2006.10.14 - A defensive update to the MMP Unlocked today, with plays from 5-2 Punisher, 4-3 Barricade, and Peregrine 3-4, my favorite defense of them all. I'm down to less than 30 remaining plays on both sides of the ball, so there's still a chance I'll complete the MMP Unlocked for existing formations before November.
2006.10.11 - Here's a huge update to the MMP Unlocked, this time containing every unreleased play from Quick Split, 12 new plays in all! I've done some subjective analysis of most of the offensive formations I've created, and none has more depth or impact plays than Quick Split. Included are both effective run and pass plays, as well as a QB run/pass option that you should have some fun with. Enjoy.
2006.09.30 - By popular demand (sort of, only one person voted in the poll), Western Cross from the Delta formation was chosen for this writeup. This pass play is designed for converting short yardage and goal line situations against defenses expecting run, especially a run off right tackle.
2006.09.08 - No new plays today, but different fairly big announcement: the publication of a Madden NFL 07 Strategy Guide which I co-authored on 1up.com. I wrote the first 13 pages (yes, it's quite lengthy) covering strategy, my co-author covered the later sections on Mini Games and team-by-team breakdowns. I'd appreciate any feedback, so discuss the guide in this thread in the Forums.
And in case anyone is wondering, I agreed to do the guide well before I had a chance to find out about the glitches in the Gamecube version. The preview copy on PC I used for writing the guide worked quite nicely, and I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to use custom playbooks in Franchise mode.
2006.09.05 - Although my current circumstances with EA (and of course GameStop, the retailer to ignore for your next video game purchase) has left me with some negative feelings towards the Madden NFL franchise, I've decided that I'm not going to let it get in the way of my love for creating and sharing original football strategies. On that note, I present the first writeup of the new season, Drummer, the first passing writeup for the T Bone-Jumbo formation. This play isn't flashy, but with practice should be effective at keeping opposing defenses from fully committing to stopping the run when facing this heavy formation.
2006.09.02 - After exchanging my original Madden NFL 07 for Nintendo Gamecube disc for a replacement disc in the last week I have verified that Madden 07 is indeed useless with custom playbooks, with a freeze occurring in all five games I've tried playing using a custom offensive playbook. Once again, I encourage anyone who plays Madden mainly for custom plays to stay away from Madden 07.
Another word of advice: stay away from GameStop retailers (who also own EB Games). If you purchase a defective game from them you can kiss your money goodbye, because they ain't giving it back. They would rather lose a customer than take a $40 loss on a single video game. While I primarily blame EA for producing a bug ridden video game in the first place, any merchant is ultimately responsible for the fitness of the merchandise that they sell. Yet GameStop refuses to accept a return on this broken video game due to store policy, which the manager of the local store informed me was to not accept returns on opened games unless the manufacturer has issued a recall. Imagine if the same standard was held for accepting returns on a broken toaster, or stereo, or car, that a return would only be issued under circumstances of a full product recall. Consumers wouldn't stand for it, and I'm betting that my state Attorney General's Office won't look to kindly on it either. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and buy video games from a retailer that doesn't treat their customers like shit.
2006.08.22 - Well my friends, I just got my copy of Madden 2007 and I have some sad news. Once again EA has included custom playbooks but made them unusable in Franchise, at least on Gamecube. I'm going to assume the case is the same on PS2, XBox, and XBox 360 until I hear otherwise, so anyone with a copy of the game on these platforms please comment in the Forums. PC users are fortunate, thanks to a bit of insider info that I'm now free to reveal with Madden's release custom playbooks are usable in Franchise mode on PC. But for console gamers, for the second year in a row I have to say that if you buy Madden for the Franchise mode I'd skip the purchase this year.
2006.08.21 - Last MMP Unlocked update before Madden 2007 is here! I still have a ways to go to get my whole playbook cataloged, but nine new plays from I Form-Twin Flex, should get me a bit closer. Expect more MMP Unlocked updates through October.
In other news I have a bit of a new gameplan for this season. Rather than picking every play to writeup myself, I'm going to let you help me choose. About once a week I'll post a new poll in the Forums containing a few of my favorite plays in the MMP Unlocked. After a few days of voting I'll take the winner and do the writeup. Pay attention over the next few weeks for more announcements of brand new site features to be unveiled soon.
