Make the Correct Calls, Or Else Ditch Replay
Last week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, a Colts kick returner fumbled while apparently tripping over an invisible line.  The referees ruled the player down by contact, but the Chicago Bears challenged that the player was not down by contact, and that they recovered the fumble.  After review, it was painfully obvious that the Colts runner was not touched and fumbled in mid-air.  The call stood as called due to, apparently, the ref's being unable to determine who recovered the football, even though Bear's running back Garrett Wolfe emerged from the pile with the ball in hand.  Yesterday during the Broncos-Chargers game (in which Broncos coach boldly--and successfully--went for a 2-point conversion down by 1 point with 0:24 remaining), Broncos QB Jay Cutler clearly fumbled a ball that was originally called an incomplete pass, and the Chargers recovered the would-be fumble.  After the booth review, since it was inside the 2-minute warning, the call was not overturned.  Don't ask me how the Broncos ended up with possession 8 yards back from the previous play because I don't have the slightest clue how that can be possible if the pass was incomplete.  A correct call on that play and the Chargers are in first place this week rather than Denver.  The point is: If the NFL and its referees cannot overturn a slam dunk replay, the ditch the replay rule all together.  It is indeed only slowing down the game and wasting time if they can't overturn the most obvious of mistakes. 

Only Fourteen Games to go, Chiefs Fans
The Kansas City Chiefs have started out 0-2, and with the way they've played, I see no reason to believe things are going to get any better.  During these two miserable games, they've allowed 9 sacks while achieving only 2, can't run the football, can't stop the run, and their asinine, convservative playbook is producing only 9.0 points per game.  These are al the same problems that plagued them last year, en route to a 4-12 season, a 31st ranked offense, and a current 11-game regular season losing streak.  Yesterday, an apparently healthy QB Damon Huard, who was recently ranked by foxsports.com as the 6th best backup QB in the entire NFL, and who was starting this game due to an injury to opening day starter Brodie Croyle, was pulled from the starting lineup in lieu of a practice squad WR Marques Hagans.  Hagans was replaced by 3rd stringer Tyler Thigpen after one play, a QB draw.  Hagans was inserted later in the game, for a 2nd down and 17 to go, a play in which he also ran a QB draw.  Thigpen rarely attempted a throw longer than 10 yards, as evidenced by his atrocious 4.57 yards per attempt.  With any luck, the Chiefs will lose the next 14 games, and by finishing 0-16, the Hunt family will have no choice but to fire GM Carl Peterson, HC Herm Edwards, and every single one of Edward's awful assistants.  The worst thing that can happen to a Chiefs fan at this point is for the team to come back and finish with a respectable record, thus buying Peterson and Edwards more time to further screw up the team.

Patriots Win, But Skeptisicm Remains.
I watched most of the Pats-Jets game yesterday and picked the Jets in my weekly Pro Football Pick'em on fantasysports.yahoo.com.  Though the Patriots won without the best player in the NFL, QB Tom Brady, I'm planning on staying as far away from them in picks for the next couple weeks.  I need to see the team play more games minus Brady before I can conclusively say that they are still a serious contender.  After the Brady injury, I predicted they could do no better than 10 wins, more likely, 8.  Brady makes that big of a difference.  Will I pick them this week at home to beat the 0-2 Miami Dolphins?  Yes.  But I'm not all that confident about it, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the 'Fins pull the upset.  I'm also in a Survivor Pool on Yahoo, and there is no way I am circling New England this week.  Instead, I'll look at Buffalo at home against Oakland, Chicago at home against Tampa, or Denver at home against New Orleans.

No team in the history of the National Football League is as good as the 2007 New England Patriots, not by a longshot. No team’s offense can match what Tom Brady, Randy Moss and these Pats can do. No team’s defense can stop them. No tackle football team that has ever played a game together was as dominant as these guys, and no team in the foreseeable future has any chance of eclipsing them (possibly not even the Patriots themselves).


Moss has reasserted himself as the premier wide
receiver in the NFL

And I’ll stand 100% firm behind this indisputable fact even if they lose a game this season.

Granted, there will always be controversy if the Patriots, say, lost one of their remaining regular season games with backup QB Matt Cassell mopping things up for Brady while he rests for the playoffs. If they don’t win the Super Bowl (as of November 14th, they were 1/3 odds. By comparison, the 12-1 Cowboys are 7/2), almost nobody would grant them the title of “Best Team Ever.” I’ll be one. Crown them now; they’re unstoppable.

