Madden 10 depth chart strategies

I've been thinking about reordering my wide receiver list in the depth chart to help create mismatches. I could also probably also use different packages such as WR Swap (swaps the wide receivers) or WR spell which I believe just brings in the backup receivers but these don't seem to give as much flexibility as making minor changes to the depth chart. Below are three things to keep in mind when setting up your wide receivers in the depth chart.

1. Create mismatches - Put your best wide receiver in the slot which almost always will have a big advantage over your opponent's third string corner back or linebacker.

2. Take advantage of your good blocking receivers - Another thing to think about when reordering your depth chart is to find out who your best blocking wide receiver is. Michael Crabtree of the 49ers, for example, has good blocking attributes so have him lined up in a position to block for your HB. You could also use motion but with the accelerated clock in this year's Madden 10, you might not always have time for motion.

3. Let your best receiver run your favorite routes - If you have a set of formations that you regularly use, study the routes you tend to use more often and make sure your best wide receiver runs these routes.

Defensive Assignments
Madden 10 has a new feature called Defensive Assignments which allows the defense to assign their best defenders to cover your best receivers regardless of where they line up in a formation. If your opponent is using defensive assignments you can't really take advantage of mismatches but since 'Defensive assignments' is a relatively new feature I wonder how often players are using it. While playing online, if your opponent pauses the game before it starts he might be setting up his defensive assignments you never know. If your opponent hasn't paused the game, then he obviously hasn't made any defensive assignments.

Another thing about defensive assignments is that these assignments only seem to take effect when the defense is playing in man to man coverage. In zone coverage each defender will cover his zone.

Madden 10 top 5 teams used online

I went to easportsworld to view the leader board to get an idea what type of teams these players are using. Last year, I think most would agree that the Cowboys and Patriots were the most popular online teams. Here are the top 5 used online teams for Madden 10:

1 - Chargers

Chargers don't really have a weakness on offense, do they?. They have a good quarterback, two good half backs, and a good TE.

2 - Eagles

The Eagles are probably the most widely use team overall but according to the leader board they were 2nd. Vick is a very popoular weapon of choice.

3 - Cowboys

The Cowboys were one of the elite teams last year but with the ratings changes this year there really isn't a dominating team. The Cowboys are still a favorite, however. They still have a great running game and solid defense.

4 - Raiders

Surprisingly, the Raiders always seem to be a popular team. Jamarcus Russell could be the most inaccurate quarterback in the game yet there are still a lot of Raiders players online.

5 - Titans

Chris Johnson is the fastest back in the game and quite possibly the best player in Madden this year. The Titans secondary is probably the best.

How to return kickoffs for TDs

I have been having quite a bit of success returning kickoffs for touchdowns in Madden 10 with the 49ers. Allen Rossum has good speed as a kick returner so this might be one of the factors. Because of his speed, I always use one kick returner as opposed to two returners. I always choose middle kick return. There are 4 men lined up in front of the return man. Before the kickoff, I control one of the middle blockers. While the ball is in the air, I sprint the blocker towards the side the ball is being kicked to. I follow my blockers and if I get lucky, I'll find a hole. This method is usually only effective if the ball lands near the side of the field and not in between the hash marks.

On the kicking side, I've also been burned a few times with TD scoring kick returns. To help avoid TD returns I've been trying to kick the ball towards the middle of the field. While the ball is in the air, I'll maintain control of the kicker and just jog down the field so I don't interrupt the play.