Cards

What should they do at the top of the draft?  Should they take a QB?  There’s a lot to consider here, but let’s look at the roster as a whole before getting into the QB situation.  The team really needs players all over the secondary with the exception of Baker at SS.  The front seven on defense has Ojulari but the supporting cast is nothing and I mean nothing to write home about.  The offensive line still needs more pieces, particularly at LT and on the interior.  And the team really needs more receiving options.  If they cannot retain Brown then this unit is in anorexic shape.  This Cards team needs a lot to just somehow be competent.  So the big question is should they start over and take a QB?  No.  Several things to consider here.  First, there is the dead money.  We are talking massive guaranteed money for at least two to three seasons.  Second, Murray is still fairly young and has plenty of room to get better/improve and improve his development trait.  If you cannot improve Murray’s development trait then you have to be sure that you draft a QB with a higher trait, but the thing is, if you cannot improve Murray’s trait, what makes you think you can hang onto the draft picks trait IF you get lucky?  Murray is still a good to great QB Maddenwise in that he has all the traits and necessary ratings.  The problem is there’s not much around him on either side of the football to win games.  To us the smart move for the Cards is to surround a good QB with a better supporting cast.

The Cards jumped out to a 10-0 lead but then the Panther began to hit big plays.  The game was won off of a missed FG late, but the Cards took the lead due to the anatomy of a play sequence from the 1st to late in the 4th.  In the first qtr, Kyler Murray hit rookie TE Trey McBride on a RPO for a TD from a trips set.

The team came right back to that look with around 34 seconds left but this time it was PA Double Post and the Panthers safety bit on movement by TE Trey McBride vacating the left side of the field.  Rondale Moore was able to win on the post for the TD to give the Cards the lead and eventual game winner.  Excellent play call by the Cards and excellent execution.

After the game, "I have a feeling we'll see these guys again. But for now we are just enjoying this win and getting ready for a tough Eagles team."

Browns Short Yardage, Redzone, Inside the 5 and 2 pt Conversion Formation - I Form Slot Close

Spacing

The spacing concept is Ed's staple 2 point conversion play.  The TE on the out route is very tough to defend and the main target on the play.  He did some other things on the Goalline and 2pt this game but it's still Spacing.  What makes this play work against zone coverage is in the short area teams have to hard flat.  However, the HB's swing route widens that flat route and the QB is able to hit the TE in a sweet spot between the flat and the hook.  Against pure man coverage this is automatic and Ed can complete the pass without even looking at the  screen.

HB Blast

The Blast runn play out of this formation features a deep handoff allowing the FB to gain some steam to get up to the 2nd level on the linebackers.  The HB also gains quite a bit of steam so that when he hits the line he's almost full bore.  The deep handoff also gives the user a chance to assess the running lanes.  The play does not appear to be anything special, but with a good OL like Cleveland has and a strong runner like Chubb, the play becomes a monster.  Short yardage and goal line.  Can you stop it?  Probably not.

There is a lot more that Ed does out of this formation, which makes it very difficult to defend.  If Malek is to have some chances in the SB it will be absolutely mandatory for him to defend this formation well in short yardage, redzone, goalline and 2pt situations.

The NFC Champ has been crowned and Malek finds himself back in the dance for the second straight season.  Will he be able to finish the job this time for his first SFL championship?  One of the formations that he has used along the journey is Gun Trey Open.  Trey Open has done a great job for this Giants team specifically on 2nd and 3rd downs.  One play that has paid huge dividends for the Giants is Salem.

While the play is called Salem, this is really a combination of Pivot and Dagger.  What makes this play concept so dangerous is there are options for just about every coverage one will face.  And no, this does not mean if you do not have this formation and play that you need to go add it.  Establish your own identity and roll with that.  The pivot route and the rounded Dig route are both going to beat man coverage, especially if you have abilities here like short out elite and Mid In Elite.  The TE is #3 and running an interesting looking seam route and is probably a quick hitter when the trips are to the boundary and the defense is in cover 3 unless the Safety has Acrobat or the user carries the route of the seam.  All in all good play selection by Malek and I look for him to use this play in the big game at least twice.  It's a great way to put pressure on the defense both vertically and horizontally.

