The Technical Support forums were once again a clamor as subscribers voiced their issues with the quality of the Online Stream. The customer service and technical support teams are in obvious disarray even conceding to post the following on their own message board.

Thanks for the post (and apologies for the delayed response) – Windows 7 is not currently supported for NFL2GO

Source

This statement is a bit disconcerting and should be false. The stream is available to nearly any Operating System and Web Browser that supports a recent version of Adobe Flash. Many are claiming the same low video quality issue is occurring on PS3 as well. However, the Mobile App on my iPhone seemed fine. It may be because the mobile app uses an HTML5 Stream.

Hopefully we’ll hear another apology from DirectTV soon.

This is the official apology email I received and countless other NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go subscribers received today. The apology is mostly for the unavailable online stream of NFL games for the entire day. The mobile stream was also spotty during the early games and got a little better later in the day. Satellite subscribers also complained about poor or no service during the early games, but I’m am unaware if they are receiving credits.

I hope this means everything will be working correctly this coming Sunday.

Furthermore, trading between CPU teams never happens. I’ve heard that the CPU only makes draft pick trades during the draft. Overall, I’m pretty disappointed with these aspects of Madden 12 Franchise mode and I hope these can be fixed in an update or at least by Madden 13.

I’m going to make an NBA 2K11 comparison because I have no Football game to compare Madden with, but I like how NBA 2k11 had a trade calculator system. You could choose which players and picks you wanted to trade from your team or another team and it would give you possible trades to choose from. I really enjoyed that system, it made finding trades a breeze. In addition, CPU teams would make trades between each other during the season and offer you trades as well. It was even more realistic because you would see more trade offers when the trade deadline was coming up. Not to mention multi-team trades.

Madden 12 Franchise is so inferior when it comes to transactions.

Following news from Engadget.com that DirectTV was working with Sony to bring NFL Sunday Ticket to the PS3, new light was shed on the topic. The article even mentioned the feature would be available starting September 1st.

When September came around I tried my best to find a way to sign up for the service but came up short. I reached out to the Engadget.com community by posting a comment and luckily I received a reply from Sometymes with a link to the Online Only page. So there you have it, NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go is available separately for the 2011 season for a hefty price tag of $350.

NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go Online Only

NBA 2K options displayed for reference

The option to choose the simulated quarter length in Franchise Mode has been missing from the Madden series for as long as I can remember. This option can be found in many of the 2K series games. You may be asking why this option is so important? People who play Franchise Mode in Madden enjoy the role playing element of building a team and generating realistic statistics.

A game of Madden can take more than an hour to complete while playing 15 min quarters so the user is allowed to adjust the quarter length. The problem is that the rest of the league is unaffected by this, they will still play full length games.

This affects Franchise Mode in two ways. Statistically, the user controlled players will never match those of the rest of the league when playing shorter quarters like 5 min quarters. This can be mostly seen while viewing the number of tackles. On the offensive side of the ball you may be able to match certain averages but the rest of the stats will be way off. The way stats are generated for simulated games seem to try to match real life output which skews the stats away from possible game output.

The statistical problem leads to the second problem. Since your players will never match the rest of the league your players are statistically performing as if they were the worst players in the league. Progression in Madden is based on statistical performance. It is more than likely your players will not progress and will likely receive rating decreases. The role playing element of Franchise Mode is lost here because players with high potential will never perform well statistically and never become stars in the league. Furthermore, good luck trying to win awards like Defensive Player of the Year while lacking in the tackles department.

In closing, the only way to play Franchise Mode is to play with long quarters. Even when playing long quarters the numbers are still difficult to match because the generated stats are not actual game output. I find playing with 12 min quarters works out okay so far.

After spending ample time with the Madden 12 demo for Xbox 360 I’m still a little unsure of what the real game will be like. Like past years demos the commentary and music are stripped leaving the game feeling extremely lifeless. This is a hindrance toward selling the game because the player doesn’t get a clear picture of what the game will really be like.

Fortunately, EA Sports added some nice features that added to the gameplay of this years demo. For one, they added the ability to choose the AI difficulty. All too often you’ll see demos where you aren’t given a choice of difficulty and it affects your overall view of the game because it was too easy or too difficult. Another thing they added to this years demo was the length of the game. In this years demo you play a full game of 5 min quarters. This is actual a decent length of gameplay compared to 2 or 3 min quarters we’ve come to know in past years demos.