2006.08.04 - Some old defense paired with relatively new offense added to the MMP Unlocked. The defense is from Quick Dime, one of my least successful formations but at this point the only dime published in the MMP. I have a couple of potential replacements under development, but for now there's at least a few more plays to add some depth to the weakest part of my playbook. On offense T Bone-Jumbo is no slouch, and with this update two effective passing plays are included to give some much needed versatility to an already valuable heavy set.
2006.07.23 - A little bit of both offense and defense this time in the MMP Unlocked. Offensive plays come to you from the Wiz Gun, which all of you spread offense fans should enjoy, with some long needed additions to Fortress included on the other side of the ball. The Fortress plays are a few years old but should give you enough diversity to keep opponents off balance on those goal line stands.
2006.07.08 - More classic defense for the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. Plays have been added from Speed Quarter and 3-4 Assault. One play to take note of from 3-4 Assault is Slant Slammer. Despite not getting the full writeup treatment this play might be the best I've created in the formation. I designed it specifically as an experiment to come up with a defense that could counter all of the slant routes that I use in my earlier offensive plays (and are common in the West Coast Offense), and it works well to this day.
The Speed Quarter additions hail from the days of Madden (i.e., Madden 2003) when DBs could hit like LBs and anyone could stop the run as well with a Dime or Quarters formation as with a 4-3. This doesn't work so well in more recent versions, but several of the coverages can still be effective. If you prefer slightly riskier defenses than the Cover 2 and Cover 3 that predominates in the Monstrous Madden Playbook you may enjoy the Cover 1 schemes employed in Man Lock and Out Press.
2006.07.04 - A quick update to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. Finally the defense gets into the mix! Just like when I started the MMP Unlocked with offense, we're going back to the beginnings with 4-3 Stagger. While I never use the formation myself anymore due to its lack of balance and some built in vulnerabilities, I figured there might be a few fans of the set who would like to fill it out in their playbooks.
2006.06.18 - Another update to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. This time the rest of the plays from Scimitar, a formation many of you have been wanting more of.
2006.06.16 - Here's a huge update to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. With plays from the four formations Axe, Jumbo Wing, Wishbone-Big, and Wyvern, the last of the plays from my 2005 playbook are all in. Even though I've made fewer new formations in the last couple years (so most of my recent plays fall into the 2004 or 2005 playbooks) I still have a huge amount of work to do to to catalog the entire set of 2005, 2006, and defensive formations. It's looking like I probably won't get it all done before the next release of Madden, but that might just mean I'll have to save my best 2006 material for regular season release.
2006.05.09 - Time for an overdue update the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. Today it's all passing, with three new plays from Nebula and four new plays from Dynamo. While the Dynamo plays are mostly older ones that never made the cut, one of the new Nebula plays, Gamma Screen, is one of the most fun plays to run I've come up with in the past year. It's a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of the quick-read-and-release style action I think you'll really enjoy it.
2006.03.13 - Four new plays from Spades and three new plays from Max Spread added to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked.
2006.02.11 - Ten new plays added to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked, this time all from the Delta formation.
2006.02.04 - Final update of the NFL (post)season. I've added six total plays from Nebula and Funnel to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. I want to remind everyone that new plays will be unlocked throughout the offseason, so keep those Madden skills sharp! Also, I'd like to invite everyone to discuss the Superbowl in the Forums.
2006.02.01 - New updates to the Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked. Four new plays for J Form-Normal, three more for Sidewinder. Enjoy as you get ready to watch the Superbowl!
2006.01.28 - A lot of you have asked for it. After years of me protesting the idea, you've probably given up hope. But today I'm announcing the start of something new: the opening of my entire playbook to the public. Monstrous Madden Playbook Unlocked will soon be the home of every play I've ever written down, from old classics that didn't quite make the cut to be written up as articles to great new plays that I simply haven't had the time to do a write up for. This section will feature specifications only, no diagrams or descriptions. So far I've added the 11 remaining plays from my original 10 offensive formations (the formations covered in The Monstrous Madden Playbook: Offense Volume I), throughout the offseason I intend to add nearly 100 new plays, offensive and defensive, nearly doubling the size of the playbook!
Once MMP Unlocked is fairly complete I intend to open up the decision on which plays get written up next to voting in the Forums, so keep watching for updates!