The 1998 Minnesota Vikings currently hold the record for most points scored in a single season at 556. Through 13 games the Patriots have scored 503 and are on pace to absolutely shatter that record as they are on pace for a video game-esque 619 points of offense. Brady will likely break every major single season passing record known to man, including the coveted touchdown pass and quarterback rating records. Moss, who if he retired right now would go down as the second best receiver in NFL history and who also played for those ’98 Vikings catching 17 touchdown passes as a rookie, is having the single best season of any wideout of all times. Moss’s 1264 yards and 19 touchdowns are ridiculous. The offense is achieving these numbers even with no scarcity to injuries to their running backs.

Their defense currently ranks 3rd in the AFC and 4th overall in points allowed. Defensive studs such as Rodney Harrison (suspension), Richard Seymour, and Roosevelt Colvin (injuries) have missed time. Plus, their prized defensive free agent acquisition, Adalius Thomas, only has four sacks on the year.

The Pat’s average margin of victory on the season, 21.7, would absolutely destroy the 1972 Dolphin’s mark of 15.3.

The Patriots have faced a tough schedule too, playing in the strength of the AFC. Sure, the Jets and Dolphins play in their division and they only have 3 wins combined, but they’ve beaten the suddenly surging 7-6 Bills twice. They’ve gone on the road and beaten the 11-2 Colts and the 12-1 Cowboys. New England has also humiliated other AFC playoff contenders like the Chargers, Browns, and most recently, the Steelers.

The only real evidence I need though is to watch the games with my own eyes. The New England Patriots are the best football team I’ve ever seen play.

Ordinarily I do a big long football preview every year for every team (check out how I did last year, it wasn't too shabby), but I am having trouble finding the time to get started this year and when I finally do post my predictions it will not be quite as in depth as in 2006.  Before I post my predictions circa 2007, however, I want to give everybody a sneak preview.

The San Diego Chargers, the team that almost 90% of you have winning the AFC West and many of you have in the Super Bowl, will not appear in my AFC playoff picture for this upcoming season.

Below is the extensive list of reasons for why this will be the case.

1) Norv Turner is now their Head Football Coach.

Ok, actually the list isn't very extensive.  This is the only reason.  But I am pretty sure it's the only reason I need. 

Turner has had only 3 winning seasons in his NFL career as head coach.  Only twice has a Turner led defense been in the top 10 in the NFL.  But, Turner, who is often credited with being a fine offensive mind, has also only led two top 10 offenses.  His best single season was in 1997 when his Redskins went 10-6.  That was the only year in which his team finished with double digit wins.

Norv Turner is, plain and simply, a poor football coach.  He often forces his players to adopt to his system rather than designing a system that works with the players he has.  During his tenure as coach with Washington his quarterbacks displayed an uncanny ability to mismanage the game clock. 

San Diego is loaded with Pro Bowl caliber players on both sides of the ball, and on paper I should be proven wrong.  However, I don't think Norv Turner has the charisma to successfully lead this group into the postseason.
 

Let’s take a look how I did last weekend.

 

 

 

Kansas City @ Indianapolis:  My pick was Kansas City +7 and the Under 51.  Final score was Colts 23, Chiefs 8.  I missed Kansas City and hit the under (1/2).

Dallas @ Seattle:  My pick was Dallas +3 and the under 46.5.  The Seahawks prevailed, 21-20.  I hit both picks (2/2), (3/4 overall).

NY Jets @ New England:  I advised to pick the Jets +9 and the over 38.  The Patriots won 37-16.  Missed on the Jets, hit the over (1/2), (4/6 overall).

NY Giants @ Philadelphia:  I had the Eagles -7 with the over 46.5, but the Eagles only won 23-20 (0/2), (4/8 overall).

Just your every day .500 performance.  Maybe I’ll do better in the second round.  Get your yellowpads out, here are my picks for the NFL Divisional Round of playoffs.

