Madden 13

As many of you probably did, you went out and got the new Madden 12 hours ago when it came out. I played it until the early morning hours. Good news, Cam is accurate! More good news, Tolbert (like Cam) is an 89 overall. The Panthers come in with a rating of 79 as a team, and look for that to go up with live updates once they impress early on. As far as details on the gameplay and features, well, the gameplay is great. I had a major issue with the user experience. Madden changed everything! I couldn’t have put it better than the article I included below by Jeffrey Grubbs at Venture Beat as he shares the same opinion as I.

Article via Jeffrey Grubb at http://venturebeat.com

I spent my first two days with Madden NFL 13 looking for the classic Franchise mode. That’s the
feature from the series’ previous games that enables players to control every aspect of their favorite football team for multiple seasons. All I wanted was to take my beloved Detroit Lions to the next 20 Super Bowls. Instead, I curled into the fetal position as the new menus made me feel lost and stupid.
Madden NFL 13, which hits every major console and the Vita tomorrow, boots up to a screen filled with a variety of options like Play Now, Play Online, and Play Career. Using my astute reasoning skills, I determined that the Play Career option was the likeliest home for the Franchise mode. This confronted me with two options: Start a coach career, or start a player career. This is where my assumptions really ruined my whole day.
The player career mode allows users to take the field as a single character over the course of his life. I assumed that the coach mode would be the same but played in the style of that NFL Head Coach game from a few years back…which is kinda like a football-statistics-themed version of Microsoft’s Excel.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/27/madden-nfl-13-scares-me/#031guq5DeoiMQZ0v.99

I shouldn’t have assumed that I understood what the coach mode is before trying it myself. After sulking through a few exhibition games from the Play Now option, I did my research and discovered that starting a coach career wouldn’t mean inviting gigantic packages of statistical spreadsheets into my life.
“The primary motivation [when we were designing Connected Careers] was to create a new, innovative career mode that allowed you to play as any coach or player in the same universe,” Madden NFL 13 senior producer Josh Looman told GamesBeat in an e-mail interview. “We couldn’t do that with the old features, so we built a brand new engine and plan to keep Connected Careers as our career mode foundation for a long time to come.”
I figured it out, but that was a shaky start. A handful of reviewers have mentioned that the menu presentation is disorienting at first, so I don’t think we can just blame my ADHD.
I asked Looman, who is the mastermind responsible for the Connected Careers mode, if the team has any concerns about player confusion.
“Change is tough, but once the players get into the mode and realize that is has more depth and replayability than Franchise mode, Online Franchise mode, and Superstar mode combined, we’re pretty sure players will understand why we made the decision,” Looman said.
He’s confident now, but the fans will be the ones to have the final say.
Since I had Looman’s insight at my disposal, I did ask him what he would suggest for a, let’s say, less-experienced Madden player.
“I’ve seen people have the most fun controlling a young star like Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III,” Looman said. “Play through a season with one of those guys and that will give you a great initial experience.”
Remember, pick RG3 and everything will be OK…except for the horrifying polygonal renditions of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. I’m still in the fetal position thanks to those digital nightmare mannequins.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/27/madden-nfl-13-scares-me/#031guq5DeoiMQZ0v.99

Kalil Promises Super Bowl

There is no debate that a lot of hype surrounds the Panthers this season, but a promise to win the Super Bowl? OT Ryan Kalil, entering his 6th season, took a full page in the Charlotte Observer to explain why our beloved Panthers are set for Super Bowl glory.

Why the Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl XLVII.
Because we have to.
For eighteen years we’ve wanted, hoped, and tried…
But no more.
A moment is upon us, where dreams become beliefs and yearning becomes conviction.
How do I know?
Because I’ve seen it.
Look closely and you’ll see it, too. You’ll see July 1st, 1993, when 40,000 of you bought club seats, licenses, and luxury boxes financing the construction of our stadium in a single day.
You’ll see October of that same year, when the NFL owners unanimously selected Carolina as the league’s 29th franchise.
You’ll see two decades off-seasons bad and good. But never of greatness.
Now, look closer.
At the daunting, unpaved path ahead, lined with detours, naysayers and walls which seem insurmountable. But not for you. You’ll ignore what you hear and break through ANYTHING that stands in your way. Because you see what’s at the end of this.
Victory.
One hundred percent, sterling silver victory. The Lombardi Trophy, And it exists.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — SUPER BOWL XLVII CHAMPIONS!

Sincerely,
Ryan Kalil

The elements are all there; a good and continually improving offense, and a defense on the verge of a breakout year. This is a team that has tremendous talent, and on that alone will be competitive with anyone. However, the only thing neither Kalil or anyone else can speak for is luck. The Panthers have proven that it only takes a couple bad breaks (no pun intended) for us to go from contenders to pretenders, and fans have been hoping for a season in which the injury bug doesn’t infest Charlotte. All of us can only sit back, wait, and hopefully watch as Kalil’s seemingly bold prediction becomes reality.

Panthers on the move

The Panthers added and subtracted today. The injury-prone Jeff Otah has been shipped off to the Meadowlands to protect the “2-headed Monster” Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. The Panthers received an undisclosed pick for Otah, which I hope means it will depend on his performance. While I tend to be an optimistic fan, I felt Otah still deserved another shot. This move is a bi-product of bringing in Bruce Campbell and drafting an absolute monster Guard / Tackle with the 40th overall pick. I hope it works out for everyone.

In other news, the Cats added more young, depth to their receiving corps Monday by trading for WR Louis Murphy formerly of the Oakland Raiders. The Panthers haven’t disclosed what they gave up for the Wide Receiver. Murphy has spent 3 NFL seasons in Oakland where he showed some promise early, but was also inconsistency. Don’t expect this move put Lafell