Best Madden Ever?

Towards the end of every summer the newest installment in the Madden football series is released. With EA Sports having an exclusive license with the NFL, gamers have only one choice when they go to purchase a professional football video game. EA adds features every year in hopes of making their new game the best it can be. Here are some features that might make Madden 10 the best Madden yet.

Pro-Tak - The most talked about feature in Madden 10 is Pro-Tak. It is one of the three new features that can be found on the back of the box. In terms of gameplay, it is the most noticeable addition. Pro-Tak is a new tackling system that drastically changes the game. With Pro-Tak the play is never over until the ball carrier is on the grass. Defensively, Pro-Tak gets more defenders to get involved in the plays which allows for more gang tackles. On the other side of the ball, Pro-Tak gives the ball carrier the chance to break out of any tackle.

It takes four Ravens to bring down Willie Parker

Fight for the fumble - The second new feature that can be found on the back of the box is fight for the fumble. This feature is simply a button mashing cut scene where you battle for a lose ball. The first couple times this happens it is pretty cool, but it can get somewhat annoying. If you do not like this feature, there is the option to turn it off in one of the setting menus.

New Presentation - The final aspect EA decided to show on the back of the game was the new presentation. The menu screens are new this year and are more user friendly then in years past. More importantly, much of the game play presentation is new. The graphics look great and there are nice cut scenes that transition well from the end of the play to the play selection screen. Another addition to the game play presentation is the inclusion of referee. You will see the referees moving around players and will even fall over if they get run into. The referee will also bring out the chains to measure the spot of the ball and will come together to make rulings on touch downs.

Online franchises - Madden 2009 introduced gamers to online seasons and left people wanting more. This year EA took the feature to the next level. I have yet to try this, but from what I hear it seems pretty good.

Small things - The area where madden made a big improvement this year was fixing or adding little things to improve the game. They revamped the player rating scale making it more realistic. There is a big difference now between the elite players and average players. Madden 10 brings back an old feature that many people enjoyed in the past in accelerated clock. This feature makes the game shorter by running fifteen seconds off the clock before every play. Another small feature added is the ability to make in game substitutions. The Wildcat formation is also included in many playbooks this year. While there are a limited amount of plays, depending on which team you use, it is a nice addition to the game.

Ronnie Brown lines up in the Wild Cat. Will he hand it off or run it himself?

Overall, Madden 10 is an excellent game and a must have for any football fan. As for being the best in the series that is still up for debate. Madden 10, however, is the best Madden for the next- gen systems.

The Numbers on Lidge's "Stuff"

Last year he was perfect, this year not so much.

Everyone knows Brad Lidge was "Lights Out" last season. This year, however, has been a different story leaving everyone questioning, "What's wrong with Lidge?" Lidge recently commented that he felt his "stuff" was as good as it been in the last two seasons. Some of Lidge's stats, like his strike percentage seem to confirm this confidence in his ability as a pitcher. His strike percentage remains almost the same,yet his strikeout percentage is down. The numbers drop off in other areas as well, especially in the long ball department. While a few of Lidge's numbers confirm his belief, other numbers show a different side of the story.

2008 vs 2009 vs Career

	2008	2009	carrer
ERA	1.95	7.21	3.45
Saves	41	23	187
Sv opportunities	41	31	222
Blown saves	0	8	35
Save %	100%	74%	84%
W-L	2-0	0-5	25-25
Win %	1.000	.000	.500
Strikeouts	92	46	699
Walks	35	28	233
HR’s allowed	2	10	50

The save percentage is obviously down, but no one expected him to be perfect again. He is only ten points lower in his save percentage this year compared to his career. His home runs are up as well but when compared to his five and a half years as a closer, he averages close to ten home runs a year. The five losses is a direct product of the blown saves.

Strike Ratios

	2008	2009
Strike %	61%	59%
Strikeout %	31.5%	21.9%
Percentages of pitches swung at	43%	43%
First pitch strikes	55%	57%
Strikeout looking	16%	24%
Walk Percentage	12%	13.3%

Believing that Lidge is not throwing as many strikes would be incorrect. The number of strikes thrown are practically the same. In fact he is getting ahead in the count at a higher rate this year than last year. Lidge is even getting called third strikes at a much higher than inn years past. The problem is that he is not striking out as many batter. While his strikeout are down he is not walking many more batters. This leads to one obvious conclusion. They are hitting him at a greater rate.

Hits

	2008	2009
Hits	50	52
H/9	6.5	10.7
Extra Base Hit%	4.5%	10.5%
Percentage of hits that are extra base hits	26%	42%
HR	2	10
HR/9	0.3	2.1
Percentage of flyballs that are home runs	3%	14.5%

Lidge has already given up more hits in just 43.2 innings than he did all of last season in 69.1. One of every ten batters will get an extra base hit with nearly half of Lidge's hits allowed being extra base hits. Even worse, ten of these extra base hits have reached the outfield seats.

The "stuff" Lidge is throwing this season may indeed be the same as last year. The percentage of batters that are successfully hitting Lidge is not the same. In fact it is unnerving how lopsided his stats are. This, however, appears unlikely. If Lidge does not get his "stuff" straightened out soon, a change in the closer role may be needed.


Stats as of 8-18
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lidgebr01-pitch.shtml

The Three Sides of Vick

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to give Michael Vick a second chance signing him to a two-year contract. The Vick saga has transcended the sports world making national headlines. There are countless ways people approach the signing, but they can be all be summed up the following three ways.

Upset

The most outspoken group seems to be the people who are not in favor of the signing. The reasons for this feeling are quite obvious. Michael Vick was involved in an illegal dog-fighting ring and participated in killing some these dogs. He was found guilty and sentenced to twenty-three months in federal prison. Even though Vick paid his dept to society, many people cannot forgive him for what he did to those dogs. These people, for the most part, do not care about Michael Vick the football player. They still see him as a criminal and do not want to see him play for their Eagles. Some of the people who feel this way have gone so far to turn their back on the Eagles.

Excited

For those that have been able to forgive Michael Vick, they seem to be for the most part excited about the potential of another weapon being added to their football team. They remember the human highlight reel that Michael Vick was. These people understand that Donovan McNabb is still the quarterback of the Eagles, but like the idea of adding another weapon to an already potent offense. While it is unlikely that Bird fans will witness the full Michael Vick Experience, fans know that Vick was brought in for a reason and believe that he brings them closer to the Super Bowl they so desperately desire.

Undecided/don't care

If your feelings on the Vick signing do not fit into the first two views then there is a good chance that you are still uncertain or remain indifferent. While these people do not agree with what Vick did they understand that he has been punished for his crimes and are willing to give him a second chance. These people realize that Vick will not have a huge impact on the 2009 Eagles season so they do not think much of the signing. They are going to wait it out and let time determine if the move was the right one. They like the fact that the Eagles are trying to improve, but do not yet know if it was worth the cost. If Vick in Philadelphia works out then they will surely like the move. If the team gets off to a slow start and Vick provides little for the offense, the outlook will be much different.

Where do you stand on the Vick signing? Leave a comment.

First Down

Welcome to Our Philly Sports, a blog dedicated to the Philadelphia sport scene. The goal of this blog is to provide readers with our opinions on various topics. While many of the topics will be connected to Philadelphia sports, occasionally we will address other topics. The current game plan is to have a few short pieces on current issues in Philadelphia sports each week. In addition to these shorter pieces I am planning on having guest writer help me out in their area of expertise. Hopefully this will grow into something enjoyable for all who chose to follow.


Future blogs

• Michael Vick
• Madden 10
• Fantasy Football
  
• Brad Lidge
• NFL preview/predictions