IT'S BAAAAAAAAACK!

I have acquired a copy of Madden 2004. It's great to get back into that game, even after all these years since its initial release!

I played some games in coach mode using Redwolf's v.10 sliders. Although they are unquestionably superior re simming in franchise and in general keeping yardage totals down to NFL-like averages than any other slider set I've seen, I was almost in hair-ripping-out mode re the number of INTs happening in games against the CPU in coach mode. I've adjusted the QB Accuracy setting to 43 and Interceptions to 7 as an experiment, those ratings are a compromise between Redwolf's last two published slider sets (7a and 10).

My early take is that 90+ rated QBs do hit 60%+ in completion percentage in games I've played. Maybe it's the CFL-part of my football brain that likes more offense, but I think that it does mirror the increase in completion percentage league-wide in the NFL since 2002. Even so, the adjustments certainly do lead to more punting in games as compared to franchises I've had in previous iterations with Redwolf's v.7 sliders despite that uptick.

As readers of this blog know, I created a Hamilton Tiger-Cat all-time team in 2004 based on my online research and an all-time team project headed by user Zuger9 on www.ticats.ca. I juiced up the ratings to play all-time NFL teams. For franchise though, it became a case of Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals too often! LOL

I have edited that team's ratings using Madden Amp. Using the 1972 Dolphins as a roster template (only the best for a Raiders/Bills fan LOL), I substituted the subjective skill ratings where I had some rationale to do so. The result is that my team still keeps its multiple Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer production, but the overall depth of the team is more varied and in keeping with a team usable in franchise mode.

I will keep readers informed of how this experiment goes in subsequent posts.

Russ