2006.01.20 - Here's another play for one of my favorite defenses. Peregrine 3-4 - Vertigo is balanced enough to handle almost any passing formation, and like nearly all Peregrine plays will shut down outside runs. A must have if you love innovative defense.
On another note, I'd like to issue a last call for Guest Playbook submissions before this site inevitably winds down with the end of the NFL playoffs. Check out details on making submissions in the Forums by reading the announcements in the Guest Playbook section.
2005.10.20 - Jumbo Wing continues to display it's versatility with FB Fly. A quick hitting pass play which can catch defenses off guard, it will make any opponent think twice about loading up too heavily against the run.
2005.10.16 - If you want to juice up your passing game then Wyvern - Junction could be a nice fit. This pass play combines quick route development with the ability to make big gains to the outside. Now with five plays available the Wyvern formation can be a key part of your offense.
2005.10.15 - Just a minor update today, I finished an old, incomplete writeup for Jumbo Wing - Inside Pitch. I should have some truly new material tomorrow.
2005.09.06 - The real NFL season is about to kickoff, and since defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season (as anyone who saw Florida State's victory over Miami in college ball can attest to) I thought it was time to get back to defense. 4-3 Barricade - Zone Stunt is an attacking blitz play that can generate big interceptions through its safety zone assignments. If your base defenses aren't getting the job done this play is a dynamic alternative to turn things around.
2005.09.01 - Today is a milestone for the Monstrous Madden Playbook with the release of my first play action pass. I've previously avoided PA passes because of the difficulty in creating them with the Madden playbook editor, but now I've come up with one that I think is worth the additional effort. Axe - X Waggle (PA) is a bootleg pass play featuring very fluid execution. Set it up with the included Waggle Decoy weak side running play and then hit defenses where they don't expect it! X Waggle, as well as any future play action passes or other plays which require special setup will be marked with (PA) or similar symbols next to their hyperlinks.
2005.08.24 - Today I'm bolstering one of my favorite formations introduced last season with an exciting new passing play. I Form-Twin Flex - Slipstream contains two routes with big gain potential, a post from the slot and running back wheel that can take defenses by surprise and create some favorable matchups deep.
If you want to get 15 minutes of fame for your own football strategy ideas look into submitting to the Guest Playbook Section. The section started off well last season and I'd like to keep things rolling. Submissions should be made in the Guest Playbook section of the Forums, according to these guidelines and using these conventions for new formations.
One last thing, I've also updated the FAQs, mostly regarding the state of custom playbooks.
2005.08.21 - I usually like to spend a long time evaluating new plays before posting them publicly, but in today's case I have something that some intensive testing has shown is just too good to wait on. T Trap is a running play featuring a combination of effectiveness and versatility possibly unmatched in the rest of my playbook. This is not to say it's an "ultimate" running play, it requires some specific personnel (two pretty good fullbacks, and a running back with high agility and acceleration) for maximum effectiveness, and can be defeated by a group of fast, aggressive linebackers, but all in all it should make a great addition to your arsenal.
For those of you who want to try T Trap but haven't created the T Bone-Jumbo formation in your personal playbooks yet, any Full House formation will do as a great starting point to provide the motion options you'll definitely want to have. The major Full House formations can be found in the Green Bay, Run Balanced, Run Heavy, or Run-n-Gun playbooks in Madden 2006. To help find formations you may not be familiar with when creating custom formations you might want to look into this great formation chart (MS Excel format) available over at Madden University. It indexes every formation by category and indicates every team which uses each formation in its playbook. Best of all it's free.
2005.08.19 - Although I've always held that Wiz Gun is one of my most promising passing formations, the few plays I've released to this point haven't quite lived up to the initial hype and expectations. I think that my latest addition to the formation, Banshee, might remedy this issue and fulfill the Wiz Gun's promise. Banshee should become one of the most effective deep threat pass plays in the Monstrous Madden Playbook, and manages to be pretty good at attacking short and medium distances as well. Use it to show defenses just how dangerous you can be.
