Madden 13 Official CAG League - On Hiatus. See you in August for Madden 25!

[quote name='staticz']You'll lose all the packages you bought, but I think they said it was up to us.[/QUOTE]

Right. For that reason I definitely wouldn't recommend it, but you can if you want.
 
Can someone please PM the rules for the league. I am unable to access the site where they are posted. Any help with this would be appreciated.
 
[quote name='Mile High Von']Can someone please PM the rules for the league. I am unable to access the site where they are posted. Any help with this would be appreciated.[/QUOTE]

They won't fit in a CAG PM. The formatting might be a bit off, but here you go:

Madden 13 - Official CAG Madden League Rules
The purpose of this document is to explain the general rules and principles for the Official CAG Madden League. This list is not exhaustive, as things do come up during the course of the year. Consequently, these rules are subject to change (though we will not change them without notice in the thread). No discipline will be handed out for rules not already in this document at the time of infraction. However, if you see something missing from this list, please bring it up rather than seeing it as an opportunity to get away with something.

Commissioners: bvharris, siradam134, ubernes

General Rules and Playstyles
1. Don’t be a dick.
This is the first rule for a reason, and will generally encompass ALL of the other rules. Everyone is in this league to have fun, and when people act like jackasses to one another, it becomes less fun.

1a. No running up the score
Everyone should know what this means. It doesn’t mean you need to start bleeding clock early in the second half (though you can if you want) and it doesn’t mean you have to do nothing but run the ball with a lead. But if you are still actively trying to score with a massive lead in order to pad stats, it will not be tolerated. This will be monitored more carefully than ever this year given that you now earn XP for stats. That is not an excuse for running up the score. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

1b. No showboating
Simple enough: Don’t flip into the endzone. Ever. No one is impressed by it, and it just makes you look like a jerk. Same goes for twirling around randomly while running in for a score, holding the ball out (assuming that’s still in the game) and any other showboating moves. If you want to look cool, save it for your offline franchise. The excuse of “it’s instinct because I do it offline” is only going to work once. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

2. Play like an NFL coach would
This is probably the broadest rule, since not every NFL coach has the same game management style, nor do we expect every Madden player to. However, there are certain things which are not allowed in the league simply because we are trying for as accurate a simulation of real football as possible.

2a. No cheesing
The definition for “cheese” is much like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition for pornography: It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Running 20 yards backwards with the QB before throwing, running the same play over and over again, nano blitzing (which no longer seems possible this year, thankfully), etc. These things should be obvious to anyone who has played in this (or any sim) league before.

2b. Going for it on 4th down
The general rule is “when in doubt, don’t.” There are plenty of people who play online who go for it on every 4th down, that is not okay in this league. If you’re on your half of the field, you should not be going for it on 4th unless you’re at the point of the game where you have no other choice, even if its short yardage. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive in situations where a real NFL coach might be (4th and 1 from your opponents 40, or something like that) but if your opponent makes an issue out of it, it will be discussed. Last year the general guideline was: If you make a non-conventional 4th down call, be prepared to defend it in the thread. If you can’t conceive of a logical/strategic defense of going for it in that situation, that’s probably a good indication that you shouldn’t. There is of course some gray area in this rule, but keep in mind that area is a yard wide, not a mile.

2c. Onside Kicks *NEW RULE*
As many of us have discovered by now, the game UI no longer alerts someone when the opponent is in onside kick formation. Therefore, if you are attempting an onside kick and your opponent does not come out in onside kick formation you must give them the opportunity to either call a timeout or audible into onside coverage. You should wait at least 5 seconds, but 10 would be even better. Quickly kicking to take advantage of your opponent not being ready will not be tolerated.

2d. Running with the QB
Scrambling is allowed. However, you need to do it in a way which is realistic and consistent with how real NFL players do it. Constantly calling 5-wide formations and then scrambling up the middle after the coverage drops is cheese, not strategy. Scrambling should generally either be from designed QB run plays or occur after a play breaks down.


Transaction Rules and Guidelines

1. Free Agents
Free Agent signing in this league are NOT a free for all. What that means is that you are not free to sign whoever you want from the free agent list during the season. There are three different types of free agent signing which will be detailed below.

Update: As of season 2, Free Agency is now OPEN. You may add or drop players at any time, with the only constraint being your salary cap and roster size.

1a. Free Agent Waiver Period
A couple of times during the first season, we will have free agent signing periods in order to work our way through the existing free agents in the pool. The selection order will function like a draft with the order determined by record (worst-to-best) at the time of the period. There will be four groups of 8 teams which will have a window in which to sign a free agent from the list. When you sign a player, you must also drop one (this will be necessary for most teams given the roster limit anyway). All selections MUST be posted in the thread to be considered valid.

