Drinking the Yaterade - Season 88 Predictions
by AST1N | 1 year ago | 0 Comments
As we near the end of the cycle, some guys only have ~28 games left with their current clubs before we hit the reset button. For me, it always hits hard, knowing some of these names and faces we have learned over the past 7-8 months will fade away like when Thanos got his last infinity stone and snapped his fingers. Gone (but maybe not forgotten) will be guys like George Curran, DeAngelo Harvin, Dwayne Hix, Theo Pendleton, Titus Boston, and Ray Kennedy. It’s a gut punch, but one we repeatedly do to ourselves every year.
On a side note, Commissioner Astin asked for a word:
“Hey everyone. It’s me. So…. when you are conducting an experiment, it is important to try to control your outside variables so that you can ensure your test is not being impacted by other variants that could mislead your findings. For example, if you want to see how many people trip over a ledge, telling them in advance there is a ledge there will surely impact how many people trip over it.
So why am I talking about this, you may ask. Well you see, rumors are swirling that sliders must have changed, because this season feels different (right, Ramesu??). He was right. I did make one gameplay slider change. Run blocking was increased from 27 to 28, to make up for the difference in how much DL is progressing compared to the OL. It is also noticeable how stretch/toss plays are a huge impact to the running game, and trying to run between the tackles will very often lead to getting blown up with some block sheds. So good job Ramesu, you called it!
However….
That wasn’t the only overall change that was made. A couple other ones took place, in fact.
An individual (who asked to remain anonymous) reached out with an idea, and we empowered them to look into it, test it out, and come back with feedback. His request? Let’s play with the penalty sliders and test out if those, in fact, play a role into how the game plays and feels.
And this leads me back to my first point about experiments. Had we announced these changes were made at the start of the season, would we actually see these changes, or just convince ourselves that they were different? Anytime something happened, would we instantly blame the change? Would we play differently, knowing there could be different outcomes ahead? What I wanted to see was people playing the same way, and seeing different outcomes. And frankly, I think after 6 weeks, I feel confident in saying yes, they do actually do things.
So your next question, I am sure, is “Well, what is changed??” So here is the breakdown:
(Keep in mind, the outcomes of these sliders are highly debated in the Madden community, including if they actually DO anything, as well as the ideas of what they COULD be affecting.)
-10 to Defensive Pass Interference
Defensive backs are less weary of getting called for a penalty, and will play more aggressively on the ball. Less opportunities of them going brain dead and watching the ball go to the WR.
Turning OFF Offensive Pass Interference
First, let me remind you, I don’t think we even saw one time this being called when we aren’t switching to WRs. Also, this slider is just an ON/OFF switch, so there isn’t any tweaking. This is similar to DPI, where when we turn it off, the WRs will also be more aggressive in attacking the ball, instead of just running off their route while the DBs undercut them.
Together, we should in theory see better interactions when the ball is in the air, which is great for a league like ours where we let Jesus take the wheel once the ball is released.
-5 Roughing the Passer
What this does is makes your defenders more aggressive in attacking the ball. As one video explained, it allowed their LBs to play with “more reckless abandon”. Better pursuit angles, and not scared to attack the ball.
These adjustments were not as drastic as our mystery tester wanted, but cranking that from 0-100 might have had too strong of effect, but I am pleased to see they did have an impact, and I would say that defense is playing better (which we drastically needed!)
With all that being said, sorry that you all didn’t know in advance, but it really was the only way we could test this without putting the ideas in your head first.” –Commie Astin
Anyway… this is the Yaterade article, and this dude wants to steal my thunder after all the years of writing this thing?! Ugh, that guy is the worst. Let’s get to the recap (and let’s see how well I wrote these so early in the morning…)
Update: Just landed in NYC. It’s 6:22am. My body says it’s 4:22am. These predictions might be shit.
Flying High in 6K Resolution
Yep. The goal was to make defenses better with some adjustments. Now we speculate…. Did making them better actually make them worse? Does better coverage mean more open spots in the field? Maybe. But now there is speculation – Will a QB throw for 6,000 yards in the regular season?
No. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t be close. A QB would have to average 352 yards per game, which isn’t too crazy. However, to do that 17 times while dodging a 3PS or injury, or even just a rough game passing is also a challenge. I would speculate we may have someone flirt with 5,700-5,800 yards, but just pull up short.
Curran lead the league in passing yards with 5,558 yards, and had he not gone to the locker room early against the Bengals in Week 5 (85 yards, 3 INT), he very easily would have hit that mark. Fields was also close, but was pulled at halftime in Week 18 in thanks to a blowout victory.