Indianapolis @ Baltimore (-4) (O/U 40.5)

Wow!  Easily the toughest game to pick this week, I don’t think I would put money on this one even if I were a gambler.  What I’m looking at is the Indianapolis defense, which miraculously showed up against the Chiefs last week when nobody thought it would.  Was it for real, or a fluke?  My gut feeling is they continue their momentum on the road against the Ravens, possibly winning without the points but for sure coming within three.  The return of Bob Sanders helped shut down Larry Johnson, and they will do the same to Jamal Lewis, all the while Peyton Manning finds a way to beat a ridiculously good Baltimore defense.  Take Indy +4 along with the over.

Philadelphia @ New Orleans (-5.5 ) (O/U 48)

I have little doubt that the Saints will travel to Chicago in the next round, however, I must take the Eagles and the points for my money.  The way the Philadelphia defense has been playing lately, rushing the quarterback and forcing turnovers, they should be able to keep the game close into the fourth quarter.  They’ll likely be without Lito Sheppard so look for the Saints to spread the field with multiple wideouts… and they’ll be able to get away with it until Drew Brees gets his bell rung a few times and they’re forced to bring more people in to pass protect.  Therefore, I also like the under 48.

Seattle @ Chicago (-9) (O/U 37)

First of all, take Seattle and the points.  Although neither team has played well of late I don’t see the Bears blowing out a team in the playoffs.  The Bears will win this game and host the NFC Championship, but they will have get to get their hands dirty to get there.  They did blow out Seattle early in the season, but that a Seahawks team playing without Shaun Alexander and a Bears team playing with Mike Brown and Tommie Harris.  Rex Grossman will play well and the Bears will run the ball against a suspect Seahawks’ front.  Of course, Chicago’s defense is not the force it was before key injuries, so this game figures to be high scoring.  Go with the over 37.

New England @ San Diego (-5) (O/U 47)

Game of the week, baby!  Two match-ups I can’t wait for in this game: 1) Bill Bilichick’s ingenious defensive gameplan for LaDainian Tomlinson. 2) How Tom Brady will attack the ferocious Charger’s pass rush.  Should be a great game to watch, but who to place your money on?  I’m looking at this game being a shootout so go with the over 47.  I’ll predict 3 defensive and special team’s touchdowns too.  I think the Chargers will win the Super Bowl and they are at home.  Shawne Merriman has a bone to pick with every NFL offense from here on out after feeling he’s been shafted in the Defensive Player of the Year award voting.  Go ahead and give New England the points, take the Chargers.

 

 

Arizona Cardinals

Dennis Green: Gosh Dang!

Major screw-up in desert,

He’ll soon be jobless.

Atlanta Falcons

Hey, look out! Michael

Vick can throw as well as run.

Title Contenders.

Baltimore Ravens

McNair looked pretty good.

Then (what’s new?) he was injured.

I laugh at Boller.

Buffalo Bills

McGahee is good.

But can #### Jauron make use

Of his great talent?

Carolina Panthers

Without Smith, no chance.

With Smith? Maybe. Jake Delhomme

Should seek Keyshawn more.

Chicago Bears

Urlacher, Lance Briggs,

My Goodness! The Bears kick butt

And, later, take names.

Cincinnati Bengals

Palmer should improve.

I wonder how long C.J.

Stays mum. Needs more grabs.

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland needs QB.

Can’t win with Frye. Still, record

Same as ’05 Champs.

Dallas Cowboys

Don’t get me started.

Used to like T.O. I wish

Romo the best. Ha!

Denver Broncos

No way defense is

Real. Manning dominates them.

Anyone can, right?

Detroit Lions

What a major Mess!

First step to rebuild this team?

Fire Matt Millen!

Green Bay Packers

Well, Brett, the Packers

Are not going 4-12.

6-10 still sucks.

Houston Texans

Can’t blame the Texans.

Got rid of George W.

Don’t need Reggie BUSH.

Indianapolis Colts

Run defense really sucks.

QB’s last name is Manning.

These two cancel out.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Hmm, Jags have talent.

Can’t put it all together.

Needs to get healthy.

Kansas City Chiefs

Trent Green will be back.

But if he does not return,

Huard makes Pro Bowl.

Miami Dolphins

Saban can’t become

First college coach since Johnson

To solve NFL

Minnesota Vikings

Win at Seattle

Had me temporarily

Thinking they were good.

New England Patriots
Brady is the bomb.

Take away wide receivers

And TDs come still.

New Orleans Saints

Brees has been solid.

I like this team. Sean Payton

Wins Coach of the Year.