In other news, as those of you who frequent the Forums are already aware it has been confirmed by EA that Madden NFL 2006 does not support custom playbooks in Franchise mode. This is likely due to the online capabilities that have been added to Franchise mode combined with EA's official point of view that custom plays/playbooks create an uneven playing field in online play. I believe it is important to let EA know that they have done a grave disservice to some of their biggest fans in this matter. I would like to organize some sort of petition or email campaign to voice our collective displeasure with these events, though I need to consider exactly what would be the most effective course of action to take. Keep checking this site over the next several days for further updates and information.
2005.08.10 - I have some really bad news for all Madden custom playbook fans. Apparently custom playbooks cannot be used AT ALL in Franchise mode. I've tried every option I could think of (on Nintendo Gamecube, my system) but couldn't get it to work. If anyone finds out a way to use custom playbooks in Franchise mode in Madden NFL 2006, please contact me. Until then, if you haven't already bought a copy and you don't care as much about playing online or using updated rosters as you do about creating and using custom playbooks then DON'T BUY MADDEN NFL 2006. I'll still keep making new plays and testing them on Madden 2006, but I might do most of my playing on Madden 2005.
In addition to this major flaw, custom defenses are also hindered by the fact that individual defenders will often move out of position before the snap to matchup with offensive players, even when these defenders are in zone coverage. Disabling "Man Lock" appears to do no good, and I also tried disabling "Auto-Strafe" just in case but this had no effect either. This causes serious problems for many of my zone schemes, especially in less conventional formations such as Peregrine 3-4, and makes it difficult to select the player you want to control as well.
2005.08.09 - Just got my copy of Madden NFL 2006, and the good news is that the Create-a-Playbook feature is essentially the same as in Madden 2005. There are a few differences in the game that might affect custom plays, such as a somewhat annoying pre-snap automatic man lock feature (even for defenders in zone coverage), but for the most part it looks like smooth sailing. Interested in discussing the changes in Madden 2006? Head over to the Forums.
2005.08.08 - The eve of Madden NFL 2006 is now upon us! To kick off the new season I've got three great new plays available. Unlike in previous seasons when I started things out with brand new formations, this time around I've listened to many of your wishes and will focus more on expanding the number of plays available in existing formations (especially passing plays on offense) to ensure that your opponents can't figure out your game plan too easily.
We'll start things off with defense. Peregrine 3-4 - Pincer plugs what has been one of the largest holes in the Peregrine 3-4 formation: off tackle runs. No runs to the outside are effective against this play, and you'll still be able to generate decent pressure and force turnovers. Next is Spades - Galvanize, a nifty little passing play that attacks the left flats with a halfback/tight end 1-2 punch. Finally we have Quick Split - Speed Counter, a very versatile running play that makes excellent use of the Playmaker control.
Now, I don't get my own copy of Madden NFL 2006 until tomorrow just like the rest of you, so I can't guarantee that these plays will work perfectly with the possibly updated Create-a-Playbook feature. We'll just keep our fingers crossed that any changes that have been made are backwards compatible with my existing playbook, and if any adjustments need to be made I'll get them out ASAP.
Let's have a great season!
2005.07.21 - No plays today (there will be new plays for Madden 2006 soon, I promise!) but I wanted to share an interview I participated in with Equalizer, head of the The Coaches Desk. The interview covers my motivations, my goals for my playbooks, and what I'd like to see from EA in future versions of Madden. I'd encourage anyone who interested in understanding how I think to check it out.
2005.07.01 - As promised, starting today The Monstrous Madden Playbook: Offense Volume I is available for free download. I want to thank everyone who had purchased a copy of my first book, but now I'm happy to share these plays with everyone who wants to use them. All you gamers who've loved using my original plays but never felt satisfied with the small number of plays available for each formation, now you can go all out with a totally customized offense. See my Madden Books page for details on downloading the PDF.
Since I've opened up my entire original offense I've decided that over the rest of the summer I will make some tweaks to some of these older plays. For the most part my older plays work fine in the newer versions of Madden, however, a few changes in philosophy and technique have generally been made each season, and the older plays do not reflect these changes. From 2003 to 2004 I generally added more pass protection to deal with stronger defenses. From 2004 to 2005 running mechanics changed somewhat, especially with handoffs, and so some older runs don't work as well anymore. Over the rest of the summer I'm going to mix some "bugfix" updates in with new material to breath new life into these older plays.