1b. Injury Replacements
If a player on your team is injured, you are allowed to sign a temporary replacement if it is necessary for depth. That means that your team would be below the feasible number of players at that position in order to play. Those minimums are as follows:
QB - 2
HB - 3
FB - 1
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 2 each
RE - 2
LE - 2
DT - 3
LOLB - 2
MLB - 3
ROLB - 2
CB - 5
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P -1

The count will also include excess players at an equivalent position. So if you have 3 healthy LOLB and 1 healthy ROLB, you would be considered to have met the minimum. When signing an injury replacement, you do NOT have to release a player (though obviously you will if you’re at the roster limit) but the player must have a lower OVR rating than the lowest player you have at that position (the equivalent position rule applies here as well). When the injured player returns, you must drop the replacement player.

1c. Offseason Free Agent Signing
Connected Careers now has offseason free agent signing periods, during which teams can bid on free agents (both those with expired contracts from other teams and those in the general FA pool). This process is already regulated by the game, and therefore will not be subject to further review from the league. The only consideration you have when signing FAs in the offseason will be the salary cap and roster limits.

2. Trading
2a. Trade Review *UPDATED RULE*
As with last season, ALL trades will be subject to league/commissioner review. This means when a trade is accepted by both parties, before it is processed in-game it must be submitted in the league thread. There will then be a discussion period after which the trade will need to be approved by the Trade Review Panel. The Trade Review Panel will consist of 6 members: The three league commissioners and three representatives elected by the league. Any member of the panel involved in the particular trade must recuse themselves from the vote. Trade passage will require 4 votes to pass. In the case of a recusal, 3 of 5 votes will be required. All decisions made by the Panel are final, though trades may be re-worked and re-submitted if they are deemed unfair.

Committee members: bvharris, ubernes, siradam134, MasterAwesome, Doomtime, staticz

2b. Trade Criteria
Like past years, trades will be judged wholly on their own individual merits, but will also consider the financial ramifications of a trade. For example, trading a better player for lesser players/picks will be looked at differently if one of the teams gains cap relief by making the trade. Each situation is unique, so the Panel will look at a wide variety of factors when ruling on trades.

2c. Trade Cap
For at least the first season, we will be keeping the existing trade cap in place. If this proves to be unnecessary given the new salary cap element, we may remove it in future seasons. The per-team trade cap is as follows:
6 total trades per season, with 4 Core players max allowed to be traded. A Core player is defined as:
90+ overall player = 2 core players
80-89 overall player = 1 core player
1st round pick = 1 core player*

* For the first season, even future 1sts will count against the current year cap (in case we get rid of the cap in the future). If we do not remove the cap, in subsequent seasons future 1sts will count against the cap for the season before the pick would be made. For example, a 2015 pick would count against the cap for the 2014 season.

2d. Trades w/ CPU teams
This won’t be an issue as long as the league is full, but for now we will NOT be allowing trades with CPU teams. This is subject to change if we can decide on a good way to regulate it.

2e. Pre-traded draft picks
Because the game now honors pre-existing draft trades by default, we will continue to do so. These trades will automatically be reflected in the league rosters.

3. Unsanctioned Transactions
Any unsanctioned transaction (be it a free agent signing or trade) during the season will be reversed by the commissioners, and after a warning a strike will be issued. Seriously, don’t do it.

League Policies / Discipline

1. Communication
This is the #1 most important factor in keeping the league running smoothly. ALL league members must be registered at CAG, and while we encourage people to subscribe to and keep up with the thread, at bare minimum you must be able to respond to PMs in a timely fashion. If you can’t do this, then you should find a different league. This is a CAG league, and we expect people to use CAG. Repeated communication issues can lead to a strike.

If you are having trouble contacting your opponent, LET A COMMISSIONER KNOW or post in the thread. That doesn’t mean five minutes after advancement, but if you haven’t heard from someone a day after contact, let us know. Posting half an hour before advancement that you haven’t heard from your opponent isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy and is a good way to get your game simmed.

