When I play Madden, I play exclusively as the Green Bay Packers. At my best, I had a ranking of #532, not bad considering there over 100,000 ranked players. That’s not "best in the world," tournaments-in-LA kind of good, but it’s good enough where I’d feel comfortable wagering a significant amount of money against the average player.

More than comfortable. Relaxed.

Here's how I make winning look easy:

(Disclaimer: nothing can substitute for stick skills, hand-eye coordination, football acuity, basic mental competency, etc).

The Basics

I leave my playbooks alone. Everything you need is right there in the McCarthy/Capers menu of plays. As for uniform selection, I personally like the white cleats with yellow accents. Kind of completes the uniform for me. These are the important things.

Optimize your Lineup

Might as well start with the best team right? For sure, some switches you will want to make are:

> Start BJ Raji – he will be defaulted on IR

> Get your fastest TEs in the game (sorry Richard Rodgers, next year big fella)

> Roll with Jeff Janis at WR5 (Jared Abbraderis is rated higher, but Janis makes all the tough catches and is faster and bigger up the middle seam)

> Change KOS to Mason Crosby – for some reason, the game has the weaker-legged Tim Masthay set to kickoff

> Make Micah Hyde your CB5 and start Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at Safety – you’ll probably find yourself in Quarter often, and you want your best players out there so…not Jarrett Bush

> KRs – Dealers choice. You can definitely get return TDs using Randall Cobb, but I find the injury risk isn’t worth it, and can roll with DuJuan Harris/Micah Hyde (Sam Shields doesn’t cut quick enough for my liking, acceleration rating be damned).

Defense

> 1st / 2nd DOWN

You win on D by forcing the opposing player into third downs, and then forcing him into a bad throw, or sack. I like to play conservative on early downs/against non-spread offenses. A great play is Cover-2 Sink in the nickel package. Take one of the inside linebackers and play the short pass/run inside. Or a 3-4 2 Deep Man coverage, and track the running back with Hawk, while shading towards the TE. If the team is passing all the time, you can drop Matthews or Peppers into manual coverage from the Cover-2 Sink, or use my favorite 2 plays in the game (see 3rd and long).

> 3rd AND SHORT/2-POINT CONVERSIONS

I love the nickel Psycho defense here. Especially Cover-2. If your opponent likes to run, audible Clinton-Dix into a blitz and take control of the other safety. Hover close to the line of scrimmage, scramble the look a couple times by shifting the secondary/LB units, and rove across the line of scrimmage towards his favorite target once he hikes it while keeping an eye on any receivers going over the top. It’s a guessing game, and it’s a bit of a mess, but its 3rd and short, the odds are not in your favor if you play vanilla.

> 3rd AND LONG/PASS-HEAVY SITUATIONS

Quarter package, basic Cover-2 and Cover-3. Mix them up. Morgan Burnett plays a QB-spy in both these plays, and I take that as carte blanche to do whatever I want with him to blow up the play.

In the Cover-2, you can show blitz off the tackle pre-snap, then float back on the inside seam, past AJ Hawk’s shallow zone into the deep secondary, where you can lure the QB into a bad throw. Or, you can sit Burnett way behind Hawk in the Cover-3, and then swoop in for the interception underneath Hawk’s very deep zone coverage, which will cause the opponent to look shallow. Finally, you can hover inside and navigate through the O-Line for surprisingly effective run-stops and QB hurries. Coverage sacks are here to be had.

(One last thing about this Quarter-base defense: it works great against option QBs if you use Burnett to fill running lanes. Though you don’t quite see as many players choosing Washington as they used to…wonder what’s changed).

> 3rd AND VERY LONG NON-BLITZ, BLITZ

Take that nickel Cover-2 Sink, and swing either Matthews or Peppers over to the other side and shoot the gap right next to the other DE. This is good for unexpected pressure without bringing 5 guys. In fact, if you get through once, just that look will pressure the opposing QB, and then you can peel away at the last second to chase the tight end, QB spy – whatever you haven’t done in a while, basically.

