Madden NFL 09 Strategy Guide

============== Madden Moments ==============

These are just challenges that resemble events that happened last season.  Of course they don’t have to end EXACTLY like the real games, but they must be close. Heck, may not be the same players as the moment. Keep in mind there is no punting, and you only have one shot.

*NOTE: Feel free to just pass for big plays on most of these. Also, for  special teams, the game doesn’t automatically bring up those plays, so I  hope your realize when a punt or kick is coming on 4th down.*

Phins Get a Win – Basically, if you complete the pass for a TD, good job.  Otherwise you just need to march the ball up the field and score a TD, not a  field goal.

Mile High Miracle – Just score a TD, easy. So unholy that Favre isn’t doing this one. For shame Green Bay, for shame.

Mile High Freeze – Same field, now you’re the home team. TD of course.

Stop the Stampede – This one starts with you defending a FG. When on offense,  all you’re trying to do is win the game, so feel free to run the ball until  most of the game is over. Remember, you are just trying to win, so FG, punt, TD, whatever, but you don’t have to go for it on 4th down. Easy.

Panthers Beast the Saints – Just score something to win. Complete a quick slant to Steve Smith or two, and then kick a field goal.

Dawg Pound Unleashed – Your only option is to complete a long-ass pass and  streak up the sidelines. Lucky for you, I found one. It’s called Gun-Snugs- Bench (or Switch). The idea is to have one receiver streak up the field**  while either Stallworth or Edwards do a corner to the sidelines. This is about  your only option and the only thing I got to work. And no, a field goal won’t cut it, you must score a TD. Gun-Double Flex-Circle to Edwards is a good  play in the redzone, could even work to get up the field.

**Realize you need to audible this, and the receivers need to be next to  each other for this to work.

*NOTE: If you do complete a pass over the middle, just select a play like  normal, it’s faster.*

Comeback in the Desert – You must either tie or win. Let’s keep the same plays from the last moment and use them here, but you have a lot more time. Of  course the playbooks are different, but you can audible a similar setup. Yes, you can run a ton more plays than the last one, and no matter what, I say go for the win in regulation because OT is for whimps.

Shock the Patriots – Ah, how sweet. So long as you don’t throw a lob to the  endzone for no reason, this should happen like planned. You start on D and  have the lead, so just hold on for eight and a half minutes. FYI, Jackson in Gun plays is the answer. Fly Eagles fly!

Hold Back the Pack – Another survive-and-win kinda deal. Pretty much stopping the Pack on their starting possession means you can run out the clock with LJ.

Win it for Ganggreen – So you trail by 7 and you can’t go to OT. That means you must get a TD and then get the 2 pt conversion to seal it. Don’t think too  small, but do throw in a run just to make sure the clock winds down.

Falcons Claw Panthers – Just score a TD. It’s a bit hard with the Falcons, but you do have White and Turner to move the ball. You have one timeout, so  feel free to go over the middle, then slants to the endzone, or whatever.

Vikings Beat Broncos – Well, it’s all good except for the fact that you start on 4th down, FYI. Okay, so you really need to score on this first possession  or else you’ll be playing from behind. You need three possessions to win this game, and if you don’t convert this 4th down you need either two quick scores  and three-and-outs on defense, or a turnover and then score. If you fail to score on the first try, you’ll probably need two good 2 pointers.

*NOTE: Not sure if you can win in OT on this one, but if you tie it up I  guess keep playing.*

49ers Goal Rush – This one is pretty easy as there is no time limit. I don’t  know why you don’t play as the Cards. Just stop Arizona, maybe for a safety, and then score a field goal or TD.

Steel City Clash – As the Steelers you need to hold the Jags down. Luckily for your, the CPU plays for real until there are just 10 seconds left, so just  survive or get a turnover, or stop them if possible. Now, if it’s 4th down and they are kicking, call a timeout so that you can have time to score a  FG yourself. And if they miss the kick, then take some knees.

Cool Under Pressure – As the Colts, just complete this first 4th down for a  TD. They are coming with pressure from the outside, so call slants, back up, and throw to Wayne or Harrison. Easiest one.

