Madden Tournament Scene

Just a couple of items of note this time around. Congrats to Big B
and the EMB for some steller tournament performances. Brusk took
down the recent 360 Tournament in Trenton, NJ.

Also, Problem grabbed the EMB's first Madden Challenge Regional to
kick off the season. Big B and the crew will be gunning for more
when the events hit the East Coast, so watch out for the EMB!

Coming up soon is Gamestop's 'KOTC New Jersey" Sponsored By Devry
on Sat, October 27th, 2007. The event will be held at:

DeVry University
630 U.S. Highway One
North Brunswick, NJ 08902

For more information, go to http://www.njmaddenballers.com

A Special Message from VG Sports

We have come a long way since I started things off in 2001. We
have grown from a one man shop to a team of dedicated Madden
players who each bring their own unique style of play to the site.
There were 8 of us involved in keeping this ship going the right
direction as we began our 7th season of covering Madden football.

I have been talking with the staff lately about our vision for VG
Sports this year and beyond. We are challenging each other to make
a dramatic improvement in our offerings this year as VG Sports
evolves as a company.

Of course success brings all of the copycats out of the woodwork,
but competition is a good thing. You will see some things coming
out the next couple of months that have never been done before by
any site...period.

As part of our overall goal to continue to push the envelope of
Madden strategy, I am going to make a strong committment to you to
provide more FREE content in the form of our Madden Newsletters.

Each month (or possibly every 2 weeks), I will give you new
strategies you can use to improve your game as well as keep your
informed about what is going on in the Madden Community.

Thanks for being along for the journey and buckle up for a wild
ride the rest of this Madden 08 season.

Best Regards,

Bert Ingley
VG Sports, Inc.

This Week in the Filmroom

Let me just say that the Filmrom has been on fire lately. The team
has really stepped up as a whole and is bringing not only a lot of
creativity, but a ton of bonuses and timely releases.

Here's what is coming out in this week's (Oct. 8) Filmroom:

The Pistol Offense: Madden 08 Style (NG) - Last week in the
filmroom, we showed how to flip the play twice to counter nanos and
how to send up 5 receivers in motion from one play. Both of those
plays, were from bunch formations. This week we want to show how to get in a form of the Pistol Offense that Nevada runs in college
football. What this formation will do is buy you and extra second
or two to avoid some of the A-B Gap nano heat while lining up under
center.

Compressing the Offensive Line (NG) - This week we got a hot tip
from VG Sports forum member Maddbrett1. What we like about this
tip is it benefits both the pass and run game while lining up under
center.

Creating New Formations on the Fly (NG) - We have been showing ways to create new formations on the fly over the last few weeks. This week, we want to do a blow out on how to get new formations on the fly when calling plays from five different Singleback formations.

Motion Drive: Use of Flipping Plays (NG) - If you have been looking
at the filmroom the past few weeks I have to say that LB and Kobra
have stepped up big time. They found a scheme that you can really
use with a little lab work.

Old School Heat: Audible Down (NG) - Over the years players have
found all kinds of techniques to avoid being sacked. One of more
popular techniques is to sprint the QB away from the pressure as
soon as the ball is snapped.

WR Corner (CG) - The Shotgun Bunch is a set that you can mix in
with the rest of your offense. You can come up from a 2 back set or
a Big set ,and the defense has to play you differently.

Singleback Flip Trips Delta Sit (CG) - Once a month I come over to
the dark side to see how things are going with our current gen
guys. This month on my visit I want to look at the Buffalo Bills
playbook. I have always liked the amount of pass plays that you can
find in this playbook, but the play that I am focusing on today is
the Delta Sit.

Tight Series (CG) - Those of you that have followed my guides
learned that last year it was about expanding your sets with
formation shifting plays for other sets to the one that you like.
This way it makes it harder for someone to lab you up or know what
is coming at them.

