Some of you may have missed the conversation on Discord yesterday so I wanted to recap it and provide some additional context. First, RECORDS SHOULD NEVER BE BROKEN IN OUR LEAGUE. That's part of what makes it "sim" in our minds. A record that has happened one time in 50 yards of football shouldn't happen one time in 5-6 seasons of a Madden league.
That is the hard and fast rule that you should live by. It's a video game and it is exploitable in one way or another. Don't abuse that.
However, its not always that simple is it? Sometimes the game does goofy things through no fault of your own. Sometimes your opponents go brain dead and do dumb things against you. So how do you manage it?
Interceptions
Obviously, there is nothing that can be done about throwing INTs. We've had the INT record for QBs broken many times in here. Some guys just aren't good at passing, especially early in a release. However, if a QB was really that bad in real life, he would probably be benched. That could be something that you consider after your 3rd, 4th, 5th or even 7th INT of the game...
Defensively it is somewhat similar. Last year, with lurks, we had some LBs that broke the LB INT record but never the total INT record. Hopefully, this year is more balanced. For guys like Earl Thomas who, as of this post, has eight INTs in four games, there's not a whole lot that can be done if your opponent just keeps throwing into coverage. There is probably some leeway there as long as you are being proactive and taking guys with inflated stats out when you have an opportunity to (blowouts especially). However, guys have to quit chucking the ball deep into coverage and praying for a catch in traffic. That's lobby ball anyway. Sometimes on third and long you should just run a draw or HB screen and play field position. Most of you need to learn to complete outs and comebacks and read defenses, not just throw posts and streaks into coverage downfield.
Sacks
Outside of interceptions, pretty much everything else is able to be manipulated by the user in some way. Every year there is some kind of adjustment or certain plays that consistently get more pressure than others. We have to be cognizant of that and not exploit something over and over. We also have to manage our players and maybe take them out after three sacks in a blowout or occasionally on 1st and 2nd down to let them rest. However, we do realize that several players have been in the 20-22 sack range recently so typically we don't have an issue if one guy (i.e. JJ Watt) here and there falls into that range. It just shouldn't be the same guy every year and definitely shouldn't be multiple guys on one team. That's likely only because of an exploit.
With that being said, your opponent has to be willing to adjust to a degree as well. If you notice your opponent is constantly spreading his d-line on passing downs, run an inside zone or a draw. If they are getting a lot of pressure from one side, shift your line to that side and keep a RB and/or TE in to block. Also, use short three and five step drops if your opponent is getting a lot of pressure. Don't run double moves and deep passing plays when your line can't hold a block. That's just part of football strategy and the game allows you to make those adjustments.
Passing
The single season passing record is another one that has been approached and broken several times recently. We still do not want to see it broken, but its much more common to see QBs around 5,000 yards in a season. As long as it is guys that make sense (elite level QBs) and as long as it doesn't break the record, you should be fine. Just don't try for 5,000 yards. If it happens, it happens but it should be natural and organic and not something you strive for.
Rushing
There have only been seven instances of 2,000 yard seasons in the history of the NFL and only one in the past 13 years. No RB should EVER come close to this. There have also only been four RBs who have gone over 1,700 yards in the past 8 seasons so even that total should be EXTREMELY rare.
As with everything, your opponent holds some accountability here as well. If you are someone who likes to blitz all of the time, STOP. Learn how to stop the run with base defenses like Cover 1, Cover 3 and (gasp) Cover 4. Yes, Cover 4 is a run defense. For too long it was a type of prevent defense in Madden but now it works much more closely to how it does in real life by putting nine guys into run fits. If you are constantly blitzing to stop the run, a smart user is going to DESTROY you with outside runs and quick passes. Also, if you are using a base defense like Cover 2 or Cover 2 Man where the safety responsibility is to play deep and not defend the run, you better have REALLY good defensive linemen and linebackers. Not may teams can base out of Cover 2 and stop the run. Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your team and play to them.
Receiving
In the history of football, there has only been one receiver surpass 1,900 yards and he is retired (Calvin Johnson). There has also been only seven players to ever go over 1,700 yards. Yes, two of them are active (Antonio Brown and Julio Jones) but they don't do it every year so they shouldn't in here either. Some people still think top tier, elite receivers are too good and they may be. Against certain defenses like Cover 1 press, its almost always an instant win and a five yard head start on the DB. Some could argue they maybe win too many contested catches (I'm not sure I agree but I can see the argument). So, we have to be cognizant of that. As long as your top receivers are getting under 30-35% of targets (which replicates real life for 99% of seasons) you shouldn't ever have an issue.
Again, though, the opponent does hold some responsibility. Keep track of your plays that don't work well (Cover 1 Press for example) and don't use them. Also, use things like spotlight (triangle, X, receiver icon, x) to try and take away the other team's top target. You can also manually cover them (especially if it is a TE or slot receiver) or drop a DE into a flat zone to their side. Or you can put a blitzing player in man coverage against them so they are being doubled by two guys in man or one in man and the zone blitz coverage shell behind them. Spend an hour or two in practice mode learning and getting used to these adjustments and it will change your game dramatically.
