Madden Draft

[MrLocke]

I am a big fan of Madden Franchise mode I love hiring head coaches and coordinators. I like free agency and the draft etc. I just do not think the draft is very realisitc I tend to get good athletes myself but generally find there are very few good athletes. Also typically the reason I get good athletes in the draft but generally it is because the CPU passes on good athletes. What do others think about the draft in Madden? I also should say you can play several seasons and there be very few good players come out at a particular position.

[SilverNRed]

I am a big fan of Madden Franchise mode I love hiring head coaches and coordinators. I like free agency and the draft etc. I just do not think the draft is very realisitc I tend to get good athletes myself but generally find there are very few good athletes. Also typically the reason I get good athletes in the draft but generally it is because the CPU passes on good athletes. What do others think about the draft in Madden? I also should say you can play several seasons and there be very few good players come out at a particular position.

334197[/snapback]

I'm with you - I love the Franchise mode. My biggest problem with the Draft is that the CPU teams don't draft very well and don't make trades with one another. I'd love to see 'rebuilding' teams stock up on picks by trading down while contenders maybe trade up or trade picks away for players.

 

I also don't know why Madden doesn't go all out with the Create-A-Team feature. It's been the same for four or five years now and it just plain sucks. It'd be really easy to give us like 30 uniform styles to chose from and all sorts of outlandish ways to personalize our teams (complete with city and team names that Madden and Michaels can pronounce, etc.).

[MrLocke]

I'm with you - I love the Franchise mode.  My biggest problem with the Draft is that the CPU teams don't draft very well and don't make trades with one another.  I'd love to see 'rebuilding' teams stock up on picks by trading down while contenders maybe trade up or trade picks away for players.

 

I also don't know why Madden doesn't go all out with the Create-A-Team feature.  It's been the same for four or five years now and it just plain sucks.  It'd be really easy to give us like 30 uniform styles to chose from and all sorts of outlandish ways to personalize our teams (complete with city and team names that Madden and Michaels can pronounce, etc.).

334250[/snapback]

 

I did not care for the player progression at first, however as time went on I got the hang of it. I always get a kick out of the draft grades because there are times when I will be thrilled with the players I got, but get a low grade even as low as a D-. I never do the create a team so I cannot offer an oppinion there. I thought the create a fan option was ridiculuous maybe others find it entertaining, but I don't.

[McGill Bill]

I agree. The draft is kinda soft. The fact that my offensive core consists of Peyton Manning, Shaun Alexander, Tony Gonzalez, and Hines Ward is kind of off. I'm sure many of you have teams like this. On the other hand, I'm 1-3 so far in my first season.

[MrLocke]

I did not but NCAA 2005. I was wondering if anybody has and uploaded the seniors/ juniours who come out early onto Madden? I did this with 2004 as I had both Madden 2004 and NCAA 2004 and found that there were too many good players. I was getting good athletes in the 5th and 6th round who could start right away on aregular basis.

[Buftex]

I'm with you - I love the Franchise mode.  My biggest problem with the Draft is that the CPU teams don't draft very well and don't make trades with one another.  I'd love to see 'rebuilding' teams stock up on picks by trading down while contenders maybe trade up or trade picks away for players.

 

I also don't know why Madden doesn't go all out with the Create-A-Team feature.  It's been the same for four or five years now and it just plain sucks.  It'd be really easy to give us like 30 uniform styles to chose from and all sorts of outlandish ways to personalize our teams (complete with city and team names that Madden and Michaels can pronounce, etc.).

334250[/snapback]

 

 

I too, am a big franchise mode fan...I always pick my own players in the draft, and basically, they are there to fill out my roster. What is much more fun, and challenging for me, is to sign free agents, and stay under the salary cap...after winning a bunch of Super Bowls, I took the John Butler approach to salary cap management, and tied all my stars (Spikes, Fletcher, Moulds, Losman, McGahee) up to 7 year deals. I let a few guys go, and picked up aging vets like Corey Simon and Marcus Stroud to plug the middle of my d-line. I just figured I would try to milk as many Super Bowls out of the guys I had, and let the salary cap just take it's toll....I was/am looking forward to eventually gutting the team, and rebuilding from the bottom again...kind of fun throwing imaginary money around. Funny thing is, everyone of my Offensive linemen is rated at 94 or above, and all my offensive skill position guys are in the 90's.

