of good (or bad?) information...

[JBucc]

I hope they didn't go too far with the system ratings. I don't want to bring in Adrian Peterson and have him become a scrub because we run a different scheme. And there is NO system in which Ken Dorsey is better than Brady Quinn.

[DLaren]

Quote: Originally Posted by JBucc

And there is NO system in which Ken Dorsey is better than Brady Quinn.

If Dorsey knows the playbook better than Quinn then he may just be the "better" QB to put on the field. There are too many intangibles in this game to take such a black&white approach when looking at the ratings.

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by JBucc

I hope they didn't go too far with the system ratings. I don't want to bring in Adrian Peterson and have him become a scrub because we run a different scheme. And there is NO system in which Ken Dorsey is better than Brady Quinn.

I agree, but remember we don't know the full context of the ratings. As I recall, the system, potential (and related experience) and "base" ratings all combine into the equation. If the system is accurate, why shouldn't Dorsey be "overall" (meaning all inclusive) better than Quinn at the start? what has Quinn done? Is his morale a factor (considering he was drafted to become the starter and is watching Derrick Anderson instead)? All I'm saying is that, without actually playing the game, we have more questions than answers, IMO.

[NoleFan]

Hmmmm! I like those brief impressions.

[Bill_Abner]

Quote: Originally Posted by DougSupreme

guess he doesn't realize that the player with a 23 rating doesn't really fit into the system of the team he plays for. send him somewhere else and he may be considerably better. And he's complaining about too much information? Tell Bill to stick to Madden.

It wasn't a complaint as much as it was a surprise. I'm fine with data. I play as many text sims as anyone here -- it's just a very 'heavy' game for something on a console. This screams for a PC interface. Plus, there is, it seems at first glance, a lot of busywork if you decide to do everything, but you can sim steps if you wish. I plan on simming the daily practice sessions, for instance.

As for the ratings, this is true. I simply jumped into the game without looking at too much so if that is the case with the ratings then that makes more sense. Well, sorta. A 23 ovr rating is insanely low. No one else on the roster is anywhere near that. I can buy the Dorsey playbook thing, and that's pretty cool if that's how it works.

Are you guys able to read the blog with IE7 btw? Blogger is acting mighty odd tonight.

[Mauler97]

I thought the graphics and engine were was Madden 08 for next gen?

Not PS2?