CFM – NoobTubeTV

All I Want For Madden Christmas Is A Smarter CPU… And A Better Franchise Mode

I try my best to enjoy playing Madden every year. As much as I gripe about the game every year in one way or another I truly go into each iteration with high hopes only to have them dashed by the time I get into my Franchise Mode.

I tried to play with the Bills on All-Madden after winning the Super Bowl with the Browns on All-Pro in the first season. It was the same old story – All-Madden is artificially difficult while All-Pro wants to be challenging, it is still hamstrung with the same problems. The CPU doesn’t adjust to certain plays being called on succession (HB Toss plays from a Twin WR set will almost always get you 7+ Yards if the CPU is in Man Coverage, for instance.). Money plays are alive and well – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The other issue that plagues this game is the idiotic Free Agency process and logic of the CPU. After the latest update you will see that LeVeon Bell becomes a free agent (which is nice), but then I see him get signed by the Cardinals… the same Cardinals that already have David Johnson. I rolled my eyes when I saw the signing during this latest run with the Browns (I used the Cloud Franchise to start my season in Week 12 or so). It doesn’t stop there, unfortunately.

By the time the draft comes around and after I see Bell get signed by the Cardinals the idiocy continues in the draft. I am convinced that the CPU is programmed to look at your Draft Board and make picks that will push you to take certain players earlier than you should if you want them. While I enjoy the idea of this at face value I am also annoyed by the relative troll mentality.

Furthermore, Franchise Mode continues to gut the experience and immersion that should be the primary focus of the mode itself. There is no living breathing league for you to enjoy – its as stale as the cereal at your grandparents’ house. The ‘News’ section is hidden in the depths of the CFM menu and it’s basically a bunch of crappy tweets from Captain Obvious with a few half-assed tips about the draft class. I don’t understand how this mode continues to be included in the game if they obviously don’t care about it from the revenue perspective. The effort all goes into Ultimate Team and the cash cow that it has become.

Madden continues to be the distant second place in sports games for me as MLB The Show maintains a clear advantage in consistent efforts to improve. Both games are going towards the Ultimate Team/Diamond Dynasty slippery slope, but I still have hope that Franchise Mode will become what I have dreamed for over the years. I doubt I will get this for Christmas… but I can always hope.

Lamar Jackson and How EA Continues To Screw Up Franchise Mode

EA recently released a list of the top rookie quarterbacks in their annual hype train countdown to the release of Madden. This year, they slipped up and unintentionally commented on their simulation formula for Franchise Mode.

‘Lamar Jackson could be the most interesting QB to play as in Madden 19. If you sim a lot of games in Franchise, he’s likely not the best pick at the moment. But holy hell, his base ratings make him fun…’ for more, go to the page here.

NFL: Baltimore Ravens-Minicamp

The issue with this isn’t that Lamar Jackson shouldn’t be rated higher or lower than anyone else. It is simply the fact that they reference his effectiveness in Franchise Mode to his ratings. What should continue to worry CFM players is this continuing problem with CFM being tied to overall ratings. This would be like saying that Michael Vick would be fun to play with but he wouldn’t do much for a team in a simulation. I’m not saying that Lamar Jackson is Michael Vick, but he is damn close.

This means that EA has not changed their formula of what is important in CFM. It is still driven by OVR. This means you won’t have any players that are low rated to start become anything close to superstars. It also means that the CPU is actually at a competitive disadvantage. As users, we are able to see certain players with abilities that we can take advantage of – speed, trucking, throw accuracy, hit power, etc. We can turn a 6th round 67 OVR player into an absolute beast. The CPU will either cut the player or never play them in a simulation. Take a look at the practice squads in your Madden 18 CFM – the CPU has some BEASTS that never get a chance to play. Many of us would snap up these players in a heartbeat.

Until EA makes Madden CFM more nuanced and less dependent on overall ratings I have a feeling we will continue to experience a rather mechanical and less organic CFM experience.

Madden 19 Will Continue To Be MUT Focused

For those of you that joined in my cheers about the initial announcements regarding Madden 19’s Franchise Mode – please don’t get too hyped. If you look at the pre-order bonuses and such, this game is still obviously focused on the cash cow that is Ultimate Team. In being focused on MUT, there are things that quite simply will NEVER change in terms of gameplay. madden 19 cover

If you watch any of the YouTubers or Twitch guys that post pack opening reactions and footage of them playing online MUT matchups you will see that there is good reason for EA Tiburon to keep the game as loose and arcade-like as possible. I will admit, I have watched a few of the pack opening videos from various YouTube personalities and I feel like I am basically watching a hyped up commercial on EA’s Home Shopping Network. I’m not hating on what makes these people happy or gives them YouTube success – keep doing you and get that YouTube money before they decide to find a reason to kick you off the pay platform.