 

My chanllenge now is to build a defensive oriented team...I also learned the trick of stockpiling, and trading draft picks, to clear up salary cap space....one draft, I managed to make so many deals, I ended up with 3 first round picks, and 2 second round picks. I drafted a back-up QB for Losman (friggin' Holcomb whined about wanting to start, almost from day one, even though Losman had a 99 rating, was league MVP two years running) named Orlando Ulbrich. I made him #1 (after Warren Moon) and the "kid" turned out to be almost as good as Losman.

 

I don't get as much time to play as I used to, so since the 2005 edition came out, I have completed 6 seasons. In my first season, with Mularkey and JP Losman in charge, I went 6-10. The next season I went 12-4, went to, but lost a Super Bowl, to the Drew Bledsoe led 49ers.

 

In my third season, I went 13-3, and beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl. I then went on an incrdedible two season winning streak, which included SB victories over the Panthers again, and the Vikings. After that season, Mularkey had "achieved everything he set out to do in the NFL" and retired. So, in my latest season, I promoted Tom Clements to the HC position. I fired Jerry Gray (my defense always sucks against the pass), and hired Troy Vincent as my DC, and Gary Kubiak as my OC.

[MrLocke]

I too, am a big franchise mode fan...I always pick my own players in the draft, and basically, they are there to fill out my roster.  What is much more fun, and challenging for me, is to sign free agents, and stay under the salary cap...after winning a bunch of Super Bowls, I took the John Butler approach to salary cap management, and tied all my stars (Spikes, Fletcher, Moulds, Losman, McGahee) up to 7 year deals.  I let a few guys go, and picked up aging vets like Corey Simon and Marcus Stroud to plug the middle of my d-line.  I just figured I would try to milk as many Super Bowls out of the guys I had, and let the salary cap just take it's toll....I was/am looking forward to eventually gutting the team, and rebuilding from the bottom again...kind of fun throwing imaginary money around.  Funny thing is, everyone of my Offensive linemen is rated at 94 or above, and all my offensive skill position guys are in the 90's. 

 

My chanllenge now is to build a defensive oriented team...I also learned the trick of stockpiling, and trading draft picks, to clear up salary cap space....one draft, I managed to make so many deals, I ended up with 3 first round picks, and 2 second round picks. I drafted a back-up QB for Losman (friggin' Holcomb whined about wanting to start, almost from day one, even though Losman had a 99 rating, was league MVP two years running) named Orlando Ulbrich.  I made him #1 (after Warren Moon) and the "kid" turned out to be almost as good as Losman. 

 

I don't get as much time to play as I used to, so since the 2005 edition came out, I have completed 6 seasons.  In my first season, with Mularkey and JP Losman in charge, I went 6-10.  The next season I went 12-4, went to, but lost a Super Bowl, to the Drew Bledsoe led 49ers. 

 

In my third season, I went 13-3, and beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl.  I then went on an incrdedible two season winning streak, which included SB victories over the Panthers again, and the Vikings.  After that season, Mularkey had "achieved everything he set out to do in the NFL" and retired.  So, in my latest season, I promoted Tom Clements to the HC position.  I fired Jerry Gray (my defense always sucks against the pass), and hired Troy Vincent as my DC, and Gary Kubiak as my OC.

334302[/snapback]

 

I like stories like this. I almost always take the 49ers. Fire Dennis Erikson and company and Hire either Tom Moore Indianapolis Ofeensive Coorinator or Al Saunders Kansas City Offensive Coordiantor as the head coach. Draft well sign free agents and hopefully I am in the SB two or three years later. I never actually play any of the games just simulate them. I get quite frustrated, as I find all-pro too easy and all-madden too challenging, Do others coquer? I never take part in the training camp drill as I consider it a form of cheating, as to my knowledge the CPU teams do not do this.