To find out how you can get access to the filmroom, go to
http://www.maddenfilmroom.com

Madden 08 Roster Update #2 - 9/10/07

Roster update #2 has been released for the Next Gen consoles. The following changes were made:

Bears
Added CB Trumaine McBride
Added CB Corey Graham
Released QB Chris Leak
DE Ban Bazuin placed on IR

Bengals
Added SS Nedu Ndukwe
Added TE Daniel Coats
Added QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (traded from Rams)
Released QB Doug Johnson
Added MLB Anthony Schlegel
Released LB Ed Hartwell
Added LB Lemar Marshall
Released DT Kenderick Allen

Bills
Released QB Craig Nall
Released TE Brad Cieslak
Released HB Shaud Williams
Added HB Josh Scobey

Broncos
Added DT Amon Gordon
Released DT Jimmy Kennedy
Added DE Simeon Rice
Added FS Hamza Abdullah
Added FB Paul Smith
Released FB Kyle Johnson
Added LB Wesly Mallard
Added WR Brian Clark
Added WR Domenik Hixon
Released WR David Kircus
Released FS Quentin Harris
Released WR Quincy Morgan

Browns
Released DT Babatunde Oshinowo
Released WR Syndric Steptoe
Released HB Chris Barclay

Bucs
Added CB Anthony Madison
Released CB Alan Zemaitis
Added DT Jovan Haye
Added DT Greg Peterson
Released DT Ellis Wyms
Released HB Kenneth Darby
Added MLB Jeremiah Trotter
Added QB Luke McNown
Added LB Adam Hayward
Added RT Chris Denman
Released LB Jamie Winborn
Released WR Mark Jones

Cardinals
Added DE Chris Cooper
Added DE Quentin Moses
Added S Oliver Celestin
Added TE Tim Euhus
Released TE Ben Patrick
Released WR LeRon McCoy
Released WR Michael Spurlock
Released LB Buster Davis

Chargers
Added LT Jeromey Clary
Added LB Tim Dobbins
Released S Bhawoh Jue
Released T Cory Lekkerkerker
Released WR Greg Camarillo

Chiefs
Added CB Dimitri Patterson
Added CB Tyron Brackenridge
Added CB Rashad Barksdale
Added QB Tyler Thigpen
Released QB Casey Printers
Released WR Chris Hannon
Released LB Rich Scanlon
Released DE Michael Heard

Colts
Added CB Michael Coe
Added LT Daniel Federkeil
Added LB Clint Session
Released HB Clifton Dawson
Released DE Bo Schobel
Released DE Ryan LaCasse

Cowboys
Released CB Aaron Glenn
Released S Abram Elam
Added LB Justin Rogers
Added FB Deon Anderson
Released FB Lousaka Polite
Released TE Adam Bergen

Dolphins
Added C Gene Mruczkowski
Added MLB Kelvin Smith
Added T Cory Lekkerkerker
Added WR Greg Camarillo
Released TE Courtney Anderson
Released LB Robert McCune
Released WR P.K. Sam
Released WR Az-Zahir Hakim
Released FB Cory Schlesinger

Eagles
Added DT Kimo von Oelhoffen
Added FS J.R. Reed
Added MLB Pago Togafau
Added P Saverio Rocca
Released CB Rashad Barksdale
Released WR Jeremy Bloom
Released FS C.J. Gaddis

Falcons
Added DT Montavious Stanley
Added DT Trey Lewis
Added HB Artose Pinner
Released G P.J. Alexander
Released CB Allen Rossum
Released DE Paul Carrington

49ers
Added CB Tarell Brown
Released DT Sam Rayburn
Released WR Bryan Gilmore

Giants
Added FS Michael Johnson
Added G Kevin Boothe
Added S Craig Dahl
Added WR Anthony Mix

Jaguars
Released FB Derrick Wimbush
Released CB Dee Webb
Removed HB Alvin Pearman (Traded to Seahawks)
Added DE Brian Smith
Removed QB Brian Leftwich
Added G Tutan Reyes
Added LB Brian Iwuh
Added S Chad Nkang
Added WR John Broussard
Added CB Aaron Glenn
Released S Josh Gattis
Released WR Charles Sharon

Jets
Added HB Danny Ware
Released DE Bobby Hamilton
Released DT Kimo von Oelfoffen
Released MLB Anthony Schlegel

Lions
Added FB Jon Bradley
Added S Eric Frampton
Added LB Johnny Baldwin
Added TE Sean McHugh
Released CB A.J. Davis
Released LB Donte Curry
Released CB Ramzee Robinson
Released DT Cleveland Pinkney
Released TE Darnell Sanders