Buy! Buy! Then Sell! Sell!
With the Cowboys sitting at 6-1 (good hell this article took forever to write itself), one must ask “Are the Cowboys real?” My answer is: Yeah, kinda. With impressive wins against Adel and King John, they have to be, right? Well, those are the only challenges they have faced thus far, and they also had a loss against Andy. But the good news with all this is they have a nice looking schedule remaining, and I expect them to run away with the NFC East title. Will they survive the playoffs? Probably not, so sell before all the value is lost at the end of the season. Should still be a nice story. I am sure none of the Sister Kissers will be riding his coattails in the playoffs as the rest of them watch from home.
The Cowboys did finish out the season going 5-5 the rest of the way, but did end up winning their WC game against Lions, before getting knocked out of the playoffs the following week by Baker and the Rams. I’d say I summarized how the season would go pretty well.
All Charged Up
Don’t look now, but the Chargers are currently in first place in the AFC West, sitting at 5-1. Ramesu hasn’t had a bad cycle by any means, but he is overshadowed by the Chiefs every season. This team he inherited was ancient and had some really bad contract situations to deal with early on in the cycle, but those are now in the past and the excuses have to go to. It’s time to show up or shut up. Will this be the season to get over the hump?
I’d say not quite yet. They currently sit with the #1 scoring defense, so that has to amount to something, right? Welllllll…. Outside of the beatdown they received from Moji and the Titans, 4 of the other 5 games they have played were against teams with 2 wins or less. They are also middle of the pack on offense, and bottom 5 in passing yards per game. In this day and age, you need to be able to win shootouts, and I don’t know if they can keep up with a high scoring KC battle. I hope I am wrong, as the AFC could use more contenders.
Well, they did surprise me in going 15-2 on the season. On top of that, they even won the AFC Championship. The AFC got another contender, which is great. Now if only the NFC could do the same…
“And with the 1st pick in the Season 88 draft, the ______ selects…”
Patriots. I hear it’s hard to win games when you don’t play your games.
They got pick two. At the time of writing this, they were being coached from Germany (and being “coached” meant not playing your games and taking sim losses every week).
X Gon Give It To Ya
What’s this prediction, you may ask? Well it’s not a prediction. It’s a rant instead. Twitter (also known by dweebs as X) is free. For now. So why am I making this plug? HB DeAndre Gore, the all-but-forgotten son of Frank, is currently leading the league in rushing yards. Did you all know that? Do you even know what team he plays for? He must be a rookie, right? Nope. Apparently he’s the lead back in Dallas, and he is in year 3. And I had no idea who the kid is. Selfless plugs on Twitter about guys you love not only helps show the passion to the league, but helps build a world of immersion. Let me tell you, if I had Frank’s son, you’d all know. Buy into world building in Red Zone if you haven’t before, you might find out you really like it.
All it takes is to dangle some pizza and Madden 2025 teams in front of guys, and Twitter starts going off. We need to do this more often.
Season 87 Offensive Rookie of the Year – WR Chris Reyes, Cleveland Browns
While I know this league loves quarterback stats, Reyes has been Kelly’s best friend since joining the team, and I don’t think he let’s up. Reyes will probably end around 1,300 receiving yards and 12 tuddies, the league will still vote for QB Alex LeClair in Detroit. (Nobody is voting for Chris Reyes’ brother, Manuel, the QB for the Bengals. Call it Pat QB Shuffle fatigue.)
Well, I was wrong. People did, in fact, vote for Manuel, who definitely improved his statistical output in the 2nd half of the season. Chris Reyes only ended up with 1,023 yards and 10 TDs.
Season 87 Defensive Rookie of the Year – DL David Simmons, CLE
Simmons was the “sit in my office while I tell you about this guy in the draft who is really smart” of last season, and thus far he is already at 9 sacks. He is doing this while surrounded by George Karlaftis and Myles Garrett on each side of him. On a side note, the Ravens currently have the top 3 rookies in tackles. They also have a player with a personal favorite name of Manu Aragon as one of those top tacklers. I hope to see his name more throughout the cycle.
Simmons won this award, in thanks to his 27 TFL and 16 sacks. Personal favorite Manu Aragon finished 4th in the voting.
Season 87 Offensive Player of the Year – QB George Curran, San Francisco 49ers
The Curran Cannon is ready to reclaim his spot at the top of the QB world. When I predicted my top passer for the year, he is the guy at the top of my list to do it. Bombs away.
