Madden 09: How will you Franchise?

Feature Article

Submitted on: 05/08/2008 by Jeremy Hartman

As far as sports videogaming is concerned, franchise play is synonymous with the Madden football series. True, other sports titles have introduced franchise play as an option but no other game has a franchise mode that has captivated users quite like Madden’s. Franchise mode has single-handedly changed sports video gaming. But the real question is how do you play your franchise?

It could be a fairly broad question if not for the fact that message boards are flooded with threads from gamers that want the world to know how they franchise. Some threads contain only text; however, there’s a whole crowd out there that take it to the extreme. Most franchise threads contain faux press releases, in-game pictures, updated stats, and game-by-game reports. It’s even to the point that the franchise threads that do not contain the bells and whistles fall by the wayside. Franchise mode is alive and well, so let’s take a look at how people franchise in the Madden football titles.

I’ll start with myself. I’m a self-proclaimed franchise junkie. For those of you who are Madden die-hards you may remember my threads and franchise downloads from Madden websites. See, I’m a perfectionist. I will not play a franchise game unless I have the exact rosters that mirror the rosters of real NFL teams. Based on the limitations of Madden I usually end up with the latest roster update via EA Sports and then I take the extra liberty to make sure my beloved Philadelphia Eagles are exact. Obsessive-compulsive would not even begin to describe me with my Eagles. I search the web for pictures of every Eagles player on the Madden roster and make sure even their accessories are correct. I won’t play a game in franchise until that is done.

Another thing I try to do is make sure I have the exact NFL Draft Classes imported from the NCAA Football games. I understand you cannot get every collegiate draft hopeful from NCAA to Madden but I have to at least have the players picked in the first three rounds. And, as usual, I have to have all of the Eagles’ draft picks before I’ll play. It’s a sickness…it really is.

After the previously mentioned things are taken care of then it’s time to hit the field. By the way I don’t make any trades unless they have happened in real life. I try to call plays that Andy Reid and company would call in real games. Simply put, you could say that my franchise gaming can be summed up in one word…realism. If it doesn’t happen in real life then I don’t want it to happen in my Madden franchise.

There also appears to be several other "styles" to franchise play. Many people set all 32 NFL teams to user control in order to maintain some type of realism. I believe this method is the preferred method for hardcore Madden gamers. Personally, I don't know any gamers that control just a single team anymore. The biggest reason for this method is because there are many "faults" in how the CPU manages the rosters in the game. Controlling all 32 teams allows the user to keep crazy roster moves from happening but also allows the user to play with only one team. The downfall of this is that there are no limits on trades or moves made because you control everything. It can take away some of the excitement in running a franchise.

Others like to take horrible teams and try to build them into dynasties. Every year there are teams in Madden that are downright awful, at least ratings wise. It is fun to take over the franchise and make personnel moves and trades to see if you can take the team to the top. Playing games while using these horrible teams can be frustrating but it can also be very rewarding. There’s nothing like taking a bottom-feeding team and winning the Super Bowl after making the necessary changes. At least that’s what I’ve been told. I honestly wouldn’t know…I consider it treason if I don’t play with the Eagles! Hey, you know what they say; fan is short for fanatic!

Another method that has been a staple of the gaming community and is gaining more and more steam over the years is simming. I have never been a fan of the method but I do know several people that enjoy it. There does seem to be an underlying framework to the simulation style of play and that’s realism. Realism in every essence is at the core of simulation. Statistics must be realistic. Play-calling and roster moves must also be believable. Coaching tendencies are set to a desired setting as well in an attempt to produce the desired outcome.

During simulation style I have encountered two options for users at the end of each season. One option includes setting coaching tendencies and allowing the CPU to simulate the off-season; the other option lets the user complete the off-season manually and then continuing the sim during seasonal play. The fun would be in setting the tendencies just right so that you hit the jackpot and take a good step towards building a dynasty. It would be like winning the lottery. However, playing devil's advocate, I see the benefit in manually completing the off-season as well. Controlling off-season moves gives you the chance to assert your influence on your franchise. The results are dependent on the moves that you made so it gives you some responsibility in game play.

