#1: Which franchise had the better run in this previous generation, Madden or NCAA?

Robert Kollars: NCAA to me had the better run, but that doesn't mean it was smooth sailing. The NCAA team did a better job of incorporating an online dynasty/franchise, and by doing so added some incredible depth and longevity to the title.

Jayson Young: Of the two series, Madden released the best overall game (Madden NFL 10), but NCAA Football was more innovative and a more consistent performer on a year-to-year basis. Either way, trying to pick a winner out of these two under-performing franchises is like the Vikings trying to choose between starting Josh Freeman or Christian Ponder at quarterback.

Matthew Coe: NCAA Football had the better run and it isn't even close in my opinion. Madden has been seemingly in a perpetual "wait until next year" cycle this entire generation while NCAA Football actually built upon it's strong core game and made logical upgrades and changes.

Evan: Despite the recent news, I would say NCAA took this generation in terms of the gridiron battle. NCAA continued to provide a solid product with new features added every year to constantly try and improve. Even if the feature implementation was not successful, the people at NCAA seemed to use it as a learning experience. NCAA did all this without any sort of competition, unfortunately the same cannot be said for Madden, which used the lack of competition to settle for consistently safe product releases, which had no general sense of direction for the franchise.

Dustin Toms: I almost fell like NCAA had the better run. College football has a much more passionate following. There are few things that match the school pride of any Division I program. Personally, I enjoyed Madden more often than NCAA. Nothing could beat recruiting in the offseason, but winning the Super Bowl was much more gratifying.

#2: Where does All-Pro Football 2K8 fit in the discussion among the best football games this past generation?

RK: It has to be in the top three of any list. If 2K would have included a franchise mode and had access to the NFL license, it would have owned this generation of football gaming.

JY: All-Pro Football 2K8 belongs at the very top of the list. Its gameplay still offers the most realistic representation of football on the XBOX 360 or PlayStation 3. The customization issues it shipped with have since been solved by the modding community. As a gamer who prefers to compete against adaptive human players instead of predictable computer opponents, the absence of a multi-season offline mode has never bothered me.

MC: At the top of the list. It is the greatest simulation football game that gamers were able to play on this generation of consoles. The discussion can't even be legitimately held about the best football games without APF 2K8.

E: In terms of gameplay, All-Pro Football 2K8 deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best football titles on this generation of consoles. The game play was excellent in terms of variety, realism, and graphical shine. What did All-Pro Football in was the very concept of the game as it quickly went stale. There was no ability to do to anything beyond a single season, and even though the customization options were rigorous the confines of the player creation still made it too little to hold gamer's attention.

DT: I swear I'm not playing Devil's Advocate, but for as fun as APF 2K8 was, it wasn't the best football game released this generation. My vote is Madden 13; Connected Careers is special, even though it needs tweaking. These games really do get better as time goes on, it's just Madden's jump in improvement year-to-year was much smaller than other sports games.

#3: In a paragraph, diagnose Madden's biggest problem since debuting on the XBOX 360.

RK: While the Madden franchise has dealt with numerous issues, I think the two biggest were the lack of competition and misguided direction. EA Tiburon lacks focus, and by doing so their NFL franchise seemingly has had a different goal almost every year. What makes MLB The Show such a great series is that the team keeps its core strengths on a yearly basis, and works to correct the game's weaknesses. EA never seemed to embrace that concept during this generation, and as we mentioned before, the lack of competition surely did not help the cause. What EA needs to do is build a true football simulation, and let the fan-base adapt to the game. I understand the need to appeal to the masses, but NBA 2K and MLB the Show also need to accomplish this, and still find a way to capture the true essence of their respective sport.

JY: Realistic player movement has been a longstanding issue for all EA Sports games on the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3. Both Madden and NCAA Football leave this generation as the two ugliest sports games in motion. Until EA Tiburon gets its animation systems up to par with other sports developers, Visual Concepts, SCEA San Diego Studio and Konami will continue making Madden look like a third-string sports game.

MC: Lack of direction. Starting with Madden 06 and Madden 07, it was all about pushing the visuals but leaving out the core game modes like franchise and owner mode. Then came, Madden NFL 08 and the less said about it the better honestly ... I have no idea how that game made it out of the door. Then with Madden NFL 09-12 we had a renewed focus on the NFL part of the game. More authentic sounds, sights, commentary, and other peripheral things that attempted to make it an NFL game, not just a Madden game. Madden 13 marked yet another sharp change in direction with the infinity engine and connected careers mode. Madden NFL 25 continued that and re-introduced owner mode. Who knows where the series goes from here. That's the problem.