> BLITZING AND BALANCE

Once or twice early on in the game, maybe a couple times later on to spark a comeback, but otherwise playing good coverage in defenses you know is the better bet. At the end of the day, assume the passing is going up the middle and try to take that away. Same with the run. If they beat you outside, so be it, but most people lack the ability or vision to work the outside for an entire game. And if they try, go over there with Clay Matthews and do something about it!

Offense

> 1st AND 10

Run. Body punches. A famous football mind (Parcells?) once said, every running play is a positive play. Take runs from all over the playbook including shotgun/FB dives/motion/goal-line plays/tosses to the outside. Eddie Lacy falls forward enough to make this a useful tactic. Now, you should also be peppering in PA, screens and quick passing at about a 1-to-4 ratio within these runs. Here are some of my favorite "toss-in" plays to mix it up on 1st and 10:

PA-reverse passes out of the Strong and Singleback bunch formations. These two slow-developing plays really stretch the defense, and it’s so nice to get Rodgers out there throwing on the run, which is an absolute back-breaker in this game (ignore rollouts at your own peril). Lacy out of the flat, and underneath the coverage, is just what the doctor ordered here. Even if it only goes for 2-3 yards, it loosens up the defense, who SHOULD and WILL be thinking run by that point.

WR Screen out of any shotgun set. This play is a revelation once you get the swing of it. It works especially well throwing it to the outside shoulder of Nelson or Cobb, and letting him swoop around the blockers towards the sideline. The game almost seems to encourage this action by giving the WR a speed boost while he rounds the corner. It also is nifty when the D is closed in tight for a run, like on third and short (although I wouldn’t mess with it there) or red-zone situations (try it out from the difficult 3-6 yard line zone).

> 2nd / 3rd AND LONG

Oops. Something didn’t go so well. But now is exactly not the time to panic because this is where the talent shines on this team. If it’s still 8 yards or further to the yellow line, I love to break out the 5WR Empty Set. You did pick the Packers, right? This is their bazooka option, and I excitedly break it out on these long pass situations on 2nd and 3rd down. Here’s a tidy little progression you can go through:

1. Pick the "Stick N’ Nod."

2. If the D comes out and the two OUTSIDE CBs are playing off (leaving significant distance between themselves and Nelson and Cobb) audible into "Curl Flats." This is now a "gimme." You will see how easy it is to hit the curling WR between the two defensive backs on the outside, or if necessary, check down to the inside WR in the flat. You should go back to the well on this play for as much as you can get.

3. Things get more interesting if the outside CBs are up close to Nelson and Cobb. The "Stick N’ Nod" you picked can certainly get Janis open over the deep middle of the field, but if you don’t want to risk a sack, keep your eyes more on the underneath receiver, who is running the same route concept just in a tighter amount of space, typically against a slower defender.

4. If you don’t want to mess with all that, you can audible straight to "4 Verticals." The key here is that sly route across the middle by Adams from the inside-left slot. He hitches in the middle of a slant, usually shedding his defender along the way, while the three receivers to the right of Rodgers are all running fly routes. Your first look here is at Jeff Janis at the inside seam fly, who will be veering from right to left as he runs downfield. If this looks at all covered or "busy", your eyes drop down to Adams, and you hit him for whatever the defense gives you. There’s also the "big boy" way to play this, and that’s to focus strictly on the three streaking WRs on the right side—Janis, Boykin and Cobb—and pick on the safety responsible for that side of the field. This is risky but you can get some really nice back-shoulder throws with Boykin or even Cobb down the sideline. Almost as good as the real thing!

> 2nd / 3rd AND SHORT

I do like running it here from time to time, and think it’s necessary. If the situations aren’t dire, and the opponent isn’t overly bracing against the run, break out Shotgun "Doubles On" or "Y-Trips Wk" (personally my favorite formation in the game). The "Inside Zone" plays out of these two formations are really nice plays, providing a solid wall for Lacy to dart through for a tough three yards.

