How to Stop Curl Passes - The Xbox Football League

Issue
11
In this issue >>>
How to Stop Curl Passes
Curl passes (especially with four receivers) can be an effective play call for the offense — but how do you stop it?
Commissioner’s Corner: Madden 13
How to Stop Curl Passes
Auto Pilot Usage
players to these zones. Purple zones are
the best coverage option to beating curl
passes.
Virtual vs. Reality
History of The XBFL (Part 2)
A Monthly Insight into The XBFL (Xbox Football League)
on
Rule reminders >>>
Notify the Commissioner
if You Will be Using Auto
Pilot
If you are unable to make a game
during any week of the season, be sure
to notify BOTH the Commissioner and
your opponent, AND set your team to
auto-pilot. There have been a few
instances this season where a player
couldn’t make a game, notified his
opponent, but never set his team to
auto pilot OR contacted the
Commissioner. At the 11th hour, the
team able to play has had to contact
the Commissioner to arrange the autopilot setting.
Commissioner’s Corner: Thoughts on M’13
A lot of you have shared your feedback with me regarding your thoughts and feelings towards Madden 13, and surprisingly, many of them have been positive –
particularly when compared to last year’s offering from EA Sports.
There are a lot of opinions to stopping the
deep curl which is an often abused play when
online. Some suggest applying pressure on the
QB with blitzes while others recommend
utilizing press coverages.
I will agree that Madden 13 is better than 12, however there are a few key aspects
of the game I really dislike, all of which have me feeling a bit more “detached” from
the league than I have past seasons.
First of all, I don’t like the fact that I have to scroll through so many options to see
the standings or results of each week’s games. When I select the league, I would
like to see up front and center the current standings and weekly results. It would
also be great if the league’s main/opening screen could be skinned for a bit of
personal branding as well. Implementing customization such as “skinning” online
league screens would be a very welcome feature in future releases of Madden.
One method that has shown reasonably
consistent success against curl routes is
utilizing defensive plays that have purple
zones to the outside. You can do this by either
selecting the appropriate defensive scheme
that has defenders manning purple zones (e.g.
Cover 4) or call a defensive audible and assign
The Curl Flats is one of the more heavily
abused online plays due to its effectiveness. Again, purple zones are effective,
but against this play, not as much with a
standard defensive play formation.
Against the Curl Flats, a modified Cover 4
can prove to be very effective. When
lining up in the Cover 4, assign your
defensive ends to the purple zones in
addition to the existing corner backs’
purple. The corner backs will eliminate
passes to the flats while the defensive
ends drop into purple zone coverage to
defend against the curl. Having linebackers line up as DEs makes this all the more
effective due to their speed, jumping ,and awareness ratings generally
being higher than defensive ends.
Also, be sure to mix up your attack on
the Curl Flats. Mixing it up with zone
blitzes (such as the Sugar Blitz with
cornerbacks instructed to bump and run)
and the aforementioned modified Cover
4 can keep your opponent’s offense offbalance, possibly resulting in a few
turnovers or sacks.
Did You Know?
If you bought a copy of Electronic
Arts’ Madden NFL, NCAA Football or
Arena Football videogame for Xbox,
Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, GameCube, Wii
or PC, with a release date of January
1, 2005 to June 21, 2012, you may
be entitled to a monetary reimbursement from the Pecover v. Elecronic
Arts, Inc. class-action lawsuit.
To learn more about this lawsuit and
your rights, visit the following website:
http://www.easporrtslitigation.com
You have until December 10, 2012 to
opt-out, and March 5, 2013 to
submit a claim.
NCAA Football 13 League
Game Tips >>>
When we first launch Madden 13, we get “option tiles” to play an exhibition, play
online, play Madden Moments, see how many people are online playing Madden,
etc. , etc..
I think it would be ideal to have a somewhat similar layout for the league’s landing
page. The largest tile should be the standings which can be selected and zoomed in
on. Beneath it would be the weekly results followed by schedules and statistics.
Finally, there should be a window depicting your team logo that when selected,
would bring you to all the options pertaining to your team (e.g. practicing, player
progressions, contract negotiations, and of course, your weekly game). Next to
your weekly game, I would like to see a scouting report of some kind for the
upcoming opponent: their team leaders on both sides of the ball, who’s been hot
lately, etc. A nice touch would be adding a recommendation of some sort from a
“virtual assistant coach” on how to approach a game plan against the opposing
team.
Continued on next page...
Q: How Can I Avoid Injuries to My Running Back?
XP to Increase Toughness, Add
A: Use
Gatorade Recover 03, and Try to Get Tackled Out of Bounds
Assigning adequate XP between weeks to your player’s Toughness attribute can keep them
from getting injured, as well as purchasing the Gatorade 03 Recovery option. It is also Important to rest your workhorses when they become yellow in the playbook. Finally, if you
are going to take a hit, it’s best to do it out of bounds or close enough to the sideline where
you will fall out of bounds. For some reason, injuries do not take place there – nor have they
ever in Madden Football.
Lord Nelson has been running an
NCAA Football 13 league (and NCAA
12 prior to that) which has both past
and current XBFL members
participating.
If you are looking for more football
gaming action, head over to the XBFL
NCAA 13 Website and sign up.
Commissioner’s Corner
Virtual vs. Reality >>> >>>
Jordy Nelson vs. Jordy Nelson
Finding An Agent That’s Right For You
Jordy Nelson was drafted by the Green Bay Packers as the fifth pick in the second
round of the 2008 NFL draft. 2011 was Jordy’s break-out year as he posted career
highs in receptions (68), receiving yards (1,263) and touchdowns (15). Nelson
started off the 2012 season with a bang, but has since been hampered with a
number of injuries relating to both his ankle and hamstring.