There are other styles of franchise play that are out there as well. Now is your chance to sound off on this issue. How do you franchise in Madden?

Madden NFL 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 K_GUN @ 05/10/08 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeetaa6


	has anyone out there actually seen CPU to CPU trades occur during a season? i have not. only in 2K5 have i seen this. anyone?

2k5

mcnabb for teddi bruschi

# 22 ronnyballgame @ 05/11/08 10:27 AM

I try to make the rosters as most accurate as I can and just play, normally let the CPU handle their own business, and sometimes I am puzzled by their tactics, but I dont have the time or patience to do all 32 teams. But I am excited for this year's madden and keep on hearing there are in game saves, which would be clutch. I am all Maddened up!

# 23 stillborn @ 05/11/08 05:36 PM

I control all 32 teams. I let the CPU handle all moves like drafts and free agency except for the one team that I plan to use.

After the offseason, I review the CPU moves and make adjustments as necessary. Say the CPU has drafted 3 quarterbacks for one team and they already have Carson Palmer, then I initiate trades with that team and other teams that need QBs. I also set the depth charts to make sure that young players get to play over older players when they have similar OVR ratings.

I switch playbooks after every game cycling through until I've used every one. Of course some play books may not fit the personell of the team I'm controlling so that makes it fun. I also use 'ask madden'. I never call my own plays.

# 24 Mhancock @ 06/28/08 01:15 PM

I update to the best of my abilities, then take control of the Mighty Detroit Lions. I get my rookies on top of their game, edge towards the playoffs, win a playoff game or two, make crazy trades to get at least 2 of the top 5 picks, rebuild young, and then take a shot at the big dance. I make deals with the Raiders (my 2nd fave team) every year to try to build them up, but I only control Detroit. I can do this for 15-20 seasons because it's the only time I ever see the Lions dominating.

Now is it just me, or if you're only controlling one team, do your offensive lineman become the greatest in the game? Dominating the pro-bowl scene for careers at a time?

# 25 cannabizzle @ 09/10/08 11:29 AM

the way i do it...
control all 32 teams
tweek the rosters to match the nfl as close as possible
play all the games as the home team ( every team, every game)
let the cpu draft and sign free agents after season
rename top rookies to match top college players expected to be drafted

may be overboard but i have alot of fun with it

# 26 Pasdabru @ 09/10/08 12:22 PM

Normally start one with a bad team and try to rebuild until the opening day rosters come out and then alternate between the rebuilding project and my Cowboys.

However:

Quote:


	I always want to do a franchise, but everytime i see a team play on tv or player has a good week and jump ship and start a new one. How do you guys keep the 'chise fresh.

I have this same problem, I'll start one with some team I just watched spend a whole bunch of time tweaking the teams roster then end up deleting a few days later... Think I have franchise attention deficit disorder.

# 27 O-Zoan @ 09/10/08 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djwlfpack


	I typically start my franchise with my favorite team (this case being the Giants for Madden), play through several seasons, then move to a team that has a bad record and try and build them up into a Super Bowl contender.

I do the same except its getting annoying now since even with ****ty teams I do good from the start on all-pro and all-madden sucks *** cuz the comp just cheats.

# 28 Tre74 @ 09/10/08 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrShowtime


	I always want to do a franchise, but everytime i see a team play on tv or player has a good week and jump ship and start a new one. How do you guys keep the 'chise fresh.

lol i thought i was the only one who did this. im not alone

# 29 Starbase503 @ 09/10/08 03:51 PM

Like a few others here, I control all 32 teams. I am more about creating history and continuity than taking over one team, which I already have to do in MLB:The Show (and had to in MVP as well).