[Phlegm Alley]

I like stories like this. I almost always take the 49ers. Fire Dennis Erikson and company and Hire either Tom Moore Indianapolis Ofeensive Coorinator or Al Saunders Kansas City Offensive Coordiantor as the head coach. Draft well sign free agents and hopefully I am in the SB two or three years later. I never actually play any of the games just simulate them. I get quite frustrated, as I find all-pro too easy and all-madden too challenging, Do others coquer? I never take part in the training camp drill as I consider it a form of cheating, as to my knowledge the CPU teams do not do this.

334310[/snapback]

 

There are "sliders" which you can personalize in order to create a game that is more balanced.

 

I am a huge fan of Madden but recently I have been playing NFL 2K5. To me, it seems more realistic.

[Johnny Coli]

I love the draft in franchise mode. Are we talking about drafting from a pool of players from the start of season 1, or playing the Bills team as is and drafting in subsequent seasons? I do the latter.

 

I play it out to 20+ seasons, but I don’t play every game (unless it’s the Pats or Miami, then I like to give a beat-down). I love doing all the off-season stuff myself, and I do a lot in the training camp to get some player’s progression’s up there. I’ll typically sim 5 or 6 games in a row to see how the team is doing, but if they are really tanking and might miss the playoffs, I’ll play them for a few games. This is also crucial for getting their ratings up there, because if you only sim, they never (well, rarely) get up to icon status.

 

You need a good mix of veterans. I found that out the hard way. If you start getting trade-happy to load up on draft picks by trading away your vets, team morale goes into the toilet. Watch the veteran’s progressions closely, and if they lose a step for two years in a row, trade them while you can. Don’t get fooled by their off-season progression, though. Believe-it-or-not, a lot of them come into camp in poor shape, and you’ll see their ratings drop a few points. Don’t panic and cut them or trade them. By the end of preseason their ratings are back up.

 

I’ve done pretty well with cap management, and really try to get a couple key free-agent vets in key positions. O-line vets are a must, and I’m pretty aggressive in free agency for that position.

 

A good way to get your back-ups a progression boost is to put them in the second half of blowouts. Say your RB is getting long in the tooth, and you know he’s not gonna be at the high level he’s at for too much longer. If he’s an icon, you can trade him for a ton of picks at the end of the season. But you need to get his backup some touches. Get him into the second half of some games mid-season, then make him your starter for the last 4 games of the season and go to a more run-oriented offense…watch his progression soar.

 

I really have no problem with the draft. I’ve seen a lot of trading between the AI teams during the actual draft. If you want to trade, don’t give up if you get turned down a few times. There are 31 other teams, and they each have 7 or more picks. That’s a lot of possible trade scenarios. I go team-by-team, and see what I can get for some of my vets. You’d be surprised what you can do and get before the draft in trades.

 

I scout like mad for the later round picks. Low-round picks are awesome for kick returners, special teams guys. I pick a lot of “projects” as well. A lot of stud CBs are gone after the first round, but you can get a mid-level WR with good hands and leaping ability and make him an all-pro CB/safety. I do this with linemen, too. Need tackle depth, draft Cs and Gs and just groom them into tackles, or whatever. Wanna know who my 99 rated FB was for a few seasons? A converted Tim Euhus.

 

I agree, the create-a-fan thing is useless. I also wish you could take your franchise team and bring it to the next year’s Madden. One thing I would change is maybe putting in a Hall of Fame for franchise mode, for those of us that play it out for 20+ seasons.

 

I liked my franchise QB so much last year I contemplated getting a customized Bills jersey with his name on it. John Sedberry was the best QB to ever play the game.

[justnzane]

I am a big fan of Madden Franchise mode I love hiring head coaches and coordinators. I like free agency and the draft etc. I just do not think the draft is very realisitc I tend to get good athletes myself but generally find there are very few good athletes. Also typically the reason I get good athletes in the draft but generally it is because the CPU passes on good athletes. What do others think about the draft in Madden? I also should say you can play several seasons and there be very few good players come out at a particular position.

