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Fantasy Football:

Madden fans are very critical towards change. Each year EA sports tries to perfect one of the most anticipated video games of summer by adding enhancements to what is arguably the greatest sports game to ever be created. With yearly record sales, massive online play, tournaments, and even a reality show, Madden 13 has a loyal fan base eager to get their hands on this years version. -Release Date August 28th.

One of the biggest changes to Madden 13 is happening in the sound-booth. Phil Simms & Jim Nantz, CBS’s number-one commentary crew, are taking over to lend their voices to the game. Together they may not have the same classic catch-phrases as John Madden himself, nor do they have that insane moment voice like Gus Johnson, but overall they are far less annoying than Chris Collinsworth.

What does concern me is when play by play tries to get too cute in the color commentary. I for one am a terrible loser in Madden (at everything, who am I kidding), and don’t need funny anecdotes after failed passing plays or recycled jokes late in the fourth quarter of a blow out. Even watching the video above I felt my blood boil a little when they got off-topic. Throw in some trash talk from a 10 year old punk kid over my PS3 headset, and it might be time to purchase a new controller…and lamp.  I’m old school and fall into the “hate change” demographic, let’s hope that these noobs don’t mess things up too bad.

Check out some of the other changes:

• Halftime features a new stats overlay, and no halftime show. -Which I never knew they had to begin with.
• The game contains all the new Nike uniforms and alternates on the disc. Some of the uniforms may have to be unlocked via a code as they are released in real life.
• Lighting changes based on the time of day occur per play instead of just at quarter breaks.
• Madden NFL 13 features the improved high dynamic range lighting and motion blur of NCAA Football 13.

Passing Game

• EA improved the left-analog stick passing controls so you can place the ball on a receiver’s back shoulder, out toward the sideline, up high, down low, and other places where only your receiver can get it.
• Madden 13 integrates new pass trajectories and ball speeds to open up more areas of the field in the passing game.
• New pass animations speed up the time in which quarterbacks get rid of the ball, including a new shovel pass and specific set-ups for throws on the run.
• Pump fakes are now directed toward specific receivers, occur faster, and contain specific animations when performed outside of the pocket.
• Like NCAA 13, Madden features more than 20 new quarterback dropbacks, including those for 1/3/5/7-step variations, screens, and plays with auto-pump fake dropbacks. QBs even drop back automatically and set-up in the pocket if you don’t touch the left analog stick after the snap.
• To improve the receiving, EA is including more than 430 new catch animations, some of which are fueled in part by the changes made to the left-analog passing stick. EA Tiburon says it also wants to make user catches easier to do by slowing down players when they select a receiver.
• The quarterbacks have new moves for avoiding the pass rush. A slowed down pocket speed give you more control when you’re trying to not get sacked.
• EA tweaked play-action to include an abort command that cancels the animation for those situations where a defender busts through the line. The play-action also unravels faster in general. Running backs should be better in blocking after the fake (as well as release for passes) and defenders will be faked out more by play-action.
• Receivers have timing windows in their routes. When they expect the ball they’ll turn their head to the quarterback. Until this time, their passing icons are grayed out. Passing to a receiver who isn’t expecting the ball will often result in an incompletion. However, receivers will sometimes look for the ball earlier if the cornerback across the line of scrimmage blitzes or the receiver beats the jam at the line. -Pretty cool!

AI

• Neither receivers nor defensive backs react to a ball unless they are expecting it (like in the case of a quick slant for receivers) or they have their heads turned and are looking at it. This should hopefully do away with the psychic defensive backs from past Madden games.
• Defenses line-up opposite receivers in a best-on-best designation. This prevents your linebacker from matching up against an elite wide receiver lined up in the slot, for instance.
• Defenses disguise their man or zone coverage before the snap so offenses can’t try to use motion to uncover the defense’s plans.
• Defenders use different coverage techniques such as off coverage (where they start seven or so yards off the line of scrimmage and attempt to read the ball), trail techniques (including hand fighting), and split techniques (where the linebacker stands between the tight end and slot receiver).
• New animations allow for simultaneous tackles while the ball is being caught (including being able to knock out the ball in mid-air), and in general the development team says it’s been working on the interplay between players while the ball is in the air.
• EA promises enhanced AI playcalling for two-minute drill, goal line, clock draining, and red zone situations.