That way, I can play the more compelling games. I almost always play my 'Boys, but at least I am not limited to just Dallas games, when potential barn-burners and ratings busters like Eagles-Giants, Jets-Pats or Colts-Jags comes along. And every once in a while I like to drop in on a battle of also-rans, when they are evenly matched, like 49er-Raiders or Lions-Browns.

And how I play or IF I play depends on a lot of things, but most of all TIME. Employed, married with children leaves precious little time for stuff like this, plus I also have baseball and college football seasons in full swing. But often I will take a week's slate and "Supersim" them through the first three quarters. I can then jump in and take over a team for the fourth. Doing this 14-16 times a week keeps things fresh, since I am a different team every time, and the week can be played fairly quickly this way, allowing me to keep current in the other sports and still fulfill my husbandly/fatherly duties.

# 30 Vikes1 @ 09/10/08 06:01 PM

I start my Vikings franchise...and away I go.

I make a few trades or Free agent pick ups, but mostly try to keep the roster as accurate as possible. I hope to get 10-12 seasons in before next years game.

# 31 Tweeg @ 09/10/08 10:36 PM

I always run three franchises. One is with the Browns that I typically run for 4-5 seasons. Another is a fantasy draft with one of my friends that can go around 9 seasons sometimes. Lastly, me and two of my friends love to create an entire team of players and play co-op for as long as possible.

# 32 homeycool @ 09/11/08 05:29 AM

My friend and I start a franchise on release night every year. First we pick two teams that are in the same division, so we can play each other twice a season, then on to the fantasy draft. (This makes our franchise very unique and than watching NFL on Sundays) I also do a 49er franchise on my own every year. I wait until opening day roster update to start it though.

For the fantasy draft this year we decided to let the computer pick every single player for our team except for our first overall pick. The only catch was it had to be a sophomore player rated 89 or lower. So I picked Gaines Adams and Cory (my friend) picked Darrelle Revis. The reason we decided to do this was to make building a team somewhat of a challenge. In the past we would always pick young and fast players with alot of potential, and within a few years we had the best teams in the league. This process makes our teams very unique, but also causes us to focus on building the teams to our liking, through the draft and free agency.

This year I am the Giants and Cory is the Cowboys. This is the only division that we have played with all four teams now. I'll take you back.

2002 - Falcons (me) Panthers (Cory)
2003 - Redskins (me) Eagles (Cory)
2003(Accidently deleted the 1st franchise after 2 seasons) - Bengals (me) Steelers (Cory)
2004 - Bills (I relocated to Boston to be the Bobcats) Jets (Cory)
2005 - Broncos (me) Chargers (Cory)
2006 - Bears (me) Lions (Cory)
2007 - Titans (me) Jaguars (Cory)
2007(Franchise froze after 9 seasons) - 49ers (me) Cardinals (Cory)

After the fantasy draft we play a preseason game or two to learn the new game. Then we jump right into our season. We play 14 of the 16 games (we sim 1 game against each cpu controlled divisional team)

We do have house rules to make it more challenging, such as... No trading with the computer unless the player is on the trade block that you are trading for. You can only trade for draft picks in the offseason and you must use the NFL trade value chart. When offering contracts you cannot give a player less than what he is asking for, nor can you extend the years on the contract. (So not to abuse the salary cap) We use 4 ncaa draft classes and then go into using simulated madden draft classes. We have to use the playbooks of our offensive and defensive coordinators. (If we don't like our playbooks we have to fire our coaches) For sliders we edit them together so that we keep each other in check. We only edit once or twice a season if needed. We play to have a challenge. I don�t mind not making the playoffs every year, in fact in Madden �08 I didn�t win a single Superbowl. (First time that had happened, I lost the only one I made it too) One other thing that I am quite proud of is that in more than 80 seasons of madden football; neither of us has ever gone undefeated. Quite a few close calls but we always seem to come up short.

