The Madden 11 Demo was just released last night on Xbox Marketplace and PSN but it’s already creating havoc with its new Strategy Pad. In previous versions of Madden the Defensive Adjustments could be made using the shoulder buttons and face buttons. Shifting your linebackers to the left would be a combination of a shoulder button and left on the joystick.

Now with the introduction of the Strategy Pad, all Defensive Adjustments are made through the Directional-Pad. This throws a wrench into what all Madden players are used to and also adds another step in doing simple Defensive Adjustments. To go along with that, the CPU player snaps the ball so quickly on offense that it’s difficult to get in a single adjustment when you previously pull off multiple adjustments. It doesn’t help that the Xbox 360 D-pad is stiff and worthless either.

There are rumors however that the Strategy Pad is optional in the full version of the game. Whether this means the Strategy Pad display just disappears or the original Madden 10 controls are returned is still unknown. It has been confirmed that this option only hides the display of the Strategy Pad. Sadly, the Strategy Pad is here to stay.

This is just another example of EA fixing something that wasn’t broken just for the sake of claiming they’ve done something new. What they’ve really done was take a step back from a proven working formula. The Strategy Pad is in no way “Simpler, Quicker, Deeper” as their new slogan suggests.

During Drew Brees marketing for Madden 11 in New York’s Times Square this past week, he handed out early copies of Madden 11 to the lucky crowd. However, Madden 11 isn’t due until August 10th. No, those aren’t real copies of the game. They are empty PS3 boxes with vouchers for the game. I wonder if they passed out any Xbox 360 or even Wii versions.

Last year was the first year Madden shared the cover with multiple athletes. Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald reprised their Super Bowl roles on the Madden 10 cover. Unfortunately Troy Polamalu was injured in week one against the Tennessee Titans. He made a spectacular one handed interception and a tackle for a loss on Chris Johnson but later in the game he sprained a ligament in his knee trying to recover a blocked kick. He wasn’t quite the same for the rest of the season. Larry Fitzgerald on the other hand was lucky to start all 16 games and posted another Pro Bowl year.

When Drew Brees was asked about the Madden Curse he smothered it:

The Madden Curse has really taken on a life of its own. People just love talking about it and it is what it is, but I look at it as a challenge. I also feel like we’re still destined to do great things in New Orleans. Our work is not done and we still have a lot to accomplish. Our time is now and destiny is still pulling on us, so I feel like destiny is stronger than any curse.

This is football. A high percentage of athletes will get injured. Coincidentally the same year a player is pasted on the cover of an annual video game they do get hurt. I hope for Drew Brees’ sake he has another spectacular year.

Madden 10 screenshot from PastaPadre.com

I haven’t written a Dolfan post for some time now. I even held my tongue when Joey Porter got let go and Karlos Dansby was picked up. This time I can’t resist. The acquisition of Brandon Marshall is the Miami Dolphin’s biggest off-season transaction and arguably the splashiest in the NFL, right up there with the McNabb deal.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t believe Marshall is the silver-bullet. I’m not crowning the Dolphins the Super Bowl Champs like some crazy fans are, but you can’t deny that Marshall adds that deep threat the Dolphins have been missing. He has the size, experience and all around aggressive nature to go up and snatch the ball and break tackles for a touchdown. At 6′ 4″ and 230lbs his size makes him a viable target in the red-zone where he can grab jump balls over just about anyone. Marshall will make Chad Henne look like a much better Quarter Back than he really is.

Brandon Marshall is one of the top three receivers in the NFL with Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. He has been consistent in his four years in the NFL making it to 2 Pro Bowls and piling up 100 receptions in three of his four years. The only problem is that he comes with baggage. He is the very definition of a “Diva Receiva”. He caused havoc last year for Denver and Josh McDaniels while still maintaining a productive season on the field. He’s had problems with domestic violence and driving under the influence. If the Dolphins can hone his skills and drop the drama like the Patriots have done with Randy Moss the future will be bright.

Getting Brandon Marshall was expensive to say the least. Giving up this years second round pick and a 2011 second round pick is like giving up two high potential starters. When it comes to the draft though there are no guarantees. Potential is not the same as proven NFL productivity. Is Brandon Marshall worth $50 million over the next five years? If he stays healthy and stays out of the papers maybe he will be. Acquiring Brandon Marshall is a high-risk high-reward scenario that baffles anyone who follows the Bill Parcells mantra but this move pleases the all important fans.