Packers
Released CB Patrick Dendy
Released FB Brandon Miree
Added S Charlie Peprah
Added DT Johnny Jolly
Added LB Desmond Bishop
Released WR David Clowney
Released S Marquand Manuel
Released K Dave Rayner
Released TE Clark Harris

Panthers
Added CB Dante Wesley
Added HB Alex Haynes
Released HB Eric Shelton
Added LB James Anderson
Added S Marquand Manuel
Added WR Chris Hannon
Released WR Chris Horn
Released DE Dave Ball
Released D’Anthony Batiste
Released CB Christian Morton
Released S CJ Wilson

Patriots
Added T Wesley Britt
Added T Clint Oldenburg
Added LB Oscar Lua
Added P Chris Hanson
Released WR Reche Caldwell
Released TE Garrett Mills
Released CB Dante Wesley
Released LB Justin Rogers

Raiders
Added Gerard Warren (Traded from Broncos)
Added FB Oren O’Neal
Released FB Zach Crockett
Released S Donovin Darius
Added DE Chris Clemons
Added DE Jay Richardson
Released G Kevin Boothe
Released WR Alvis Whitted

Rams
Released C Dustin Fry
Released DT Keith Jackson
Added DT Cliff Ryan
Added HB Antonio Pittman
Added LB Tim McGarigle
Removed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Traded to Bengals)
Added TE Aaron Walker
Released LB Jon Alston

Ravens
Added WR Devard Darling
Released WR Clarence Moore

Redskins
Added S Reed Doughty
Added TE Tyler Ecker
Released QB Jordan Palmer
Released WR Corey Bradford

Saints
Added DT Antwan Lake
Released HB Antonio Pittman
Added LB Alfred Fincher
Added LB Marvin Mitchell
Released P Chris Hanson
Added TE Ronnie Ghent
Added WR Lance Moore

Seahawks
Released QB David Greene
Added DE Jason Babin (Traded from Texans)
Removed S Michael Boulware (Traded to Texans)
Added T Steve Vallos
Released CB Pete Hunter

Steelers
Released HB Verron Haynes
Released C Chukky Okobi
Released LB Rian Wallace
Added HB Gary Russell
Added HB Carey Davis
Added DE Nick Eason

Titans
Added DT Tony Brown
Released WR Jonathan Orr
Released WR Courtney Roby
Released QB Tim Rattay
Released S Lamont Thompson
Released S Bryan Scott
Added S Calvin Lowry

Vikings
Added DT Fred Evans
Released QB Tyler Thigpen
Added QB Kelly Holcomb (Traded from Eagles)
Added TE Garrett Mills
Released S Greg Blue
Released HB Ciatrick Fason
Released WR Billy McMullen
Released HB Artose Pinner

Texans
Removed DE Jason Babin (Traded to Seahawks)
Added S Michael Boulware (Traded from Seahawks)
Released WR David Anderson
Released WR Bethel Johnson
Released CB Dexter McCleon
Released WR Keenan McCardell
Released HB Wali Lundy
Added CB Dexter Wynn
Added FB Jameel Cook
Added DE Earl Cochran


