Marshawn Lynch Gets Easter Egg in Black Ops 3

Marshawn Lynch is retiring from the game, or at least that’s what seems to be happening. As it turns out, the people at Treyarch will be sad to see him go. So sad, in fact, that they’ve made changes to one of the most popular maps in the game, Combine. The changes are minor, but as one YouTuber with eagle eyes has pointed out, actually turn out to be a tribute to Marshawn Lynch who recently announced his retirement.

The numbers on the map used to read 1-A, but now read 24, which you might know as Lynch’s number on the Seahawks. Marshawn Lynch starred in the campaign for Black Ops III which was released late last year, which explains the easter egg. A worthy tribute for a memorable player. We’ll miss him too!

Marshawn Lynch Gets Easter Egg in Black Ops 3

Madden NFL Fantasy Draft Tips & Strategies

Drafting in a full CFM versus other users brings an entirely new set of challenges and requires a different strategy than when drafting versus the CPU. So we have a few tips and strategies for you guys that will help you be successful in your Madden NFL Fantasy Draft.

Drafting Tips

1. Check out the roster– Know what roster you are using beforehand. Over the course of a season  madden ratings can go up or down, or even experience position changes. So be sure to check out the roster you are using prior to the draft to verify the ratings and positions for any targeted players.


2. Have a strategy– Whether it’s what you value by position (QB > CB > TE > MLB) or specific types of players you target for your style of play (Run Heavy, Zone Coverage, etc)make a strategy and try to stick with it. This is a chance for you to build a team exactly how YOU want it so don’t choose solely based on OVR and miss out on players that fit your scheme the best.


3. Draft selection position– Where you choose in the draft makes a HUGE difference in the type of strategy you develop. Selecting in the Top 10 taking a QB with your 1st pick may be a much better option than if selecting at #32. So get to know your draft position ASAP before figuring out your draft strategy.


4. CPU vs User – How many CPU teams are there in the draft. How a human chooses players is completely different how the CPU does. The CPU tends to value QB, pass rushers and youth at most positions. Users are completely different and each will have their own individual strategies.


5. Pay attention! – Watch the picks, pay attention to what others are picking. Try to anticipate “the run” on specific positions and get ahead of it. This is especially important when drafting in the top 5 as there will be a large gap in between your selections.


6. Development and age – Be sure to pay attention to the development and age of players. You can find development of each player in Madden here. Age matters even more if this is in a CFM that you plan to play multiple seasons in.


7. Be ready for your pick – Don’t rush and scramble when it comes to your pick. A few picks ahead starting planning out between 2-4 guys you will take when it’s your turn to pick. This will avoid mistakes and reaches. If there are 3 teams ahead of your pick choose the top 4 players you want to take so when it’s impossible for at least one of your guys to be there.


8. Have a backup plan – If your strategy is to take a QB/CB/RB with your 1st pick but all of these elite players at that position are gone make sure you have a backup plan. Don’t reach for an 80 ovr QB with your 1st selection just because that’s what your initial plan said.


9. Sleepers! – Getting quality starters in the late rounds is key for winning your Madden NFL Fantasy draft. Be sure to checkout our Madden Sleeper Series for great underrated players you can snag later on.

Drafting Strategies

Blue Ocean Strategy– Personally I like to follow a blue water strategy when drafting. Searching for ways to gain “uncontested market space” than engaging in traditional competition. I apply this to Fantasy drafting by watching what positions others are focusing on and going in the opposite direction. If teams are going focusing heavily on corner there may be top players left at Safety. If many are taking WRs then there may be top rated offensive linemen still on the board. The point is to go where others are not, be sure not to do this and sacrifice your overall strategy though.

Domination Strategy- The domination strategy is when you go all out for a select group. Meaning to draft heavily in one or two positions. Like bookend pass rushers, two lockup corners, a LT/LG combo or two highly rated cover 2 safeties. One of my favorites is a top DT, MLB, FS combo so you are strong up the middle on each level of the defense.

Team Versatility- Selecting players on both sides of the ball that excel at multiple positions.  A fullback like Marcel Reece that can also play TE. A TE like Jimmy graham who can play WR. A DB like Tyrann Mathieu who can play corner and safety. Also players like Wide receiver Tavon Austin who also excel in returning kicks and punts. This will allow you to move these players around to cover any weakness you may have in another area.

Win Now Strategy- Many CFM vets see age 30 as a death knell for Madden players. Take advantage of this and grab those high rated but older players that others pass on. Most leagues won’t go more than a few years so this probably won’t hurt you as much as people think. I have seen highly rated players go well into the later rounds because they are 30+, draft those guys and let them show the league they have some juice left!

Check SGO daily and subscribe to our YouTube for more free madden tips and news from your favorite sports games!

