Madden NFL 08 Fantasy Draft: Part 2

Here is my fantasy draft. I got the last pick (32^nd) in the first round but got the 1^st pick in every second round.

1^st Round: Pick 32 – J.Peppers, Left Defensive End, Overall 99

An unusual pick for me because I rarely draft defensive ends this high up, but Peppers is perhaps the best defensive end in the game and knowing I would have the next pick to chose a quarterback I decided to get a player with a 99 overall. Pass rushing is always something I have difficulty with and I rarely get as many sacks as I would like. Peppers allows speed pass rushing while still being able to tackle the running back.

2^nd Round: Pick 1  - B.Roethlisberger, Quarterback, Overall 88

I like to base my Madden strategy on throwing the ball a lot and therefore quarterback is the most important position for me. By the time it was my turn almost all the good quarterbacks were already chosen but I was lucky enough to pick up Roethlisberger who is a really good quarterback who is young, tough and can run the ball. In a few years he’ll evolve even further and increase his accuracy and his overall ratings.

3^rd Round: Pick 32- S. Merriman, Right Outside Linebacker, Overall 98

Another stud defensive player who is not only young back a top 5 linebacker. As mentioned with Peppers my defense often suffers form a lack of sacks, which puts pressure on my secondary (cornerbacks and safeties). Merriman is the ultimate combination between speed and strength and can easily run with a fast running back and tackle him.

4^th Round: Pick 1 – T.Polamalu, Strong Safety, Overall 98

My first few picks became very defense oriented, which is unusual for me but allowed me to pick up some of the very best defensive players within a few rounds. Polamalu secures the backfield and if he doesn’t get the interception he is sure to make the tackle. This was an important pick because I neglected the cornerbacks later on in the draft and only got some mediocre ones.

5-8 Rounds:

Peters, Left Tackle, Overall 88

Olivea, Right Tackle, Overall 88

Mankins, Left Guard, Overall 88

Joseph, Right Guard, Overall 87

N.Hardwick, Center, Overall 90(11^th Round)

One of the absolute disasters of Madden 08 is the offensive line, also known as the players who block for the quarterback. A lot of things are wrong just with the way they block and how it looks but the worst part is the way their skills are recorded. An offensive lineman is based on two statistics – Pancakes and Sacks. Pancakes is a term for a block where the player causes the opposing player to fall on his stomach or back thus causing a pancake, which is good because the opposing player will have to get up in order to pursue the quarterback or running back. The sacks are something an offensive lineman tries to avoid. A sack is the tackle of a quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. So basically it’s a measurement of the lineman’s failures. While the computer simulates all games based on 15 minutes per quarter, a player will usually choose to play with 5 or 6 minutes per quarter. This means that almost every statistic lowers for the player’s team. This means that a offensive lineman might be the best in the league based on the amount of time they actually play but will be the worst in the league because they have 40 minutes less to compile the same statistics as another lineman. Every 5 weeks players either gain attribute points or lose them. A lineman will always lose an overall point. These points add up, by the end of the year a center like N.Hardwick can go from a 90 overall to a 84. It is also impossible to draft new linemen as they never progress and only become worse after being drafted. This is why I drafted a very strong offensive line that will allow for good protection for at least 2 or 3 seasons. While the Left Tackle is usually considered the most important player out of the five I like to have a consistent line which allows for maximum protection from all sides.  

Round 9: V.Davis, Tight Ends, Overal 85
The tight end is often called the blanket sheet for the quarterback. Big, strong, fast and with secure hands the quarterback can usually count on the tight end to pick up some yardage. Davis is a young and incredible fast tight end with a high catch rating and was a great addition to the offense of my team.

Round 10: Pick 1 – A.Peterson, Running back, Overall 85.

I rarely run the ball when I play. There are a couple of reasons, one of the mentioned above, which makes it almost impossible to get the proper blocking. But also because of time constraints, it is virtually impossible to have a balanced attack where you throw and run the ball equally. Instead it becomes very skewed with a lot of throwing and very little running. Yet I like to have to possibility of running the ball should I chose to, and for that reason I picked up Adrian Peterson in the 10^th round. An absolute steal, as he is now one of the best running backs in the NFL, but in 2008 he was just a rookie and had yet to prove his worth.

12-14

A.Bryant, Wide Receiver, Overall 86.

G.Jennings, Wide Receiver, Overall 84.

Henderson, Wide Receiver, Overall 84.

While most of the really good receivers were gone by the 12^th round I managed to scoop up three excellent choices. Both have good speed while having a high catch rating, the two things I look for in my receivers. Henderson is especially useful as he has a 98 Speed rating, I’ll often use this to send them on a streak eliminating a cornerback from the play and sometimes allowing for an easy long touchdown.

In the next few rounds I pick up defensive players all with a overall rating over 80.

A few interesting picks:

19^th Round: D.Sepulveda, Punter, Overall 82

Quite possibly my favorite player in Madden 08. Usually the punter is an extremely boring player that has no skills other than being great a kicking, but Sepulveda has a Speed rating over 80 and is capable of tackling. This means that instead of only having 10 capable players covering a returner I have 11.

25^th Round: D.Hester, Wide Receiver, Overall 75

Hester a quite bad receiver but he makes up for it in other ways. He’s the only player with a Speed rating of 100 and has Kick Return rating of 99. Hester is the leading player in the NFL in returning punts and kicks for touchdowns. An often overlooked position in Madden a kick returner can turn the game around in a matter of seconds and Hester continues to do it.

27^th Round: Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Overall 76

Not a very quarterback back in 2008 but the MVP of the NFL in 2011. A suitable backup to Roethlisberger.

Usually after picking at least one or two players per position I let the computer pick the remaining picks.

I was actually quite satisfied with my picks in this fantasy draft. I got a lot of good players and a good mix between offense and defense. On the offensive side I got a good group of tackles and guards as well as a decent trio of receivers. To top it off I got two stars in Roethlisberger and Adrian Peterson. On the defensive side I got some defensive captains and a lot of young talent at different positions. For my next journal entry I’ll play with my new team and see what happens in Franchise Mode.