Most challenging team/sliders/house rules for Cfm

[markjsn]

I've done two rounds of cfm so far one with the lions and one with the 9ers and got them both to super bowl championship status.

I want to start over again as I love to build. But I'm worried about the challenge. What sliders house rules or teams do you use? I'm currently playing on stock all pro.

I'm thinking of rolling with the Chargers and keeping them in San Diego. Gotta love that powder blue.

[GoBigRed29]

I'm playing an online franchise with a few friends where we have some special rules. If you want a challenge, give this a shot. It's a fun way to truly build from the bottom up. Did this on several past maddens.

We took the worst 6 teams in the league. Drew from a hat for who got which team.

Then you are allowed to pick 1 offensive and 1 defensive captain who you get to keep.

After that...each person gets to cut 3 players from your roster.

Couple rules to keep it on the up and up
1) You can't sign or trade for a player that is equal to or higher than your starter at "x" position.
-----For example: if your highest HB is a 68...you can only sign a 67 or lower.

2) You can not change player positions. In other words...if your best CB is a 62...but you have 3 SS that are 75+...you can't move them to CB. You are stuck with your highest rated CB being a 62.

3) Free Agents that are signed CAN NOT be traded under any circumstance.

4) In the same vein as #3...you can not sign a player from FA...then trade your initial starter for anything. If you wish to trade a starter at "x" position...you are stuck with the next highest overall that was originally on your roster.

Gameplay rules:
No going on 4th..unless makes sense.
Can't run same plays over and over and over.
Can't use overly cheesy plays...such as in past Maddens...Field Goal block/safe zone was actually a viable defensive formation.
Generally anything that goes against realism.

We are hammering out additional rules for our first offseason when it finally comes.

I ended up with the Browns. They cut RG3/Crowell/Barnidge/My entire starting o-line/Most of my CBs and some others. My best CB is a 62....Incredibly fun so far. My roster has a 63 overall but we managed to go 2-2 in preseason...just played week 1 today against the Eagles...I won 13-10 on a time expiring field goal.

[chichoslg]

I try with all Pro default and it's so easy to pass. I back to All Madden and im working in a slider set. In all Pro the CPU offense don't have "killer instinct"..

[markjsn]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoBigRed29

I'm playing an online franchise with a few friends where we have some special rules. If you want a challenge, give this a shot. It's a fun way to truly build from the bottom up. Did this on several past maddens. We took the worst 6 teams in the league. Drew from a hat for who got which team. Then you are allowed to pick 1 offensive and 1 defensive captain who you get to keep. After that...each person gets to cut 3 players from your roster. Couple rules to keep it on the up and up 1) You can't sign or trade for a player that is equal to or higher than your starter at "x" position. -----For example: if your highest HB is a 68...you can only sign a 67 or lower. 2) You can not change player positions. In other words...if your best CB is a 62...but you have 3 SS that are 75+...you can't move them to CB. You are stuck with your highest rated CB being a 62. 3) Free Agents that are signed CAN NOT be traded under any circumstance. 4) In the same vein as #3...you can not sign a player from FA...then trade your initial starter for anything. If you wish to trade a starter at "x" position...you are stuck with the next highest overall that was originally on your roster. Gameplay rules: No going on 4th..unless makes sense. Can't run same plays over and over and over. Can't use overly cheesy plays...such as in past Maddens...Field Goal block/safe zone was actually a viable defensive formation. Generally anything that goes against realism. We are hammering out additional rules for our first offseason when it finally comes. I ended up with the Browns. They cut RG3/Crowell/Barnidge/My entire starting o-line/Most of my CBs and some others. My best CB is a 62....Incredibly fun so far. My roster has a 63 overall but we managed to go 2-2 in preseason...just played week 1 today against the Eagles...I won 13-10 on a time expiring field goal.

This sounds like a challenge. Especially if I pair it with some sliders.

[timhere1970]

-Sim some weeks so that you are building a team that can win regardless of your stick skills

-any player 89 or higher that is not a starter has to be released preseason week 4. No trading them.

