Outfoxing With A Bag O' Tricks
A Madden 2006 Soapbox Season Review
Friday 11 November, 2005

With just one game of my third Madden 2006 season left, my first on the hardest difficulty level, I'm sitting 5-10. It's hardly a stellar record and it leaves my Miami Dolphins tied for 13th of 16 in our conference, the AFC. It looks like a par season, having exactly met my 3-5 mid-season goal but fading slightly in the recent games. Thankfully I've learned a few more tricks in the last few days which should help me get a few more wins next season to get 7-9 or 8-8. In my final remaining match for this year, I'd love a win, but I'll probably play some youngsters like in the last game and hopefully boost their skill level if all goes well. It can't hurt to get a higher draft pick either!

I put two consecutive wins together last night and I'm attributing that success to reading the play before the snap and calling audibles to take advantage of what the defense is showing. If you see a goal line defense with only one safety, go for a pass. If one side is stacked, run to the other side. Occasionally they're crafty, but it's generally worth the risk.

It also helps that I've become pretty confident in passing using a curl to my left WR (as my QB Michael Vick is left handed and it's harder to throw across your body) and a play-action to my TE, as well as taking off with the football if the defense is a soft coverage or I don't want to risk a throw. Still haven't cracked 100 yards in a game though, I've finished in the 90s on 4 occasions now. I'd rather finish with 92 yards than throw interceptions trying to beat 100 (which I have done two times now)!

It felt good to beat the Jets last night. Not only are they a divisional rival, it was the first time on All-Madden level that I'd conceded a touchdown on their first drive, stalled on my first drive and came back to win the game. That was when my passing game picked up: it had to. Another highlight was a massive 37 yard TD run from Vick. It was supposed to be a HB handoff to Ronnie Brown, but he got blocked before the handoff and I sort of screwed it up, panicked and ran. By the time I'd crossed the goal line, I realised what a powerful threat it was if I could control it. One for the training grounds.

There is one area that All-Madden doesn't influence: the off-season roster management and drafting. For once, I've got a chance to draft in the top 10 (without having to swing trades first, although that's not out of the question). Just quietly, I think I'm a pretty shrewd manager, lllllike a fox! They gon' get played and they gon' get burrrned!

Previous GameBox: Madden 2006: It Is As Hard As It Looks