Through Week 11, Jordy Nelson has posted 46 receptions, 658 yards and 6 TDs.
At the hands of Coach Kilowatz, “Virtual Jordy Nelson” has been injury-free and is posting very similar numbers—so similar in
fact that they are nearly identical! See below for the side-by-side comparison.
Through 11 games this season, Coach Kilowatz has Jordy Nelson as his number two receiving target behind Greg Jennings
(who would likely be the real Packers’ leading receiver had he not been on the injury report for three-quarters of the season).
Real Jordy Nelson
(Coach McCarthy)
Rec. 46 Yards: 658 TDs: 6
Continued...
“Virtual Jordy Nelson”
(Coach DJ Kilowatz)
Rec: 49 Yards: 622 TDs: 6
xbfl member spotlight >>>
Meet Phillyenigma
When you look up the definition of a Gamer, my picture is there.
I am proud to say I am the second longest tenure player in the XBFL behind only
Armand himself. I remember doing a search online for a XBOX football league and
the XBFL showing up. I had been playing in offline leagues for a few years on the
Play Station with a game called Game Day. This game used to be Madden’s
competition until 2K series came out.
We had a group of about 15 players who would crowd up around 5 TV's in
the commissioners house every weekend playing our league games for money. I
won one championship in that league, so I was excited to be able to join an online
league on the XBOX and play players all over the country.
It's been a longtime, but I think I have played in 4 XBFL championships and won 2
and lost 2. This league is the only reason I play Madden. Otherwise I likely would not
play since 2K is gone. I've met a lot of good people in this this league and it's been
good competition.
I am also proud to say that I have been playing video games since Pong. The first football game I played was Intellivision
football, then Tecmo Bowl, Game Day, then 2K. Now its Madden. I also like to play many other game types other than football. I also enjoy Shooters, Action and Role Playing Games. I think I would be better in football if not for playing so many
other games. That's why I consider myself a Gamer. It's my hobby . I play everything.
As far as my personal life, other then gaming, I spend most of my free time coaching my son’s sports teams. I have been a
Pop Warner Head coach for 3 years and coach my sons travel basketball team. Work-wise I have been a Software Engineer
for over 25 years. I currently am a Programmer for Verizon.
I feel that these would all be value-added features that would immerse gamers
into their respective leagues even more so. In my opinion, the windows /menu
tabs we have right now are not getting it done.
As for the Commissioner side of things – very little has been done since Madden
first went online, despite submitted feedback. I would like Commissioners to have
the authority to modify scores, reset games, reset games with very specific
conditions (e.g. Begin a game in the third quarter with Team A having 21 points
and Team B having 17 points with X:XX on the clock and Team A having the ball).
This would resolve the ever-frustrating occurrences of having to replay games
after disconnections stemming from poor Internet connections or congested
gaming servers (typically the latter).
Anyway, that’s my two cents on Madden 13. If you have any ideas for improvement that you would like to share, I intend to submit yet another letter to EA
Sports sometime in January and would like to add your feedback too.
History of The XBFL
Coming December 30 >>>
In The Next Issue
XBFL Season 21 Update/Playoffs
Strategy: Using XP
Ask the Experts
Virtual vs. Reality: Chris Johnson
XBFL Member Spotlight
New Years Holiday Schedule
..continued from last issue (#10).
The challenge for me at the time was that I had very limited knowledge on how to create a Website (this was, after all,
around 2001/2002). I did my best and placed it on Yahoo’s Geocities. With the help of an acquaintance of mine I met
through my family’s involvement with NASCAR, I was put into Yahoo’s search engine fairly quickly and rose to the top
position when the keywords “Xbox Football League” and similar phrases were entered.
With news of the NFL 2K series coming to Xbox and Xbox Live, I was hoping I’d get some interest. In less than a month, I got
my very first application for membership: Phillyenigma. Shortly afterwards, a few of his friends from the eastern PA /NJ area
submitted apps to join. It was pretty exciting. Several weeks later, apps from people on the West Coast came in, then from
all over. The demand became overwhelming!
When NFL 2K3 came out, there was such interest in The XBFL that I had no choice but to manage two leagues running simultaneously with 32 members each (and countless others on standby lists). At the time, all statistics were submitted through an
askonline
the experts
>>>
forms page
and entered into a spreadsheet with macros. Each week, the spreadsheet was mailed out to members so
that they could see where their players ranked amongst their peers as well as a tool to scout out future opponents.
While the league was wildly popular at the time (it was the only league to show on both Yahoo and Google), it didn’t go without growing pains. First of all, the turnover rate was tremendous with members not honoring their commitments, gamers
exploiting cheats and loopholes that were discovered, etc. Kaptain Krunch was one of the instrumental contributors to the
rulebook early on, as it seemed he often played the worst unsportsmanlike gamers Xbox Live had to offer. The rulebook was
being updated almost weekly to combat unsportsmanlike tactics found in NFL 2K3. The core guidelines of this league were
developed within the first two seasons with revisions being made each season to address newly identified exploits and
gaming tactics. Even early on, the XBFL rulebook was the most comprehensive of any league, and continues to be so.
As important as the Rulebook is to ensure the quality of The XBFL, it is the MEMBERS of this league that have given it staying
power over the past 10 years. It is to each of you that I owe a great deal of gratitude. Thanks to each of you for your loyalty
and efforts in making The XBFL the longest running online football league on Xbox Live! - Armand “Mr Fett”
© 2012, The XBFL, All Rights Reserved
www.thexbfl.com