-no using xp to up physical attributes

-no using xp to upgrade development. It is dynamic and shoud be earned.

-turn off salary cap. This allows some teams to become very good. Hold yourself to the tenth highest payroll.

-any free agent signings have to be 15 points above other teams or withdrawal offer before advancing week.

-if doing play the moments only play moments when you are not in the lead.

[GoBigRed29]

Quote: Originally Posted by markjsn

This sounds like a challenge. Especially if I pair it with some sliders.

Yes Indeed! If you like team building and can stand watching some rough football....then try it. It's honestly the most fun I have playing Madden. It is even better if you can get multiple friends to play as well, which is what we have going.

Couple things to note: We had 6 teams going into this that had to cut players...which all then signed with the CPU. The CPU teams are pretty stacked after taking most of our top end talent. Marshall/Thomas/Haden/Revis/Hilton just to name a few who hit the market.

One guy in our league choose to save Andrew Luck...we then proceeded to cut his entire o-line, most of his WRs, his HB, and his TE. I think his best WR is ~60 overall and he has all of 2 seconds to throw the ball. Aside from Luck...he has 0 talent on the offensive side of the ball. Even after cutting all of that...we still managed to get a few of his top defensive players.

Watching each other struggle is just as fun as struggling through it.

Like I said...my first season game against the Eagles was a narrow 13-10 win. On 6 min quarters...the Eagles had the ball for 4:30....I had it for the other 19:30. I methodically worked my way down the field with Kessler at QB, and using 3 different HBs. I had 7 different players catch the ball.

As for defense...it's intense. My D-Line just gets train wrecked currently...we aren't getting any pressure without the blitz...even then...my best Dlinmen is a 74. I normally ballhawk as a roaming OLB or Safety. I use a mix of 4-3, 3-4, Nickel, and Quarter in order to make up for lack of talent. I think Wentz had 10 seconds on one play to throw....Play calling is extremely important.

On the Eagles touchdown play...their WR broke 2 tackles and managed to outrun the third guy. It often takes 2 or 3 guys swarming to the football to take down the better players. In addition, I recall making 2 TD saving open field tackles as well. Again...having severe talent deficiencies often puts you into some rough spots.

Best of luck and let me know if you gonna try it!

One last note...the only current real issue I forsee going foward is that the offseason may be too easy....I currently have $100 million in cap space.

[sccavs64]

Quote: Originally Posted by timhere1970

-Sim some weeks so that you are building a team that can win regardless of your stick skills -any player 89 or higher that is not a starter has to be released preseason week 4. No trading them. -no using xp to up physical attributes -no using xp to upgrade development. It is dynamic and shoud be earned. -turn off salary cap. This allows some teams to become very good. Hold yourself to the tenth highest payroll. -any free agent signings have to be 15 points above other teams or withdrawal offer before advancing week. -if doing play the moments only play moments when you are not in the lead.

Turning off Salary Cap is interesting... I never really thought about it from the other side. I always think it's obviously much more of a challenge to build a great team with a cap, but, since I usually rebuild bad teams, I never get close to going over the cap anyway.

Do CPU teams end up being a lot better when the cap is off? If you have any examples to share, that'd be great.

[timhere1970]

Quote: Originally Posted by sccavs64

Turning off Salary Cap is interesting... I never really thought about it from the other side. I always think it's obviously much more of a challenge to build a great team with a cap, but, since I usually rebuild bad teams, I never get close to going over the cap anyway. Do CPU teams end up being a lot better when the cap is off? If you have any examples to share, that'd be great.

Some do, some don't. I see teams with salaries as low as 125 million and as high as 215 million. Early on it leads to teams keeping good players and not much available on the market but evens out. They don't go crazy in free agency, it seems the points offered are on par with cap on. By holding yourself to a cap or certain ranked payroll it does make it more challenging for sure. What I was looking for was the cpu to have some real powerhouse teams which has happened by them being able to keep drafted players rather than a few teams acting like the Yankees and signing all the big name free agents. I play on coach though so I don't know about owner. Would be interesting to find out on owner if teams that make more money would hog free agents.