334197[/snapback]

 

First off, I agree with you as my teams are almost always rated over 94 after a couple seasons and then next closest team will be like an 85. They never put in their rookies unless they can start immediately or due to injury. DB progression is a joke because they only improve on awareness and nothing else. So once a DB maxes out his awareness, that is as good as he gets (kinda rediculous when you have a first round rookie maxed out at 79 by the end of his first year). The CPU does do a terrible job drafting, with the exception of one team that will face me in the Super Bowl 5 times out of six before its core retires.

 

For my own experience I simmed 30 seasons w/ the Bills and I got Tim Euhus up to a 94 overall at TE. Bledsoe got hurt in 04 and Losman quickly jumped to a 99 within 3 years. Henry held on to his job and turned out to be a 99. all five of my lineman (JJ, Ross Tucker, TT, CV, +MW) were at 99. MY receivers were 98,97,91 (EM, LE, Antonio Brown). My Defense was good (I drafted DT's in the first round to get rid of PW, SA) and they were 99 and 94 overall. Kelsay and Schobel were both 92's My Backers were stacked with Spikes and Fletcher being 99's and a shifted angelo Crowell as a 97. My Secondary I had to work on in training camp so much. Clements and milloy were 99's. Wire(FS) was a 94 and McGee was a 93. And you have to suck not to have kickers that aren't 99 overall after a couple seasons. Once the players got really old, I would let them go, and draft replacements or I would trade them for picks, so i continously had top 10 picks every year.

 

I found a true cheat about 20 years in while in cap trouble, where you can switch the players position so they sign for cheaper. Also, You can find Linebackers that are better as D-Lineman or WR better as DB's or TE's and HB's better as FB's .

[MrLocke]

First off, I agree with you as my teams are almost always rated over 94 after a couple seasons and then next closest team will be like an 85. They never put in their rookies unless they can start immediately or due to injury. DB progression is a joke because they only improve on awareness and nothing else. So once a DB maxes out his awareness, that is as good as he gets (kinda rediculous when you have a first round rookie maxed out at 79 by the end of his first year). The CPU does do a terrible job drafting, with the exception of one team that will face me in the Super Bowl 5 times out of six before its core retires.

 

For my own experience I simmed 30 seasons w/ the Bills and I got Tim Euhus up to a 94  overall at TE. Bledsoe got hurt in 04 and Losman quickly jumped to a 99 within 3 years. Henry held on to his job and turned out to be a 99. all five of my lineman (JJ, Ross Tucker, TT, CV, +MW) were at 99. MY receivers were 98,97,91 (EM, LE, Antonio Brown). My Defense was good (I drafted DT's in the first round to get rid of PW, SA) and they were 99 and 94 overall. Kelsay and Schobel were both 92's My Backers were stacked with Spikes and Fletcher being 99's and a shifted angelo Crowell as a 97.  My Secondary I had to work on in training camp so much. Clements and milloy were 99's. Wire(FS) was a 94 and McGee was a 93.  And you have to suck not to have kickers that aren't 99 overall after a couple seasons. Once the players got really old, I would let them go, and draft replacements or I would trade them for picks, so i continously had top 10 picks every year.

 

I found a true cheat about 20 years in while in cap trouble, where you can switch the players position so they sign for cheaper. Also, You can find Linebackers that are better as D-Lineman or WR better as DB's or TE's and HB's better as FB's .

334562[/snapback]

 

One of the things I do not like is the overall ratings do not accurately reflect how good the player is. Say you have an o-lineman with like 30 for agilty and 30 for speed. These guys should never be good players, but mnay of them will end up with high rankings because they have really good strength lets say, but high strength I do not think should be enough to overcome the poor speed and agility.

 

As for the draft the guys in you first franchise season are realistic like Lee and JP and Dunta Robinson. I mean the cpu generated players in the draft. Like I said NCAA 2005 is not an option. I know what you mean about linebackers one time I shifted a linebaker rated something 70 overall in the 3rd round shifted him to DE and he was ranked something like 85. I do not find this to be particularly realistic, though as defensive lineman are so coveted so it seems like they should start out as lineman. I always shift players from gaurd to tackle or center to guard etc. te to fullback. Thanks for the tips.