What I find disconcerting is when Madden continues to push a mode that doesn’t encourage gameplay to become more realistic by default. MUT is not and will never be a mode that encourages Tiburon to make Man to Man coverage a true representation of what we see on Sundays (Thursdays, and Monday’s) in the fall. I can appreciate this aspect as sometimes it gets frustrating in any game to feel like you aren’t controlling the actions of the primary character at any given time. MUT has to remain focused on player control and the arcade style that brings the money well after the game has released.

However, why is it that spin moves and jukes from players result in locked animations from tacklers three yards away? Why do we continue to see AI make gameplay decisions that would baffle a 5 year old? It’s a continuing sign of what EA Tiburon has a true problem replicating – 11 on 11 football. Every time you play against a human opponent it becomes a 1 on 1 matchup, not a true football game. Consider this the next time you switch to the DB in coverage during a long pass down the field. Sure, it’s supposed to be a game that you play, but it doesn’t bode well for those of us that want some semblance of real football.

The spin, juke and other break tackle functions in Madden 18 were so overpowered and glitched simply from the interaction and animation system that I stopped playing the game in early December. I played a few MUT games and even won a championship, etc. At the end of the day, I wanted to play simulation football in CFM (OFFLINE) and I was greeted by such an artificially weak CPU opponent that I couldn’t justify booting up the game.

What do you think? Are you a MUT player or a Sim Football purist? Will the history dictate your purchase of Madden 19?

Madden 19 – They Finally Get It Right On Franchise Mode

After years of begging through my own little piece of the internet EA Tiburon has finally granted some of my wishes. The release of a new trailer and information about CFM has me anxiously waiting for the game to release in August. This is primarily due to the inclusion of editable draft classes as well as a slowly overhauled draft experience. Add the refinements to player progression and regression and you have a mode that might keep CFM gamers interested for more than a few months. Madden-19-Gameplay-1024x576

Here is a quick rundown of the released information on CFM.

Schemes –

While this isn’t actually ‘new’ here are some of the factoids coming out.

Offense has Spread, West Coast Zone Run, West Coast Power Run, Vertical Zone Run, Vertical Power Run, Multiple Power Run, Multiple Zone Run, Run and Shoot.
Defense has Base 4-3, Multiple 4-3, Base 3-4, Multiple 3-4, Tampa 2, 46.
Players will have indicators to show scheme fit (this goes for the draft as well) which is an improvement in terms of simplification.
New Player Ratings will also take effect for some positions – QB has Throw Under Pressure, Break Sack, Break Tackle, WR has Short, Medium and Deep Route Running, and O Line has Run & Pass Block Power/Finesse, and Lead Block.

Archetypes –

Each position has four archetypes (this is much like MLB The Show 18 in Road To The Show, for those that need a reference point)…
An Example = QB can be Scrambler, Strong Arm, West Coast or Field General (you will notice that these were part of scheme fits over the last couple years of Madden).
An archetype that matches a scheme gets an XP bonus.
Each Archetype has its own build under the hood to dictate ratings growth and bonuses (this will be solved on day one).
Some players will have multiple archetypes (unknown if this will be something a player can progress in or be customized into in draft classes, or otherwise).
Skill points can build any archetype, this includes building a player into the archetype you need in your scheme if he doesn’t fit at first (this seems unnecessary).
You can choose Team Captains, which probably means nothing in terms of actual gameplay – the players will have the patch on their jersey. (This is another place for the implementation of my ideas come into play… see below).

Progression –

Players that match schemes progress faster than players that don’t match (this is a bad sign for fans of progression based on production).
Skill Points will give random bumps to player ratings. This is a good thing for online leagues and for those that enjoy some semblance of balance in offline CFM.
You can no longer dictate player traits through XP use!!! This is huge in terms of stopping the abuse of creating a team of under-the-hood All Stars!
Development no longer has ‘Slow’, but it still has Normal, Quick, Star, and Superstar. A small amount of players are supposed to have Superstar development and it can still change from season to season.
Gameplanning and Training is still a thing… Why? Who knows. I have yet to see anyone actually use this as if it were necessary or enjoyable. (Hint to EA Tiburon – Make every game during a CFM season an event unto itself… give us a reason to gameplan or train our team to face someone like Antonio Brown, OBJ, JJ Watt, etc… then maybe we will focus on this!)
Regression has been changed to continue the fix from Madden 18 that saw Speed Ratings for players take a nosedive after hitting 30 years old, etc.

CUSTOM DRAFT CLASSES!!!!!!!!