Conclusion
We definitely have to improve as users and take away or limit what our opponents do best. However, we also have to be cognizant of over-powered (OP) plays and mechanics that might work a little too well and limit those. If we ALL do our part on both sides of the ball, records should never be an issue in this league and a topic of conversation we never have to disagree about.
That is the hard and fast rule that you should live by. It's a video game and it is exploitable in one way or another. Don't abuse that.
However, its not always that simple is it? Sometimes the game does goofy things through no fault of your own. Sometimes your opponents go brain dead and do dumb things against you. So how do you manage it?
Interceptions
Obviously, there is nothing that can be done about throwing INTs. We've had the INT record for QBs broken many times in here. Some guys just aren't good at passing, especially early in a release. However, if a QB was really that bad in real life, he would probably be benched. That could be something that you consider after your 3rd, 4th, 5th or even 7th INT of the game...
Defensively it is somewhat similar. Last year, with lurks, we had some LBs that broke the LB INT record but never the total INT record. Hopefully, this year is more balanced. For guys like Earl Thomas who, as of this post, has eight INTs in four games, there's not a whole lot that can be done if your opponent just keeps throwing into coverage. There is probably some leeway there as long as you are being proactive and taking guys with inflated stats out when you have an opportunity to (blowouts especially). However, guys have to quit chucking the ball deep into coverage and praying for a catch in traffic. That's lobby ball anyway. Sometimes on third and long you should just run a draw or HB screen and play field position. Most of you need to learn to complete outs and comebacks and read defenses, not just throw posts and streaks into coverage downfield.
Sacks
Outside of interceptions, pretty much everything else is able to be manipulated by the user in some way. Every year there is some kind of adjustment or certain plays that consistently get more pressure than others. We have to be cognizant of that and not exploit something over and over. We also have to manage our players and maybe take them out after three sacks in a blowout or occasionally on 1st and 2nd down to let them rest. However, we do realize that several players have been in the 20-22 sack range recently so typically we don't have an issue if one guy (i.e. JJ Watt) here and there falls into that range. It just shouldn't be the same guy every year and definitely shouldn't be multiple guys on one team. That's likely only because of an exploit.
With that being said, your opponent has to be willing to adjust to a degree as well. If you notice your opponent is constantly spreading his d-line on passing downs, run an inside zone or a draw. If they are getting a lot of pressure from one side, shift your line to that side and keep a RB and/or TE in to block. Also, use short three and five step drops if your opponent is getting a lot of pressure. Don't run double moves and deep passing plays when your line can't hold a block. That's just part of football strategy and the game allows you to make those adjustments.
Passing
The single season passing record is another one that has been approached and broken several times recently. We still do not want to see it broken, but its much more common to see QBs around 5,000 yards in a season. As long as it is guys that make sense (elite level QBs) and as long as it doesn't break the record, you should be fine. Just don't try for 5,000 yards. If it happens, it happens but it should be natural and organic and not something you strive for.
Rushing
There have only been seven instances of 2,000 yard seasons in the history of the NFL and only one in the past 13 years. No RB should EVER come close to this. There have also only been four RBs who have gone over 1,700 yards in the past 8 seasons so even that total should be EXTREMELY rare.
As with everything, your opponent holds some accountability here as well. If you are someone who likes to blitz all of the time, STOP. Learn how to stop the run with base defenses like Cover 1, Cover 3 and (gasp) Cover 4. Yes, Cover 4 is a run defense. For too long it was a type of prevent defense in Madden but now it works much more closely to how it does in real life by putting nine guys into run fits. If you are constantly blitzing to stop the run, a smart user is going to DESTROY you with outside runs and quick passes. Also, if you are using a base defense like Cover 2 or Cover 2 Man where the safety responsibility is to play deep and not defend the run, you better have REALLY good defensive linemen and linebackers. Not may teams can base out of Cover 2 and stop the run. Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your team and play to them.
Receiving
In the history of football, there has only been one receiver surpass 1,900 yards and he is retired (Calvin Johnson). There has also been only seven players to ever go over 1,700 yards. Yes, two of them are active (Antonio Brown and Julio Jones) but they don't do it every year so they shouldn't in here either. Some people still think top tier, elite receivers are too good and they may be. Against certain defenses like Cover 1 press, its almost always an instant win and a five yard head start on the DB. Some could argue they maybe win too many contested catches (I'm not sure I agree but I can see the argument). So, we have to be cognizant of that. As long as your top receivers are getting under 30-35% of targets (which replicates real life for 99% of seasons) you shouldn't ever have an issue.
Again, though, the opponent does hold some responsibility. Keep track of your plays that don't work well (Cover 1 Press for example) and don't use them. Also, use things like spotlight (triangle, X, receiver icon, x) to try and take away the other team's top target. You can also manually cover them (especially if it is a TE or slot receiver) or drop a DE into a flat zone to their side. Or you can put a blitzing player in man coverage against them so they are being doubled by two guys in man or one in man and the zone blitz coverage shell behind them. Spend an hour or two in practice mode learning and getting used to these adjustments and it will change your game dramatically.
Conclusion
We definitely have to improve as users and take away or limit what our opponents do best. However, we also have to be cognizant of over-powered (OP) plays and mechanics that might work a little too well and limit those. If we ALL do our part on both sides of the ball, records should never be an issue in this league and a topic of conversation we never have to disagree about.