Most importantly, be proactive. Don’t wait for your opponent to contact you, contact them. The earlier you contact your opponent, the earlier you can play and the less opportunity there will be for something to go wrong. Communication is the backbone of a successful league, we can’t overstate its importance.
2. Advancement
Last year, we generally tried to advance every 3.5/4 days, and we will try to keep a similar schedule this year. We will be willing to adjust up or down depending on extenuating circumstances, but generally will try to stay on schedule. Advancement times will always be listed in the thread title. Additionally, given that there are additional factors this year (practice, scouting, contract negotiations) please try to complete these things in a timely fashion since we’re not going to postpone advancement just because someone didn’t get a chance to practice or scout (scouting points do roll over). If you finish early, please use the in-game functionality to indicate you are ready to advance.
3. Thread Etiquette
This harkens back to the first rule on this list: Don’t be a dick. The same thing that applies to the game applies to the thread. Obviously disagreements will happen, and people will be boisterous, and that’s fine. But in general, please try to keep things in the thread as civil as possible. This is tough to define specifically, but I’d generally go by these two suggestions:


        • No personal attacks
        • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read
That should cover most everything, and the rest should be common sense. We’re not going to be incredibly anal about this, but if someone becomes a repeated problem we may consider discipline.

4. Disconnects *UPDATED RULE*
This is especially important this year, since while disconnects themselves aren’t necessarily more common, currently in Connected Careers a disconnected game will ALWAYS give a loss to the owner whose connection was responsible for the disconnect. It’s unclear whether this is a bug or by design, but in either case we do not agree with this way of doing things and will be working around it with our policy. As always, pointing fingers when it comes to disconnects is pointless. Yes, the game considers one party “at fault”, but this doesn’t mean someone is cheating. Sometimes there are freak outages, etc. If it becomes a recurring problem for a specific user, we’ll deal with it.

4a. Do Not Count Any Disconnect
As mentioned above, counting a disconnect at present will automatically give a loss to the person whose connection the game deems to be at fault. If you receive the message about counting the game, that means your opponent disconnected and it will give you a win, even if they were winning. Resist the urge to take the free win, since accepting the disconnect without approval will result in a strike, no warnings given.

4b. What to do if your game disconnects
If your game disconnects, quit out of your game immediately (we suggest quitting out of Madden directly by going to the home screen). This way Madden will not count the game at all and we will be able to determine what to do. Again, counting the game without permission will not be tolerated.

Next, post in the thread/contact the commissioners via PM. There are three of us and we are not that busy, so you will likely get a response very quickly and we will sort the situation out. Again, do not take the law into your own hands.

4c. Handling of disconnects
In most cases of a disconnect, we will ask that the game be replayed. If the game was far along, it is permissible to try to recreate the conditions of the game at the time of disconnect, though this is not required. If for some reason the game cannot be replayed, there are several options we can pursue:

Option 1: Simming
This will be the most common course of action in repeated disconnects, especially when the games are close and the players are of similar skill levels. If you can't get the game in, and there's no body of evidence whatsoever as to who had the upper hand in the matchup (on the field, obviously) than we will sim it. No one likes a sim, but there's no denying it's fair.

Option 2: Play the CPU
If a game disconnects in which one player has a clear late advantage and are not given the option to count the game then sometimes it will be appropriate for the trailing team to temporarily drop from the league and let their opponent play against the CPU. For the most part, nobody is going to be compelled to take this option, and obviously in most cases it will require the consent of both parties. There is plenty of precedent for such a move and I think we can all rationally tell when our opponent has control of the game (even if we don't want to admit it). Obviously this is an inherently subjective question as to whether a game is in hand, and it will be judged on a case by case basis using the following criteria:


  • Size of the lead (as well as the total score)
  • Time remaining
  • Possession and field position
A 3 score lead in the 4th quarter is more in hand than a 2 score lead in the 3rd quarter, and so on. Again, both teams have to agree to this course of action or one side has to have it approved by the commissioner. An example of the latter might be if someone is up 35-7 late in the 4th and the opponent is being belligerent and demanding it be played again. Generally speaking, we should keep this amicable, but as I said we should all have some self-awareness as to when we're beat.

It goes without saying that in this scenario those seen to be running up the score on the CPU or deliberately attempting to injure players will be frowned upon and are less likely to have the opportunity in the future.

Option 3: Subbing
When it's clear that one person or the other is the one who's disconnecting than they are permitted to request a sub who might have better luck connecting to the opponent. This request should be made to the commissioner who will then choose an appropriate sub to try and complete the game. As always, subs should give their full faith effort to win the game and play fair.

Again, don't point fingers saying "it's his fault! his connection sucks!" because you really have no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, if you suspect it's your connection and not the servers, then say so. It is possible that both teams could be subbed for simultaneously, although in that scenario simming might be the better option.