New York Giants

First few games had me

Thinking twice about Super

Bowl pick. Still has shot.

New York Jets

.500 ain’t bad really.

I expected far worse things.

Next year’s sleeper team?

Oakland Raiders

This joke of a team

Has no clue how to win now.

Hey Al, Just move on.

Philadelphia Eagles

McNabb doing it!

What’s amazing is he’s once

Again all alone.

Pittsburgh Steelers

This is bittersweet.

Last place and Ben’s back to Earth.

One good game: Chiefs.

San Diego Chargers

Bolts will make playoffs.

’06 is the year Marty

Must break jinx. Win once?

Seattle Seahawks

So sad. Injuries.

Hasselbeck, Alexander.

Once back, contenders.

San Francisco 49ers

Blowout losses, yuck!

Worst point differential ever?

It is possible.

St. Louis Rams

Somewhat a surprise.

They are a sleeper if they

Can sneak in playoffs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Once, a proud defense.

Still shows flashes but they’re bad.

Can’t run ball either.

Tennessee Titans

Adam “Pacman” Jones:

“Team needs more thugs.” No wonder

they are 2-5.

Washington Redskins
Just retire, Mark.

He’s slow, just like Brad Johnson.

It’s painful to watch.

Check out Wishlist I and Wishlist II.

 

Realistic Attendance – In Franchise Mode it is incredibly frustrating to win the Super Bowl and then have trouble drawing fans the next season just because I lost opening day.  There should be a new category in Owner Mode for season tickets.  A team that wins the Super Bowl or otherwise has a great year, might sell upwards of 80% of all tickets for home games the next season.  Sales for the remaining 20% would depend on the record for the current campaign.  Also, big free agent signings or losses would impact season tickets, so the Cardinals would see a huge boost to season ticket sales this season due to signing Edgerrin James (not to mention building a new stadium would boost season tickets).  Teams that move to a new city would probably come close to selling out their inaugural season.  This isn’t exactly how it works in real life, but it’s much closer than the way Madden has portrayed it in recent years.

 

More freedom to create plays – I like to create my own playbook, and I hate how I cannot make a playaction pass.  I cannot specify that I want my right guard to block the middle linebacker, nor can I put receivers in motion as part of a designed play.  Speaking of men in motion, Madden also needs to allow me to send more than one guy in motion on ANY play, not just the ones I create.  It would be nice to have more freedom when building my playbook.

 

More cut scenes, LOTS MORE – It’s kind of cool when after scoring a touchdown in my home stadium I get a glimpse of my home fans cheering them on.  I’d like to see a plethora of cut scenes, several dozen more per game.  In between plays show coordinators from both teams becoming nervous, anxious, happy, or dissatisfied.  Also show the same with fans, players, and head coaches.  When updating from an earlier injury, show the injured player getting his ankle taped or riding the exercise bike.  Show fans tailgating before the game.  During replays, occasionally show the reaction on the sidelines when a touchdown pass is thrown or a field goal is missed.  Late in the game when a team lines up for a game-winning or game-tying field goal or 2-point conversion, show the sidelines on one knee, holding hands.  Show their nervous facial expressions, the glee if the game is won, and the agony of a loss!

 

Trick plays that actually work – If you’ve never played Madden before, don’t even bother throwing a halfback pass or running a reverse.  NEVER under any circumstances run a screen pass.  EA Sports needs to program trick plays so that they work at least once every 14 seasons.

 

Off-field issues/suspensions – I believe players have a “discipline” rating that controls how likely they are to commit a penalty during a football game.  Wouldn’t it be cool if it also controlled how likely they were to get a DUI or be suspended for drugs?  Also, Madden should also allow late or dirty (helmet to helmet) hits, and call 15-yard penalties for them and issue suspensions if warranted. 

 

More plays that can be challenged (And fix the stupid QB arm motion animation on which it never looks like his arm was moving forward but it is always ruled incomplete) – In Madden 07 for the X-Box 360, players will have the ability to challenge ANY play including plays at the end of the quarter and plays involving the QB’s arm moving forward (or was it?).  For some reason, all of us who play on other consoles or the PC have to live with the older gen rules.  WHY?!?!  This should have been fixed years ago in Madden 05. 