Madden NFL Fantasy Draft Tips & Strategies

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Top 10 Sleeper Cover Linebackers

After detailing the 3-4 Rush Linebackers here are some of the most underrated Cover Linebackers in the game based on the ratings that actually matter so you can find possible sleepers that other guys would trade for minimal value in Madden 16 CFM.  A few of the factors taken into consideration in the selection process were the ease it would be to get ahold of that said player and their location on their perspective team’s depth chart. With that said here are our Top 10 Sleeper Cover Linebackers in Madden 16 Connected Franchise:

10. KOREY TOOMER (RAIDERS/26 YEARS OLD/ROLB): 64 OVR/86 SPEED/88 AGILITY/87 ACCEL/73 HIT POWER/73 PURSUIT/52 PLAY REC/70 MAN COVERAGE/73 ZONE COVERAGE

Toomer used to be on the Seahawks so you already assume he’s fast and at 86 speed, he’s the 4^th fastest outside linebacker in the game. Toomer is not going to be laying anybody out with his 73 hit power, but at 6-2 with 95 jump, he’s a perfect user linebacker.

9. NEIRON BALL (RAIDERS/23 YEARS OLD/LOLB): 67 OVR/84 SPEED/80 AGILITY/88 ACCEL/78 HIT POWER/77 PURSUIT/55 PLAY REC/67 MAN COVERAGE/77 ZONE COVERAGE

At 23 years old, Ball has 84 speed and 88 acceleration, to go along with 79 tackle 78 hit power. He also has one of the better zone coverage ratings at 77.

8. KEVIN PIERRE-LOUIS (SEAHAWKS/2 YEARS OLD/ROLB): 78 OVR/88 SPEED/87 AGILITY/92 ACCEL/67 HIT POWER/78 PURSUIT/60 PLAY REC/61 MAN COVERAGE/73 ZONE COVERAGE

Pierre- Louis has 88 speed 87 agility and 92 acceleration making him of the most athletic players at linebacker. Build up his pursuit, zone coverage and play recognition and Pierre Louis could turn into a monster pretty quickly.

7. LAMIN BARROW (BEARS/24 YEARS OLD/MLB): 66 OVR/84 SPEED/86 AGILITY/89 ACCEL/84 HIT POWER/81 PURSUIT/58 PLAY REC/58 MAN COVERAGE/68 ZONE COVERAGE

The LSU product has 84 speed and more importantly 86 agility to be able to turn on a dime sharply. Barrow has good hit power at 84 with 81 pursuit and 75 block shed starting out.

6. JONATHAN ANDERSON (BEARS/24 YEARS OLD/MLB): 68 OVR/87 SPEED/84 AGILITY/88 ACCEL/72 HIT POWER/77 PURSUIT/70 PLAY REC/67 MAN COVERAGE/76 ZONE COVERAGE

Anderson is the 3^rd fastest middle linebacker in the game and has solid starting numbers with 77 pursuit 70 play rec and 76 zone coverage.

5. BRANDON WATTS (VIKINGS/24 YEARS OLD/MLB): 61 OVR/88 SPEED/86 AGILITY/93 ACCEL/76 HIT POWER/79 PURSUIT/56 PLAY REC/66 MAN COVERAGE/73 ZONE COVERAGE

Watt dropped 2 speed points between Madden 15 and 16, yet he’s still one of the fastest linebackers in the game . Being 6-2 with cornerback like athleticism gives Watts an advantage not many linebackers have.

4. BEN HEENEY (RAIDERS/22 YEARS OLD/MLB): 69 OVR/86 SPEED/79 AGILITY/88 ACCEL/73 HIT POWER/84 PURSUIT/72 PLAY REC/73 MAN COVERAGE/72 ZONE COVERAGE

Heeney has 86 speed and 88 acceleration with 84 pursuit and has the 3^rd highest man coverage rating in the game at middle linebacker. So Heeney is a solid option especially if you favor man defense.

3. KHARI FORTT (JAGUARS/23 YEARS OLD/MLB): 68 OVR/82 SPEED/85 AGILITY/89 ACCEL/87 HIT POWER/75 PURSUIT/64 PLAY REC/70 MAN COVERAGE/74 ZONE COVERAGE

A personal favorite of mine(I traded for him in my CFM last Madden) Fortt being 6-2 with 87 hit power 79 block shed and 74 zone gives you great starting points to turn him into a nice starter by years end.

2. DAREN BATES (RAMS/24 YEARS OLD/MLB): 62 OVR/87 SPEED/81 AGILITY/85ACCEL/86 HIT POWER/79 PURSUIT/58 PLAY REC/72 MAN COVERAGE/76 ZONE COVERAGE

Bates is already one of the better balanced coverage linebackers in the league with 72 Man and 76 Zone. He also has 86 hit power and 87 speed already giving him the two of the hardest traits to come by for linebacker.

