Hello there, this is I. B. Reporting for Ourcade News. I’m here with your weekly wrap up for the first week of the Ourcade Games Madden League. This is the only place for up to date info in the league, as well as direct quotes straight from the coaches themselves. It was an exciting week in the league, full of triumph, heartbreak, close wins and blowout losses. Let’s get you all caught up. User teams are in bold.

Green Bay 46 – Seattle 16

Coach Nygga had a nightmare debut at the helm of the defending champions. Green Bay had a point to prove, and they proved it. Aaron Rodgers posted a lofty 101.8 passer rating, while Russell Wilson only managed a 54.8 rating. Eddie Lacy and Marshawn Lynch both had 100 yard outings, and Percy Harvin did manage 2 touchdowns on the day. In the end, Seattle just couldn’t make the most of their opportunities. Coach Nygga, what will you focus on during practice this week?

We’ll probably work on our zone defense looks. We looked a little confused when we went to zone, and that’s unacceptable. There seemed to be communication issues, and we all know communication breakdowns lead to coverage breakdowns. It will be fixed.

St. Louis 34 – Minnesota 31

Minnesota lost an overtime thriller after blowing a late lead. Teddy Bridgewater looked good in his pro debut, but Sam Bradford outplayed him. Zac Stacy and Adrian Peterson played to a draw, but Stacy’s damage was all done late in the comeback effort. Jared Cook was a man possessed with 9 catches for 195 yds and 2 touchdowns. Minnesota lost a tough one, but they have to be pleased with the effort. Mr. Wilf, are you worried about how your defense will perform in the weeks to come?

We kept Stacy in check for most of the game, but he finally broke one and all hell broke loose from there. Our DT’s have to do a better job getting off the ball, and the LB’s did a piss poor job in coverage. We also had tackling issues. It was the first game of the season, on the road, so I expected more fire. But it’s a long season and we have plenty of time to settle down.

Philadelphia 27 – Jacksonville 13

Jacksonville’s offense left much to be desired in this loss. Blake Bortles had a rough start to his pro career with 2 interceptions, and Toby Gerhart was also held in check. LeSean McCoy ran wild for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Nick Foles added a third. Justin Blackmon may have been distracted by the trade rumors swirling around him. He was only able to manage 1 reception. Coach King Jr., do you think you made the right decision starting the rookie Bortles over a veteran?

Last I checked, quarterbacks don’t play defense. You want Blake to bottle up LeSean McCoy? We cut Chad Henne, freeing up 4 million in cap. Everything from here on out is to develop our team around Blake. That’s all there is to it. We have complete faith in his ability to lead this team into the future.

Oakland 20 – New York Jets 17

Geno Smith led an improved passing attack to over 300 yards, but it wasn’t enough. His 2 interceptions helped Oakland escape with the win in Week 1. The Jets defense certainly did their best to change the outcome, limiting Oakland to a paltry 221 yards of offense. Jeremy Kerley was a bright spot, totaling 6 catches for 137 yards and a TD. Mr. Whitfield, how do your coaches plan to generate more points and lighten the load on your defense?

We need to control the clock better by running the ball more effectively. That will get our play action going, leading to big play opportunities. Tightening up the defensive line play will also go a long way toward making things easier.

Cincinnati 15 – Baltimore 14

The box score looks like the Bengals dominated, but 2 turnovers were the great equalizer. Both running games were stifled, and Joe Flacco was replaced by Tyrod Taylor mid game. We’ll update with news of a possible injury when available. A.J. Green was a man among boys with 158 yards and a TD on 8 catches. Carlos Dunlap had 6 sacks on the night. 6. Sacks. Amazing! Even with plenty of stats in their favor, Cincinnati still only managed a 1 point victory. Coach Teague, how do you plan to maximize your opportunities on the field?

AJ Green. AJ Green. AJ Green.

laughter ensues

Seriously, we have to do better in the red zone. We left a lot of points on the board with red zone miscues, and did a bad job of finishing off drives. We were fantastic between the 20’s, but we have to find a way to turn that production into points. We look forward to the challenge.

Cleveland 24 – Pittsburgh 7

This was pretty much total domination for the Browns. Johnny Manziel looked great in his debut with 3 touchdowns. Josh Gordon was a yard shy of 100, and snagged 2 touchdowns. Big Ben was held in check by the Browns defense, and the Steelers offense never got in a rhythm. 179 offensive yards just won’t cut it. Let’s have a word with the owner Mr. Duke about today’s win.

Mr. Duke, this was an impressive win. Talk to us about Manziel’s debut.

He had a great preseason, earning the starting job for Week 1. The game he had just validated having that spot. He was poised, smart, and made all the plays he needed to make. He didn’t try to do too much, he just played great football. We couldn’t be happier with Johnny’s debut. We’re looking at the future of our franchise.

Chicago 49 – Buffalo 30

This was an old fashioned shootout. The teams combined for just under 800 yards of offense. They also combined for a whopping 7 interceptions. Both teams had some things they could feel good about, and others they will definitely want to forget. Trindon Holliday was a revelation, breaking out for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Scott Chandler had 120 for the Bills. Let’s talk to the coaches and get their postgame thoughts.