Ratings Up
• HB Jerome Harrison – 74 to 77 OVR
• TE Marcedes Lewis – 80 to 81 OVR
• WR James Jones – 72 to 75 OVR
• QB Aaron Rodgers – 76 to 79 OVR
• WR Jacoby Jones – 69 to 73 OVR
• QB Tarvaris Jackson – 76 to 77 OVR
• HB Jesse Chatman – 73 to 77 OVR
• WR Lance Moore – 65 to 71 OVR
• WR Terrance Copper – 70 to 76 OVR
• WR David Patten – 69 to 75 OVR
• WR Marques Hagans – 67 to 69 OVR
• H.B. Blades – 66 to 70 OVR
• DE Patrick Chukwurah – 70 to 77 OVR
• CB Trumaine McBride – 68 to 70 OVR
• LB John DiGiorgio – 63 to 67 OVR
• HB Cecil Sapp – 73 to 75 OVR
• DE John Engelberger – 76 to 81 OVR
• HB Adrian Peterson – 85 to 87 OVR
• WR Calvin Johnson – 87 to 88 OVR
• DE Jimmy Wilkerson – 75 to 79 OVR
• DT Tank Tyler – 73 to 76 OVR
• HB Noah Herron – 73 to 75 OVR
• DT Kendrick Clancy – 75 to 79 OVR
• LB Omar Gaither – 78 to 81 OVR
• CB Eric Green – 75 to 78 OVR
• LB Calvin Pace – 69 to 70 OVR
• HB Darren Sproles – 76 to 77 OVR
• SS Clinton Hart – 70 to 73 OVR
• WR Vincent Jackson – 79 to 81 OVR
• S Jarrad Page – 74 to 76 OVR
• S Bernard Pollard – 80 to 81 OVR
• T Will Svitek – 67 to 70 OVR
• DE Darryl Tapp – 77 to 79 OVR
• S James Butler – 76 to 79 OVR
• WR Ben Obomanu – 61 to 68 OVR
• CB Fred Thomas – 76 to 77 OVR
• FB Ovie Mughelli – 91 to 92 OVR
• CB Chris Carr – 58 to 65 OVR
• DT Terdell Sands – 82 to 85 OVR
• TE Donald Lee – 74 to 77 OVR
• WR Dennis Northcutt – 74 to 77 OVR
• HB Derrick Ward – 68 to 72 OVR
• WR Taylor Jacobs – 68 to 75 OVR
• WR Bryan Gilmore – 69 to 71 OVR
• QB Joey Harrington – 76 to 79 OVR
• WR Jason Avant – 68 to 70 OVR
• CB Travis Daniels – 77 to 79 OVR
• LB Kevin Burnett – 75 to 77 OVR


Ratings Down
• QB Bruce Gradkowski – 72 to 70 OVR
• G Dan Buenning – 85 to 80 OVR
• FB Brandon Miree – 80 to 76 OVR
• DE Bryce Fisher – 84 to 80 OVR
• S Will Demps – 84 to 81 OVR
• WR Robert Meachem – 77 to 73 OVR
• CB Usama Young – 74 to 71 OVR
• CB Jason David – 80 to 77 OVR
• DT Justin Harrell – 80 to 78 OVR
• DeAngelo Hall – 94 to 92 OVR
• CB John Bowie – 68 to 66 OVR
• FB Zach Crockett – 82 to 80 OVR
• WR Dwayne Jarrett – 78 to 77 OVR
• CB Sam Madison – 87 to 84 OVR
• LB Joey Porter – 95 to 93 OVR

Contracts
• Darrelle Revis - 6 years
• Ty Warren - 5 years
• Larry Johnson - 6 years
• Aaron Schobel - 7 years
• Seneca Wallace – 4 years

Weapons
• Adrian Peterson – Becomes Elusive Back
• DeAngelo Hall – Loses Shutdown Corner

Madden 08 Alternate Uniforms

In addition to each Team's current Home & Away jersey, EA Sports has included multiple alternate uniforms in this year's game. With the exception of the Colts, everybody has at least one alternate jersey.

The Titans lead the way with 6 additional choices....And you gotta love those horrible orange Bucs jerseys. The really sad thing is that VG_Bert's first bike was a Bucs bike and had a big old orange banana seat on it. These uniforms still give him nightmares!

Click here for a list of the alternate unis

Madden 08 Wallpaper - Hi Res

We've put together some Hi-Resolution HD Wallpapers for Madden 08. You can download them by Clicking here

Madden 08 Play Action Pass Animations

Here's a look at some of the new play action animations that are in the game. You will notice that the QB comes off the fake much quicker making it possible to actually get the ball off without being sacked all the time.

Play Action Passing

Maddenmania Reviews the Virtual Playbook

Hellisan, one of the resident NCAA experts at Maddenmania.com recently posted a review of the Virtual Playbook for NCAA Football 08 up on their website. I've included it here as well:

I have had the opportunity to meet Bert of VG Sports (maddenguides) a couple of times, and he is one of the nicest individuals you could ever hope to encounter. I've also met Paul, aka Kobra, the man with the voice who tirelessly breaks down gameplay and strategy. Each of them display a passion for the world of video football. I recently had a chance to look at the 2008 version of the Virtual Playbook.


