Homecoming: A Los Angeles Raiders CCM (M25)

[Saltiren]

Hello everyone! Before I begin, I'd like to mention that this is my first Dynasty here on OperationSports. I first picked up the Madden series (and football as a sport) in 2010, the same year my hometown Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV. Since then, I've played many franchises on Madden 10 through Madden 25, with me playing 25 for 2 years due to the lack of a current generation console. That being said, having an in-depth knowledge of this game helps me to avoid certain flaws the game has so I may hopefully present a higher quality dynasty. Short personal introduction aside, here are the settings:

SETTINGS
Game: Madden NFL 25
Platform: Xbox 360
Rosters: Preseason Default
Skill Level: All-Madden
Quarter Length: 10 Minutes
Accelerated Clock: ON
Minimum Play Clock Time: 13
Salary Cap: ON
Sliders: Charter04's Madden 25 All-Madden Sliders (Custom)
Auto Sub: JaymeeAwesome's Madden 25 Auto-sub

NFL OWNERS VOTE, PASS RAIDERS RELOCATION BID TO LOS ANGELES EFFECTIVE FOR 2014-2015 NFL SEASON

OAKLAND, CA - The Oakland Raiders are heading back to Los Angeles for the first time since 1994.

News of the NFL owners meeting regarding the Oakland Raiders' plans on a new stadium has been released, and the 30-2 vote in favor of relocation has passed.

With Oakland's current stadium being both antiquated and nearing the end of its lease with the Raiders, owner Mark Davis, who inherited the team from his deceased father Al Davis in 2011, expressed a desire to both move to a larger market and build a stadium befitting of a top NFL franchise.

The Oakland Raiders' current home stadium, O.co Coliseum.

Mark Davis was quoted at his press conference as saying "It's never an easy decision to relocate an entire franchise. My father had to make tough choices for the good of the team, and now the responsibility falls to me. I believe this is the best thing for the franchise moving forward, and we're excited to be welcomed back to Los Angeles by all the Raiders fans still there from our previous tenure".

The Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII in the 1983 season, in just their second season in L.A. While the Oakland Raiders have been perpetual bottom-dwellers ever since their disasterous 2002 Super Bowl appearance, a change of scenery for the entire franchise might spark another quick turnaround.

[Saltiren]

HEAD COACH DENNIS ALLEN FIRED, GUS BRADLEY TAKES OVER

2013 was a lost season for the Raiders franchise. When news broke of the relocation, there was an immediate worry that some players might lose heart and/or motivation. These fears were realized as the team finished 6-10, with second year head coach Dennis Allen seemingly unable to win the support of his locker room. As a result, Allen was fired at the end of the season, posting a 10-22 overall record in his two seasons as the Oakland Raiders head coach. The man chosen to replace him is former Jacksonville Jaguars HC Gus Bradley, who coached the Jags for one season, compiling a 2-14 record before being let go.

Owner Mark Davis commented on the hiring, stating "Gus is a talented coach who is very energetic and connects with his players. He has a great understanding of the game and I trust that he can lead this franchise. He meets all the criteria we look for in determining a head coach and despite the poor record in Jacksonville, we believe we have a real great coach here".