2005.05.22 - After what has turned into an almost three month hiatus, I've finally managed to put together an update to the playbook. SS Zone Dog may look quite similar to both previous Peregrine 3-4 plays, but the subtle differences in its zone assignments and blitzers make for a play that extends the capabilities of the formation to handle a wider variety of offenses.
Additionally, you've probably noticed the new addition to the front page of the site: ads provided by Google AdSense. I'd been thinking about adding advertisements as a way to at least cover the small costs of web hosting and annual domain name registration. I'm not a big fan of advertising in general, but Google's AdSense program provides some of the most appropriate as well as least annoying forms of advertising out there. In addition, advertising can probably bring in at least as much money as my book has, meaning that advertising should provide a way for everyone to be able to see all of my content. This doesn't guarantee that I'll never put out another book, but if the adverts work out I will be more willing to put all my efforts into the website.
2005.02.26 - A couple pieces of news today, plus a new play. The big news is that I've decided to give away The Monstrous Madden Playbook: Offense Volume I for free download as of July 1st. Why not right away you might be wondering? Mainly I don't want people that just bought the playbook to feel they got screwed by bad timing. Even if you bought the playbook today you'd still have it for 4 months longer than you would if you waited to get it for free. I'd still encourage interested Madden gamers to buy it, as at $3.00 from Lulu.com it's a great deal and is a way of offering financial support for this website.
I'm also releasing a new running play, Dash Draw in the Wiz Gun formation. It's not a play you can run over and over again, but offers a nice changeup for defense keying on the pass. Finally, there are minor updates to the Frequently Asked Questions page.
2005.02.05 - Superbowl weekend is upon us, but there's still time for one more installment of the Monstrous Madden playbook before the big game. This update comes in the Guest Playbook section from Kevin (All Star). Jumbo Split is a formation designed specifically to run the HB Option Screen, which just might be the most fun you'll have with a football play. Is it a run? A HB pass? A screen pass? It's all three! Check it out.
On another note, site veterans have probably noticed that updates tend to slow down to about once a month after the Superbowl. Partly this is because I can usually use a break by the time the off-season rolls around, but mainly it's because visitor interest tends to drop when the NFL is done. If you like to play Madden year round you can help keep this site rolling by participating in the Forums and sharing your own custom play inventions. If enough people contribute regularly I'll match these contributions with more of my own material even throughout the off-season. In any case keep working on your own inventions so I have lots of material to share in the Guest Playbook at the kickoff of next season!
2005.01.26 - The NFL season may be winding down as we approach the Superbowl, but I've still got a few great plays that I've got to share. This time it's I Form-Twin Flex - Epee Slash, a very well balanced pass play best suited for experienced Madden gamers. On another note, I'd like to add one more installment to the Guest Playbook section, so if you've been saving up any good plays now would be a great time to share them and get some recognition.
2005.01.13 - As announced a couple weeks back, I am now opening the new Guest Playbook section of the Monstrous Madden Playbook. The first entries I chose were parts of playbook submissions by two regular forum contributors, Patrick Roach (PimpDaddyPat) and Kody Page (SouthTitanDude). Patrick brings us his Maddenized version of the Single Wing, while Kody introduces the Kansas I, part of his own original Kansas Offense. All the rest of you out there who have great, gameday tested ideas of your own, send them on in (making sure they meet the submission guidelines I've laid out in the Forums) for future consideration.
2005.01.04 - At the request of a (very patient) forum contributor I've come up with a 5-2 defense to fill out my playbook. 5-2 Punisher manages to be fearsome against the run while not giving up too much against the pass. The bread and butter play is Slant Right Man, filling every gap and letting the LBs flow to the ball carrier. Mirage Blitz actually only looks like a blitz with the natural five man front, but with two linemen dropping into short zone coverage it's sure to bewilder QBs ready to throw a quick hot route.
2004.12.30 - Well everyone, I'm on break from grad school and back from my holiday travels so I now have more time to work on my playbooks than I've had since the NFL regular season began. The latest addition is Sidewinder - Drawbridge, a passing play to compliment the three running plays already in the formation and round it out into a full fledged offensive set. I hope to total at least five or six more updates over the next few weeks before I start back at school. Other than one more defensive set all of the additions will be to existing formations to fill any key gaps.