5. Strikes/Expulsion
No one wants to deal with this topic, but it’s necessary. Over the years we’ve only thrown a handful of people out of the league, so we are not especially trigger happy. Repeated violation of league rules will be dealt with however. Three strikes and you’re out.

Ad Hoc Rules
This is for rules which we have added during last season or this year which deal with specific gameplay issues. These will be more likely to be updated as we go, especially if the issues which they address are patched.

1. QB Hot Swapping
You can not switch from one QB from another in the middle of a drive in order to gain an advantage from bringing in a different style of QB (bringing in a scrambler, for example). This is because the game does not alert your opponent that the QB has been swapped. This does not mean you cannot swap QBs mid-drive, but to do so you must alert your opponent (either by pausing the game and sending a XBL message, or via voice chat if you are using it). The exceptions to this rule are:


        • Wildcat formations. These carry an expectation that the QB might be subbed, and therefore you do not need to alert your opponent if you bring in a different QB for these, since they will see you are in wildcat.
        • Injuries. If your QB gets injured, your opponent will obviously know someone else is coming in.

You do not need to alert your opponent if you begin a NEW possession with a different QB. Single drives that span the end of the 1st or 3rd quarter do count as one continuous possession, so the rule does apply in those cases. Repeated violations of this rule will lead to a strike.

2. Angled Squib Kicks
Kicking squib kicks at an angle with intent to recover is banned. The AI on squib kicks is screwed up and will give the kicking team a very good chance to recover. Squib kicks may only be done in logical game situations, and MUST be kicked straight down the middle. Violations of this rule will lead to a strike.

3. Trade Cap
We have temporarily removed the trade cap, at least for season one. We will see if the salary cap offers enough control to reign people in.
s
 
[quote name='Mile High Von']Can someone please PM the rules for the league. I am unable to access the site where they are posted. Any help with this would be appreciated.[/QUOTE]


ill see what i can do.
 
Any of u new guys I started a group me chat there's about 16 guys from out league in it... group me is a smart phone app that allows u to talk in a group chat or personal message each other by texting... if ur interested send me a phone number or email address its nice for getting games scheduled or jus bullshitting with each other
 
[quote name='Doomtime']Conference Championship Week

Cardinals @ Buccaneers
Broncos/Bengals @ Texans[/QUOTE]



should be fun no matter what a Hemingway is going to the superbowl :)
 
and the falcons have agreed upon another big time deal

thats to trades ready for the falcons to put up for review as soon as the off season hits
 
Cardinals move on and pick up Chet Hem's first playoff win after a poor showing last year in last years playoffs. Christian Ponder found the big play and the defense gave up a lot of yards but was able to get a few int's to lead the Cards to a 42-14 win.

Cardinals-

Christian Ponder- 9/12 for 251 yards with 4 tds and 1 int for a qb rating of 121.5.
Doug Martin/Roderick Smith- 20 carries for 94 yards. Doug Martin added a running td and a 15 yard receiving td. Roderick Smith added 145 return yards including a 103 yard kick return for a td.
Devin Thompson- 4 receptions for 119 yards and 1 td
Emmanuel Sanders- 2 receptions for 78 yards and 1 td
Harry Douglas- 1 reception for 27 yards and 1 td
Justin Bethel, Sam Acho, Marquise Robbins, Van Dyke and Patrick Peterson all added int's.

Panthers-

Came Newton- 14/32 for 243 yards with 1 td and 5 int for a qb rating of 41. He added 5 rushes for 52 yards.
Jonathan Stewart- 8 rushes for 67 yards with 1 run td. He added 2 receptions for 23 yards.
Steve Smith- 5 receptions for 127 yards and 1 td
Chris Gamble- 2 tackles and 1 int
James Anderson- 3 tackles for a loss and 1 sack.
 
[quote name='Hemingway012']Tracy Porter is on the trade block.

Looking for a speedy 2nd WR with hands :)


PM are the best way to send an offer.[/QUOTE]

Whats is his rating man zone cat press #
 
Broncos-Bengals kicking off now. Broncos still remember the 40-something to 0 drubbing at the hands of the Bengals in season one. Let's see if they can do something about it.
 
Denver Broncos 30 - Cincinnati Bengals 6

The Denver Broncos went on the road for the second straight week and came away with a convincing win. The Broncos defense and special teams are playing some serious sports at the moment, having only allowed 14 total points across two games against pretty good offenses. More remarkable was that the Broncos D did it this time without the benefit of a single turnover, and one of the Bengals FG's came off an early Osweiler INT. The Bengals offense was held to 128 total yards, 5 total first downs, and didn't enter the red zone once. Seemingly every time a Bengals receiver caught the ball a Broncos' defender was there to knock it out. Just a suffocating defensive performance.