We usually play more than 12 seasons per franchise. The longest we ever got into it, was in our Bronco/Charger franchise in 2005 (Madden '06). We played it through 16 seasons. By the time we were done we had hardly any real NFL players left.

One awesome story from this franchise... After my second season I traded all of my draft picks and Willis McGhee for the #1 overall pick so that I could select, little known at the time, Adrian Peterson. This was after he came in 2nd in the Heisman voting in his freshman year and was rated like a stud in NCAA '06. In the very first game of the season I broke the single game rushing record by gaining 302 yards. In the final minutes of the game, I was running out the clock and he tore his ACL and was out for the season! He did go on to break Emmitt Smith's all time rushing record after 13 or 14 season though. So there you have it, I envisioned ADP's success very early on. (I have had him in every franchise since, except for this year because of our new fantasy draft strategy)

I hope all of you enjoy franchise mode as much as myself and my friend have.

# 33 Jono078 @ 09/11/08 06:05 AM

100% sim all the way

# 34 jayrainmusic @ 09/11/08 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by young_bucs_fan


	i usually do a chise with the dolphins getting rid of all the dead weight, it was funny because all the guys i traded away in 08 parcells cut, that was awesome, and of course i use ncaa for my college recruits, i used to be a junkie but maddens gameplay has become so bad lately with all the bugs and glitches i'm starting to phase it out

Are you serious? This years madden is prolly the best one ever created.EA creates patches that eliminates most problems that consumers find.If you dont have madden 09 you need to get it.The best way to franchise is wait til week 1 or 2 of the season so rosters can be up to date.Import draft classes but make sure you find draft classes that are realistic,not these guys who have Tim Tebow coming in the league as a 90 +.

# 35 SharksInShades @ 09/11/08 04:26 PM

I'll read this through and it may have been tried, but these methods keep the franchise very fresh and re-playable.

#1
I get the game, take on the Cowboys, adjust the roster as needed, and kick off. Lower difficulty so I can get a feel (my first time on next gen), rack up lots of yards and points, stuff my trophy case, go 19-0 and play the Superbowl (shut out the Colts with a run first, keep away offense). This satisfies my bloodlust for wanting the Cowboys to be invincible, which is sadly only true in video game format. Then I go to the offseason, load up a fast forwarded NCAA draft class, draft T.O.'s replacement, and up the difficulty with a better team and 19 games of practice. I'm in game 3... narrowly undefeated still. I'll go like this until I get bored.

#2
Once I'm bored with Madden or frustrated with freezing, I'll go to NCAA (started up my dynasty on Wed.). University of Tennessee. I'll burn through those games at 4 min qtrs and get robbed of awards and Heismans because I don't put up enough stats. That's ok, it's the recruiting and rings I'm doing it for anyway. Oh, and the draft classes. I don't usually switch off of Tennessee on NCAA, so the top of the draft will be very orange after about 3 years and stay that way as long as I can stand it. NCAA has tremendous long term appeal because the rosters turn over so fast.

#3
College season is over and Tennessee is 8-4 again and is 50/50 a bowl winner. Disappointed at what might have been and armed with nearly a decade of NFL draft classes, I go back to Madden. The NFL is nearing the playoffs, so roster updates are plentiful and I know who's a star and who got old fast (and who got hurt in Week 1 and starts on IR... Tom). Start over with Dallas from scratch and scratch out the season that is (if they are good) or the season that should have been (if they crashed and burned). This will go for 3 seasons until the team is a champion and highly rated at all positions and in good cap shape. Then I take the lowest ranked team (has to be top 3 of the draft). Then I rebuild, usually with my Tennessee players. After 3 years (sometimes 4), I get back to that champion super-team of young stars, I drop back to the bottom and rebuild. I try to switch it up between AFC and NFC and keep from playing in my super teams' divisions. I've played with all 32 teams easily since I started this a couple years back.

