Madden 12 Panthers 2012 Season Simulation

[Catalyst 612]

I'm going to do this pretty much just for the sake of doing it to kill some time before the season.

I'm going to play through our entire schedule this year on Madden 12 - with updated rosters for each team - to 'project' our record for the season. I'm not using franchise mode, but exhibition mode to play each game. Any injuries that happen in any one game will be taken into account for the next game. For example; if Brandon LaFell is hurt in week 3 and the game says he's out 3 weeks, then I'll bench him until week 7. Same goes for any and all players.

If I make it to 10 wins I'll consider us a wild card team; if I win 11+ I'll consider us division champs with the seeding based on the number of wins:

11 wins = 3rd seed

12 wins = 2nd seed

13 or more wins = 1st seed

At that point I'll project a playoff field based on who I think is likely to make it and fill out the brackets and play based on that and see how far I can get. I have the difficulty set high enough so that these games shouldn't be a cake walk. I should lose plenty for a realistic simulation and the stats should be more or less realistic, though it is Madden, so you never know.

I'll post the results and player stats after each game in this thread.

Don't play Madden? Don't 'get' me doing this? Don't read it/reply. No need for smart-ass comments.

I'm using my own custom rosters for this, updated for 2012 and with my own ratings, having gone through the Panthers along with all our opponents and added draft picks, FA's, removed lost players, and adjusted ratings to what I feel are accurate to real life. My ratings are actually quite a bit more conservative than the ratings EA uses.

This is the Panthers depth chart/roster I'm heading into the season with, ratings included:

QB:

Cam Newton: 85

Derek Anderson: 70

HB:

DeAngelo Williams: 88

Jonathan Stewart: 88

Josh Vaughan: 65

FB:

Mike Tolbert: 88

WR:

Steve Smith: 95

Brandon LaFell: 75

Louis Murphy: 74

David Gettis: 73

Kealoha Pilares: 68

Joe Adams: 68

TE:

Greg Olsen: 85

Gary Barnidge: 72

Ben Hartstock: 68

LT:

Jordan Gross: 93

Bruce Campbell: 68

LG:

Amini Silatolu: 75

Mike Pollak: 74

OC:

Ryan Kalil: 94

Zack Williams: 63

RG:

Geoff Hangartner: 74

Garry Williams: 68

RT:

Byron Bell: 73

Lee Ziemba: 67

LDE:

Charles Johnson: 88

Antwan Applewhite: 71

RDE:

Greg Hardy: 75

Thomas Keiser: 71

Frank Alexander: 68

DT:

Ron Edwards: 73

Terrell McClain: 67

Sione Fua: 67

Frank Kearse: 67

Andre Neblett: 67

LOLB:

James Anderson: 83

Kenny Onatolu: 65

MLB:

Jon Beason: 95

Jason Williams: 65

ROLB:

Luke Kuechly: 85

Thomas Davis: 83

Jordan Senn: 67

CB:

Chris Gamble: 93

Josh Norman: 73

Captain Munnerlyn: 73

Darius Butler: 71

Brandon Hogan: 70

FS:

Sherrod Martin: 70

Haruki Nakamura: 70

SS:

Charles Godfrey: 79

Reggie Smith: 68

K:

Justin Medlock: 68

P:

Brad Nortman: 60

---------------------------

Week 1 to come...

[Sapper 1,281]

Interested to see how it turns out. Obviously, the human element/momentum can't be measured in numbers, but I always love to break down stuff like this.

Hope we do well :)

[Catalyst 612]

WEEK 1: PANTHERS 35, BUCCANEERS 31

SUMMARY: A back and forth game, much closer than expected. The Bucs lead 20-14 at halftime, but Cam Newton threw a TD pass to Louis Murphy with 2:47 to go that looked like it would seal the win. The Bucs got the ball back and went 3-and-out and the Panthers got the ball back, only to have DeAngelo Williams fumble as they were attempting to run out the clock. The Bucs recovered and Josh Freeman hit Vincent Jackson for a TD to take a 31-28 lead with 1:13 left on the clock.