When it came down to it we got it done.  It wasn't pretty, it wasn't dominant but all that matters is the W.  The Giants did a great job of closing up the run lanes so Lamar to Money Mark Express carried the offense, while ole man Jimmy leaves the franchise with the greatest parting gift a player could give.  Going in there were some pregame jitters.  We've been here with other teams in the last few Madden's and did not get it done vs Chicago for example.  What if I don't get the W?  Then there was a reminder.  I lost two games this season, on the last possession.  Just clean up the late game decision making, you'll definitely be in the game.  Just find a way to close.

This is redemption for this franchise.  It was left in some hands that were greasy.  Then it went to a guy who couldn't finish, but knew I would select the team and sniped them one pick ahead of me.  Then it went to a kid who just didn't know what the hell he was doing.  Trade away Lamar.  Need one of those old time whippings for that.  One of those, "go get me a switch" and "don't play" moments.  Byrd got the franchise going again last Madden, but nothing beats a fan winning with their team.  With that said, good luck to all defending the bomb in season 2, Chiefs on  the rise.  Without further Ado.  I bid thee farewell.  Good night!! and BANG!!!!!

Ravens Run Over Raiders

It wasn't the most efficient the Ravens offense could look but the running game with J.K. Dobbins and Lamar Jackson got the job done.  As a team the Ravens racked up 286 rushing yards on twenty-four carries, with Dobbins carrying the bulk of the load.  Jackson would have some inconsistency in the passing game though and he looks to clean those areas up next week versus the Chiefs.

Defensively the team gave up 30 points which certainly means a lot has to get worked out this week with a top rated Chiefs offense heading to town.

After season 1, I talked about the high interception rate.  In season 2 we had a short discussion in the chat on who is a good passer.  I laid out some criteria.  So here is my season 3 challenge.  I'm looking at some real life numbers as a gauge.  You want to be considered a great passer?  Let's take this as criteria:

Yards = 4,500 +

Comp % = 65% +

QBR = 80% +

TD/INT ration = let's set this number to 40/10 as a minimum.  But let's also say you cannot throw more than 15 INTs regardless of how many TDs you throw.  Can you throw 40 TD's and only 10 INT's?  Most people can hit the first number, but they are way above the 2nd.  Who can answer this call?  Who is the SFL's finest passer?  I know that guy in Las Vegas thinks he is, but he throws too many INT's just like the rest of us.  Who are the gold standard owners at QB in this league?

I think we should also have a wall dedicated for the guys who meet this challenge, just like we have for the SB champion.  We could have the owner, the team and the QB on there with their stats.

Hopefully this will be helpful.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/859011520

This will be to the point.  I have three teams that I think killed the draft and hit on almost all of their picks while also filling the needs of their team.  I have one draft loser and most teams just did ok.  So let's get to the winners first.

1.  Dolphins - the Dolphins are my top team in this draft.  They maximized their picks.  They rushed to the podium to take Trevor Lawrence.  They will flip Tua for another 1st round pick in next year's draft setting them up to gather more elite talent.  Completing the backfield they later drafted Zamir White who is also a Star Development.  This team could have three SS HB's if they focused on that area.  Later in round 2 the team took Alex Leatherwood, who is also a Star development.  In round 3 they took RE KJ Henry, another Star development player.  With the 4th pick in the 1st round they took MLB Micah Parsons, a Super Star player out of the box.  So I thought the Phins hit this draft and picked up tremendous value and immediate impact players.  The drafting of Lawrence and the flipping of Tua for another 1st next season will be the greatest move in an already great draft.

2.  Colts - The Colts draft on the surface does not appear overly impressive.  However, they hit on three key picks and drafted a QB with a great template to flesh out.  WR Rondale Moore, DT Lorenzo Neal, and OLB Cameron McGrone are all Star Development players who could have big years.  Kyle Trask with those attributes was a steal for where he was taken.

3.  Broncos - I had  to go back and take a second look and for a team that did not have a first round pick to hit with 3 hidden development players is impressive.  While all of them are only Star development, it will certainly be a quick turnaround for at least one of them, WR Ray Fisher.  Three Star development players and the great Free Agency additions may see a deep playoff run from the Broncos.