Curran didn’t get nominated, thanks to him only throwing the ball and not running more. Hot take.
Season 87 Defensive Player of the Year – DE Maxx Crosby – Las Vegas Raiders
What the hell. Seriously. What. The. Hell. He has 18 sacks. Just. How. Can you guys just block him? That’s all I ask. Keep a guy in to save your QB. Ugh. WhatHappenedToTheGameILove.jpg
Crosby didn’t get nominated, thanks to his team stinking and his coach abandoning his team. Hot take.
Season 87 Most Valuable Player - QB George Curran, San Francisco 49ers
He is going to put up cycle-best QB stats. Crosby might get some votes, but the Raiders need to win some games to make it show the value part of “valuable”.
Curran won, barely edging out Justin Fields. He had 1 more total vote, but outscored him in 1st place votes 12 to 6.
Season 87 Super Bowl Prediction – San Francisco 49ers 37, Tennessee Titans 36
Would be a fun one to watch. Much better than something like a Bears-Chiefs game. Let’s give the people what they want!
Bears-Chiefs… Bears-Chargers… same thing. Still think we needed to give the people what they want!
2,152 words into this thing (and counting!), and we haven’t even made predictions. These are going to be short and sweet, as we finish this thing out.
Put up or shut up!
Don’t look now, but the Jaguars are atop the AFC, sitting at a nice 5-1 record. Will they stay up there and get the coveted 1 seed? I am going with… No. In fact, they might not even win their division. In their last 11 games of the season, EIGHT! of them are against teams currently 4-2 or better. That is a nightmare. While it is possible (and if you are going to be a legit threat, your time to prove it is now), a remaining schedule like this is not ideal for anyone.
AFC East or NFC South: Who is the worst?
Yes. That’s my answer. They are both bad. Dolphins (5-1) and Panthers (4-2) both have the leads, and then the rest is not great. Patriots (3-3) show flashes some weeks, Jets (1-5) are an afterthought with the new coaching regime, and BM and the Bills are surprisingly at the bottom at (1-5). Side Note: I later remembered he was cutting Josh Allens every week, so that’s rough to dig out of.
The South has last year’s division winner Falcons (2-3) struggling a bit after the roster reshuffle, and the Saints and Bucs have each only won 1 game.
I’ll give the edge to the East being better, but neither are great.
Parity!
Speaking of divisions… I really like the NFC East. Spencer, Eikim, BP, and Austin (in my opinion) are pretty close in their abilities (looking at a combination of stick skills + GM skills), and all 4 teams are .500 or better. I hope they have a bunch of close games and this division comes down to the wire (sorry Spencer, this means I am rooting for some losses down the stretch to let them catch up!)
On the clock
With the 1st pick in next year’s draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select _______.
Reviewing other 1 win teams, I made cases for them winning some games down the stretch. I had a harder time with the Bucs.
Season 88 Offensive Rookie of the Year – QB Russ Daniels, ARI
I think this is a 3 man race between Russ, Las Vegas QB Shane Overbay, and Eagles QB Collin Beckham. Overbay is throwing too many INTs right now, and Beckham just isn’t doing quite enough to push him past Daniels to me. I’d love to see Beckham using his speed more and getting in space, which could not only help his case, but keep the defenses more honest in playing against him, allowing him to open it up more.
Season 88 Defensive Rookie of the Year – DE Ben Corbett, MIN
He reminds me of a young Titus Boston. If we had more time this cycle, he would be a scary problem for the league.
Season 88 Offensive Player of the Year – HB Quincey McLean, CAR
I think this will be interesting, and one that will depend on each individual voter’s mindset. Do you go with the QB who carried his team? The RB who sets the pace of the game? Or a WR like Jameson Williams who will threaten to break 2k yards in the air and keep the secondaries on their heels?
Season 88 Defensive Player of the Year – LB David Knight, CHI
Hard to vote against a guy who is literally doing all the things (tackles, sacks, FF, INTs). We would likely need to see a guy with 20+ sacks or 14+ INTs to steal this away, at the current paces (my opinion).
Season 88 Most Valuable Player – QB George Curran, SF
Like I have said for years, he is the glue to this team. The defense stinks and it is all on Curran’s back to carry them. If he went down, I think the Niners go from a 14-15 win team to a 9-10 win team. That is a lot of value for one guy.
Season 88 Super Bowl – Kansas City Chiefs 38, San Francisco 49ers 31
Hey, if I continue to pick these guys, it will eventually happen… right???