2013 NFL Season Regular Season Standings

NFL Standings - Updated: Jan 9, 2014
NFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Philadelphia Eagles	9	7	0	400	358
Dallas Cowboys	7	8	1	327	392
Washington Redskins	6	10	0	343	335
New York Giants	4	12	0	338	464
NFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Chicago Bears	12	4	0	365	313
Detroit Lions	10	6	0	448	402
Minnesota Vikings	7	9	0	376	423
Green Bay Packers	5	11	0	345	391
NFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
New Orleans Saints	11	5	0	424	350
Atlanta Falcons	9	7	0	393	321
Tampa Bay Buccanneers	6	10	0	358	421
Carolina Panthers	4	12	0	364	378
NFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Seattle Seahawks	13	3	0	435	273
San Francisco 49ers	11	5	0	407	344
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	0	286	413
St. Louis Rams	5	11	0	314	395
AFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
New England Patriots	10	6	0	429	352
Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	426	372
Miami Dolphins	9	7	0	349	363
New York Jets	5	11	0	291	411
AFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Pittsburgh Steelers	11	5	0	391	275
Baltimore Ravens	8	8	0	400	413
Cleveland Browns	7	8	1	282	337
Cincinnati Bengals	6	9	1	326	345
AFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Indianapolis Colts	10	6	0	337	262
Houston Texans	10	6	0	331	293
Tennessee Titans	7	9	0	314	396
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	14	0	268	409
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	0	406	342
San Diego Chargers	10	6	0	361	294
Denver Broncos	9	6	1	506	390
Oakland Raiders	6	10	0	241	354

Regular season notes/suprises:
-The Raiders had the least amount of points scored in the league, at 241. The next closest team was Jacksonville at 268.
-The Carson Palmer trade in Arizona resulted in less-than-stellar results. Carson threw 13 TDs to 14 INTs through 12 games, throwing for 2933 yards and completing just 55% of his passes.
-Trent Richardson is living up to his third overall draft status, rushing for 1402 yards and 7 touchdowns in Cleveland.
-In case anyone was wondering, Tim Tebow is Tom Brady's backup in New England, with Ryan Mallett still on the roster. Neither saw any action this season.

[Saltiren]

Feel free to post, everyone! Free Agency and the Draft will be here early this weekend.

[hudso3]

I really enjoy this so far, it's kind of interesting to see how different madden has gone from from real life already with default 25 Rosters, especially with Carson Palmer falling on his face in Zona!

[SilverBullet19]

I'll check in here and there since I'm an LA native. Not big on NFL, but I love a good franchise. BTW, you're not missing much by sticking with M25. Not much changes year to year anyway except for rosters.

[thesportsguru11]

Likewise, I'll be reading along as well. Good luck!

[GMAB8]

I'm still running with M25 also, love seeing a dynasty from that game! Every time I read one, it makes me want to start one with my Hawks! Looking forward to reading along.

[Saltiren]

2014 OFFSEASON SUPER BOWL XVLIII RECAP & FREE AGENCY

Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers
Feb 2, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Chicago Bears (12-4)	0	7	0	0	7
San Diego Chargers (10-6)	0	16	3	10	29

*The rest of the Super Bowls will have detailed box scores, I'd just rather get the offseason underway quickly

2013-2014 NFL Regular Season Awards
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	Peyton Manning	QB	Denver Broncos
Coach of the Year	Pete Carroll	HC	Seattle Seahawks
Offensive Player of the Year	Peyton Manning	QB	Denver Broncos
Offensive Player of the Year	Adrian Peterson	HB	Minnesota Vikings
Defensive Player of the Year	Lawrence Timmons	MLB	Pittsburgh Steelers
Defensive Player of the Year	Daryl Washington	MLB	Arizona Cardinals
Offensive Rookie of the Year	E.J. Manuel	QB	Buffalo Bills
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Eddie Lacy	HB	Green Bay Packers
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Barkevious Mingo	OLB	Cleveland Browns
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Alec Ogletree	OLB	St. Louis Rams

*There aren't enough slots on the table for every award, so here's a partial list

With the hiring of new Head Coach Gus Bradley in L.A, he brings with him many years of experience as a defensive coach, including several years in Seattle under Pete Carroll as the defensive coordinator. He'll also be bringing along with him a new defensive scheme, but when asked whether the front will be 3-4 or 4-3, Gus gave this response: "The previous teams I've coached have been rooted in a 4-3 philosophy, but that doesn't mean we're only going to be a 4-3 team. Depending on different situations, you very well might see us line up in a 3-4 front as well. Being versatile and adapting to the different things NFL offenses throw at you is key in this league. So yes, you could very well call it a hybrid defense".