As far as the on-field action the game runs quite well. The offense this year seems to have gained an edge because of the speed of the game and the tackling isn’t as “suctiony” as last year. This means when a defensive player gets near the ball carrier they won’t automatically be sucked into a tackling animation like before. Also I had a much harder time turning my defensive players around when the play got behind them. I know this is due to the Agility rating but it’s really bad sometimes when your player can’t make a tackle because he had to make a large circle to turn around. Using the CPU assist A button really helps in these situations, but I hate using that button.

With the new tackling engine the hits look much better this year, breaking out of animations really makes the tackling look more realistic. However, I did notice sometimes your ball carrier would unintentionally lose a lot of yards because he kept getting pushed back while breaking tackles. I also feel like the defensive players are more inclined to make hits instead of wrapping up the ballcarrier for an actual tackle.

On All-Pro difficulty the pass rush seemed to come too fast on offense and on the defensive end it was too easy to get sacks. It also seems like the throwing animation is a bit slower so the quarterbacks take more sacks or throw bad balls. I hope the blocking is improved in the actual release. Shedding tackles seems to require using a right stick move which I don’t like. You should be able to disengage a little easier without getting into a swim animation.

Overall the demo is quite good and I’ve already played it a bunch of times. I wish the demo didn’t feel so dead though, they should have removed all the fluff like feature overviews and promotions towards trying to squeeze in some commentary and music. I’m confident to conclude Madden 12 will take more strides forward than Madden 11.

UPDATE: Engadget.com has released information that NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go will become available  September 1st, 2011 for $350 without a DirectTV subscription. Thanks Jerry! Link.

UPDATE 2: It is September now and I still can’t find out how to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go by itself on the Direct TV website…

UPDATE 3: The link to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go separately is now available here.

NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go allows users to watch NFL games from their computer or mobile device. Unlike last year (2010) DirectTV has decided not to offer NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go as a stand-alone package this year. This means you will need to order, install and activate a satellite dish and receiver in order to get NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go for the 2011 Season.

For the 2010 season DirectTV offered this stand-alone package for $350 for the entire season. It is unfortunate they won’t be offering it this year because people like myself aren’t at liberty to install a satellite dish on a rental home. Not to mention the lowest package only supports a single TV. In 2011 we should be taking steps forwards towards internet based entertainment not taking steps back to hardware installations. At a premium of $350 we aren’t talking peanuts, yet DirectTV decided to cut this service while there are clearly people who would pay whatever the cost.

I guess I missed out on the one season that I could have had NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go without the hassle of installing a satellite dish and rewiring a home I don’t even own. At least I saved myself $350.

CBS Sportscaster Gus Johnson will no longer be heard on CBS college basketball and NFL casts. Gus Johnson and CBS reportedly could not agree on a new contract for the upcoming season.  The man famous for making gold out of his late game calls during March Madness will be looking for a job this upcoming season. He was also added to the commentary of the Madden NFL series last year and will remain part of Madden at least for this year.

I know Gus Johnson will have no problem finding a job but I have to say the English Broadcast of the Global Starcraft League is lacking a bit of professionalism and fire.  While I love the combination of Artosis and Tasteless, I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have a professional sportscaster in the mix. Of course the reason it hasn’t happened yet in eSports is because the money just isn’t there.

I don’t believe it’ll be that way forever. Seeing how Korea is just enamored by Starcraft, it’s possible the United States could be next. Starcraft could be seen as the Korean national sport at the moment even though Starcraft was created in the US. The cultural difference is that Starcraft is actually cool in Korea and the professional players are seen as rock stars in their country. Korean pop artists and idols make frequent appearances at the GSL because it is seen as a national event like the Super Bowl. Could this ever happen in the US?

Gus Johnson is reportedly trying to swing a deal with ESPN and FOX to cover the PAC-10 for the upcoming college football season.