Can you tell this is my favorite Madden news in over a decade?!
You can choose which draft class you want in Week 3.
You can use a pre-made, created, or imported draft class.
Determine hidden gems, etc. (This kind of thing is a possible game breaker and it makes me wish they would overhaul scouting to make it a bit more realistic and/or difficult to find a gem in late rounds.
The Draft presentation has been changed a bit, there will be a stage with players being introduced, which is a cool add-on.

The custom draft class feature is a huge move that truly opens the mode for more realism. Some might say that it opens up the game for people to scope out Superstar potential or create some sort of all star class laced with a bunch of top talent. Sure, if that is what you really want – go for it. For those of us that want to create a better spread of talent with more realistic depth – it seems that our wishes have been granted by the CFM genie.

Some questions persist and once they can be answered they will be featured here on NoobTubeTV.

Has scouting been overhauled in any way? CFM needs to add a Scouting Department to every team just like coaches and coordinators. I would like to see more depth in this regard and make it more like MLB The Show – whether it be a letter range, number range or a simple +/- rating for players.
Player Morale and Personality needs to play a larger role. There should be badges or sub-categories for players of all types. Someone like Tom Brady should have ‘Leader’ and/or ‘Competitor’ qualities, Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham Jr. should have ‘Diva’ traits or the like. It is an integral part of the game to have these types of players. While I believe a lot of this kind of labeling would be denied by the NFLPA in terms of labeling players as anything other than a position player – it would add much needed depth.
Team Schemes still need work. The idea that a team is going to have the same desired setup for certain players at certain positions is questionable at best. For instance, the assigning of a Left Tackle with Pass Blocking to a Vertical Zone Run scheme leaving the rest of the line as Agile is oversimplifying a scheme at best. This also doesn’t seem to take into account whether or not a QB is left handed – the entire scheme would have to flip in this regard – have they done that? I think not.
User Persona is something they could add to this game and almost make the suggestion for Morale and Personality a thought of the past. Give the user a chance to choose or create a persona within the game. Owner Mode should have labels such as Tyrant (Jerry Jones), Clueless (Jimmy Haslam), etc. The same goes for coaches if that is the route you want to take.

As more information is released expect to find it on NTTV!

Madden 19 Franchise Mode – Only One Direction To Go

As we near the NFL Draft in a matter of days it is starting to leak out of the rumor mill that Madden will be focusing on ramping up the quality of Franchise Mode. Hopefully this means we can expect a bit more depth in terms of how the mode is represented in a few different ways.

madden-nfl-15-screen-19png-e0e9e8 — Because EA is the Johnny Manziel of sports game developers.

They have tried to change how free agency works from the Auction system a few years ago to making offers before advancing and hoping the guy you wanted chose your low-ball offer. Between bad financial logic and worse player and team logic – Madden hasn’t exactly been a beacon of realism for wanna-be GMs.

They must find a way to push gamers in this mode to eventually spend their money on veterans without looking at every 28 and 29 year old player like they are going to become Stephen Hawking at the age of 30. Yes, there is certainly a youth movement in the thinking of NFL General Managers. Yes, this means that drafting top talent over keeping ‘aging’ players is a common strategy. It doesn’t mean that Madden should get a pass in making players in their late-20s and early 30s relevant in Franchise Mode.

On top of the age nosedive in terms of player ratings, the other aspect that needs the most help in Madden is the Draft and Scouting.

Scouting has quite simply been a lazy effort by the developers. It isn’t difficult to find the superstar players later in the draft. It isn’t hard to find the busts in the first round. By the time you figured out the scouting dynamics in Madden 17 you were more than okay with the point reversal in Madden 18 that was supposed to make that aspect more challenging. All you need to do is look for the first rating to be a B+ or higher and you are on your way. It’s not rocket science… and that makes for an insanely boring experience that is arguably one of the most involved and talked about in all of sports.

They must address the lack of immersion in our experience week by week. There is ZERO immersion in Franchise Mode from an overall league perspective. There is no feeling for the salary cap when it comes to managing the team. There is no excitement in Franchise Mode… NONE. The Super Bowl has been the same stupid celebration and musical experience for years.

Madden 18 was the final straw for me as a Madden fan in a lot of ways. It was the only Madden I have stopped playing before the Super Bowl was over. It says more about the staying power of Franchise Mode than anything else.

Madden Ultimate Team has killed what made Madden a fun experience for those of us that don’t enjoy online sports gaming. I am hoping that Madden 19 will make good on their chance to convince me to buy this game as a pre-order for the sake of giving my annual guides for all of you out there.

Madden 18 – Hiding Behind A Bad Movie

Everything is falling into place as we prepare to enter August. The Dallas Cowboys have another problem with a star player just as the season is getting ready to start and they might have to place all of their hopes and dreams on the back of their one year wonder at quarterback. NFL Camps will start very soon, and with that excitement blowing in the soon to come autumn wind – we have another year of Madden NFL only a few weeks away.