Bengals Stuff Ravens – Opposite to the last one, now you need to make a  goal line stand for four plays. The first is always a run, but don’t just  call a goal line defense – I got a 3-3-5 LB Ram Dog to work. 4-3 Free Fire is all I got, spread out the line and call press coverage. It really just  requires luck, as it always does on defense, and some lucky drops. But  finally, you face that Ravens offense.

Perfection? – Crap, we all have to play as the accursed Patriots. Oh well, you can always pray for forgiveness in the morning. Score a TD, of course you  don’t have the zebras on your side… or doooo you? More importantly, why the  hell is the Ravens defense on so many of these? I’m starting to hate them  more than the Pats!

Raiders Block the Browns – Just keep them from scoring, which is real easy if you stop them quickly.

Bills  Circle the Wagon – Opposite of “Stop the Stampede”. Now you must score all those points and win. It helps to convert this 4th down, but it’s only the 3rd quarter, so play on. You need two TD’s and defensive stops, and you will win.

No Cardiac Cards – Nope, you don’t get the Ravens D, you get the Ravens O. At least you have McGahee and two timeouts, so just work up the field and  kick a field goal to win.

Save the Saints – Yep, you got the Saints D. Impossible perhaps, but it starts on 4th down, so force a turnover on downs and then run out the clock. Also, Bush is number 25, if you want the spell HB in (that’s one of the packages with the shoulder buttons as you choose a play). But you don’t have to score, just win.

Break the Steel Curtain – Opposite of “Steel City Clash”, now you must score  at least a field goal as the Jags. Of course it’s 4th and 2, so either run with Garrard, or just keep the chains moving however. Remember, you can just run straight up the field for a few more yards and kick.

Titans Turnaround – Just hold onto the 14 point lead and win before OT. You start with 1st and goal, so try to make another goal line stand like a  previous moment, and then just go from there. Feel free to score a few points, it’s really up to you – just win baby!

*NOTE: The backup, rookie RB Chris Johnson, #29, is hella fast.*

Houston Heroics – Luckyily you don’t have to score all of the points. It starts out 22-35, and you have the ball. Just call a slant to Johnson for  this TD, and just kick the extra point. On the kickoff, just kick it deep and  use all your timeouts to force a three and out; they’ll run on all three plays, FYI, so call goal line defenses (Jam Cover 1 and plays as the FS). Then it’s  just hope for a big return, and when driving, if you can’t go out of bounds,  just call a play with haste, don’t hurry up. And remember, just kick the  extra point.

Beat the Bolts – You start on 4th down, so convert and then march for a  score with the best passing offense in the land. Sure, it may require a lucky bomb to Wayne on a streak route, but remember, just call a play like normal, it takes less time.

Don’t Kick it to Him – This is new, as all you need to do is return this  punt for a TD. Eh, run in zig zags, turn your field, and use moves. It’s  really just random, so good luck. For some stupid reason, calling a punt block makes him punt out of bounds, so you have to call a punt return. The only thing I could even remotely recommend is to pull off a lineman to act as a blocker, then as Hester just stop for a second or fake a step to one side, and then sprint to the other. No matter what, this is all about luck, and if you  weren’t sick of home crowds booing after failing in this moments, you’ll be  just as sick as I am very soon.

*NOTE: More than once you can even try to run backwards to the endzone, and  what the hell, it might work! Hey, it was the only thing I got to work!*

Cowboys Wild Ride – Yeah, I had to crucify myself after this one. Actually,  I used hypnosis to take myself to when I was 5 and stupid and a Cowboy fan so I could play this. Use Whimpen, Homo, and Blowens to win this stupid  moment. I hate you Bills! They gave you every chance to win and you all had to crap up the place! By the way, you need a TD, a stop, and a field goal – no  need for an onside. *shivers*

You Kicked it to Him? – Ah, no running backward this time (or is there?). It’s actually pretty easy as I could do it on my first try! Just make sure Hester gets it and not the other guy. Run to one side, then at around the 20 reverse** your field and run to the other side. Should be just one guy to shed with a  spin or something, then you should be able to hit the sideline and run to daylight.