The Panthers drove deep into field goal range, but opted to take one more shot at the endzone with 0:07 left from the 8 yard line before kicking the field goal to send the game to overtime. Cam threw a TD pass to Louis Murphy - his 2nd TD of the game - for the go-ahead score and the win.

GAME MVP: Louis Murphy (5 rec, 122 yards, 2 TD's)

PASSING:

Cam Newton: 19/27, 329 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT (120.7 QBR)

RUSHING:

Jonathan Stewart: 8 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD (6.7 YPC)

DeAngelo Williams: 12 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble (3.5 YPC)

RECEIVING:

Steve Smith: 7 rec, 134 yards

Louis Murphy: 5 rec, 122 yards, 2 TD's

Mike Tolbert: 5 rec, 47 yards

DEFENSIVE:

Luke Kuechly: 16 tackles

Jon Beason: 11 tackles, SACK

Charles Johnson: 5 tackles, SACK

Charles Godfrey: 9 tackles

INJURIES:

Brandon LaFell (Ankle Sprain - 2 Weeks)

[Catalyst 612]

WEEK 2: PANTHERS 30, Saints**** 28

SUMMARY: The Panthers started strong, moving up and down the field on the Saints**** defense and took a 20-7 lead at halftime. In the 2nd half, however, Drew Brees rallied the Saints**** to two straight TD drives to take a 21-20 lead. Justin Medlock kicked a 42 yard field goal to give the Panthers a 23-21 lead, but the Drew Brees threw a 56-yard TD to Devery Henderson to put the Saints**** on top with 4:56 left in the 4th quarter. Cam Newton drove the Panthers for the second week in a row for the go-ahead score, a Mike Tolbert TD run from the 2-yard line. The Saints**** forced a 3-and-out on the next series and used their final timeout to force the Panthers to punt with 1:02 remaining, but rookie Brad Nortman downed the ball inside the 15 yard line and Charles Johnson sacked Brees on a key 3rd & 8, setting up 4th & long, which the Saints**** could not convert.

GAME MVP: DeAngelo Williams (16 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD)

PASSING:

Cam Newton: 12/19, 182 yards (94.6 QBR)

RUSHING:

DeAngelo Williams: 16 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD (8.1 YPC)

Jonathan Stewart: 9 carries, 36 yards (4.0 YPC)

Mike Tolbert: 3 carries, 11 yards, 1 TD (3.6 YPC)

Cam Newton: 4 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD (3.5 YPC)

RECEIVING:

Greg Olsen: 5 rec, 73 yards

Steve Smith: 3 rec, 39 yards

Mike Tolbert: 2 rec, 33 yards

Louis Murphy: 1 rec, 23 yards

David Gettis: 1 rec, 14 yards

DEFENSIVE:

Luke Kuechly: 12 tackles

Jon Beason: 9 tackles, SACK

Charles Johnson: 3 tackles, SACK

Terrell McClain: 2 tackles, SACK

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Justin Medlock: 3/3 FG's (34, 42, 47)

INJURIES:

Sherrod Martin (Abdominal Strain - 3 Weeks)

[Catalyst 612]

WEEK 3: PANTHERS 24, GIANTS 22

SUMMARY: The Panthers got the ball to start, but quickly went 3 & out when Greg Olsen slipped on a route, causing Cam Newton's pass to fall incomplete on 3rd & medium. On his first pass, however, Eli Manning was intercepted by Chris Gamble, who ran it back 23 yards for a TD for Carolina's first score. The Giants held a 10-7 lead just prior to halftime, but once again Cam Newton drove the Panthers down the field in a 2:00 situation, allowing Justin Medlock to kick a 42 yard field goal to tie the game at 10 at halftime. Giants WR Victor Cruz had a big game with 8 catches for 154 yards and a TD, but it wasn't enough as the Giants trailed by 8 with 0:27 remaining and while they did score, Ahmad Bradshaw got tripped up short of the goal line during the 2-point conversion attempt, which would have tied the game. Afterward, the Panthers kneeled the game out after a failed Giants onside kick.