In addition, I'm also looking to start a Guest Playbook section on this site. If you have a great formation or play (plays can be in you own formation, one of my formations, or a built in formation) that you'd like to share, I'd like to see it and give you the chance to have it posted on this site. I only want original, high quality material. To keep myself from being overwhelmed I want these forms and plays to be posted to the forums rather than sent directly to me. That way other can test them out before I give them a whirl. See this forum topic for details on how to post usable formations. Plays should be described using the same *complete* notation I use myself. Post any questions under this topic in the forums.
2004.12.20 - As we get into the depths of winter it becomes time to separate the football playing men from the boys. Well, nothing says toughness like hard hitting defense, and today I'm unveiling one of my best defenses yet. Peregrine 3-4 is a radical modification of the standard 3-4 defense that moves the outside linebackers outside to rough up the wide receivers before they can even get into their passing routes. WR Shutout emphasizes this strategy by neutralizing the two outside wideouts with a combination of LB press coverage, cornerback man coverage, and safety support deep. Swamp Bite is a nasty play that is intended to completely disrupt an offensive scheme through similar WR bump and release zone coverage combined with a hard pass rush. This formation has significantly changed the way I play defense, and I think it can do the same for you.
2004.12.14 - No new plays today (I have some good ones coming soon, promise!) but I do have an important bit of news. I've just dropped the price of The Monstrous Madden Playbook: Offense Volume I from $5.00 down to $3.00. This book is nearly 200 pages of oldie but goodie plays and formations of mine. Take advantage of this offer using the link from my Madden Books page or go directly to my online storefront and Lulu.com.
2004.12.01 - Sorry it's been a while folks, but I've been a bit busy with grad school lately. I hope to get a bit more time to post updates around the holidays and into January for the playoffs. In the meantime, head over to the forums and submit any great custom plays ideas of your own. If I see enough good material I might create a new Guest Playbook section of the site exclusively for reader submissions. I do have a couple of real updates of my own as well. Quick Split - Supercross is an extremely dynamic passing play design for heavy use of pre-snap motions. I also noticed that a previously posted play, Quick Split - Inside Sprint was put up with only a writeup cut and pasted from a previous play. Oops. The situation has been corrected with a new writeup.
2004.11.08 - One more addition to my favorite power running formation, Wishbone-Big. This one finally gets the second string halfback into the action, in a play well suited to a change of pace runner with nimble feet and who can cut on a dime. Check out Power Stretch.
2004.10.31 - Well it's been a while, but I've finally found a bit of free time to add a new defensive formation and play to my playbook. While I normally add two new plays for every new formation, Golden Dollar is a bit of a special case, designed basically for defending the deep pass exclusively. Mega Prevent may be the best play you could ask for when your opponent absolutely needs a deep score IMMEDIATELY. Any thought of a pass rush is sacrificed for 100% pure coverage. I've tweaked this formation and play on and off over the past year or so, and I feel it's finally ready for prime time. It may also create some surprise interceptions if you play opponents who like to come out passing on every play.
2004.10.06 - Here's the first play resulting from the defense request poll. Wave Zone Blitz is (naturally) a zone blitz play in my versatile version of the 3-4 defense. Though the first offensive and defensive vote plays have been released, get voting if you haven't already to input your preferences for future plays.
2004.09.26 - Sorry about the delay in getting this update out, I started grad school at the beginning of the month and it's starting to keep me busy. I'm going to try to stick to a fairly regular schedule, but if I go 4 or 5 days without an update that's probably why.
Today's new formation should be worth the short delay though. I Form-Twin Flex is a variant on the basic I Form-Twin WR formation with the twists of flex WRs and both backs shifted to the left in the I formation set. Flex Stretch is probably my most successful new running play for Madden 2005. Against man defenses it has a chance to go all the way almost every time. Hunter is a timing based passing play that is very effective at moving the chains and offers strong YAC capabilities.
2004.09.19 - By popular request in my offense request poll is Scimitar - Scatter Gun. If you have another offensive formation you'd like to see a play for, don't despair, the poll is still open so make your vote now. I've also started a defense request poll, so get voting and help shape the future of this site.
2004.09.15 - The 2005 aditions to the playbook are well under way. Now that a good set of new formations have been introduced, I'm switching gears a little bit and am going to spend more time adding new plays to these forms. New forms will still be added, just a little less frequently. In that vein, here's Flats Storm, my favorite passing play from the run heavy U Bacon formation.