**Reverse your field means run horizontal, not upfield at an angle, or maybe at a slight angle, but mostly horizontal.

Rally the Rams – Now for a pretty stupid one, an onside kick. You need to aim high and to the right side of the ball, then kick like normal. Try different variations of where to the right and how hard you kick it. For all the times  you fail, and there will be many, just run whatever to let the clock run out  so you can retry. My best one was hitting it sorta in the middle and with like just two bits of power on the kick. Even less power is better.

*NOTE: Feel free to complain to EA that only the CPU can audible in special teams, and for some reason time stops for the CPU. Yeah, it happened in the last game too. Also note that 100% of onside fails are because of those famous “magnet catches” that plague Madden games.*

As for the tie or win, either call outs to the sidelines or slants with  Jackson to the sidelines. Gun>Bunch TE>Stick is a good play, and send Holt  on a slant. You have two normal plays and then maybe one quick slant to  the sidelines to gain about 25 yards for a kick. Eh, at least you know how to recover onside kicks now.

*NOTE: Ask yourself, “Who on earth picked this moment of all the moments from last season?”*

Lions Roar for 34 – You just need 34 or more points in 10 minutes, and you start close to the goal line. For one, get this TD no matter what. That’s 7,  or maybe 8, and so long as the final score is 37 for you, it’s good. Use  Johnson and Williams, and you could even let the Bears score, so long as you come out on top, I think. Rifle>Snugs Flip>WR Corners is a solid play for both of the top WR’s; be sure to audible the inside WR to streak up on  either side of the o-line too (even slant the other top WR).

Heads Up Play – Call FG Block Return, and the rest is just like the Hester  kickoff return. Run one way and then the other. It’s actually easier than  you think since it’s mostly linemen you need to elude. And I think it was  Cromartie, FYI, not Sproles that really did the return.

Shootout in Atlanta – Similar to “Rally the Rams”, only this time you also need to score a TD first. Remember, TD, extra point, onside kick, field  goal, and then win in OT. If I recall, this was a “trash game”, so why is it here? Also, you could even try a 2 pointer for that first TD and win on the field goal. The Snugs Flip plays are all good as this WR corps is deep. What  I did was get a big completion on a streak up the middle with 9 seconds left and no timeout, then I quickly called a field goal and kicked before the  screen was settled; I expect you’ll do something similar.

*NOTE: The 2 pointer is your best bet, and even failure means you can try to  score a TD.*

Historic Kick Return – One more kick return, only this one with someone not as exciting as Hester, but still, same rules apply. Up one way and then the other. You could also try up the middle, zig zagging it, or whatever against the terrible Falcons special teams. I got it on a broken tackle up the middle, so maybe that’s your best bet too. I’m pretty sure you can do it with either guy.

Giant Upset – Eh, I actually simmed the Super Bowl as the Giants and it came out 24-20 or something real close to what actually happened. Start by  converting this 4th down with a slant outside to your TE. Then just drive and score a TD, just like Eli! For the life of me I don’t know why the Giants don’t want to catch anything, but oh well, deal with it I guess.

So what have we learned? That the Ravens are a much better team when only  their overrated defense is on the field.
========== Mini Games ==========

You have a few games:

Forty Yard Dash Bench Press QB Challenge RB Challenge Coverage Challenge Lineman Challenge

All of them are tests that both you and the CPU play and see who does better. For the plays, each side gets a shot playing offense and defense. If anything they are a slow way to build ring progress, but they are poor substitutes for practice.
======== Practice ========

You can choose your play and the defenses play, and even switch sides. You can run offense only if you like, and even work on special teams. These are  the best way to practice as it is just like playing real games, without any of it counting.
============ Other Things ============

Go to “My Madden” from the start screen, choose Rosters, and then you can  either create a team or a player. Both are probably not as fun as you think, but those are on the table.

You can also assign free agents and even trade players, and not just to your  team, you can do it for all the teams.

You can also make a fantasy team online and import it to your game and play them.