Girl's Day performing at 2011 GSL World Championship Finals

Unofficial Madden 12 Cover

The fans have voted and the tournament is complete. The unlikely winner of the Madden 12 Cover is Peyton Hillis, Running Back of the Cleveland Browns. Remarkably beating out Michael Vick in the final round. Hillis had an outstanding statistical year this past season but this still comes as a surprise. In a previous blog post I mentioned it would be unlikely for Michael Vick to return to the Madden cover and that remains true. For the sake of Peyton Hillis’ achievement lets hope Michael Vick’s past off field issues had nothing to do with this outcome. Hillis beat out many top tier players such as Ray Rice, Matt Ryan, Jamaal Charles and even Super Bowl winning Aaron Rodgers in his path to the finals.

Another skeptic view is that many star players were not voted for by fans because of the Madden curse. A true fan would rather their favorite players perform well on the field than be the poster boy for a video game.

Caption this photo.

The Miami Dolphins like many other teams are in a tight situation because of the NFL lockout. The lockout prevents teams from acquiring free agents, making trades and holding official team practices. This is a big problem for the Dolphins because of the holes they need to fill at quarterback, running back, interior offensive line, and inside linebacker.

That’s a lot of holes to fill and this all falls on the shoulders of poor player management. For example putting too many eggs in one basket, hoping and praying that Chad Henne will be “that guy”. Not to mention drafting a scrambling quarterback in Pat White only for him to leave the NFL followed by his exit from MLB. The lockout hampers the Dolphins from drafting a quarterback because they have no idea when they can resume practices which rookie quarterbacks need to be successful. The Dolphins could seek the talents of veteran guys like Carson Palmer who claims to be retiring if hes not traded, or a guy like Donovan McNabb whose future is questionable in Washington. A veteran quarterback could bring immediate competition for Chad Henne but at what price. Considering their age this is always an expensive gamble.

The running back situation has been looming for some time as well. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Browns contracts have been known to expire at the same time but the Dolphins have not put much attention into looking for their replacements last season. Ricky Williams has gone and trash talked his way out of a possible contract with the Dolphins while Ronnie Brown’s asking price will probably be too high considering his stat sheet from last season.

The center and guard play in Miami was erratic last season. The center position was especially lackluster considering the Dolphins chose Joe Berger a journeyman over the veteran Jake Grove. Jake Grove was released while Berger became the worst offensive line player at the anchoring position of the unit. The ground game was anemic last season garnering the worst yards per carry since the new regime. The pass protection suffered terrible lapses giving up quarterback hits and forcing quick passes. A lot of the blame was put on the Dolphins offensive playmakers for not executing but if you really watched their games you would see they didn’t have much of an offensive line to work with. In my opinion, Jake Long had his worst season as a pro mostly due to injury but he still some how garnered a Pro Bowl Selection. Sometimes its so easy to blame the guys touching the ball that the guys blocking, or who are supposed to be blocking, get overlooked.

The Miami Dolphins have been plagued by the on going injuries of Channing Crowder at the inside linebacker position. When hes healthy, him and Karlos Dansby make a great one-two punch in the middle of their 3-4 linebacking core. When he isn’t healthy the Dolphins have to rely on backup linebackers who were exposed in pass coverage last season. Crowder is not  great in coverage either but he’s serviceable and that is telling on just how bad the backup linebackers were. The Dolphins knew they were taking a risk when they resigned the oft-injured Crowder, but like many risks the Dolphins have taken it did not payoff.

Acquiring the answers to these issues will need to be done during the draft and when free agency finally ensues. Top draft analysts say the Dolphins will target Mark Ingram, Heisman Trophy winning running back out of Alabama at the No. 15 spot of the draft. The other popular belief is that the Dolphins will trade out of this spot to acquire a second round pick to make up for the pick they used to trade for Brandon Marshall. I agree with this approach because the Dolphins have a lot of holes to fill where as the No. 15 pick will not have great value unless Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert plummet on draft day and are miraculously still available.

On the positive side, there are still bright spots on this team. For one, the defensive line lead by the stellar play of nose tackle Paul Soliai shut down the run game towards the end of last season. Cameron Wake had a break out season leading the league in sacks for multiple weeks. They have also developed a group of young defensive backs in Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. In addition a second year of Brandon Marshall paired with Davone Bess should be more productive if they can solve the quarterback issues. The number of issues on this roster are far too many to assume a single offseason will be able to address all of them but I’m hoping Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland can improve their 7 – 9 record and get back on track or they won’t last much longer in Miami.