For the upcoming draft, being without a second round pick I’d say the Dolphins are forced to get a Nose Tackle in the first round so I’d lean towards the Dolphins selecting Dan Williams out of Tennessee. He fits the prototype and played well under the Dolphins coaching staff in the Senior Bowl. In the third round the Dolphins will need to try to get a Free Safety or an Outside Linebacker. If the Dolphins can agree to a deal with Jason Taylor now rather than later they can draft a Safety in the third round. Then try to get an Outside Linebacker in the fourth round. The draft looks grim right now, losing the second round pick definitely holds them back from filling the holes in the defense.

I hate to be undecided about the whole Brandon Marshall thing but it really is a wait and see kind of thing. Of course I like to see the Dolphins front office be aggressive but at the same time if this doesn’t pan out the Dolphins could be reeling from this move for years to come.

*UPDATE – This roster update is now available (02/20/2010).

To recap, the latest Madden 10 roster update removed this years retiring players from the game completely. This includes Kurt Warner, Bertrand Berry and Junior Seau. The roster update created an uproar in the Madden community being the first time players were removed for retirement in the same year they were active. Normally retiring players are simply not including the following years version of Madden. EA Sports simply thought being accurate going into the summer was the best choice but it turns out they are flipping the script in favor of the community decision.

Due to the overwhelming response, we are going to release another update that adds the retired players previously removed back into the game. Our fans have spoken and we’ll do our best to have this update done before the weekend. We also plan to push this update to Online Franchise shortly after it’s ready.

It’s great to see that EA Sports is listening to their fans. We’ll see if this continues with features and fixes going into Madden 11.

Full Story

The last Madden 10 will be released for Xbox Live and PSN tomorrow (Feb 6th 2010) in time for the big Colts vs Saints game. As you know EA Sports has slacked off this year with their roster updates. In the 20 weeks of NFL football only 12 Roster updates have been released. A couple of the roster updates were actually released prior to the beginning of the season but EA soon retired to their old ways. While this year’s basketball games have seen an increase of roster updates (daily), the uncontested Madden series has regressed.

This final update will close the book on another year of Madden. A year that saw the birth of online franchises (still flawed) and Madden Ultimate Team. I still feel that the Single-player Franchise Mode stats are terrible, and would benefit from adding a simulated game slider. The addition of gang tackling was nice but didn’t seem to play a huge role, not enough to be part of every commercial and advertisement. Sometimes I still see players just fall over instead of joining in and tackling. Here’s to hoping Madden 11 will be a good year. Go Saints!

To get the updated Rosters select Xbox Live or PSN from the Madden main menu then select Depth Chart. Instructions.

Link to roster details

In late 2009, Madden Ultimate Team was announced for Madden 10 as an add-on. The good news is that its finally ready and its absolutely free!

So what is Madden Ultimate Team? Basically its Madden 10 fused with Magic The Gathering. Yea that’s right the 1990s card game. Lucky for you, you won’t have to deal with physical cards. When you start Madden Ultimate Team you will receive a Starter Pack with random cards. Your starter deck includes everything from players and coaches to stadiums and uniforms.

More cards can be purchased in the form of Booster Packs using the virtual coins you receive from playing games with your team. You can even buy and sell cards from other players through the online auction system. EA hopes this brand new feature will breathe new life into the game and add more interest to playing Madden 10 online.

I honestly think this is a unique and interesting endeavor for a company such as EA, however I’m not too sure if the results will be what they are expecting. Turning Madden 10 into a card game doesn’t exactly target their core audience who would probably prefer to just play quick games with their buddies. On the other hand the hardcore audience could really appreciate something like this.

Hopefully my players will finally cover the flat zones correctly in online play so people will stop running screen plays and running back dump offs all the time.

The patch also attempts to correct player stats in Franchise mode but this is offset with the inability to set how long the quarters are for the CPU simulated games. Until that feature is added simulated stats will remain flawed.

pastapadre

• Tribute sticker for Steve McNair added to Titans helmets

• Tribute sticker for Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson added to Eagles helmets

• Doubled the length of replays

• Increased frequency of auto-replays especially after touchdowns

• Reduced the number of times the chain-gang measurement scene occurs

• Extended time in post-play to allow those scenes to fully play out

• Stats tuned for franchise mode

• Decreased chances of injury for players with high injury ratings

• Included each player’s draft info to be viewable in franchise

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