The NCAA Virtual Playbook for NCAA Football 08 comes in three parts:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART ONE - includes rosters for every Division 1 team in the game including attributes, as well as another section with the team ratings for every Division 1 team. Part one also includes the offensive playbooks for each of the Top 25 teams in the game, as well as five additional playbooks that are noteworthy: Hawaii, Navy, Nevada, Purdue, and the West Coast playbook.

Each of the playbooks include every formation and play within each of these formations, all neatly organized (and printable) from the eBook setup. This would be fantastic for perusing playbooks to find one that suits you, to print yours up for study, or even to scout the workings of an opposing team. Each of the five defensive playbooks are available as well.

Finally, part one also includes a section that shows the top 20 players at each position in the game, sorted by OVR rating and including important individual ratings like Speed, AWR, THP and THA for quarterbacks. This is useful if you're not sure what team you want to use and you need good players at certain positions that suit your style of play.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART TWO - the nuts and bolts of the guide. This is what everybody is looking for: strategy articles and information to improve your offensive game. Whatever your weakness or strength, there is going to be information on how you could improve within this guide.

I won't list out every section that is covered in the playbook, because it would take too much time and space, but suffice to say that there's a lot of information to be gleaned. For instance, under the "The Passing Game" header, there's a sub-header called "fundamentals" which has the following topics: General passing tips, Using the Pocket, Manual Catching, Spectacular catch, Route Combinations, and Play action. There are also two additional sub-headers under the Passing header, "Pre-Snap," and "Schemes and Tactics." If you ask me, the schemes and tactics section is where Virtual Guides makes their money - and delivers on the purchaser's investment. There are 13 topics under this sub-header, and each includes detailed information on an aspect of the passing game that are extremely helpful.

Virtual Guides doesn't just give you re-hashed takes like "watch the safeties to beat zone coverage," they actually give you route combinations that are effective against the different kinds of zones you'll see the most, and show you what reads to make while attacking each type of zone defense. These aren't specific plays, they are route combinations that are found in just about every playbook. That way, no matter what playbook you're using, the tips will apply.

A lot of the focus within Part 2 is centered around building a scheme and a style all your own. Whatever it might be, the guide will give you a way to really hone your strategy down to an attack that is very difficult to stop.

Our favorite part of Part 2 is a section that details 19 different general styles of offensive attacks, including ones you might not know how to effectively run, like the Pistol Formation popularized by Nevada. I would recommend the playbook if you wanted to become a better player, even if it didn't include the other two parts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART THREE - It's only half the battle to score on offense, so part three focuses on the defensive side of the ball. This section could be considered the yin to part two's yang. A lot of the same fundamental schemes you just studied up on, you'll now be reading about how to stop. This is especially helpful for online play, because many people who play online would rather just skip to the next time they have the football. They figure if they score every time they have the ball, there's no way they can lose. But if you're well versed on both sides of the ball, you become truly dangerous. That's what this section is designed to help you do.

You'll read about how to cover up "bubbles" in your defensive front when you have to stop the run, effectively disguise your blitzes, and so on. There's also detailed information about how to use the new hit stick and other controls not found in the previous generation of NCAA football video games.

Overall, this portion of the guide details even further than the offensive side the differences in the new game. Topics like mid-air collisions, the new play-calling screen, and many other topics that cover the next-gen style of play. Of course, since the guide is all about the next-gen game to begin with that would be expected, but it's especially useful for someone like myself, who just stepped up to the next-gen system more recently.

What I really like about the defensive portion the most is that it will give you specific strategies and ideas for stopping the different styles you'll come across while playing online. There's a section that talks about defending compression (tight packages), defending the halfback middle routes, the flats, and quick fades, among others. It really helps with that "he's killing me and there's nothing I can do to stop him" feeling that you might occasionally get online.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite MaddenMania's long-standing and valued relationship with VG Sports over the years, I'd never ponied up to see what one of their products really looked like. I'd like to thank Bert for giving me a look at what their product is all about. I'm very impressed by it; whether you're trying to win in the no-holds barred world of online play where the final outcome is all that matters, or playing in a more straight up league, or even playing in dynasty mode, you'll find a lot of ammunition to improve your game in this guide.

