[Discussion] Madden NFL 26 Improved Gameplay
Dear EA, I had a few Ideas for Madden 26 That I think will improve the gameplay and overall experience of the game.
Improve the tackling/physics. most times the defender Im using always takes th...
Forum Discussion
Madden Suggestions/Discussions
Good morning,
I feel that Madden has been moving in the right direction for the past few years and I’m optimistic for the future. I believe there are a few major issues that drastically hold the game back. My personal opinion is that the game would be much better and enjoyable if it moved towards playing more like real football. Despite what critics may say, I don’t think the game is too far off from that. Here are a few of my suggestions. A lot of these issues resonate with the Sim Style community of Madden:
- Defensive players making unrealistic interceptions when their backs are turned away from the ball
- It seems like Defensive players (mainly defensive backs) have eyes in the back of their helmets especially on 1 on 1 situations against a receiver. Realistically, the receiver has the advantage in this situation so it should always be a pass break up at best for the defender. Otherwise, it should go in the receiver's favor
- Throwing to a receiver in single coverage is a fundamental part of real football and that is taken away when defensive players are given the ability to intercept a ball they shouldn’t be able to see
- Most importantly, in real life you don’t ever see defenders catching interceptions when they can't see the ball. It’s virtually impossible even for NFL players
- I suggest gating interception animations when a defender's head isn't looking at the ball in all instances. This should at least be the standard for simulation style play
- AI generated players for draft classes/created players similar to the created players in CFB25
- Is this something that is possible in Madden?
- Boom Tech is extremely problematic
- Too many broken plays with Boom Tech that results in gameplay that feels scripted
- Unrealistic broken tackles from smaller running backs. Really conflicts with the physics of the game
- My suggestion is to just scrap Boom Tech with all due respect. I think the Hit Stick system was fine how it was. Boom Tech seems redundant and works against the Hit Stick system in some ways
- Offensive lineman seem blind out there at times
- Offensive lineman often pass up block opportunities which results in the collapse of the play design
This seems to happen at the most inconvenient times which makes the game feel like it’s scripted
- Offensive lineman often pass up block opportunities which results in the collapse of the play design
- Defensive Pass Interference is rarely ever called
- User-controlled players get away with egregious pass interferences with receivers and are rarely ever penalized for it
- Whenever DPI is called, it’s from an animation that seems scripted because it happens are very inopportune times
- The DPI slider doesn’t seem to affect the amount of DPI calls there are in games
In conclusion, I imagine things aren’t so black and white on your side when it comes to making changes to the game, so I want to let y'all know I appreciate your work and dedication. Thanks for listening 💯
to expand on this I would like to add a few things
Coverage
- Please bring back the "Match Coverage" toggle so we can be a bit more intentional on what we want to call defensively (I think it was a good feature, and it didn't limit the matching deep defenders to only when certain underneath zones were present).
- I would like to see Cover 0 "Banjo" plays added into the game, especially for nickel formations as it allows for man coverage on each side of the field to be bracketed to best leverage. Yes, this coverage can/will be susceptible to the occasional coverage bust, sometimes more than others, but I feel this can help vs concepts that use a lot of switch releases, especially in bunch. A suggestion I'd have is to turn this off with manual "play the sticks" adjustment by the player. (Add this as a bunch/stack "check", for cover 0)
- Please bring back the diversity in coverages allowed for base fronts, so many 3-4 and 4-3 fronts lack any of the following or the combination of : Traditional Cover 2s, 3 buzz, 3 cloud, and Cover 2 sink. These coverage structures are key for players to replicate traditional Quarters defenses without being forced into Nickel.
- Please for Nickel formations add a "Slot" double team coverage, preferably from both Cover 1 and a cover "0" but make the non-double team side either a blitz, or Match Quarters
- Please buff Press-man and zone chuck coverage, my suggestion to allow user defender to do it more effectively by a timing based mechanic, and allow to better disrupt the timing of the route. It should still lead to the defender trailing if he is in fact responsible for that player (unless their respective man or zone coverage rating is high, then they should be able to win consistently provided no abilities given to the offensive player that help them win this interaction)
- Please allow for more controlled contested catches. "Hit stick" tackles and "Strip Ball" mechanics should be able to double as options to play the receiver when the ball is in the air (hit sticks to try and jar the ball loose via a big hit, Strip ball to try and punch the ball out). Please allow us to also chain "swat ball" or "strip ball" in combination with the current secure tackle option to use more of a catch and tackle option to try ad continue to contest the ball until the whistle. Receivers should still be able to catch contested passes but defenders should have a viable options
- Please gate interception options to disallow players currently sprinting to jump 180 degrees to intercept the ball (this in combination with the previous point would allow you to debuff the amount of INTs defenders catch whilst also allowing defenses to actually get stops).
Blitzing
- Brian Flores is one of the best Defensive coordinators in the NFL currently and he tends to use hybrid shells on the back end to create his pressures (most of them being split field 2 high coverage concepts). He specializes in fire zones, creepers, and hot blitzes (6 rushers, 5 defenders with matching zone behind it). I would like to see some Quarters fire zone plays as well as Quarter-Quarter-Half fire zone plays introduced into the game (which can give a new take on the 3 deep, 3 under fire zone spacing, but simply changing who is responsible for what).
- With the patch made on the "Mid Blitz" "META" tactic from early in the M25 cycle, you guys have brought gap integrity for the defensive front to the best place it has been since I have picked up madden, allowing for a lot of the "uncalled" blitzed that used to populate a majority of the playbooks to work properly as designed. Please make sure this logic makes it into Madden 26!
- With this new gap integrity defensive line "stunts" should be possible to add in as new plays with our current play calling system, simply have their rush paths cross and that should be enough. (this would help to beat man-to-man based pass blocking systems, as well certain iterations of the "half slide")
- I would like a revamp on "bluff" blitzing to actually fake a rush path, before dropping into the coverage assignment
- I would like the "fake snap" mechanic to have roughly a 5-10% chance of getting a defender aligned off the ball (not on the LOS) to jump forward to show their hand, (whether in a show blitz look, or bluff or whatever, have him get a tell, and base it on his Play recognition rating on when he realizes the fake, this adds a risk reward feature to both blitzing and fake snaps)
Fronts
- I would like to see a larger variety of Defensive fronts in the next Madden Cycle, I have a few suggestions from previous maddens
- 3-4 Predator (Madden 20)
- 4-3 Over Walk (Madden 21)
- 3-3-5 Bear (Madden 16)
- 1-5-5 "Psycho" (Madden 16)
- Note, this is now more possible than ever to simulate now with the player pre-snap movement (which I hope is returning)
- Nickel 4-2-5 Over walk (formerly Nickel "strong" in Madden 16)
- 4-3 Split (rename 46 normal and expand the coverage options to have more 2 high safety plays)
- 46 Cub (Madden 21, was Detroit Lions specific)
- Any variations of a 3 high front (Nickel personnel and lighter)
- A 3-5-3 stack defense (base it from the 3-3-5 stack ("normal") defensive formation currently in game and add a few more blitzes, would be great goal line or heavy defense options to balance the game)
These suggestions in conjunction together would allow for a massively improved defensive game, which would have its effects in competitive, simulation and casual game style communities, allowing for previously unviable or unattainable strategies in madden 25 making for a more enjoyable game. If you would like to contact me further, email me [edit: email address removed] and I can go into more depth about these point upon request.
-Thanks for listening/reading !!!!
