Can Madden '09 Predict Our Season : Part One

by AustinVike on Feb 4, 2009 9:08 AM CST in Reviews Comment 9 comments

In typical fashion, my early morning browsing session led me to come across an interesting article about using Madden '09 to predict real life game results. The team at EA Sports created a "sim-Super Bowl" which predicted a score of 28-24, and a Steelers win. Pretty good for a computer, eh?

This got me thinking - could someone (anyone) use this as a tool to predict our upcoming season?

To start, here's the original article: http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-02/madden-predicts-winner

So, my challenge to all of you out in Vikingsland, is to try this out (if you can). I'd like to hear what sorts of results you come up with - and furthermore, let's try the simulation with different players in the QB position.

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Madden can predict injuries and player progression. It also helped me pick stocks and find out weather conditions on April 7, 2098

by LoveBoat1 on Feb 4, 2009 9:31 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

rofl. He hit it on the head. I’m sure it was good predicting a single game, but over the course of a season, I doubt it’d do so well since anything could happen.

by Frost on Feb 4, 2009 10:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lol...yeah

Point taken. I still think it would be fun to try, especially now that we’re in the offseason.

The one thing I’m most curious about is if we keep the current lineup and swap out TJack with someone else (Favre, Cassel, etc) – just to see if there are glaring improvents over the course of a season.

I still think it’s a pretty interesting idea, albeit nerdy.

by AustinVike on Feb 4, 2009 10:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I think all NFL coaches

Should be forced to play at least 500 hours of Madden in the offseason so they get a better understanding of how to use timeouts and manage the clock. I’m sick of watching games and yelling at the TV because anyone that plays Madden wouldn’t have made the call that the coach just did.

by ericj69 on Feb 4, 2009 11:33 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

About the same

I’ve done this twice this year. I used the Create-a-Player feature to make John David Booty, Erin Henderson, Darius Reynaud (who really represents Charles Gordon’s true KR/PR ability), and John Sullivan. I traded away a bunch of marginal players who didn’t stay on the roster (Robert Ferguson, et al) to get Napoleon Harris and Dontarious Thomas. I didn’t think to start with control of several teams (and send Pennington to the Dolphins…or to simulate how the Vikes would have done with CP at QB…), but I’ll try that next time I get around to it.

Frerotte won the job in the preseason both times. JDB even got into a couple games and went on to be a perennial Pro Bowler (I must have given him too much AWR because nothing about him was spectacular) who led the team to many Super Bowl wins as the coaching staff was dishing out AWR left and right (I wish the game weren’t so universally generous in that respect).

The second time, Gus was injured in one of the first 3 games, so TJ got a bunch of PT and got much better while JDB got none. TJ was not good enough to lead the team to a Super Bowl quite so early. This time, I took a few more liberties, cutting Wade and Shiancoe when the CPU advised me to (and replacing them with MUCH better FAs like Antonio Gates or Kellen Winslow II or even Martelius Bennett for less money).

In both cases, I drafted the best available CB (there happened to be more than 1 first-round quality CB, including the top-ranked CB of the draft one time). That move allowed me to move Cedric Griffin to SS, replacing Sharper, or to trade him away for a 2nd round pick in 2010 to allow Winfield to play SS during the last year of his contract. I still believe that the Vikings should draft a CB or WR in the first round this April.

by KC Viking on Feb 4, 2009 4:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I just went through a few sims of this season’s schedule with some of the more widely touted QBs…. and my findings were confusing.

First time, was Jackson under center. The control group. He took us to a 10-6 record (lookit that) but a first round loss (. . . maybe that Madden thing really works!) to the Bucs.

Second, I traded a few picks for Cassel, who led us to a 9-7 record. We at least got into the divisional round of the playoffs that time before losing.

Third, Donovan McNabb. Took us to a 10-5-1 (Yes, ironically enough it simmed a tie with McNabb as QB), we went to the NFC Champ, lost to the ’Skins who somehow made it.

Finally, I was expecting a SB appearance with this man, and well…. Tom Brady, yes the best QB in the league took us to……… an 8-8 record!

by Frost on Feb 4, 2009 4:47 PM CST reply actions 0 recs