For more information about how you can get this guide, go to www.collegefootballtips.com

NCAA Football 08 Blitz Schemes

In this video, Kobra of the VG Sports staff breaks down how he likes to get enhanced pressure out of the 3-3-5 Stack Fire Green defense. With a couple of simple adjustments you can get serious heat after the Quarterback.

For more blitz schemes, be sure to check out the Virtual Filmroom for NCAA Football 08

NCAA Football 08 - Auto Motion

One of the new features in the game this year is Auto Motion. Auto
Motion is basically pre-snap motion that the CPU makes for you.

So what's the big deal? With Auto Motion, you can run plays that
never would have worked before. Slow developing End Arounds
become quick hitting Jet Sweeps.

You can now run Option plays with your Slot receivers. Backs can
get a running start coming out of the backfield to beat bump-n-run
coverages.

Auto Motion opens up all kinds of opportunities that we haven't
seen before. You have many new ways to get the ball into the hands
of your top playmakers and impact players.

To give you a little taste of what Auto Motion can do, we've put
together a video with some plays from the Florida Gator Playbook.




P.S. For more tips and strategies, visit CollegeFootballTips.com

VG Sports Community Forums Heating Up

With the soon to be released NCAA 08 this week and Madden 08 next month, the VG Sports forums are really starting to heat up. We now have 19,000 registered forums members who like all like to talk NCAA and Madden.

To join in the discussion, click here

EA Sports Fantasy Football

This year EA Sports is breaking the rules by offering free league commissioner packages, free team owners, free live scoring, free EA expert fantasy analysis, and brand new web design.

Click Here for more info.

Madden 08: Armed and Dangerous

ESPN Video Games has posted screen shots for all 24 Weapons in Madden 08 for 360/PS3.

"When the latest iteration of the Madden NFL franchise arrives in August, the Madden faithful will discover a slew of new "weapons" -- 24 to be exact -- at their disposal in their quest for total Madden domination. As one of the most highly anticipated and talked about new aspects of Madden NFL 08, the Weapons feature puts the emphasis squarely on the shoulders of the league's biggest star."



Click Here for more info.

The Hottest Ticket In Town

Early next week VG Sports will have Kobra representing them at EA Tiburon Studios for NCAA 08 Community Day. He will be talking to producers, touring the studios, and playing the game. Look for in-depth info while he is down there and when he gets back.

VG Staff

Gang Tackling Video For Madden NFL 08

EA Madden Procucer Ian Cummings is at again on his blog site by giving us hard core ballers what we are looking for. This week he shows how gang tackling works on next gen systems.

He also asked this question:

"If you were hired as the lead gameplay designer for EA Sports starting tomorrow, and had to make the call, would you"...

A.) Have gang tackles trigger less often, but guarantee that they look "captured" and realistic, including getup animations

B.) Rely solely on physics based animations, which ensures much more playback and animation coverage, but more physics/ragdoll-ish looking animations

C.) Do a mix of both (which is what we do now) Choose your own adventure!

He wants your feedback

Here is the direct link to blog and video:

Click Here

VG Staff

EA Sports Fathers Day Give Away

EA Sports is running a special Father's Day Contest and is giving away a really sweet prize pack including:

* An Xbox 360 Elite video game and entertainment system
* An advance copy of Madden 08 for Xbox 360
* An Autographed NFL fotoball and helmet
* A special Father of the Year NFL Team jersey

To enter, here's all you have to do:

Send a video, audio or written story proving why you think you or your Dad should be named the Madden NFL 08 Father of the Year. The winner will be announced on or about June 18, 2007, so email your submission to maddenfathersday@ea.com today for a chance at the ultimate Madden NFL 08 Father of the year package.

EA is also running a contest for us community leaders. Basically the leader that refers the most people to the contest will lock down a spot at an early hands on with the game.

I want to make sure we have a team member there so we can give you the most detailed look possible at the game. We know what you guys want to know about the game.

