Madden Football... All Time Players Never Die

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-Digger's Daily-

Who says EA Sports Madden Football is just for kids? It's one of the all time best selling video games in history. It all began back in 1989 as John Madden Football for Apple computers. The game quickly caught on and has undergone major upgrades from functionability to enhance video interfaces. On line play began by way of Madden NFL 2003. Unfortunately, Madden NFL 2008 was the final version (my current) for PC play. Game consoles are very advanced affording online gaming via platforms other than personal computers. Anyone familiar with Madden games has heard of "The Madden Curse" attributed to players appearing on game box covers suddenly getting injured or reduced productivity in NFL careers.

One of my closest friends and I have been playing online against each other for years (2008 pc version). As a rule of thumb, we only act as coaches calling plays and making substitutions. We do not control individual players when online (only when playing in person). After completing our regular season we decided to do something different. Madden NFL 2008 offers "All Time" teams. However, unlike current rosters, no names are given to All Time players (only false uniform numbers). Our task was to draft teams (12 each) and enter one by one, team by team, position by position, player names instead of false numbers. So, instead of #3 as QB of the All Time 49ers, it now reads Joe Montana. This was done for all of our teams. It was a painstaking drill which hit many snags before completing.

Our schedule runs 24 games/team with all teams playing against each other twice (home/away). Our schedule has reached week 6. It's been a blast bringing back and using players like Dan Marino, Larry Csonka, Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Lance Alworth, Joe Namath etc. On the surface, All Time teams of intense calibur are separated by few tendencies. Specifically, offensive and defensive lineman. I did my homework and based most of my draft picks on whichever team would control the line of scrimmage. So far, my plan has worked perfectly. My top teams based on W/L records are as follows: Bears (6-0) featuring the games best defense hands down, Raiders (6-0), Colts (5-0), NY Jets (5-0). Takeaways have been by biggest advantage and is a direct result of superior lineman or defensive specialists. My buddy has a few teams still struggling for their first victory.

There have been many intense battles. Sometimes the game is fairly true to life. Often times, it is not. Nonetheless, it's been great recreating players of old and watching them do their thing on the field. I'll post periodic updates and stats when they become available. Stay tuned....