How to Do an Onside Kick in "Madden"

Kicking the ball with little power is a key to recovering an onside kick.

Successfully recovering an onside kick in a real football game is extremely difficult. For example, from 2001 to 2008, the NFL averaged 60 onside kick attempts per year and, of those, only 21 percent were successful. The odds of recovering an onside kick in EA Sports' "Madden" NFL series of video games is not much better. However, you can shift the odds in your favor by setting up your onside kick the right way.

Instructions

1. Scroll through the play selection when it is your turn to kick off and choose "Onside Kick."

2. Angle the direction arrow so that the tip is pointing exactly at the "40" on the field. Place the arrow so that it points to the left for a right-footed place kicker, or to the right for a left-footed kicker.

3. Scroll through your players standing on the line of scrimmage waiting for the kick. Choose the one who is closest to where the ball is aimed. Use that player to attempt to recover the ball.

4. Press the action button on your game controller to start the power meter. Let the meter run all the way to full power and press the action button when it comes back to about 40 percent.

5. Press the buttons that you have assigned as "Catch" and "Dive" to attempt to recover the football after it has traveled 10 yards.

Tips & Warnings

• These steps increase your odds of recovering an onside kick in "Madden" NFL games, but nothing guarantee that you will recover the onside kicks 100 percent of the time.

References

• "Madden NFL 12: The Official Player's Guide"; Gamer Media Inc.; 2011
• NFL.com; Seven Picks Returned for Scores? That's Impressive; Pat Kirwan; 2008