Honorable Mention

Jaguars - Speed everywhere.  Great picks with Surtain II and Twyman (SS DL out of the box).

Draft Loser (s):

Falcons - let me get to the good part first.  The players selected are actually damn good.  So it's not the players.  I like the players and had this been another team I would have had them as a draft winner.  Let's look at the players.  Greg Rousseau.  He is a SS player and will be a massive headache for offenses in the NFC South.  FS Ar'Darius Washington is a Star development player with tremendous range and potential.  With 95 Acel and 94 speed, he can be special at Safety.  His tackling is suspect but the speed and talent offsets that.  LG Emil Ekiyor is a Star development player that should see action immediately and bolster up the trenches.  So that's three great picks for this team.  I don't hate these players at all, I think they are great.  My issue here is why not take Trevor Lawrence?  You have a great deal of money already tied up at DE prior to Rousseau.  Where is he going to play this season??  You have speed at WR and now you don't have a QB to hit them down the field or one who can push passes on the boundary.  So to me Lawrance should have been the pick and not taking him was an epic failure.

Seahawks - you got what you wanted, a first round pick only to have that pick go to a player at a position you traded for to get the 1st round pick.  I know, you didn't pick the player, BUT, it's still loser no matter how we slice it.  The OL on this team is ugly and Wilson's days could be numbered.

Steal of the Draft:

Ja'Marr Chase - Bills.  I'm not sure how a SS WR made it to the 9th pick in the draft.

Jags

With the recent signing of Mitchell Trubisky at QB the Jags do not reach here and they finish solidifying their secondary making it a no fly zone.  My pick, Patrick Surtain Jr, CB, Alabama.

The Washington Football team have a glaring hole in the middle of their offensive line and they fill that here with the best interior lineman in the draft.  My pick, Creed Humphrey C Oklahoma.

The Cardinals picked up steam late last season becoming a much more competitive squad.  They need some talent to put them over the top in that division.  Like the Jags they did not expect a top flight CB to fall to them here.  They lost PP7 in free agency but replace him here with a stellar talent.  My pick, Shaun Wade CB, OSU.

The Baltimore Ravens made it to the promise land but came up short against Aaron Rogers and the Packers.  The team does not have a lot of needs, but might want to rely on a four man rush more than having to send a lot of blitzes.  The team finds itself in a prime spot as there are several grade A pass rushing targets to choose from here.  Ultimately the team takes Gregory Rousseau out of Miami.  Rousseau is a player that can play with his hand in the dirt or standing up.  Perfect fit for the Ravens.

Packers pulled of the heist of the decade, trading Rogers for two first round picks having Jordan Love in the wings and ready to go with a season of watching Rogers under his belt.  The Paackers are in a prime spot to take the position which was a weakness for them a season ago.  However, they have glaring holes on the interior of the offensive line, so protecting love has to be the priority.  With Humphrey heading to DC, the Packers take,  RG Wyatt Davis, OSU.

The Steelers need a lot of help.  The team really needs a new signal caller and would like to take one but the value may not be there at this point.  Tyrod is not the answer.  They have two spots on the offensive line to fill.  They are really bereft of talent at DT, and they need to replace pass rushing presence of Bud Dupree who they lost via free agency.  It's tough to say what this team will do.  Do they pull the trigger on Trask here?  Or do they stay safe and build the trenches?  My pick, the Steelers take the best talent for their needs and at this price point.  Christian Barmore, DT Alabama.

The Lions would like to move on from Matthew Stafford.  They might do that in this draft, but not at this price point.  Instead, they improve the user defense in the middle of the field.  My pick, Dylan Moses, MLB, Alabama.

The Jags are putting together a great team with all of these first round picks.  They continue to stock the pantry and give Mitchell Trubisky a deep threat in the speedy Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama.

The Patriots need to infuse some talent at LE and LOLB.  These are glaring weaknesses on their roster.  They dig in the trenches first to help their defense.  My pick, Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest.