So here's what I need you to do. When you send in your entry, please put:

"Madden NFL 08 Father of the Year Contest - referred by Bert Ingley" as the Subject line when you send in your email entry.

Not only will you be entered into the contest, but you will help insure that VG Sports has a team member to represent you at the next Madden Community Day.

Thanks,

Bert

Four New Madden 08 Screen Shots Released

EA has added four new screen shots for Madden 08. For the high resolution screen shots, click on the link below.

Click Here

VG Staff

10 Reasons Why Madden Gamers Will Want to Make the Switch Over to Madden 08 on the NG

Defensive Individual Hot Routes: Making their way on to the next gen are defensive hot routes.

Our Thoughts: Anyone remember the first time you were able use them in Madden 05 and how much they improved your defensive play calling. Well on the next gen you will get that same feeling once again. The only downside of them is we hope that EA doesn’t allow players to drop 11 men in pass coverage. It really watered down Madden 07 on the current gen.

Responsive Controls: Better control over players on both sides of the ball.

Our Thoughts: One of the biggest gripes about next gen Madden is lack of control. With responsive control you should be able to perform manual jukes, catches, and all the other manual stick control maneuvers we have grown use to on the current gen.

Madden Challenge on the 360: It looks like the Madden Challenge makes it debut on the 360.

Our Thoughts: If you plan on playing in the Madden Challenge this year, then you better be picking up a 360 soon. From all indications, it looks like that’s what the challenge is going to be played on. On a side note: personally (Kobra) I am a big fan of the 360 controller Vs the lite PS3 controller. I know a lot of you have played the PS2 version of Madden Vs Xbox version because mainly of the controller. If you give the 360 controller a chance, I am sure you will agrees it’s a real mans controller Vs the PS3 lite. The reason I call the PS3 controller lite is because it feels half of the weight of the PS2 controller. I just don’t care for it. It feels cheaply made.

Pure Dynamic Gameplay: You control the animations, the animations don't control you.

Our Thoughts: From what we read it looks like you will have complete control of over player animations. For those of you who felt like you didn’t have the same type of stick control over players on the next gen, we believe Pure Dynamic Gameplay is right up your alley.


60 Frame Rates per A Second: Madden 08 next gen goes from 30 fps to 60 fps.

Our Thoughts: Faster frame rates mean better overall game play. Madden 06 and 07 on the next gen felt slow and choppy. Sure the game looked great, but played sluggish. From what we hear, it looks like EA had to tone down the graphics to some degree to achieve faster frame rates. We have always said no matter how beautiful a game may look , the game play untimely determines the lasting appeal. By EA toning the graphics some to improve the frame rates; that alone will make this year’s game better and worth getting.

New Player Ratings and Weapons: More individual player ratings make cyber players on the field play more life like.

Our Thoughts: Lets face it over the years, have players ratings really meant that much. What we mean is for instance say you have a defensive end with an overall rating of an 93 matched up with offensive tackle with an overall rating of 79. Did you ever see the defensive end dominant the offensive tackle like you would expect based off the overall ratings? The answer is not really. Outside of speed, jump, height, throwing power, and handful of other players ratings, most of the rest of the ratings really didn’t mean that much at all. In Madden 08 based on what we are reading, player ratings will really mean something. If you got a lock down cornerback such as Champ Bailey and he is matched up with a weaker receiver, he is going shut that receiver down during the game. If this is really the case, players ratings are going to going have a huge impact on how games play out and what team’s we choose to play.

If the Weapons System is balanced right, this will be one of the better game play additions to the game. It will change how we use and attack with certain players.

Gang Tackling: Last year gang tackling made its debut on the PS3. Now all the 360 also gets it, plus it’s been improved.

Our Thoughts: Where was gang tackling at when I (Kobra) was getting my butt handed to me by Fred Taylor in the VG 360 League AFC Wild Card Game. I kept thinking if the 360 version of the game had gang tacking, would Taylor be running all over my Charger defense. One of the biggest game play requests of all time is now being added to the next gen platforms. For those of you like me, who got tired of being ran all over on the 360, Gang Tackling is a much needed game play addition that will help the run defense out as long as the right plays are called and the right defenders are on the field. From what we hear, you will see 2, 3, or 4 defenders making a tackles on the field at the same time. We can wait to see this in actual action.