2004.09.12 - Now that the real NFL season is under way I think it's time to fill out those base defenses. Here's Plugger, a run stuffing play for my relatively new 4-3 Barricade defense.
Also, if you would like to have some input over the direction my playbook takes, visit the forum and vote in this poll. If you don't have a forum account, make one, it's easy!
2004.09.07 - So far this season the MMP has been mainly about power or balance based formations and plays. For those who like Fun 'n Gun style play instead, look no further than Wiz Gun. This shotgun formation features innovative passing plays which can be morphed into many effective attacks through motion. It's also one of the rare (in Madden) shotgun formations that makes HB running plays a possibility.
2004.09.04 - One of my newer plays from an older formation, Jumbo Wing - TE Crisscross is a versatile pass play from yet another of my power sets.
2004.09.01 - Cover 2 Short is an aggressive, fun new addition to my favorite defensive formation, Edge Nickel.
2004.08.28 - I hope you like the trend of running plays from big, tough offensive formations, because I've got a new set for you. T Bone-Jumbo features Power O Sting, which takes over as my favorite running play, and Weak Dive. Both running plays make good use of the Playmaker feature, so go ahead and start using this form even with just two plays, it'll work out well.
In other news, I'll be out of town for the next few days, so the next update may take a bit longer to arrive than usual.
2004.08.26 - It's not that flashy, but Spades - Hydra may help you convert those medium distance 3rd downs that can make the difference between a win and a loss over the course of a tough defensive struggle. Take a look and see for yourself.
2004.08.24 - Got another great red zone/end zone pass defense for you all in Speed Quarter - Flood Zone.
2004.08.21 - Check out the new Scimitar offensive formation. In other news, I can't keep up this pace of 1 new formation with 2 plays + 1 miscellaneous play in 2 updates every 5 days forever, so I'm switching to spacing out new formations with 2 miscellaneous plays, with each update cycle taking 7 days in total. The bad: all you Madden fans who really want new formations will have to wait a bit longer for each one. The good: the updates will be a little more frequent, and older formations will be filled out with additional plays more quickly.
2004.08.19 - Big update today, not only am I unveiling Poseidon, the best play originally developed for my 2004 Playbook not to be released last season, but I've also come up with a updated version of Red Sea Counter that works pretty well in Madden 2005.
2004.08.16 - Many of my offensive formations have leaned towards extremes: high powered passing attacks or massive power running games. For 2005 I'm going to spend a little more effort on the somewhat neglected middle formations with 2 or 3 WRs. Quick Split is my first installment of an original but familiar looking formation balanced for both running and passing, with plenty of quickness to go around.
2004.08.15 - Looking for a good red zone/sideline pass defense? Look no farther than Strike Nickel - Ghost Robber.
2004.08.12 - I got my copy of Madden on the 10th and have had a chance to install most of my current 2005 playbook (under development). As usual this new version of Madden brought some changes to the game mechanics, and while most stuff works just fine, some of the running plays are a bit screwed up. Unfortunately, the brand new U Bacon - Red Sea Counter is one of them. Specifically, the splitting guard and tackle allow the QB to be tackled before the handoff in most cases, where in Madden 2004 this never happened. I've been working on some ideas to fix it, and may have found a solution, though it's not perfect and doesn't really have the style of the original. Oh well, look for an update to the play in a few days. In the meantime I hope this new Sidewinder play can satisfy your power running needs.
2004.08.09 - The day has finally arrived, Madden NFL 2005 ships today! While the official release date is not until August 12th, I anticipate that some retailers will be selling copies earlier than that, and a few may even be selling early shipments today (I personally got my copy of Madden NFL 2004 the day before its official release last year). If you get an early copy please post your impressions in the Forums (please post under the General Strategy or Miscellaneous forums to discuss the game itself).
To welcome the new year of Madden I'm unveiling two new formations in one day, so they'll be ready when you do get your copy of Madden. 4-3 Barricade is an alternative base defense that has become the cornerstone of my personal defensive playbook. The oddly named U Bacon is based off of a powerful running formation used extensively in the Green Bay Packers great rushing offense last year. These are just the beginning. Expect new forms and plays to be posted every few days throughout the pre-, regular, and post-seasons.
Contact Arkaein with any comments or questions regarding the Monstrous Madden Playbook.