The Titans rush to the podium to turn in the card for CB Caleb Farley.  Farley gives the secondary a speed dimension previously missing.  It is a great position for Farely as well as the Titans.  He'll have to Vets there to teach him the ropes and the Titans are paying them the minimum.  Farley will hit the field sooner rather than later.

The Cowboys need a LOLB, however, at this point in the draft they should just take the best player possible that can spark their team.  My pick, HB Travis Etienne.  One of the faster players in the draft and certainly top two in speed at his position, Etienne can replace Zeke and provide the Cowboys offense with more explosion.

It is almost draft time.  Therefore, I have looked at the top ten teams and try to predict what they will do on draft night.  Some positions will get eaten up pretty quickly, while value will be pushed down the board.  Let's take a look at my predictions for the teams picking 1-10.

Falcons – Matt Ryan has regressed to an 84 throw power and is no longer a viable arm in the SFL.   This is a no-brainer pick for the Falcons taking not only the best QB in the draft but arguably the best player in the draft.  My Pick :   Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson.

Dolphins – With their Franchise QB in the bag it is time for the Dolphins to start building around him and they can do him a favor here and pull the trigger on an explosive target at the WR position who is by far the best threat at WR in the draft.  And that’s exactly what they will do here.  My Pick:  Ja’mar Chase, WR, LSU

Bengals – The Bengals are upset here as Chase gets taken by the Dolphins right before their pick.   Chase was a guy that would help them against the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns secondary units.  Now with Chase off the board the Bengals don’t panic and they pull a Raiders and select a WR with Ruggs like speed.  Combined with Ross, they could have the fastest unit in the league.  My pick:   Jalen Waddle, WR Alabama.

Dolphins – The Phins continue to invest in Tua here, but this time they get him some blind side protection and take the best Lineman at any position in the draft.  My Pick: Penei Sewell, LT, Oregon.

Giants – The Giants could do anything here as the team has several needs.  They have to decide if Jones is their guy or if they want to move on.   Even if they do move on, the new QB will need some talent on the perimeter as well as some protection.  I think the Giants move on from Jones here and surprise by taking Trey Lance over Justin Fields at QB.  Lance is just an overall better athlete at the position and fits within the Archetype that the Giants brass likes in their signal caller.   My Pick:  Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State.

Colts -  The Colts signed Jameis Winston in the first round of Free Agency so they have a veteran signal caller under center.  I see them highlighting two positions here:  wide receiver and middle linebacker.  I think given that they pick early with their need for a guy to man the middle of their defense, I think they go MLB here and take the talented Micah Parsons out of Penn State.

Jets – Coach William Gomes has some decisions to make with two first round picks.  Does he settle on Darnold or does he try to start over?  I think Sam Darnold is his guy.  What he does not like is his depth at WR, his RT situation, his DT situation and CB #2 situation.  Of these I think he goes DT with this first pick and takes the stonewall Marvin Wilson out of Florida State.

Bears – The Bears announced that they would be moving on from former #1 pick Mitchell Trubisky and they have.  The draft just had a way of playing out and they are in a good spot to take a replacement.   My pick here is Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State.

Bills – with the loss of John Brown and an aging Cole Beasley who is about to fall apart the Bills will go Wide Receiver here.  Another position where they could use some explosiveness here is at the HB position.   Singletary is shifty, but not very explosive.  My pick, the Bills have options at both of these positions, but I think they get a game changer in the speedy and explosive WR, Rondale Moore out of Purdue, who could be the next Tyreek Hill in the SFL.

Jags - The Jags did not want to sit at this spot.  They ideally would like to move down and grab a franchise signal caller.  But the talent for the teams at the 1-9 spots was just too good to pass up so the Jags get stuck here.  Since the team has the next pick they go ahead and make the secondary much more dangerous and daft Andre Cisco, FS, Syracuse with the 10th pick.  Cisco is a tremendous upgrade over the Jags Jarrod Wilson, who is limited athletically and does not play with the range the secondary needs.  Cisco combined with Josh Jones would more than likely be the most athletic safety tandem in the SFL.