Hit Stick 2.0.: Now you can tackle high or low by flicking up or down on the right stick. This takes manually tackling a ball carrier to another level.

Our Thoughts: Being able to lay the wood on a ball carrier or a receiver with the Hit Stick over the last few years has been cool, but it always felt like there was something missing. Sure you could hit the ball carrier high and deliver a crushing blow, but you could never take feet out from under him. With Hit Stick 2.0, now you can. This will help will trying to bring down bigger ball carriers.

Line of Scrimmage Improvements: Zone blocking, double team blocking, pull/lead, stretch and read blocks are now all part of the game.

Our Thoughts: Madden 07 on the next gen made major strides in how the run game works. Some may say running the ball was almost to effective, especially from the goal line formation. Hopefully with the new line of scrimmage improvements, the run game will be more realistic. If you your team has an excellent offensive line, then you will reap the benefits of the new improvements. However if your offensive line is weak, then you should not reap the benefits of the new improvements as much.

Pre-Play Cut Scenes Are Gone: You won't see the same canned animations of 11 players jogging back to a huddle in unison.

Our Thoughts: Outside of the game play commentator, pre-play cut scenes were about most annoying part of the game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. How many times while playing defense online did you have to wait for your opponent on offense to skip past the player cut screens. It looks like based off the articles and videos we have read and seen, you can now by-pass that and get right into setting up your defense. Being able to do that will drastically improve playing defense on the next gen.

Well there you have it, 10 reasons why you should make the switch from the current gen to the next gen in 08. Feel free to post any of your comments in this thread about what was written or anything else you have heard or concerns about Madden 08.

VG Staff

Madden 08 Current Gen Info & More

Just got this from Rac over at EA,

Here are two new pieces of content on the Madden site. One is a special series that Packwolf is working on with Rac, where he will mark his progress as he attempts to win the Madden Challenge. The second is the first producer blog detailing current gen features. Enjoy!

Click here for info about Pack Wolfs quest to win the Madden Challenge.

Click here for info on current gen info for Madden 08.

Online challenges anyone?

VG Staff

Madden Filmroom Updated This Week (May 21)

Here is what's in the Madden Filmroom this week:

May 21, 2007

I Form Twin WR Off Tackle (NG) - This week I am going to continue my multi part series on one of the most popular formations on Madden NFL ’07 for the XBOX 360 and PS3. I Form Twin WR. Having said that, this will help validate why this is “America’s Offense” now.Here’s how.

I Form 3WR WR1 Option (NG) - This week I continue to break down the West Coast playbook. I look at the I Form 3WR WR1 Option. This play however can be found in multiple playbooks. Below I show some things I like to do with this play.

Singleback Big Wing HB Draw (NG) - Lets continue on our run through these great run plays that will keep our offense moving and keep the defense a step behind and always concerned about how effective our run game is. The HB Draw is a play that I use to show some swagger. This play can be very effective versus some of the best defenses in the game.

Outside WR Bump (CG) - Last week I looked at how I like to put a defender in a hook zone while in bump-n-run coverage to counter un-bumpable routes. This week I want to use that same technique, but this time to jam outside receivers.

Replay: Marrying Pass Routes (CG) - Replay is a member of VG Sports Inc. He has been working on the boards for some time now. He reads our articles, replies on the baords, plays in leagues, and also go to tourneys. The thing about Replay is that he made the final 4 in the Philly PS2 tourney, and made it to the elite 8 in the East Coast Mega Bowl Regional. He lost to Jarvis who is the former EA Champ. He wanted to show you plays that he ran in Philly and in the DC tourney. If you remember that I talked about hitting the lab and coming up with your own. This is what this man did and he did a great job.

Singleback Base Flex Sneek Outs (CG) - I have already shown a play from Chargers playbook out of the Singleback Base Flex that I called Quick Hit. What this play did was allow me to get the FB or HB2 open in the flat for quick hit against bump-n-run man coverage. This week I want to show another Singleback Base Flex that beats bump-n-run man coverage, but this time from the Broncos playbook.

Click here to login to the filmroom.

VG Staff