 

Special teams players actually block on punt returns – Playing as the Chiefs, I have yet to average more than 4.5 or 5 yards per punt return with Dante Hall.  Dante Freakin’ Hall.  NOBODY blocks on punt returns and about 80% of them end up as a fair catch.  Please fix this.

 

Punts and FGs that can be blocked – Maybe it is just me, I don’t know.  But after playing somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 franchise seasons on Madden 04, 05, and 06 I have blocked one punt and zero field goals/extra points.  The computer has never blocked one of my kicks.  This needs to happen with just a little bit more frequency.  Also, if anybody at EA Sports is reading, please remove the psychic computer special teams coach who always knows if I’m lining up to block and then audiles to max protect.  Along similar lines, if I line up to onside kick and the computer wasn’t ready for it, I shouldn’t have to wait for them to lineup in onside prevent formation before kicking.  It is impossible to catch the computer off guard.

 

Customized player celebrations – Last year we saw more real life celebrations (Daunte Culpepper doing the “rolling arms” and Priest Holmes leaping in the air with both arms spread).  Not every player does the same thing after scoring.  Players should have different ways of celebrating.  Spiritual players point to the sky and thank God.  Basketball players do the free throw, layup, or slam dunk over the cross bar.  Nonchalant players hand the ball to the ref and jog off the field.  Others just high five their teammates.  When creating a player, I should have the ability to choose which characteristic I want my player to have.  Drafted rookies should automatically assume a celebration personality.  Also, on scoring plays, more players should celebrate than the guy who steps into the endzone.  Offensive linemen and quarterbacks should high five or chest bump the WR or RB, or at least raise their arms and signal “touchdown.”  Show some kind of emotion.

 

Better sideline awareness – I’m sick of WRs going for a catch near the sidelines and stepping out of bounds.  Most of these plays are not even close.  Offensive players near the sideline should be more aware of their positioning on the field.

 

Piles for fumbles – Every football coach, announcer, and player knows that you should rarely ever try to pick up a fumble and run with it.  We are taught as early as junior high school to cradle it.  Yet, on every fumble and onside kick in Madden, the player picks up the ball while on both feet and tries to advance it.  It would be more realistic if linemen and quarterbacks pretty much just fell on the fumble about 99% of the plays (unless it’s third or fourth down and he has a decent chance to get the first).  Skilled players (backs, receivers, and defensive backs) might occasionally try to advance the ball.  If the ball is fumbled in a crowded area, there should be a pile animation where the user couldn’t see who has the ball and everybody would jump in and attempt to recover it.  You would actually see the referees pulling players off the pile and eventually one player would emerge with the football.  This would be realistic and fun, creating a tense 15-30 seconds in which you wouldn’t know who had the ball (this also creates a great opportunity for cut scenes involving coaches and fans biting their fingernails and the ensuing celebration/frustration afterwards)!

As all of us Madden fanatics await for this year’s version to hit the store shelves, here are my comments concerning the new features along with a wishlist of changes I’d like to see in ’07 or ’08. The three biggest changes I see this year are the additions of the Highlight Stick, the ability to control a blocker, and the increased college scouting and All-Star Game.

I love all three of these. The Highlight Stick will consist of moving the right analog stick in a certain way to maneuver jukes that could not be done in previous versions of Madden. I have not yet played the game, but from what I gather from online reviewers who have, it appears that moving the stick down would make your runner jump backwards to avoid a diving tackler in the front, for example. The game still incorporates the popular Hit Stick, spin moves, stiff arms, and side steps, and best of all, you can combine all of these moves with the Highlight Stick to really add new animations and moves to your running back. Controlled blocking is a brilliant idea, and hopefully it is done correctly. When calling a running play, you are given the chance to select a fullback, linemen, tight end, or receiver, and control when, where, whom, and how he blocks on that given play. All the while, the computer controls your running back, but after you make your initial block you are given the option of taking over the runner, or continuing to block. These two changes will make running the ball fun!