Audio

• Check out the original score in Madden 13 that plays as the game enters the break between quarters.
• Over 82 hours of commentary from Nantz and Simms, to keep the audio new and different each time, with over 9,000 unique lines. Most of the lines are ad-libbed and Nantz and Simms regularly have interactions and comment on what is actually happening on the field.
• A new “Madden NFL 13 Theme”, composed by Colin O’Malley, to be played at the beginning of the game as well as variations heard at quarter breaks, halftime, and postgame. In addition, an approx. 15-16 track, fully orchestrated soundtrack, also composed by O’Malley, will replace EA Trax for the music on the menu screens and other game modes.
• Partnership with NFL Films to get exclusive sound clips, such as QB cadences, hits/tackles, and group chatter, only available in Madden NFL 13.
• New crowd noise, recorded with 24 microphones, opposed to 4 microphones in previous years.

Fantasy Football:

Blue-Super Bowl Winners

Winning the Super Bowl is obviously the ultimate goal each and every year. Although kicking the absolute crap out your division rivals, is a close second.

The five year recap to the right, may not come as much as a surprise to some of you. Teams like the Patriots and Steelers have been a dominate force in their respected divisions for years now. Still, the bottom half of the ranking board does feature a lot of the same teams we do seem atop the NFL draft order every April. A sign that the best way to improve within the league, starts with the battles against the teams you know the most.

Winning your division has always been a top priority with coaches. With each division winner getting a free ticket to the post-season, it would only make sense to game-plan and build your franchise around the ability to exploit a rivals weakness.

The fact that the St. Louis Rams have only won 4 games within their own division in the last 5 years is down right disgusting. Clearly there are some obvious goals that new head coach Jeff Fisher must correct. The same could be said for the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that has been a doormat in the AFC North.

Surprisingly the Browns along with Rams, Lions, Jaguars, Chiefs and Broncos have all not been able to crack .500 within their own division in the last 5 seasons.

While the recent Super Bowl champs are all near the top of the rankings list, winning the turf war isn’t a absolute must to win the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers did have an impressive 6-0 record in the AFC North back in 2009, but the Giants have won it twice in the last 5 years with a .500 mark in the NFC East.

Fantasy Football:

NFL Apparel was morphed into a billion dollar enterprise 10 years ago when Reebok took an aggressive approach to adding a wide range of selection to the public. The brand tried it’s best to capture the hearts of the NFL fans of all shapes and sizes…and for the most part, they succeeded. Although, despite the ever-growing types of jerseys, sideline wear, draft hats, and even throwbacks, there was something missing, at least that’s what my wife was always harping about.

The NFL Women’s line never seemed to get the same sort of attention that the Men’s did. Reebok tried it’s best to manage the high demand of wants and needs that we the diehard NFL public wanted to see, but they fell short. Even with Reebok’s strong initial start in the early 2000′s, the brand quickly became overwhelmed, and even seemed like they were phoning it in the last few years.

After taking over for Reebok, Nike’s approach in it’s first year has been down right brilliant. While some may be unhappy with the new jerseys (in particular the Seattle Seahawk fans and their blue, yellow, and green rainbow from hell), you have to give it up for wanting to make women hotter.

The logic of creating an extensive sexy NFL women’s line that features more selection is a stroke of genius. It’s the ultimate lazy-man’s gift for any woman who is a fan. Now I’m not suggesting you buy one for Mom this Mother’s day, but hey… maybe she hates flowers. Still, I am somewhat shocked that Reebok never caught on. I mean, I envision the pitch to the NFL apparel executive took all of 2 minutes and went something like this:

Creative mind: “40% of the NFL’s fans are women”
Nike Executive: “ok?”
Creative mind: “Men love seeing Women in Sexy NFL clothing”
Nike Executive: “Yes”
Creative mind: “Women love to shop”
Nike Executive: “done”

The only difference between the things that Nike are doing now, and what Alyssa Milano’s line was doing the last couple years, is you’re not going to get gouged in the wallet. Milano’s line is “what are you crazy?” expensive.

Fantasy Football:

Eli Manning just won the Super Bowl, and also just hosted Saturday Night Live, but plays backup to the media’s dueling banjos of Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez. “The New York Giants just won a championship,” Manning said in a recent interview, “yet I’m still the third most talked about quarterback in my own city.”