Coach Boone, your personnel moves have been under fire lately. Would you like to speak on your direction?

“Despite the amount of draft picks we traded away in the offseason, I feel tonight’s performance proves it was worth it. 5 interceptions is a dominant performance. I was also criticized for starting Trindon Holliday, and he led the team in receiving. You guys attacked my personnel moves all preseason, do you want to continue? I thought so.”

knocks mic over and saunters away from podium

Coach Beverly, EJ Manuel had a horrible performance today. Can you speak a little about his confidence level?

NO COMMENT.

Walks away angrily after issuing room wide death stare that media didn’t dare challenge.

New England 36 – Miami 17

The Patriots rode a 4th quarter wave of momentum to a 36-17 win that was a little more competitive than the score would suggest. Miami was able to maintain a slight lead for most of the game, but a trio of interceptions by Tannehill in the 4th sealed the Dolphins fate. Revis and company made things difficult for the Miami passing attack, and the defense eventually broke after bending for most of the game. Let’s go to the post game conferences.

Coach Whittaker, talk about your early struggles finding the end zone, as well of your new acquisitions learning on the fly.

Some of our new acquisitions came up huge for us today. Justin Gilbert has been here for about 5 minutes, and had a huge pick six late. T.Y. Hilton scored our first TD of the game after having to settle for 4 field goals. As far as the early struggles, we tried to force the ball into the middle of the field where we felt they were weak. Their linebackers passed the test early. Mike Wallace also torched us deep in the second quarter. We adjusted, and fought back on offense until Revis and the defense sealed things late. There’s nothing like a hard fought division win to start the season.

Coach Brown, your team looked to have the Pats figured out for most of the game. However, the offense seemed to melt down late. Can you explain what happened?

We came prepared to win. We had a game plan, and we executed it for 3 quarters. Unfortunately, this game lasts for four. We had a little trouble moving the ball through the air early, but the run game was very effective. On defense, we did an excellent job of keeping them out of the end zone for most of the game. Once they took the lead late, I think nerves set in. We started pressing, forcing the issue, which played right into their hands. Revis made a great play to get the first interception, and it snowballed from there. We’ll definitely learn from this, and we look forward to the rematch.

Indianapolis 31 – Denver 28

This was an exciting game to watch. Both teams traded punches until the very end, when a late turnover served as a knockout punch for the Colts. Both teams had their ups and downs. Manning and Luck both had a few drive killing miscues, but Luck was eventually bailed out late by his defense. There was a sense of…..wait a second…..I’m being told the press conferences are about to begin.

Coach Martin, how are you feeling after today’s win?

I’m extremely proud of how my team fought today. After falling behind 14-0 in Denver with Peyton leading the way, most teams would have folded and gave up. We showed resiliency, and the defense came up with big play after big play. This was a huge win for the team, and a great start to the season. 

Coach Chism, you seemed to have some difficulty navigating the Colts zone defense. Talk about that a little.

We made some critical errors down the stretch, and we didn’t take advantage of our opponent’s mistakes either. We have to get better against the zone defense, plain and simple. We have to run better routes, and give Peyton the time he needs to do what he does.

Washington 34 – Houston 21

The Skins won this matchup of two teams looking to reverse their fortunes from a season ago. Jimmy Garoppolo’s 4 interceptions were the difference in the game. Robert Griffin III had a 4 TD day, with Jordan Reed on the opposite end of 2 of those touchdowns. The Texans didn’t run much, leading to speculation that Arian Foster may have an injury we don’t know about. Let’s see what the coaches have to say about today’s game.

Coach Walton, talk about how sharp RGIII looked today.

RG3 ran the offense the way exactly how we designed it in practice. He looked very confident in the pocket, and he ran when needed. Great game overall from our QB. We’ll win many more with similar performances.

Coach Davenport – Can Jimmy Garoppolo bounce back from a very shaky first start? And what’s up with only 8 carries for Foster?

I saw good things from Jimmy in his first start, but we definitely need him to be a little smarter out there. He will be, I have no doubt. Our run game has to get better to help him out. The receivers need to make things a little easier for him as well. I saw a few throws they could have fought harder for. 

As far as Foster, no comment.

San Francisco 23 – Dallas 17

San Francisco escaped with a 23-17 win after securing the last of Tony Romo’s three interceptions. Kaepernick had a very pedestrian day, but he took care of the ball and was content to feed Frank Gore to the tune of a hundred yard outing. Dez Bryant was unstoppable with 12 catches and 184 yards, but they weren’t enough to secure the win. He was seen on the sideline kicking Gatorade coolers in the final seconds of the game. The coaches are about to take the podium. We hear the Cowboys owner will be fielding questions as well.

Coach Coach – Did you pick up on any tendencies with Dallas’s passing attack?

We noticed that Romo was trying to force the ball to Dez instead of taking what we gave him. We were able to exploit that one final time in the 4th for the pick six.

Mr. Moore – Will Dez Bryant have any help this season?

What kind of question is that? Come on man. He came up big this game. We have to find ways to get Witten and Escobar in the mix earlier in the game. The running game will be better in the coming weeks as well. We know what we need to do, and we will do it.

There you have it. This is I. B. Reporting for Ourcade News. We’ll see you next week.