1. ERIC PINKINS (SEAHAWKS/24 YEARS OLD/ROLB): 62 OVR/90 SPEED/81 AGILITY/89 ACCEL/76 HIT POWER/80 PURSUIT/68 PLAY REC/68 MAN COVERAGE/77 ZONE COVERAGE

He’s 6-3 with 90 speed and 91 jump, so good luck trying to throw near him. and Pinkins 77 zone coverage already puts him into the Top 10 in zone coverage ratings for outside linebackers. So whether you user or leave it to the CPU he won’t be a liability

Stay tuned and subscribe to our YouTube for more Madden 16 CFM Tips as we bring you more analysis to get the most of out of your rosters and tips to get your team to the the Super Bowl in your leagues. Be sure to checkout our other parts of this series:

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Sleeper Running Backs

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Sleeper Wide Receivers

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Sleeper Quarterbacks

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Sleeper Cornerbacks

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Tips: Top 10 Sleeper Safeties

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Offensive Line Sleepers

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Tips: Top 10 Tight End Sleepers

Madden 16 Connected Franchise Top 10 Sleeper Cover Linebackers

NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update (2/12/16)

This week’s NBA LIVE 16 roster update is here, and that means changes are inbound. You can find the rundown from EA Sports below. For a more complete look at this roster update, check out the website.

Going Up:

1. Kyrie Irving – OVR 87 (+4) – Irving has been really hitting his stride heading into All-Star break.


2. Aaron Gordon – OVR 80 (+4) – Gordon has been a breakout player for the Magic this year as his role continues to expand.


3. Kyle Lowry – OVR 87 (+4) – When Lowry plays well, the Raptors win. He’s been playing excellent all-around basketball.


4. John Wall – OVR 90 (+3) – Wall has been on fire, and will play through a knee injury in the All Star game.


5. Gordon Hayward – OVR 82 (+2) – Hayward has come up huge for the Jazz in clutch moments.

On the way down:

1. Jusuf Nurkic – OVR 76 (-3) – Nurkic was struggling but recently had a breakout game against the Pistons. We see his rating going back up.


2. Andre Drummond – OVR 88 (-2) – He’s been a little quiet scoring-wise, but still continues his dominance rebounding.


3. Tony Parker – OVR 84 (-2) – Parker simply doesn’t stuff the stat sheet like he used to.


4. Chris Bosh – OVR 85 (-2) – He hasn’t been as dominant lately and will miss the All-Star game due to injury.


5. Channing Frye – OVR 74 (-2) – With the emergence of Gordon, Frye is back to the bench for the Magic.

What do you think of this week’s update? Let us know in the comments below.

 

NBA LIVE 16 Roster Update (2/12/16)

MLB The Show 16 Features: The Little Things

The latest MLB The Show 16 stream from developers San Diego Studio focused on the smaller features this time around. A couple notable things they talked about include the return of Sounds of the Show and Challenge of the Week. Let’s get into it.

The first thing on the list, and probably the biggest, is the return of Sounds of the Show. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sounds of the Show, but it’s finally back this year in MLB The Show 16. Unfortunately, it’s PS4 only. It won’t be returning for the PS3 version of the game. Music customization is always fun, so this is a feature that I’m happy to see return.

Year-to-Year saves is also returning, which means you’ll be able to move your saves from 15 to 16. Pretty standard stuff for The Show, but cool to know anyway. During the stream they also discussed Challenge of the Week 3.0, and how it’s changing with this installment.

There will be new leaderboard options, allowing players to turn the leadersboards on or off as well as switch between friends, current leaders and live leaders. Bonuses are also now listed in the pause menu, so you can check your progress by pausing the game. There will also be new OSDs and weekly prizes. Prizes will now be out to more than one player a week, and digital prizes can be earned more than once.

For the PS4, we’ll be getting opened and closed roofs on the stadiums that offer the option. We’ve heard a bit about this previously, but it’s still coming. There will also be additional uniform lettering for names, new branded equipment, new accessories, and new hair choices for players. All of these things are exclusive to the PS4 version, including new tutorials, which seems a bit odd.

There are plenty of additions to commentary as well, but the team at San Diego Studios promises we’ll find out more about those in the future when they do a press stream. As usual, we’ll keep you posted as we move toward the game’s release next month. So what did you think of this stream? Let us know in the comments.

MLB The Show 16 Features: The Little Things

MLB The Show 16 Sounds of the Show, COTW 3.0 and More! | Developer Lives...

Madden NFL 16 Top 10 Sleeper Coverage Linebackers