Eli Manning has as many Super Bowl rings, two, as Tebow had completions in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs last year.  A game the Broncos won.

What is our fascination with a quarterback that can’t throw, reads defenses as well as Lindsey Lohan reads street signs, and gives an interview about as interesting as… well…  I don’t know if there is as boring a comparison.

“I’m so excited about being a Jet,” Tebow said at his first press conference after being traded from the Broncos to the Jets.  “I’m looking forward to my time here in New York. I’m so humbled that they wanted me… I’m looking forward to my future as a Jet.”  Snooze fest.

That is not an out of context snippet of his boringness.  It is what every word out of guy’s mouth sounds like.  Excited, amazing, and fun are the majority of adjectives he knows.  He is as well trained at speaking to the press as a Westminster Dog Show winner.  The guy makes Martha Stewart sound like Charles Barkley.

I believe that the countries’ fascination with number 15 is, we are searching for the same thing that he thanks before every interview: a savior.

University of Florida needed a savior.  They had not won a national championship since 1996, and Timmy Terrific was part of two college national championship teams while playing for UF and won a Heisman Trophy to boot.

Denver needed a savior.  The Broncos had been waiting over a decade for someone to finally replace their gunslinger-hero John Elway.  While he doesn’t throw the ball like Johnny, he pulled out crazy wins like Elway did.  He led them to their first playoff appearance and victory since 2005.

The country needs a savior.  It is looking for relief from the drugs, guns, and girls that we get from seemingly every other corner of professional sports, politics, and just about any other profession we used to admire.  Tebow is a devout Christian, preaching on Easter and praying, publicly, every chance he gets.  He is a self-professed virgin until marriage, and he says “God bless” to players that curse at him on the field.  He is what most parents hope their boys become and whom their daughters marry.

New York…  Well New York just loves a great story on page 6.  But nonetheless, I am sure he will save something in Manhattan, even if it is just bus fare.

He will never be the most statistically accomplished player on the gridiron, but he may very well have the most success at being a human of anyone who has ever played a game of football.

All of Tebow’s deeds, both on and off the field, carry with it his openness of his faith.  While his beliefs alone are not contested, his outward expression of them in everything he does is.  He is insanely polarizing and the media loves it.  You either love him or hate him, but everyone seems to have an opinion on him.

The sophomore executive of the Denver Broncos, John Elway, was able to replace Tebow, maybe by the grace of God, with the only QB that maybe more popular than Tim with Peyton Manning.  He saved face with most fans by bringing in a sure first ballot hall-of-famer to replace the league’s three-and-out leader.  You might not know it however if you read the tweets that had been sent to Elway in the days following Tim’s trade to New York.  Let’s just say they did not have very Tebow-friendly language in them.

Eli Manning is as controversial as laundry day.  He doesn’t make waves on or off the field.  When he wins, even if he played amazing, it is almost forgettable.  Unlike Tim, who usually has the worst stat line of any passer in the league that week, but finished the game in a way you would never have been able to fathom.  Eli can “gee, shucks” it with the best of them at press conferences just like Tim.  Even when he tries to be the center of attention, like Manning’s recent hosting efforts on SNL, it is overshadowed by Rihanna’s crotch-tapping musical performance.

Their biggest difference comes in what is the two player’s focus.  Tebow wants to use his popularity as a platform to advance his otherworldly agenda while Eli just wants to win football games.

“For me, it’s a great opportunity on a public platform to get on your knees and humble myself and thank the Lord for all the blessings he’s put in my life,” Tebow said on ABC News.

Putting his beliefs and off-the-field work on display has taken his stardom from the NFL’s most clutch QB, to one of the world’s biggest cultural icons.

Eli, on the other hand, is more than happy to keep his work efforts on the football field, and it shows.  He is the only person to get the better of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, and he did it twice.  Since Manning’s first full season as the starter of the New York Giants, they have not had a losing record.  Eli is now in serious conversations as a hall of famer.  Those accolades may win you praise in the locker room, and around the league, but it does not inspire, and infuriate an entire country.  Tim on the other hand, had the 28^th worst passer rating in the league and was dead last for passing yards per game.

