iknowcool

I'm happy pass rush is going to matter a lot more in this game too. And usually I'd chalk that up as hooplah since they have said it before, but in gameplay I've seen its true. The defensive line seems to be a LOT better at getting push on the pocket faster and more realistically. Donald seems to wreck in this game too.

I mean what he said was dumb, but I don't see how that makes him phony. I don't think just because you were a bad player in the NFL means you can't criticize someone that may be better than you, otherwise every fan that slights a player is a phony too.

Tom Brady's X-Factor Ability (saw it in a video) is "Pro Reads", which highlights the first receiver open if you are standing in the pocket. That is going to end up being super clutch in online play. I wonder how many other QBs have that

This was kind of what I expected too but believe it or not, Newton's throwing motion is noticeably much improved. NFL Network did a nice segment where an ex-player (blanking on his name) showed the difference between Newton's throwing motion yesterday and his throwing motion last year. And there's also this throw today to Hogan at camp: It's more compact/tighter to his body and it looks like he's using far less stress on his shoulder. As a result, the release looks cleaner and faster. This should (hopefully) lead to less batted balls at the LOS too. Now, it's just mini-camp. When the season is rolling and there is pressure in Cam's face, it's possible if not likely that he'll revert back - its natural. But it is great to see the improvement so far, and even just protecting his shoulder on 80% of his throws would be a massive boon for not just us but him long-term.

Just because something doesn't directly impact something doesn't mean it doesn't impact it. Running the ball is a factor (one of the biggest ones) in a game full of hundreds of different factors. Obviously there isn't a direct correlation, because there is more to the game than just running the ball and being good at that doesn't guarantee you are good at blocking, or pass rushing, or pass defense. Just like having a good pass rush doesn't mean you will have a good offense. Or having a good pass defense doesn't mean you will also be able to pass the ball efficiently on offense to make the most out of it. Just because it isn't the most important doesn't mean it isn't important, or that its irrelevant, or that it doesn't impact the game. You keep going back to the whole side of trying to prove to everyone that running the ball well doesn't guarantee success, which nobody is saying. We all know passing the ball is the most important part of football. The issue is you are taking that fact and then illogically concluding that must mean everything else doesn't matter. It just doesn't make a lot of sense.

You are the one making the argument, not me. I'm not sure why I need to come up with a word to fit your argument. I just know the running game is definitely not irrelevant or unimportant.

1. That is horrible logic. A not being as important as B doesn't make A irrelevant. A programming class is more important to a CS major than a math class is. Does that make learning math irrelevant? 2. The numbers might be factual, but the opinion you formed from it isn't.

If the point was simply proving passing the ball was the most important factor, then yes. But you are concluding that because that's true, running the ball must be unimportant. And at that point, why stop at the running game? Your logic would dictate that literally every other part of an NFL game that isn't ANY/A related is irrelevant. I'm not sure why it needs a word. It is just a part of the game.

That's the thing though. Nobody is disputing that. Passing the ball efficiently and preventing your opponent from passing the ball efficiently will give you a better chance to win, I understand that. However, just because one part of the game is undeniably the most important, doesn't mean everything else is irrelevant. Lets use the NBA as an example and how its evolved. Nowadays, shooting the three is vital. If you lack perimeter shooters (especially coming off the bench), in all likelihood, you are going to struggle in the playoffs assuming you make it. So being able to shoot the three and defend the three are extremely important and would be the NBA counterpart to the ANY/A argument (I'm a casual NBA fan so I don't know the #s behind this, but this is just to use as an example anyway). However, just because the three ball is king doesn't mean a mid-range jumper isn't important anymore. It doesn't mean post play is irrelevant. It doesn't mean being able to excel in transition isn't going to help you throughout a game or a series. Running the ball is the same way. Hell you could say its just like how post play is in the NBA. It isn't the most important thing. And if it is the best thing your team is good at while being absent solid three point shooting, maybe you aren't going to be winning the finals. But its still relevant and important. You can't just not be able to put in work in the post, and you can't just not run the ball. They, like a bunch of other factors that go into a game, mean a lot.

How does this prove running the ball is largely irrelevant? It's hard to win any game if you don't pass the ball efficiently (and I'm assuming the first part of that reads "if you run 40 times it effects your win rate little if you pass the ball inefficiently" since the flip of the coin is running 40 times and passing efficiently). If you defend the pass well but don't pass efficiently, your win rate is likely effected very little. If your offensive line plays well but you don't pass efficiently, your win rate is likely effected very little and/or negatively. Is there any scenario or element of the game that doesn't have it's win rate % go up if paired with passing the ball efficiently? And if not, then is everything outside of passing the ball largely irrelevant?

Not a lot of what you said proves the running game is irrelevant though. Some of it proves the passing game is more important, but who has ever debated that? There is more to running the ball than just helping the QB. Field position, controlling the clock, etc. Those are undeniably important elements (among dozens of other factors) that go into deciding who wins and loses a game, and running the ball helps tremendously in that regard. If you have watched the NFL for even just a season, you will probably have watched several games where a team built a sizable lead but due to poor clock management (often because a team refuses to run the ball with any sort of consistency), the other team is given ample chances on offense to string together a comeback. Running the ball guarantees you keep the clock moving regardless of the result (sans a turnover, which is also less likely to occur when running as opposed to passing). I'm not suggesting that all front office and coaches are automatically smarter than every NFL fan just because they are in that position, but these guys have unlimited access to data and film. If running the ball was as unimportant as a lot of people seem to imply, then surely we would have seen them stop investing in RBs at the top of the draft or teams flat-out stop running the ball. Obviously passing the ball is king, and if you can't do that well or efficiently at some point your team is probably going to struggle. But that doesn't mean running the ball isn't important. Plus, I feel like a lot of the "running the ball isn't important" arguments that get used is because its always done in the framework that running the ball isn't important just because it doesn't help you win at the same kind of consistently as passing the ball does. But it doesn't make any sense because that is true in every scenario. In Point 1, you say one of the primary goals should be for defenses to make the other team inefficient in the passing game. 6 of the top 10 teams last year in defensive NY/A didn't make the playoffs; does that lessen the importance of defensive pass defense since it doesn't matter if you can't pass the ball well? The point is a lot of things tend to seem unimportant or largely irrelevant if you are basing that on how consistently it results in wins relative to passing the ball. Running the ball is just one of 100 different things that play a role in winning a game. Some things are more important than others, without a doubt, but it doesn't mean running the ball is irrelevant.

https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/madden-nfl-20/news/face-of-franchise Sounds like they will be able and the abilities they earn will be based off their archetype. They don't really explain how the system will work as far as what a player needs to do to earn that, but I bet it will be linked to overall/stats/awards.

Cam Newton is scheduled to throw at mini-camp tomorrow and the Panthers will be live-streaming it. That is already a big enough deal considering there were concerns at the time of the surgery over how long until he would be ready, but by all accounts the recovery has went as smoothly as possible. But there's bigger news than that which could make a huge difference in Cam Newton's long-term future with the Panthers. A couple of weeks ago Tepper hinted that Cam Newton would come back different and it seems this is what he was alluding to: https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2019/06/10/panthers-cam-newton-throwing-mechanics-change/

They said they will update it throughout the season, so guys could gain or even lose their X-Factor ability. I wonder how it will work in franchise mode though.

Watch Dogs Legion looks solid, but I hope it's not too dark or serious. I loved Watch Dogs 2 because the game had a lot of character/personality, while Watch Dogs had a myriad of issues but the biggest problem was it flat-out was boring as hell to play. At least to me. So hopefully they can find a perfect medium between the two.