GAME MVP: Chris Gamble (3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD)

PASSING:

Cam Newton: 13/20, 178 yards, 1 INT (72.5 QBR)

RUSHING:

DeAngelo Williams: 14 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD (5.4 YPC)

Jonathan Stewart: 12 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD (6.2 YPC)

Cam Newton: 6 carries, 30 yards (5.0 YPC)

RECEIVING:

Louis Murphy: 5 rec, 54 yards

Steve Smith: 4 rec, 59 yards

Greg Olsen: 1 rec, 22 yards

Mike Tolbert: 1 rec, 16 yards

David Gettis: 1 rec, 20 yards

Kealoha Pilares: 1 rec, 7 yards

DEFENSIVE:

Jon Beason: 14 tackles, HALF SACK

Chris Gamble 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

Charles Johnson: 3 tackles, SACK

Charles Godfrey: 10 tackles

Josh Norman: 9 tackles

James Anderson: 7 tackles

Luke Kuechly: 6 tackles

Ron Edwards: 2 tackles, HALF SACK

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Justin Medlock: 1/2 FG's (Made 42, Missed 51)

INJURIES:

Sione Fua (Torn ACL - OUT FOR SEASON)

[Catalyst 612]

Anyone actually reading this?

[Sapper 1,281]

I am. Seems pretty accurate so far. The Panthers will be in many close games this year - it is all about how we can finish.

Laughed at Fua's Week 3 ACL tear.

[Catalyst 612]

Yeah, I make sure to go into the formations and sub in some of the rotational guys in certain formations. That way Alexander, Keiser, Applewhite, Fua, Kearse, etc. get some plays in as well. Fua got hurt on one of those. It's certainly not a huge loss.

[Catalyst 612]

WEEK 4: PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 28 (O.T.)

SUMMARY: The Panthers offense struggled early as the Falcons defense managed to largely take away their running game, managing just a field goal prior to finally scoring inside 2:00. The Falcons managed a TD of their own as time expired at the half, giving them a 16-10 lead at halftime. The Panthers got the ball to start the 2nd half, but Thomas Decoud intercepted a Cam Newton pass intended for Steve Smith and the Falcons turned it into a field goal, followed by a another on their next possession, and then another to take a 25-10 lead. The next possession, the Panthers offense finally woke up as Newton connected with Steve Smith on a deep pass for a TD that was originally called incomplete, but reversed following a challenge by Carolina. The Falcons moved the ball some on their next possession, but wound up punting, and Newton again drove the Panthers down the field, connecting with Gary Barnidge for a goal-line TD and then with DeAngelo Williams on the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 25 inside 5:00 in the 4th quarter. The Falcons drove into the red zone, but had to settle for a field goal, which was matched by Carolina as time expired, setting up overtime. The Panthers won the coin toss and proceeded to drive to mid-field, where a short Newton to Smith pass turned into the game-winning TD as Smith broke an Asante Samuel tackle and scored on the catch and run.

GAME MVP: Cam Newton (25/35, 399 yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's)

PASSING:

Cam Newton: 25/35, 399 yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's (123.3 QBR)

RUSHING:

DeAngelo Williams: 10 carries, 37 yards, 1 TD (3.7 YPC)

Jonathan Stewart: 6 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD (3.9 YPC)

RECEIVING:

Steve Smith: 6 rec, 127 yards, 2 TD's

Mike Tolbert: 4 rec, 61 yards, 1 TD

Greg Olsen: 4 rec, 61 yards

David Gettis: 3 rec, 60 yards

Louis Murphy: 2 rec, 40 yards

DeAngelo Williams: 3 rec, 34 yards

Gary Barnidge:: 1 rec, 2 yards, 1 TD

DEFENSIVE:

Jon Beason: 10 tackles, SACK, forced fumble

Haruki Nakamura: 10 tackles

Charles Johnson: 4 tackles, SACK

Greg Hardy: 4 tackles, SACK

Josh Norman: 3 tackles, INT

Luke Kuechly: 9 tackles

James Anderson: 6 tackles

Charles Godfrey: 5 tackles

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Justin Medlock: 2/2 FG's (40, 46)

INJURIES:

Joe Adams (Herniated Disk - 8 WEEKS)

[NCstoner420 178]

They picked us on ESPN to beat the Giants too.