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‘Madden’ demands that Packers RB Eddie Lacy have a big week

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Madden 11_21_2013
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This week and every week for the remainder of the NFL season, we will bring you weekly game predictions courtesy of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 25. Our methodology: Each week we will update the rosters using the game’s roster download feature to make sure the game lineups reflect the real teams, then we’ll simulate the week’s match-ups using the Franchise Owner mode. We’ll record the simulation’s scores, its best players of the week, and the injury reports, then post these results each Saturday. This makes the Thursday game something of a litmus test (Madden 25 is 7-4 so far this season on Thursday games) – you can use this info for fantasy or gambling purposes. Or you can ignore it entirely. What does Madden know about football, anyway?

Our coaching change last week doesn’t appear to have worked. The move from the Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 4 resulted in Madden’s worst week yet, putting up a paltry 6-9 record. Not all the blame rests on the digital shoulders of Madden though.  It’s been an odd year in the NFL.  Teams that were expected to be Super Bowl contenders like San Francisco and Green Bay are barely clinging on to a playoff hope, while teams like Kansas City and Indianapolis have two of the best records in the league.

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A lot of that has to do with injury, and not just the absence of a player, but the domino effect it can have on the team in general. Sometimes Madden can pick up on those things – like picking former backup quarterbacks Case Keenum and Nick Foles to have breakout performances. Other times it will continue to stick with teams like Green Bay even after Aaron Rodgers is out, not factoring in his intangibles like general leadership abilities. Green Bay on paper, even without Rodgers, should have been able to take care of the New York Giants, who started the season 0-6. The Pack came into that game on a two-game losing streak though, while the Giants had won three straight and easily made it four in a row. No matter how sophisticated, a game can’t really predict momentum. 

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Madden foresees an end to the Pack’s slide this week though, partly thanks to a huge day from running back Eddie Lacy. So far this season, Lacy (the real one) has run for 696 yards with five TDs. That ranks him eighth in running yards, and tied for ninth in touchdowns. (His digital counterpart has just 587 yards and  three TDs) If Madden is right, Lacy’s performance against the Vikings could put him in the top five running backs in both categories. And it’s definitely possible, even though Lacy ran for just 27 yards last week.  With Rodgers still out with a broken collarbone, Madden is wisely predicting the Pack to run the ball; in real life that makes sense given replacement quarterback Scott Tolzien’s three INTs last week, plus Minnesota’s anemic run defense that has given up the fifth most rushing touchdowns this season.

According to Madden though, the game to watch this weekend will be Indianapolis versus Arizona, which will come down to a single field goal. The Colts are firmly in control of the AFC South, while the Cardinals have won three in a row and have a shot at a wildcard playoff spot. If Carson Palmer can put up numbers like last week versus Jacksonville – where he threw for 419 yards, had two TDs and no INTs – Andrew Luck and the Colts are going to have a tough day. The game is also in Arizona.     

Week 12 League Leaders:

Quarterbacks

Eli Manning: 429 yards 4 TD 2 INT
Tony Romo: 387 yards 2 TD 2 INT
Drew Brees: 368 yards 2 TD
Case Keenum: 317 yards 2 TD
Peyton Manning: 297 yards 2 TD

Wide Receivers

Calvin Johnson: 147 yards 2 TD
Brandon Marshall: 137 yards 1 TD
Victor Cruz: 128 yards 3 TD
Larry Fitzgerald: 121 yards 2 TD
Wes Welker: 108 yards 1 TD

Running Backs

Eddy Lacy: 173 yards 3 TD
Trent Richardson: 127 yards 1 TD
Jamaal Charles: 135 yards 2 TD
Knowshon Moreno: 122 yards 1 TD
Adrian Peterson: 108 yards 2 TD

Injuries

Jamaal Charles (HB): 5 weeks Knee cartilage tear
Santana Moss (WR): 3 weeks Dislocated elbow
Jimmy Graham (TE): 2 weeks Knee cartilage tear

Week 12 Game Results

Thursday Night Game

Madden Result   Actual Result  
New Orleans: 24 Atlanta: 13 New Orleans: 17 Atlanta: 13

Sunday Games

Madden Result   Actual Result  
Detroit: 14 Tampa Bay: 17 Detroit: 21 Tampa Bay: 24
Green Bay: 40 Minnesota: 22 Green Bay: 26 Minnesota: 26
Houston: 34 Jacksonville: 10 Houston: 6 Jacksonville: 13
Kansas City: 27 San Diego: 9 Kansas City: 38 San Diego: 41
Carolina: 21 Miami: 16 Carolina: 20 Miami: 16
Pittsburgh: 25 Cleveland: 14 Pittsburgh: 27 Cleveland: 11
Chicago: 25 St. Louis: 23 Chicago: 21 St. Louis: 42
Baltimore: 13 NY Jets: 6 Baltimore: 19 NY Jets: 3
Oakland: 28 Tennessee: 9 Oakland: 19 Tennessee: 23
Indianapolis: 26 Arizona: 23 Indianapolis: 11 Arizona: 40
NY Giants: 53 Dallas: 38 NY Giants: 21 Dallas: 24
Denver: 27 New England: 13 Denver: 31 New England: 34

Monday Night Game

Madden Result   Actual Result  
San Francisco: 9 Washington:16 San Francisco: 27 Washington: 6

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Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
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Speaking to Digital Trends, Executive Producer of Gameplay Aaron McHardy painted a picture of a more somber and reflective development of Madden NFL 23 as EA Tiburon mourned rthe passing of series namesake John Madden and tried to make up for the franchise's past failures. While Digital Trends hasn't gone hands-on with the game yet, McHardy highlights that Madden NFL 23 will address many issues fans have thanks to a plethora of bug fixes and a new suite of features called FieldSENSE that touches every part of the experience.
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Before the team could make Madden NFL 23's gameplay better, they had to fix what was broken already. The past few Madden titles have all been riddled with bugs, and the situation got worse than ever with Madden NFL 22. The annual release schedule and pandemic had finally caught up to EA Tiburon's game quality. McHardy outlined the steps the developers are taking to ensure it (hopefully) doesn't happen again.
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This process was thorough, as the developers ended up with a list of "hundreds" of bugs and issues that EA Tiburon could improve. The team then fixed some issues as part of Madden NFL 22's live-service updates and took anything they couldn't fix into account when planning Madden NFL 23's development.
"In the way that we plan new features every year, we were also planning fixes for all of those bugs to make sure that we fixed them and also have time left to catch new ones we are creating," he said. "Polish was a big thing for us on the team this year, so while there are still some bugs because we aren't finished, we feel like the game is already in a better position this year than it was at this time last year. We are hyperfocused on making the most polished game that we can."
We won't know for sure whether or not this will all really pan out until the game is in our hands this August, but it seems like EA knows where it messed up and wants to do better.
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Madden is not just being honored on the cover. The first thing players will experience when booting up Madden NFL 23 is a fictional game where two versions of Madden are facing off against each other with all-star teams of athletes in the 1970s Oakland Coliseum. This game will even include real voice clips from Madden, remastered just for this experience. McHardy also believes Madden's influence can be felt outside of that opening game because his death encouraged the development team to work harder. 
"I didn't have the pleasure of speaking with him, but I know a lot of the guys on the team did." McHardy continued. "He was invested in making sure that our game was the most authentic 11v11 football game that it could be. It was obviously a sad and somber moment to lose someone like Coach Madden, but it really energized the team in a way this year to think about our features, what we're building, and how we can honor that legacy." Madden NFL 23 will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S later this year. 

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