How to Play Madden 07

[Wiily Good]

As you can tell from my signature I am Australian. My brother just bought Madden 07. I have absolutely no idea about how to play American Football. My brother has no idea either, the only reason he bought it is because he is a sports nut and there are no other sports games out (apart from Wii Sports).

I know how to do all the moves but I don't know when to use them and what the point of them is. (e.g What is a juke and when do I use it?, When would I use a deep pass play instead of a normal pass play?) I know the bare basics; Quarterback gets the ball and throws it to a catcher/receiver. If they don’t get past the orange line it is a down. After 5 downs it is a handover. That is just about all I know.

I can’t afford another $90-$100 game at the moment so I want to make the most out of this one. Can someone explain it in depth or post a link to a website that I, someone who knows very little about Grid Iron, can understand.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cabe]

After 4 downs its a turnover, not 5.

Just read the wikipedia page for the rules http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Football#Rules

 

[Wiily Good]

OK Thanks.

I think I'll invite a friend over who has had Madden 07 on his X-Box 360 for a few months. Hopefully he'll teach me.

 

[doug52]

ok man here it is
offense has 4 chances to get 10 yards. if they get 10 yards or more, the set of 4 starts over. these are called downs. most teams punt the ball on 4th down if they have bad field position and can not attempt a field goal. jukes are sideways shifty movements, the stiffarm is an extended arm to push away tacklers. the differences in pass plays are based on the length of routes ran by the recievers. you can also select your plays by formation, this would be a good way to do it, it's a good way to enhance your football knowledge. if you can understand the playbook, everything else will fall into place execution wise. if you have any more questions ask me.

 

[Wiily Good]

Thanks doug52.

Teams start off needing to get 10 yards but this number increases and decreases. Is there any formula to this?

Also, what penalties are there and how do they work?

 

[kiana]

Thanks doug52.

Teams start off needing to get 10 yards but this number increases and decreases. Is there any formula to this?

Also, what penalties are there and how do they work?

Well basically you have 4 down to get ten yards. So if you gain 2 yards on first down, it will be second and 8. If you lose 3 yards on that play, it will be 3rd and 11. If you get passed the first down line, you get a fresh set of down.
and so on.

The most common penalty in Madden are offsides and pass inteference.

Offsides is if a defensive player cross the line of scrimmage(where the ball is) before the offence hikes the ball.

Pass interference is when a defensive player hits a receiver when the ball is in the air but not yet catched by the receiver.

You can also get a late hit penalty if you hit the quaterback after he got rid of the ball. (After his pass).

That covers the basic, i'm french canadian so it's not that easy to explain americain rules football over the net but trust me, the NFL is the greatest thing on earth...well...after maybe sex of course...

Hope that helps a bit. GO BILLS!!! In 2007 we will win in Foxboro...!!!

 

[doug52]

yes. although i dont recommend it, you obviously can recieve solid football information from someone who is french canadian ;p.

 

[Kepa]

Make sure you read the booklet, and all the tutorials available. Especially about audibles, hot routes, line shifts, etc.

Actually, probably the most common penalty you'll get in Madden if you're new to the game is delay of game, which basically means you took too long to pick a play. Make sure to pick a play with at least 10 seconds left on the play clock.

Once you get used to standard game play (without audibles), you'll start realising that sometimes the defense just knows what play you're going to make. Say you're planning a run to the right and the defense brings the safeties up on a blitz while sending the linebackers out to the right. Here's where you want to audible. You'll have a few options, but in a blitz situation you'll probably want a quick pass. So you make the adjustment, snap the ball, the defense blitzes, you get the ball out in time, no safeties to bring you down, big gain Well, in an ideal situation.

You can also make defensive audibles as well.

 

[Wiily Good]

Thanks everyone.

How do I call an audible?

 

[kiana]

Thanks everyone.

How do I call an audible?

You need to point at the quaterback (both offense and defense audible and press A (I think) the the audible menu will be visible. When you point, move the wiimote very slowly, it's easier that way.

 

[gamedango]

GO BILLS!!! In 2007 we will win in Foxboro...!!!

Not if my pats can help it!!

Go patriots!!!

 

[Tacos]

I have played other football games, and this one is a bit harder to get used to.

Here are some tips that might help.

Try to stop running with your quarterback before you throw. They can throw a lot more accurately when they are stopped. This is hard sometimes because the defense is trying to tackle you, but it is the best way to get an accurate pass. If you keep getting tackled before you pass. Try starting off in a shotgun position. (Where your quarterback starts a bit back from the center aka. the one who hikes the ball)

If there are no receivers open, press the Z button, and you can run with your quarterback.

A juke is best used when you are in the open field. If you are running up the middle, it just takes up time. You want to move forward, not side to side.

It is better to start off on first down with a short/medium pass, or a run. The long passes are best for third down and long or second and short. (Second and short is a good time for a long pass, becasue if you miss, you can use a short run on third to get the first down.)

On third down, if you have more than about 4 yards to go, it is best to use a pass play. (Keep this in mind on defense too. You don't usually want to call a run defense play on third down if the computer has a long way to go.)

You should probably punt on fourth down if you haven't made it past midfield. (Again keep this in mind on defense. You will want to call a special teams play on fourth down if the computer has a long way to go. Usually a punt block or a punt return)

Kicking a field goal is very tough if you have not made it past the 40 yard line of your opponent. (When the numbers start going down, after you pass the 50)

Using the Z button before the play on offense and defense is very useful.
-On offense, if you are doing a pass play, it shows you where your receivers are going to run. This way you can get a look at where the defenders are, and where the receivers are going to end up. If a receiver is on one side with only one guy covering him, he may be a good choice to pass to. But, you always have to see what happens after the play starts, and who is open. You never know what the defense is going to do.
-On offense, if you are doing a running play, it will show an arrow where the guy is going to run. If there are a bunch of defenders in that area, you may want to call an audible, do a line shift, of call a timeout and call another play. (Don't worry about those too much at first. Just play without them until you get pretty good)
-On defense, there will either be an circle lit up, or a line pointing from your player to an offensive player. When there is an area lit up, this means you are in zone defense. You should try to stay in the area that is lit up, and watch for receivers coming into that area. If they run out of that area, don't worry about them. There may be another receiver coming that you need to cover. If there is a line pointing from your player to an offensive player, that means you are in man coverage. You should cover that guy the entire time.
-I usually use a linebacker.(The guys in the center of the field.) Or a lineman(the guys that are right on the line of scrimmage)

It may be best for you to sort your plays by type, instead of formation. This will make it easier to call plays. You may want to learn the formations eventually though.

Hope some of that helps. It is a simple game on the surface, but is actually very complex.