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Notable Departures

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Notable Departures
Pos	Player	Injury Note
FS	Charles Woodson	Retired
DE	Lamarr Houston	Declined 5 Year, $30M contract
K	Sebastian Janikowski
WR	Jacoby Ford
HB	Reshad Jennings

It was sad to lose Woodson, who still had a great final year as he did in real life. Lamarr Houston was tabbed to play either 3-technique defensive tackle or strongside defensive end in the new defense, but he chose neither as he declined the Raiders' offer and will test free agency.

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Re-signings

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Re-signings
Pos	Player	Injury Note
LT	Jared Veldheer	6 Years, $57M
FB	Marcel Reece	4 Years, $11M
CB	Mike Jenkins	1 Year, $1.5M
DT	Pat Sims	2 Years, $2M
HB	Darren McFadden	1 Year, $1.8M

Jared Veldheer is a very talented Left Tackle who is quick enough to not get beat off the edge yet strong enough to pave the way for running plays, and he got his big payday to stay with the Raiders. Marcel Reece is a talented fullback/H-back who opens up the playbook, with the traditional fullback role now a full fledged offensive weapon. Mike Jenkins is a well rounded corner who can jam receivers at the line and is fast enough play man coverage, so he'll return on a one year deal. Pat Sims re-signs as our Nose Tackle and Darren McFadden hopes to revive his struggling Raiders career, now 27 years old.

2014 Notable Free Agency Signings

2014 Notable Free Agency Signings
Pos	Player	Injury Note
WR	Jeremy Maclin - Green Bay Packers	5 Years, $21.3M
TE	Dustin Keller - Atlanta Falcons	4 Years, $14.2M
RG	Jon Asamoah - Miami Dolphins	6 Years, $63M
LE	Lamarr Houston - San Francisco	5 Years, $25.3M
MLB	Brandon Spikes - Dallas Cowboys	6 Years, $46.6M
OLB	Wesley Woodyard - Minnesota Vikings	5 Years, $24.7M
CB	Brandon Browner - Jacksonville Jaguars	1 Year, $6.96M
FS	Kerry Rhodes - Miami Dolphins	2 Years, $12M
K	Sebastian Janikowski - Jacksonville Jaguars	1 Year, $3.16M

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Free Agency Recap

2014 Los Angeles Raiders Free Agent Signings
Pos	Player	Injury Note
HB	Toby Gerhart	3 Years, $2.85M
LG	Lance Louis	2 Years, $3.5M
DT	Jonathan Babineaux	2 Years. $4M
RE	Shaun Phillips	1 Year, $6M
OLB	Vic So'oto	1 Year, $750K
CB	A.J. Jefferson	1 Year. $1.1M
SS	Jordan Babineaux	1 Year, $1.65M

This free agency class for the Raiders had a lot of patchwork signings, because after letting much of our depth go and projecting the roster into our new scheme there were many holes that needed to be filled. Championship teams build through the draft, but finding players to supplement them through free agency is key. Signing Toby Gerhart gives a goal-line runner to compliment McFadden, whose injury history indicates he shouldn't be given a full bell-cow role. Lance Louis from Chicago gives us a stop-gap solution at Left Guard until we can draft his successor. Jonathan Babineaux and Shaun Phillips combine to give our defensive front veteran leadership and pass rush, but their advanced age means that with Louis, we'll be drafting to fill their spots soon enough.

Shaun Phillips is the biggest signing of the 2014 offseason for the L.A. Raiders

Vic So'oto is a player that will have an opportunity to compete for the pass rushing linebacker role, but could provide quality depth should a better player start. A.J. Jefferson is a young corner with upside and the versatility to play outside and inside cornerback, as well as emergency free safety. Jordan Babineaux joins his brother in Oakland as a coverage strong safety who can still make plays in the run game, but he's not a long-term solution.

Next up: 2014 NFL Draft, pre-season weeks 1-4 & final 53-man roster!

EDIT: Just a note, thanks for the kind reception everyone! Looking forward to going far with this dynasty and all of your support is well appreciated!