Optional
I also love to play co-op with a friend of mine that introduced me to the first Madden in the last century. The lack of a co-op mode in '07 is what delayed my joining of the next gen console owners. After we play 3 seasons with me at QB, we switch to him at QB and me blocking (SO MUCH FUN!). Then we'll switch back. Playing all the time and not being in control sometimes sucks, so then we play offense/defense where play a one-player game, and hand over the controller for offense or defense (kickoffs and returns are defense, punts and returns are offense). This is great fun, because you can sit back and watch and criticize, then it's your turn. Great for a team that needs to develop one side of the ball (Ravens) because you get that real life sniping that goes on in the locker room ("you can't score 14 lousy points with a rookie QB and new tackle??? Do I have to score TD's too??").

All of these are ways to keep it fresh until the April Draft which stokes the fire again, and then its back to NCAA to create all new draft classes without favoring Tennessee and do it all over again. Hope this gives some of you an idea you didn't have before. Game on!

# 36 debauchlord @ 09/11/08 05:38 PM

I control all franchises, specifically for drafting and free agent purposes (in the offseason I resign almost all quality free agents to their original teams [which are not that many, really...then I sim the rest]. During draft day for the first five picks, the best player is almost always taken, then I draft for need and sim beyond round 3). I control the Bills specifically, and in the offseason I dump their chafe and draft well. This year, I moved the team to Toronto and moved Jax to LA (I would move the Raiders, but you lose logos, etc.) I'm also thinking about moving the Vikings to LA, as well. Thoughts?

# 37 stevesmith36 @ 12/25/08 07:38 PM

I know the panthers are good and all, but I love playing with them.

Jake Delhomme is amazing (2007 season) so no need to trade. Steve Smith is a beast too....hes crazy when he's not beating up anyone.

Basically, what I want to do is trade someone for LT, and also get Reggie Wayne...thats a superbowl winner right there

# 38 timgrooms @ 12/25/08 09:07 PM

I have run a Madden franchise every year since 1992. I always edit all team rosters before I begin my first season with the Falcons, playing the 1st year with the actual players on the team, after that, they belong to me. To ensure that I won't go undefeated every year, I will simulate every third game throghout the season, also ensuring some injuries to have to play around. The latest Madden has almost eliminated injuries entirely for player games. If I make the playoffs, I simulate every game until I lose or make the Superbowl. I will play the Superbowl. The fun for me is in scouting and drafting, which I actually keep track of on paper for the entirety of the year, not just season. I will typically make 17-20 seasons before the next version of Madden comes out. On the downside, the current version of Madden completely sucks as far as scouting and pre-season is concerned. I hope they change it next year, it is un-useable this year as far as I'm concerned.

# 39 AnthonyPhillips @ 12/26/08 02:58 AM

For me its simple. Take the worst team (Lions, Dolphins, Raiders, Texans) and then try and build them into a Super Bowl team.

I usually do a Simulation Franchise rather than playing all the games.

I create myself at either QB, RB or WR. My Overall rating is defined by the position. For QB i can not be over 80 overall, at RB no higher than 81 and for WR no higher than 79.

I then start the rebuilding process. Usually i start with a QB (if im not at that position). My thinking is always go young. I get a young QB, RB, WR, TE, LBs and CBs. All the others can be filled in as i go with older players.

I never keep my picks. I always trade them away for proven players because....well because when i have the 1st round 5th pick and i pick a corner that should be my Franchise corner and he has 38 PRC with his 65 awareness well that kinda bums me out. Also i never cheat during a trade. If i make a trade for Bills LT Jason Peters (96 overall) i make sure i give them a 84+ guy to fill his spot with the picks i give them also in the trade.

It usually takes me 2 or 3 seasons to get a good team but once i have then i get deep in the playoffs every single year.

# 40 Exonerated @ 12/26/08 06:03 AM

Make Caps in NCAA. Make them freaks and set school records at USC. Draft them to my team. And own .

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