Osweiler was 7 of 9 for 86 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The INT was his first throw of the game, so he did what he needed to after that. The TD came on a late screen pass against a big blitz (me following bseti's advice from yesterday, lol).

Dalton was 8 of 16 for 89 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs.

McFadden had 10 carries for 133 yards and a TD, and was generally on a roll all game. McGahee had 11 carries for 51 and a TD of his own.

The Bengals had 4 players with multiple carries (Wells, Scott, Dalton and Ray) but none of them topped 20 yards.

McFadden caught two balls for 58 yards and a TD. No one else for the Broncos had more than 12 yards, as this was a run-heavy game for the Broncos while protecting the lead.

Bernard Scott lead the Bengals with 4 catches for 45 yards. Gresham, who the Broncos keyed on all game, was held to 1 catch.

The Broncos got two sacks from Von Miller, but no turnovers. They also got a HUGE kick return touchdown from Tim Trinca-Pasat with 11 seconds left in the 1st half after the Bengals had just scored. The Bengals blocked the extra point, but it made the score 20-6 and completely changed the complexion of the game.

The Bengals got an early pick from Dre Kirkpatrick. Jacoby Jones blocked an extra point, which as very impressive.

---
gg bseti! I was definitely hoping for a closer game than our last one, but I never expected it to be the complete opposite.

The Broncos are definitely peaking at the right time, but the journey to Houston will be a major test for this defense. I beat Doom in season 1, but that was before Foster went super-soldier, and he was also knocked out of that game early. Houston won this season's game.
 
After all four road teams won in round 1, I'm glad I could keep all four home teams from winning in round 2. From now on I'm playing with house money, so it's time to leave everything on the field.

This is my third appearance in the Conference Championship game. Both the previous games were against Doom, both blowout losses.. Is the 3rd time the charm? Let's hope.
 
We're advancing in 5. I'm setting the deadline as Monday, but I'd say there's a very good chance that both games and maybe even the Super Bowl are played tonight.
 
[quote name='bvharris'] I'd say there's a very good chance that both games and maybe even the Super Bowl are played tonight.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Chetty12']Look for Cards vs Bugs to go down early tomorrow.[/QUOTE]

Nevermind... :cry:
 
Sorry to disappoint. Hem's already gone for the evening. I'd guess around 9 or 10 am est would be when the game is played tomorrow and were both free all day for whoever makes the Superbowl.
 
[quote name='Chetty12'] I'd guess around 9 or 10 am est would be when the game is played tomorrow and were both free all day for whoever makes the Superbowl Doom.[/QUOTE]

Let's be realistic here. :D
 
I need one of the 4 to let me know if it lets you go to the "play game screen"

It shows the week is "pro bowl" week, but the schedule shows conference championships.

If it won't let you "invite the other user" i'll advance us again.

Cheers
 
[quote name='siradam134']I need one of the 4 to let me know if it lets you go to the "play game screen"

It shows the week is "pro bowl" week, but the schedule shows conference championships.

If it won't let you "invite the other user" i'll advance us again.

Cheers[/QUOTE]
Yeah it comes up correctly as the championship week for me.
 
it must be the next week, The EA guys had it in their ultimate wisdom to make us advance to, and PAST the pro bowl to get to the superbowl. No chance of actually letting anyone (you know...maybe the coaches of the year?????) play the game......nor can you see any stats from the game...it's awesome....So you advance past conference, then advance into pro bowl, then advance into superbowl, stupid EA.
 
i hate when ur not in the playoffs they treat ur team like ur in offseason mode already so the players contracts get all dicked up and if u dont pay attention u wont know who u have to really resign or not until after the actual offseason
 
Go Doom! Show them how elite the AFC South is! Nothing against BV, but I've already been blown out by Doom twice. I have to have the excuse of being destroyed by a Super Bowl team. :D
 
It's been fun guys, but I think I've played my last Madden game. When it makes you cry, it's not worth it. Thanks for a great league, fellas.
 
[quote name='Doomtime']
You played outstanding.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I did. I played 10 times better than you did and you still won. That's when it's time to hang it up.

Good luck in the Super Bowl.
 
And yes, the way you finished that game was horseshit. Call your fucking timeouts like any coach would. Doing that bullshit and then winning on a prayer. You did not deserve to win that game, not even a little. The rich get richer I guess.
 
bread's done
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