For years, Madden has needed to ####e up the way players draft rookies. Now, during your NFL season, you can scout the colleges for potential draft picks and also witness the College All-Star Game. I haven’t found an article that discusses this in much detail but it definitely sounds interesting. My Madden wishlist is extremely long, but here is a shorter version of what I am hoping to see in 2008 if it’s not already in the game for 2007, starting first with off the field gameplay:

More options with coaches and staff in Franchise Mode: I want to be able to fire or hire all coaches mid-season (or any other time). I also want to be able to hire scouts. Head Coach, Off. Coordinator, Def. Coordinator, Training Staff, Assistant GM, and three college/NFL scouts—I want to be able to have control of hiring and firing all of them. And, I want them to all play significant roles on my team. Here’s how I see them working

Head Coach: same as in the older Maddens but he has to have more of an impact on the team. All of the players should have some kind of “mean rating,” which is their rating from 1-99 before a coach is hired. Once a coach is named, a player’s rating will increase or decrease (or possibly stay the same) depending on the coach’s ability to coach that specific player. This process would repeat for all players on the entire roster. This calculation could be a combination of a science and random generation. Also, my head coach might occasionally inform me of the progress of one of his assistants. And sometimes, he’d be wrong (the head coach might tell me the defensive coordinator is helping out the defense, when actually, he’s not doing as good of a job as he should), and vice versa.

Off. and Def. Coordinators: same as the head coach above except the calculation applies only to the players on their side of the ball.

Training Staff: in previous Maddens, an injured player was given a concrete timetable for his return. I’d like to see the training staff have more bearing on this. Say a CB sprains his ankle. In Madden 06, the computer might tell me he’s going to miss one game. I want to be able to consult the training staff for an opinion. Is the sprain bad enough that he might actually miss two games? Or, is it less serious where maybe he would be available off the bench the very next week. Of course, I can also ask the player his opinion, and “tougher” players would be more likely to play (thus making further usage of the TGH rating) and I can make my decision based on a combination of the two. The training staff would occasionally be wrong one way or the other—I might bring a guy back too soon and he’d be ineffective or injure himself further, or I might keep a healthy player on the sidelines too long.

Asst. GM: He could provide feedback and advice on signing free agents, trades, and drafting rookies. The better he is, the more likely he is to be right. Sometimes he would give bad advice though. And he might be better at evaluating certain positions than others, which I would take into consideration when hiring him and asking him for an opinion.

College/NFL scouts: Same as the Assistant GM only their services would only be needed when scouting for the draft. I might send scout #1 to look at a college QB who would tell me the player has great skills, while another scout might disagree. I also want to be able to send my head coach, coordinators, and assistant GM to scout the players so I can make my decision based on the consensus (or whomever I trust the most!). Drafting players this way will be more realistic and much more difficult. There would occasionally be huge busts in the early rounds of the draft, but if my scouts were good enough, they would be able to see that a certain player every other team is overlooking is worthy of a 6th round selection (and occasionally that player would be a diamond in the rough).

More college stats and achievements available: It would be nice to be able to see a player’s college stats for all years he played. Additionally, if he made All-Conference, All-American, or won an award (Heismann Trophy, Buck Buchanan Award, etc.) that should be displayed too. Also, I’d like to be able to see these stats throughout the player’s entire professional career, just in case I forgot what a guy did in college a couple seasons after I drafted him.

Option to hide player’s ratings: To truly be realistic, I want to be able to make decisions on the depth chart, free agents, and trades based on stats and awards and not necessarily “Jones is rated a 90 while Smith is rated an 83, so I’ll make Jones the starter and Smith the backup.” I want to look at how each player has performed and decide, based on what I see, which player I like better. Plus, my coaching staff should be able to give me advice. Say I start Smith at HB because he had a better pre-season. My Offensive Coordinator might realize that it was a mistake and advice me to reorganize the depth chart. If he’s not doing his job, he won’t notice it. But it can work the other way around if I do make the right call and he mistakenly thinks Smith is better than Jones. The number of times he’s right or wrong determines if he gets fired or promoted!

Option to hide free agent’s contract requirements: When I can see specifically that Smith wants a 4 year contract for $21.5 million, it makes signing him way too easy. I should be able to offer him a contract, or ask him what he is looking for. Depending on what I do, it will increase or decrease the chances of signing him. If I offer him a contract that is too high, he’ll obviously be more likely to take it, but I’ve overspent on him making it more difficult to sign other players. If I offer him a contract too low, he’ll be less likely to accept it, and he may make a counter offer or be so disgusted that he’ll walk away and I’ll have no chance at signing him ever. If I ask him what he’s looking for, he might lie and give me an amount much higher than his worth, meaning I’ll have to either talk him down or overpay. Or, the player might give me an exact contract amount, making it really easy (unless I believe he is asking too much and try to talk him down, in which case I might possibly blow my chances!). Another possibility is that the player will say something vague, such as “I want to be paid like the Pro Bowl player I am,” or “I am just looking for a fair offer.” What this player does will depend on his personality and his actual desire to sign with my team in the first place.