If Peyton and Archie Manning are any indication though, Eli will probably be more than happy to be known as one of the game’s greatest and not one of the world’s most well known people.  Tim Tebow didn’t ask for that either, but he sure is using it.  But whichever side you might think is the better way to operate and go about your business, assuredly, Mark Sanchez would prefer to switch with Eli for third place than answer one more question about Tim Tebow.  Maybe he can call Kyle Orton for some tips.

Fantasy Football:

Don’t pretend you don’t believe in this curse, because you know it’s true! The Madden Curse has ruined fantasy football seasons year after year, just ask Peyton Hillis.

This is the third year EA Sports has allowed the cover to be decided on by a fan vote. Previous winners include New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis.

Megatron is coming off an fantasy elite season in which he caught 96 passes for a league-best 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns. He became the third player in NFL history with at least 95 receptions, 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in a season, joining Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

“Man, it’s great,” a smiling Johnson said. “Just to see yourself on this Madden (cover) and seeing all the guys that have been on Madden? C’mon, man.”

Right now it’s just the cover of a great video game, but come fantasy season, fans are going to be cringing with worry when they select the best wide receiver of the game in their fantasy pools.

Check out Cam Newton’s reaction when it was announced, it almost seemed like he was relieved. The vote was announced Wednesday afternoon on “SportsNation” on ESPN2, you can watch the video here

You can also read the full in-depth Madden Curse here trust me it’s like 90% accurate.

Fantasy Football:

Mel Kiper may best be known for his analysis of NFL Draft prospects and their value on the big board, but without a doubt his hairdo takes the most shots.

As an ESPN analyst for over 28 years, Mel Kiper has provided in-depth information on the nation’s best up and coming draft prospects. He has had feud wars with other experts on air and has even called out coaches for their poor choices on draft day. His excitement for the NFL draft is unquestionable. He loves the draft as much as we do and despite being accused of “over hyping” players at times, his track record for picking talent is among the elite.

The NFL Draft is full of uncertainty, but the two things you can always count on with Mel Kiper, is his fast talking intense nature, and of course is ridiculous hairdo.

We here at Gridiron Experts thought instead of poking fun at Mel Kiper’s hair, like so many other sites have (links here and here) We would offer some helpful suggestions to possibly changing up the debonair wall of mousse.

Speical thanks to the IPhone App Headbooth, Esquire and of course Mel Kiper himself for having a sense of humor.

Fantasy Football:

Pre NFL Draft Super Bowl Odds

Everyone knows the NFL draft is the fastest way to improve a franchise. All it takes is some clever wheeling & dealing before a .500 team is stronger and better prepared for the upcoming season.

Every year there are teams that have a complete flip flop in the NFL standings, and usually a major factor in such a quick recovery is thanks to an excellent NFL draft.

The list to the right are the latest odds to win the Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. Notice that the Saints are still high at 14 to 1, a bet I’m sure gets zero action these days.

Although getting in Pre-NFL Draft is not a bad idea. These odds will change within a week or two after the dust has settled from the Draft. I’m guessing sportsbooks evaluate the NFL draft as well, and research what additions were gained through adding talent that can play right away.

Teams like the Falcons, Cowboys and Jets are all 25 to 1. A great return on teams that either just missed the playoffs or made it and put up 2 points on the score board. Yeah you heard me Atlanta, I had a couple bucks on you and I’m holding a little grudge.

Still no love for the Browns at 150 to one, even the Colts are given better odds and their future QB has never thrown a pass in the NFL -Damn

Fantasy Football:

NFL Nike Jersey’s Released!

Never has their been so much hype, and pressure for a brand to produce a line of Jersey’s. The NFL has partnered with Nike after the Reebok contract expired last season, and fans are dying to see the new line of NFL apparel has in store.

Being it’s Nike’s first year, the company made a smart strategic play to reach out for help from other excellent companies with the launch in their first season. NewEra is taking on the Hats and creating a new look that I’m sure many fans will love.

Nike has had past deals with individual teams, but this is the first time the company will be the exclusive NFL-gear supplier to all 32 teams. Changes to the latest slate of uniforms, which the league will start using this season went live today.

Up until this point the new Nike jersey’s were kept under wraps, but with a history of creating some whacky looks for teams like the Oregon Ducks, fans were a little concerned. Gridiron Experts is happy to announce our partnership with NFLshop, we plan to always provide our fans with the latest deals and promotions through Twitter and article links.

Get Your NFL Gear at NFLShop.com!

Fantasy Football: