Operation Sports Asks: Do You Want an Option for Playcall Cooldowns and Limits in Every Madden Mode?

For those unaware, in a recent Madden 20 MUT House Rules, a “playcall cooldown” was introduced, along with a playcall limit. It has returned once again, and so I want to ask this time: are you interested in playcall cooldowns and playcall limits?

Before you answer that, let me get in front of some things that will likely be talking points:

• Real NFL teams will sometimes call the same play until the other team stops it.
• Madden should get better at actually just making the AI smarter and adapt.
• Madden should make it so certain routes aren’t always money routes or certain runs are not overpowered no matter what.
• You can still just hot route a bunch at the line so whatever.

Madden Playcall Cooldowns – Good Idea Or Bad?

I will not disagree with these points, but let’s try to look beyond that sort of talk for a moment if we can. The question is more, do you think this sort of “house rule” can be a positive for the game and the various modes? I am aware some people already put limits on themselves within franchise mode or when playing the AI. They won’t call the same play X number of times, or they only allow themselves to hot route once at the line of scrimmage. In online franchise modes, there are various “sim” rules that can pop up, and some have included things like playcall limits as well.

If you don’t like this concept, then I’m also interested in why you feel that way. If you simply can’t get over the fact that someone can’t run some form of an HB Dive four times on the goal line if they want to, then fair enough. But does it go beyond that for why you don’t like it as an option?

Personally, I think this sort of concept makes a lot of sense to pursue in the competitive realm. I think it’s time we stop trying to pretend these are games that can even approach mimicking real life sports. After all, even the best sports games crumble under the weight of supposed “realism” when two people want to “cheese” their way to victory. For example, when we play in online franchises that are trying to be “sim” and play “real” football, we are coming to an agreement that the game has flaws that we will pretend to overlook or not exploit constantly in the pursuit of trying to make it seem as close to actual NFL football.

We can do this sort of thing when we’re all on the same page and pushing towards the same goal for an end experience, but out in the wild online realm, not everyone is going to play by those rules unless they’re made to. Additionally, if you do just play the AI, wouldn’t something like this being included as an option be a nice way to keep you “honest” so to speak while trying take home a Super Bowl?

There are aspects of the concept that would need to be tweaked and adjusted if cooldowns and limits became part of the grander plan (for example, how to handle no huddle), but I think these sorts of constraints deserve a fair chance to be discussed and tried out in test grounds like House Rules.

Let me know what you think, I’m genuinely interested in what you all have to say on this topic.