Getting better on defense starts off the field, not on it.  Now of course, there are just some issues with some coverages in the game that you'll need to be aware of, but the overall gist here is that a lot of success on defense in real life and in Madden happens before you hit the field, not while you are on it.  I will say this to anyone especially those guys who keep finding themselves EVERY DAMN MADDEN at the bottom of the division, you tear up a team, and you are ready to quit after two seasons.  To me that's the apex and where the fun is.  But by season 4 we've betten the horse to death.  But I digress on that.  Here are some keys to help just about anyone, but especially the guys that are always finding themselves bottom-feeding.

1.  You should primarily be concerned with the teams in your division because you need to be your most competitive here.

2.  You should archive your games (some of you guys still don't do this) especially the division games and you need to revisit them ASAP.  And here are some things you need to look at and think about conceptually.

a.  What concepts do they run?  What's their best run play?  What passing concepts do they run?  As you look at the stream you should be able to identify at least three different runs and four to five passing concepts.  For example, Read Option, 01 Trap, Inside Zone.  Identifying this information can now give you the opportunity to decide how you will defend plays.  What front will give you the best opportunity to defend these runs. 

YOU CANNOT defend any offense without information on it.  I understand that watching streams is entertaining but you also need to be gathering information if you want to be competitive.  Until you do this, some of you will never make it out of your division and never win it unless you just get lucky.

b.  This second point is related to the first, namely, you need to take stock of their formations.  While your focus is on defending plays and not formations, formations can make certain plays more effective because of alignment.  In other words, you can get beat because of the alignment.  I've had this happen, you have had this happen.

c.  Identifying Personnel and Formations.  Some of this stuff should just be common sense, but I dunno, I feel like I need to post it for some.  This can help your defensive call.  For example, IF you see Wildcat, or the Taysom Hill package, you need to immediately go conservative on Option Defense AND you need to get aggressive on defense.  This is not a time to be sitting back in 2 deep zone and getting gashed because you don't have enough defenders in the run fit.

d.  What are the team tendencies?  After you have identified the formations, key runs and passes you need to track tendencies.  As you watch streams, when did they call these plays?  Are some formations and plays situationally?  That is, do they only run this in the redzone?  Inside the 5?

e.  Can we cover all of their weapons?  The answer to this will determine your level of aggression.  If you cannot cover their weapons you might need to play bend but don't break until you can get aggressive.  Make the offense earn every yard and be determined not to give up 30 + yards at a time.

I could say more, but there are some things I will keep to myself.  BUT, this stuff doesn't really take that long to do.  Get your asses to work and most of all, get better.

QB

Zone Abilities

Superstar Abilities

HB

Zone Abilities
 

Superstar Abilities

WR

Zone Abilities

Superstar Abilities

TE

Zone Abilities

Superstar Abilities

O Line

Superstar Abilities

D Line

Zone Abilities

Superstar Abilities

Linebacker

Zone Abilities

Superstar Abilities

CB

Zone Abilties

Superstar Abilities

Safety

Zone Abilties

Superstar Abilities

There's no way, this can be a free for all, however, I think we need a little more flexibility from RnG.  But this cannot happen without structure.  Thus, I have drafted, during this faculty meeting LOL, some rules for governing and then I'll post the chart or I can send it to the admin team.  First I want to post structure:

1. All request must be submitted to admin team.
2. User must be active and make a choice between making blockbuster trades OR changing abilities.  Users cannot edit more than three players, but this is predicated upon their league activity level.  Articles, media (draft coverage; podcasts) so on and so forth.
3. Users can only change 1 SS ability on a player.
4. Players must qualify to have their abilities edited.  88 overall is the cap.  If a player does not meet 88 overall then you cannot edit his abilities.
5. No stacking abilities within one position group.  For example, you cannot have two defensive tackles with Inside Stuff or two defensive ends with Edge Threat or two CB’s with bench press.  Now if you get lucky on a progressing player, he gets a scenario, and you meet it and he gets an ability that you already have at the position then consider yourself blessed.
6. Keep it realistic – Lamar cannot and should not be getting hot route master.  That is not the type of QB he is.  His top two archetypes are scrambler and improviser.  Field General should be the top Archetype if you want Hot Route Master.  I have a chart ready to go and will submit that to the admin team and can post it here.
7. If a user is caught changing any abilities and do not meet these requirements and thresholds, the player loses their dev status altogether.