Realistic computer team management: In reality, there is no way the Patriots would trade Tom Brady to the Redskins, no matter what he offer is. There should be some kind of system in Madden that identifies certain players that will never be traded, and for that matter, certain players and certain positions that the computer would have no interest in taking. Let’s say I am the Chiefs, and I offer Trent Green to the Falcons for a draft pick. The Falcons would have zero interest in this trade because Trent Green would be getting paid a lot of money to backup Mike Vick. One suggestion I read was that Madden should have a scheme that categorizes all teams into three different Modes:

1) Super Bowl or Bust Mode, 2) Almost There, But We Are Just a Couple Players Short Mode, and 3) Rebuilding Mode.

Most teams would fall into category 2, and they would be open-minded to the most trade offers. They would occasionally trade a starter for a draft pick if they thought that pick would improve the team. They would never trade one of their Pro Bowl caliber players unless it was for extreme and rare circumstances. Teams in category 1 would NEVER trade a starting player, and would be interested in acquiring good backups or replacing a starter due to aging, retirement, or free agent loss. They would be less likely to value younger players. Rebuilding Teams would probably trade any starter for a high draft pick, and likely would not be interested in trading their high first round pick for a high salaried veteran. Also in this category computer teams need better A.I. when organizing their depth chart and drafting rookies.

Now onto my wishlist for on the field gameplay:

Better control of pushing or jumping over piles: It was brought to attention that Madden added the ability to leap over the linemen at the goal line in the X-box 360. Tiburon needs to keep this feature and add it to the other consoles and PC as well. The lame dive that running backs do is just sickening! Also, if I run up the middle and get stuck between a pile, I want to be able to attempt to push it forward, and my ability to do this would depend on how strong my running back is and the weight and size of the pile in front of him.

Realistic incomplete passes: In a real NFL game, there are very few dropped or deflected passes. Incomplete passes are almost always the fault of the QB. Passes are either thrown too high, too low, not far enough, or are otherwise just off the mark. EA Sports should reflect this in Madden.

Realistic injuries: Have you ever seen an offensive lineman get injured while playing Madden? I haven’t. The solution to the injury problem is to have two sliders in the game settings. One slider affects the number of injuries throughout the season, the other controls their severity. This way, a player who wants to truly simulate the NFL can err on the higher, riskier end, while those who want to enjoy the game with very few injuries (as it is now), can leave it the way it is.

Some kind of system to prevent running the same plays over and over again: I know I can control this myself, but I just don’t have the discipline to use any other play than “the go-to route” on third down. The computer A.I. needs some kind of awareness boost if a player tried to run the same play twice or more in a single game.

More tackle/juke/catch animations: Apparently, there will be more jukes and “moves” in the 2007 version of Madden due to the advent of the Highlight Stick. But I’m sick of seeing the same tackle and hit animations that have repeated themselves since Madden 2003. The game needs to be physically more realistic. I’d like to see gang tackling and a myriad of animations besides what the game contains now. I estimate that there are approximately 20 different kinds of tackles that take place. There should be upwards of about 60.

As I said, I have many more suggestions, so look for a Wishlist II blog in the future.

The lengths at which a professional sports owner will go to turn a profit are getting out of hand. Stadiums built as recently as the mid-70’s are now considered out of date and the owners of these stadiums are demanding their own customers—the taxpayers—pay for the upgrade.

Part of being an entrepreneur is assuming your own risks. That’s why owners are billionaires; they take the most risk, they make the most money. An owner should make more than a player, for players don’t set forth on a business plan, buy the property, or hire a staff.

But taxpayers pay for the stadium. If part of my taxes goes towards building a new stadium in my local town, I can’t help but feel like I’m a part owner. I feel like I should get a piece of the profits, or at least get a 35% discount on tickets and concessions.

I’ve never heard of Kerasotes threatening to move their movie theatre across the country if the city doesn’t plan on paying for the construction of a brand new 36-screen building with luxury seating and valet parking. I don’t understand what makes a sports owner think they are any different.