The make up of an Elite Madden Baller? What is it? Who has it? Are you one of them?

I've been playing Madden since the game came out. Before there was online game play, my guys and I would gather around the T.V. and play like almost everyone else did. It wasn't until I got online that I realized we were what most people online today would consider "bums". Since being online, and in straight clubs and league, I've seen some guys do some amazing things with the game. I thought I would share my views and opinions on what those guys had, and what I thought made them "elite" if you will.

In my humble opinion there are 3 things that make up madden players and define what type of madden player you are. Every player does all three of these things, but the degrees to which they take these categories define the type of gamer they are. The three things I think make up every madden player are Coaching (Play calling), Reading plays and opponents, and Manual stick skills. In the first part of my four part series, I’ll cover the Coaching (offensive) aspect of an “elite” player’s game.



Coaching (play calling): Offensive

Coaching and play calling are probably the most fundamental aspects in the game of Madden. They’re also one of the things that will win or lose you a game depending on how you coach your team. You will notice a couple different keys to play calling while playing and top notch player, which your everyday average madden players don’t do. The keys to calling a good game are pretty simple, variation and adjustments.

Offensively you need to have constant variety throughout the game. Mix up formations, use formation shifts, use motion to your advantage (Backs, TE and WR), audibles are your friend and hot routes work (I promise).

Mixing up formations is a pretty obvious attribute to play calling. The more looks you can give your opponent the less predictable you become. The less predictable you are, the more flexible your game can become. Elite players use almost every formation in their playbooks. They run and pass out of every formation. I was speaking to one guy on the microphone during a game and he told me he used to tell guys “I’m going to give you 30”. He had 30 different plays he could run before he would repeat a play. Can you imagine not seeing one play repeated in your next league game? With that being said, 80-85% of all guys online get stuck in 2-3 formations a game. That’s a recipe for an L all day.

Formation shift are a seldom used feature in Madden. Formation shifts could be looked at as an extension of your abilities to motion player before the snap. Both features bring a whole new dimension to both your passing and running games. They’ll give you better match-ups, better angles for route running, exploit holes throughout the defensive’s coverage, bring additional blocking for blitz pick-up and opening up running lanes for your ground game. Elite players will use these in combination with one another. You’ll see them come out in a formation, then formation shift for a better match-up, then motion to flood a zone, or exploit coverage. You’re literally only limited by your imagination with what you can do fellas.

Did you know there’s a possibility for nine audibles for every offensive play/formation you call during the game? Yep, you read that correctly, I said 9. You’ve got your basic five (square, X, circle, R1, R2). Then you’ve also got four quick audibles for each play/formation as well (These can be activated by pressing the audible button and then pressing your right analog stick up, down, left or right. Again each one of these brings a new piece to your game.

Hot routes can be used in conjunction with all of the above features, or as sole entity. Hot routes help you avoid the blitz, exploit coverage gaps, and take advantage of one-on-one coverage. Hot route are a very important part to every elite players game, but could also be the death of your offense at the same time. You have to be smart about your route placement and the type of route you pick. Most guys don’t hot route more than one or two guys per play. You’ll also see guys throwing fake hot routes at you during run plays to try and force an audible. Hot route are not always what they seem, but if used correctly they are always effective.

For every wrinkle you’re able to add to your offensive repertoire during a game, you add one more question to your opponents mind. Every one section above is a just as important as the other. Every elite player that I’ve played online has incorporated each and every part in the above mentioned section to their games. It might not be every play, or every other play, but they use them, and they use them very well. Just like everything else in madden though, it’s all about timing.

I hope I've given you a little insight as to what I've seen from elite players. Not only guys in our league, but also guy throughout the Madden community. Like Madden says "Half the game is 90% mental"

That makes it all a MindGame!!


Keep your eyes out for Part II in the series: Coaching (Play calling) Defense!

Wow, that was amazing!

Very nice work.

Nice way to kick off the season, man! Well done!! kool

Now I gotta go back to the lab and follow your advice.

Great Job , very nice article.... kool

nicely done.

Nice piece!

Great article....man there are some areas of my game I really need to improve according to this. I have never taken the time to learn all the tricks this year...I just stick with my basic hot routing and audibles. I have no idea how to do the individual player locks on defense and stuff like that....I don't know how to do the formation shifts and all that other complicated stuff on offense.

Guess I do okay for not knowing all the advanced tricks. I'm sure you guys aren't in a rush to help a brotha out either. ;)

Right stick audibles are the bomb! It kind of replaces last years ability to call two auds on a play. Just hit square and right stick up, down, left or right and you have a new play and with no movement so if you want to send a guy in motion after you do it you still can.

hmmm gonna have to try that one thats Sqauare and the right stick hey

i use the stick audibles, but audibling on the fly is what i go with, escpecially in a 2 minute offense. i will have 6 or seven plays ready for the no huddle.

bump (refresher leading up to the new release of part II)