I thought about leaving this alone, but, in good conscience I cannot. Reflecting on  the QB statistics from season one and man, what can I say?  Unfortunately, Madden is going to reward many of you guys for it anyways.  Jameis Winston would love this game.  You get rewarded for being reckless.  I mean throwing 50+ INT's ?? DAT's CRAAAAAAAZY!!!

Disclaimer:  I do not see myself as some QB guru or anything, but I do know recklessness when I see it and it ran-a-muck in season one.  I mean really? 

Let's look at some of the reasons why this is the case.

1.  You skip the plays that CAN be made.  Yes, you skip the plays that can be made.  What do you mean LB?  Time and time again, people throw picks because they are not thinking about moving the chains.  They are thinking about home runs on almost every damn pass play.  Now this is something that can work against people who are just out here calling anything on defense, but it will get you out of the game by the half against people who understand your unquenchable thirst to keep chasing the big plays.  I've seen it on almost every stream.  You chase big plays, you throw picks, you get sacked.  Sometimes it works.  But against skilled users on defense it might only work once.  This leads to the second point.

2.  You chase big plays because you don't have an identity on offense, in particular, your passing game.  The meta (crossing routes) is not an identity and it is easily countered.  LB, explain.  To have an identity on offense is to force the defense to respect something.  The best way to do this is to think about actual passing concepts (Drive, Smash, Ohio, ect).  But the key is to master a few passing concepts and MARRY it to EVERY formation.  Make defenses respect it, THEN go for the big stuff.  Too many players are going for the big stuff first without making the defense respect anything.  When you use one formation to run one play, some people know it and are going to stop it.  Stop being predicatable.

3.  Your game management is bad.  Yes, it's bad.  You somehow got a big lead, why not just manage the game from here on out and play bend but don't break defense.  The clock is your friend and your opponents enemy.  Run the damn ball.   But nope, you continue to throw people right back into the game.

4.  You did not even bother to study your opponent's personnel to see where you might have an advantage.  You are just going to play this game exactly like you did the last one.  Epic FAILURE coming up.

5.  Piggy backing on #2.  You run way too much stuff that you are not comfortable with.  You haven't even practiced it but you run it and are right back on defense because of it.  In other words, this is going to require some work.  You should be looking at your playbook right now during the signing period and asking yourself about concepts that interest you.  Hey look at the drive concept.  Look at how many ways teams might run it.

Find concepts you are comfortable with and again MARRY them.  Run this stuff first, see how your opponent responds to it.  Then go for the other stuff.  Until you make the defense respect at least one thing, you are playing a dangerous game of hit and miss, and when you miss it's going to be costly.

6.  You still need to read coverage.  The coverage the defense is playing impacts your reads.  If you don't understand this you are going to end up forcing a lot of passes.  You might get lucky here and there, but it's just a bad proposition all the way around and you will not improve that way, you will fall into a dangerous habit.

7.  A lot of you will get new toys.  Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields ect.  Dont make them look like incompentent fools.

Defensively, I see the same problems.

1.  You have no rules for how you call your defense.  You are just out here calling popular stuff, but don't know why.  Decide what you want to give up on each down.  For example, for the most part, I'm not going to give anyone the box count on 1st and 10.  That's just a rule that's been drilled in me from playing and coaching days.  We are not going to give teams the box count on 1st and 10.  But what can we run, to do that, and also protect our personnel?  Start protecting your players.  If you don't have the guys to run man coverage vs the team you are facing, then why are you running it especially on an open field?  Can you find a place for it?  Maybe the 10 in, but not on an open field.

2.  What play calls must I make to shore up weaknesses and WHEN can/should I make them?

3.  Know where the help is!  As a user know where your help is that way you can cover more effeciently.

4.  Learn from losses and adjust the playbook.  If you end up getting gashed on the ground or through the air.  Reflect on it and move on.  Was it my personnel?  Was it my play calling?  What could I have done differently?  What was it that my opponent saw about my team that I don't see?