MrBigglesworth playing as Da Bears

[MrBigglesworth]

I got Madden when it came out, but waited to play it until I got tired of NCAA and wanted a break. Well, that point has finally come. I haven’t played a game of Madden in over a year, and I am going to attempt to bring the Bears back to greatness! This will most likely not be a completely detailed franchise thread, simply because of all of the typing that would be required. Instead, I am hoping to focus on long-term strategy and the best way to create a winning team.

I will be playing 6 min quarters on All-Pro, starting out with default sliders, on the PS2.

Note: I am already 6 games into the franchise, and will try to recap the early season as best as I can

First Impressions

With my lack of Madden experience, and the fact that the Bears are fairly low-rated, I get the feeling that the Bears aren’t going anywhere this year. With that in mind, I look to the future. The most obvious move is jettisoning Kordell Stewart. He is traded away to the Cardinals for a third round pick, and I personally drive him to the airport to make sure he is on time for his flight. Rex Grossman, welcome to the Big Time. I briefly considered moving Ted Washington (at 35, he will probably retire soon), but I like having some beef in the middle to keep the blockers off of Urlacher. I trade away an old DE to Cincinnati for another 3rd rounder. I see that my FS, Mike Brown, is a 91 overall, and is young and in the final year of his contract. Since I like playing a cover two, he is someone who I want around for the Super Bowl seasons, so I sign him up for 5 years at $15 million. It's a lot for a safety, but I think he can be a Dawkins type player for years to come. For everyone else, I want to give them a chance to win their jobs before I get rid of them.

[MrBigglesworth]

Preseason

I simmed most of preseason to get to the good stuff. Unfortunately, the only decent offensive lineman that I have, Kreutz, went down for 6 weeks, and my backup is a 55 OVR.

Week 1 – Chicago 7, San Francisco 3
A defensive struggle. Nobody could get anything going on offense for most of the afternoon. I managed to scrape together a single drive. After one week, I am 1st in defense and 31st in offense. It was the type of game where if you were watching it on TV, you’d be hoping that the Bengals were on CBS. Maybe I’ll win all season with defense and no mistakes from Grossman.

Week 2 – Minnesota 20, Chicago 10
Any illusions I had about winning with a rookie QB went out the window on the first play from scrimmage, when Grossman was picked off on an out pass and had the ball returned for a TD.

Week 3 – Bye week - Impressions
Running is a lot harder in this game as opposed to NCAA. I’m averaging about three yards per carry, which isn’t good for my run-oriented offense. Thomas’ three fumbles in the first two games had me looking frantically for a fumble slider. It’s also harder to read the defenses, with all the wacky stuff they do. On the other hand though, a lot of the defensive plays seem to leave receivers wide open with nobody covering them. I make a mental note to pick up a scat-back for short passes.

I use the bye week to check out the trade block, and find that the Eagles have Darwin Walker on the block (young, 89 OVR, signed for 5 years at a little over $1 million per). I’d love for him to replace Washington. They want a MLB for him. I work out a psuedo-three way deal with Baltimore, sending Washington and a 6th and 7th rounder to Baltimore and a 2nd rounder to Philly for Walker and a 4th rounder from Baltimore.

Week 4 – Green Bay 35, Chicago 28 (Monday)
A late TD made this game closer than it was, but I finally got some offense going. I started to pass on 1st down, which was pretty successful. Donald Driver torched my SS whenever I put him in a zone over the top. With an awareness of 69, he better improve, or he will be replaced this off-season. Grossman had a potential break-out game, with over 300 yards passing. Most of that was because da Bears were constantly behind.

I only spent $400k on advertising for my first game, and ended up with 79% attendance.

Week 5 - Oakland 26, Chicago 14
I punted from the 50 with 2:30 left and the score 20-14, and Buchanon ran it back 85 yards for a TD. I know what Fassell feels like. To say I was pissed after this game would be an understatement. The second play of the game had me 1st and goal from the 1, and Thomas fumbled it.

Spending $700k on advertising brought in 82% attendence.

Week 6 - Chicago 35, New Orleans 7
Ah, the Saints, a cure for what ails you. Chicago used huge plays to take an early big lead. Two of the Saints top 3 CB's were hurt for the game, and WR Booker torched the scrubs. The Saints pulled to within 14-7 with 40 seconds left in the half, but a 69 yard pass from Grossman to Booker made it 21-7 at halftime. McQuarters then took the second half kickoff to the house, and Chicago never looked back. Thomas finally picked up a 100 yard game, with 111 yards on 24 carries.

