Madden 09: How will you Franchise?

[rickywal]

Always run my Bucs Franchise. Keep the original roster in the first year (though do some work on the depth chart with a youth policy). Then churn and burn. I train players every week to help their progress.
I only ever sign free agents for depth or to start in a position of need, never to trade. I try address my needs in the draft though.
I signed a good MLB after the first season and moved him to ROLB to replace the retired Brooks... but thanks to EAs bugs he won't progress cause I changed his position... So I'm not finishing my second season until the patch comes out... such a long wait...

[homeycool]

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.

[Jono078]

100% sim all the way

[jayrainmusic]

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 +.

[SharksInShades]

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!

[debauchlord]

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?

[stevesmith36]

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

[timgrooms]

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.