E: If the it was not required in terms of an explanation, I could explain Madden's biggest problem in one word: complacency. Madden's problem is that it is content to sit on its throne and focus on rewarding shareholders as opposed to rewarding who they should be focusing on: the consumers. Despite increases in technology Madden has yet to incorporate WR and DB interaction present a console generation ago in NFL 2K5. Madden brings back more features then it does create new ones, and consistently disappoints with game killing bugs, exploits, and glitches - which takes away from any potential variety in terms of competitive play. Many of these are so blatant that it appears as though the game was never even tested which further continues to give the impression of a lack of commitment to the consumer.

DT: I have to agree with Matt on this one. He pegged it perfectly. Madden has never had a lack of direction. It was always the "three-year plan." The problem was that at the end of every third year, EA would claim they're rebuilding and rebranding the game to make a more immersive experience. Getting a brand new franchise every three years was exhausting and upsetting. It's almost as if consumer backlash spun them in circles. It might be ironic, but focus on making a realistic football sim while ignoring what the consumer wants. Who cares what we're asking if EA knows they're making a damn good game?

#4: What is the one aspect of football games we still haven't seen executed correctly?

RK: Secondary and wide receiver interaction. While APF2K8 did a better job than EA's attempts, it still had room for improvement. I will say that it may have had a lot to do with hardware limitations, but that doesn't excuse the fact that this area has been somewhat neglected for far too long.

JY: Other team sports titles like FIFA Soccer 14, NHL 14 or even the NFL Blitz and NBA Jam remakes have proved that a well-executed online team play mode can turn an otherwise mediocre video game into an incredibly fun cooperative experience. Madden has not improved or attempted to expand its three-on-three team up mode since the feature debuted in Madden NFL 11. Seven-on-seven online leagues are something that football gaming has never tried, and I believe it would take off just as clubs have in the FIFA and NHL series.

MC: There are many, but if I have to chose one I will say that it's the aspect of individual team identities. For example, when you play Madden NFL 25 against the Chiefs, you should expect, and have to gameplan for, a large dose of Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith trying to carve you up in the short passing game. When playing the Saints, it's all about Drew Brees and his weapons over the middle and out of the backfield. What I'm getting at, I guess, is a higher form of artificial intelligence combined with real life statistics and play-calling tendencies. Signature styles, if you will.

E: I will refer to the prior answer and again state the interaction before, during, and after the ball arrives between defensive backs and wide receivers. The interaction in Madden and NCAA ceases to exist once the initial bump at the line is completed. There is nothing in terms of pushing off, down-the-field hand checking, or face guarding to create a more fluent and realistic feel to the passing game. As a result of this lack of physicality and random events, it creates the environment we have now where off the line you know if a player is either going to be wide open or in blanket coverage the instant they get off the line.

DT: Presentation. All football presentation was sorely lacking this entire generation. I'm a huge advocate of keeping NFL 2K5 in the past, but when a game from the original Xbox still has the best presentation from any NFL game ever, something is wrong. This goes for commentary as well.

#5: Is football gaming in a better or worse place at the end of this generation?

RK: When only one company has a license, football gaming will never be in a better place. Football fans need choices, and sadly that option has dwindled down to just one with the removal of NCAA Football. Let's hope that the NFL license opens up again in 2014. Not because I want to see Madden go away, but because competition drives people to put forth a better effort and product.

JY: The genre is worse off, for the simple reason that gamers are now down to just one football developer (EA Tiburon) and one football franchise (Madden NFL). Midway Games went bankrupt in 2009. Natural Motion abandoned console gaming in 2011 and now makes mobile games exclusively. Take-Two Interactive has shown no interest in releasing another unlicensed football game after All-Pro Football 2K8 lost money. The only hope football fans have at this point is for the NFL exclusivity deal to expire without renewal.

MC: Football gaming is not better off as we end this generation. That's kind of mind boggling when you consider that we had nowhere to go but up from Madden NFL 06. The state of football gaming took a sharp turn for the worse when EA Sports was granted the exclusive NFL license just prior to the start of this console generation, and then dealt another severe blow when the NCAA Football series was killed off earlier this year. A one game, Madden-only football future doesn't look all that appealing to me.

E: It is certainly hard to say that it is worse off purely based off of the available technology. This generation has given us graphical enhancements, game play enhancements, and social enhancements such as online franchises. I however will say that despite the potential, we are worse off because the overall feel is no more immersive than it was on the PlayStation 2 or the original Xbox.

DT: It's worse, unfortunately. Is Madden NFL 25 a better game than Madden NFL 06 on the original Xbox? Yes. Is Madden NFL 25 as fun and addicting and awesome and time-consuming and mind-blowing and as flat out fun as Madden NFL 06 on the original Xbox? Not even close.