Week 7 - Chicago 21, Seattle 7
Thomas' 176 yards rushing (26 carries) and 3 TD's gave him offensive player of the week honors for the NFL. C Kreutz's return to the starting line-up helped big-time with the rushing, along with my realization that you can use playmaker to switch the direction of the run.

A huge pall was cast over the victory however, as OLB Holdman suffered a season ending broken collarbone. I decided that Caldwell was just not up to the task of being a starting linebacker, and I signed Godfrey from the FA pool for two years and $6 million. With the uncertainty of Holdman coming back from the injury next year at 100%, I felt I had to get someone that could start for a couple of years. The price tag was hefty, but I was making good money and am still almost $20 million under the cap.

That's where I stand, 3-3, tied with 5 other teams for 7th in the NFC.

[MrBigglesworth]

Week 8 - Chicago 24, Detroit 14

Anthony Thomas rushed for over 100 yards for the third straight game, and Marty Booker caught a 63 yard TD pass to propel the Bears (4-3) past the Lions (3-4). Thomas rushed for TD's of 23 and 38 yards, both on third and long. Thomas' TD runs accounted for most of his 112 yards on the ground. Godfrey played well in his Bears debut, leading the team in tackles and intercepting a Joey Harrington pass inside the 20 yard line. Godfrey's pick was the first of two Harrington interceptions inside the red zone.

92% attendance at soldier field, with fan support growing!

[Bucks07]

Personally, I've found its a lot easier running inside on Madden, as opposed to outside on NCAA. Switching the direction with playmaker helps a lot too. Looks like you're getting the hang of it, judging by your last few rushing totals.

[MrBigglesworth]

I've found that to be true as well, but I thought it was because I have a power running back and a great center. I rarely run outside the tackles.

Week 9 - Chicago 34, San Diego 11

The Bears controlled the game from the very beginning, scoring on the opening possession and taking leads of 14-0 after 1 quarter and 20-0 at the half. Thomas went over 100 yards for the 4th straight game, gaining 111 on 24 carries. The game was the first sell-out of the year in Soldier Field.

Mid-Year Impressions

Offense - Lots of room for improvement here. The Bears are set at C, QB, WR, and HB, but could upgrade their G, T, and FB. I find it hard to run outside because my FB is too slow and my tackles can't drive anyone back. I also can't run any routes with double-moves because I can't trust the o-line to pass block for more than a 3 or 5 step drop.

Defense - This unit has carried the team this year so far. I'm unhappy with the SS and the RE. LE Haynes, in his rookie year, has 10 sacks already.

If I dominate a good team, I am going to fiddle with the sliders a little bit. I upped the CPU running ability, but Tomlinson still only gained 3.6 ypc. On the other hand, my team and gameplan is designed to stop the run first, so that might be expected.

[MrBigglesworth]

Week 10 - Chicago 35, Detroit 23

The Bears beat the Lions for the second time in three weeks, despite being outgained 365 to 304, and despite Harrington picking apart the secondary for over 200 yards passing before he was injured for 5 weeks mid-way through the third quarter. McQuarter's 22 yard INT return for a TD in the second quarter put the Bears up 14-0, and Detroit didn't get within 12 points from then on.

Of course, right after I rip my RE for not doing a good enough job, he comes up with his best game of the year, with 7 tackles (including some key plays on third down), 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. Secondary played terribly, I may need to upgrade the CB position as well.

I think turnovers have been the difference lately. I've gotten 5 takeaways the past two games, and haven't committed a single turnover. Grossman has been great, he hasn't been throwing the errant passes for picks like in the first couple of games.

[MrBigglesworth]

Week 11 - Chicago 41, St. Louis 38 OT

A thriller in Chicago, as St. Louis used 4 Chicago turnovers to obtain a 38-24 lead late in the fourth quarter. With 2:11 left, Grossman hit Dez White on a corner pattern for a 23 yard TD. The Rams went three and out, and on Chicago's next position a mix-up in the Rams secondary left White wide open on an out for a 53 yard score to tie it at 38. The Bears won the toss, and easily drove down the field against a tired Rams defense, finally scoring on a 20 yard FG by Edinger.

I think I have to change the QB accuracy slider or something, as Grossman threw for 446 yards. The Rams starting SS was 56 OVR though, which helped that number.

The Bears went into the black this week with another sell-out. Already with a $4 million profit this year, the Bears have 3 more home games and a possible play-off game or two.