But if things are dire, here’s where the money is at: Singleback Bunch. You’re going to toggle between two plays, the "HB Dive" and "Spacing." I can’t tell you whether to run it or throw it, but your opponent will soon learn the meaning of helplessness when you learn how to complete the "Spacing" pass. Just read it from inside to outside as the three receivers to your right sprint out to their left, middle, and right. You can pick the pocket of the defense, either by taking advantage of an uncovered Quarless in the flat, patiently waiting for Nelson to box-out his spot in the middle, or hitting Adams in stride as he flashes into the middle of the field. On the other hand, you can just pound it with Lacy up the middle. Both of these plays are automatically included as audibles. See why that’s hard to defend?

Oh, and: Aaron Rodgers speed is rated in the the 80's in this game. Use it. He can get hurt rather easily but you should be able to avoid that by ALWAYS sliding (tapping once on the slide button). If you're not nailing two or three killer runs during the game like Aaron does in real life, you're leaving a lot on the table.

Other tricks in the bag

> STRONG FORMATION

Out of its base audible package, you have access to "FL Drive" (Jordy up the seam or Cobb underneath), "Y Trail" (My personal favorite play in the game, hitting Quarless after he doubles back on his route, or pushing it upfield with the quick-hitter to Cobb over the middle), and the deadly "PA Deep Cross" (shudders). Nelson can get so open on this play if the D isn’t perfect, and you can make Aaron Rodgers look really good by "throwing him open" as Nelson breaks away from his man twenty yards down the field. This play is also surprisingly useful in the redzone.

> SINGLEBACK ACE TWINS

There are two nice options here for play action daggers. Look for Nelson to get open on the "PA Boot" by curling away from the action, or slice it upfield to Nelson on the "PA FL Stretch" with the nice safety options with the TE’s underneath.

> KUUUUUHHNNN

Please understand: John Kuhn is deadly catching the ball out of the backfield. He will be wide open in the flat all day, and him running up the sideline is painful for the opposing defense.

Special Teams

Something important to note: with no wind, Crosby can hit safely from 51-52 yards. Any longer and you need to be perfect. Push the field goal aimer to as low as possible on these long kicks. With significant wind into your face, I’d rather go for it on 4th than try anything longer than 45 yards. I don’t really punt when the game is still in hand; if I’m winning, punting is acceptable. Fake FGs work 99% if the opposing team actually comes out in FG block.

Clock Management

At a certain level, people stop blowing each other out. The games come down to who has the ball last. You need to "look down the road" when playing against savvy players. This doesn't need to affect your rhythm. Throwing the ball with the Packers can chew just as much time as running; in many of my games, Rodgers finishes at a 80-90% completion rating over ~30 throws for ~270 yards. If things slip away from you, there may come a time in the game when your best bet is to Onside Kick every time and blitz the other team into short, FG-producing drives. If you can trade TDs for FGs quick enough, this can be an effective strategy in low-odds situations. Otherwise, the better I got the more I relied on defense, much like the real-life Packers.

Last thought

When you’re up, play like you’re down. When you’re down, play like you’re up. That’s another old football-ism I play by. Up by 10? Push the ball no-huddle with a 5WR offense. Down by 10 early on? That’s when your game-plan is actually most important, and it’s when most people I play abandon it (this is 99% the difference of the top players and good players). It comes down to this, whether you’re playing with the Packers or not: you have to believe that your opponent is eventually going to make a mistake, yet you have to play like you can’t afford one. Oh, and if you're home at Lambeau, turn the snow on every now and then. Your guys will be slipping all over the place, and FGs will be almost impossible. Just like video game football was meant to be played.

+1 Bonus play

Here’s a great little play when you just really need to complete a short pass, whether to get your confidence back, keep the clock running or convert a short third down. "Y Shallow Cross" in Shotgun Y-Trips Wk. After Nelson comes in motion, you’re looking at Quarless shallow across the middle, or you wait patiently for Lacy to release through the middle of the play and curl out to the right for an easy completion. Problem solved.