The crazy part about this is that up until this point there hasn’t been any gameplay footage released by EA. With the fans clamoring for some proof of life in that regard it is hard to have a lot of pity for them. They should know what the game looks like by now. EA is trying their best to market their version of NBA 2K’s My Player Mode with The Longshot. I wish I could say that this was going to be some sort of huge jump in sports gaming – but it quite simply won’t be anything close to that. According to some of the tweets and interviews, this mode has been in development for around three years. To think they have been working on this for three years and we still don’t have functional Challenges, sideline detection, real-time injuries, and many other simple football gameplay needs… Longshot had better be a masterpiece with zero bugs.

The problems that Madden NFL has faced for over a decade involves more than not measuring up to 2K’s basketball story mode experience. It is everything that 2K would have done if EA didn’t have the monopoly on NFL Football. It’s hard for me to think about how great an NFL 2K18 would be and by how much it would most likely outsell Madden 18. Madden has made some strides in recent years, no doubt… but, compared to where either game could be had there been competition? We would have seen gameplay footage by E3, if not sooner.

Madden continues to push the line that they are leading with their new Longshot Mode for marketing. I find it interesting that this is their strategy. This is mostly because I can see through their thin veil of BS. They aren’t showing gameplay footage because, frankly… they don’t have to show anything and the game will still sell. Madden hasn’t changed in any major way since Madden 10. Now that we have come to the point where they don’t even have to market the game itself with any actual gameplay footage it does beg one to ask yourself as part of the Madden horde… why are any of you pre-ordering this game?

Madden 18 CFM -The Annual Dumpster Fire Keeps Burning

With almost two months to go before Madden 18 graces us with another year of incremental updates we are starting to get a similar message about Franchise Mode (CFM). Sports games have moved more and more towards the micro-transaction over the last few years. It makes sense from a business perspective, but in terms of actual improvement and innovation of the game itself – no so much.

It turns out that Franchise Mode is once again more or less on the back burner. At this point, it is safe to say that it’s actually in the microwave and waiting to be heated up again as a left-over from a few days ago.

Sports games have all decided that they want to move in a direction of Story Mode rather than any sort of immersive Franchise Mode experience. This is great for the YouTubers out there that seem to make their money from their over-the-top internet ‘personalities’ and gameplay videos. I guess it is a matter of taste, but they don’t do much for me when I am trying to play my own game. Maybe we live in a more vicarious gaming world than I thought.

No matter how you slice it, Madden has moved towards completely focusing on two modes in particular this year. They are banking on the Longshot Mode to be their saving grace in offline experience. As usual, they are going to bring all of their post-release cash grabbing from Ultimate Team. I see this as the continuation of sports gaming’s innovation decline more than anything else. I don’t post much about MUT or any online sports gaming experience because it’s tiresome and really takes away any sort of gaming immersion.

Franchise Mode announcements have come and gone. The primary aspects of change that have been announced are that they have introduced MVP chatter into the commentary as well as new quick entrances and fireworks in the stadiums that we will continue to hold the X or A button to skip through. The developers in charge of this mode seem to believe that CFM needs more visual bells and whistles than actual immersion in the guts of running a team on the management level.

One of the things that really killed my experience in Madden 17 CFM was a combination of the XP System and terrible Defensive AI (especially with DBs and WRs). One of the easiest things to do after leveling up during the first season or two is increasing your WR’s Separation ability along with a few other mechanics. I did this with Corey Coleman and managed to not only turn him into an unstoppable force, but also made RG3 into one of the best QB’s of all time. All that needed to happen was for the CB on Coleman to play him in a Man To Man Press (up close to the line of scrimmage). Coleman has great speed and acceleration already. By the time I finished building his separation and strength attributes in 2016 all I had to do was call a hot route in 2017 if he was being pressed. Even with safety help, he would burn the opposing team for a huge TD on a fly route over 60% of the time.

The results?

I built my team into an absolute juggernaut on both sides of the ball. The fact that I could score 70 points a game on All Madden without blinking made the entire experience feel as disposable as the developers seem to believe it is.

That said…

One of the aspects about Madden 17 that I really enjoyed was feeling like I could play defense most of the time. This took a lot of slider adjustments and house rules (including a ‘no switch’ rule). The no switch rule will actually improve how your defense plays through the game. Why? Because your AI players will stick to their assignments for the most part if you stay with one player during each play. The AI will start to break down as soon as you switch players at the wrong moment. This includes run plays especially as your entire defensive squad will essentially be rendered useless and the CPU will break off a big run most of the time if you have to switch to the other side of the field to defend against a run. (You are actually better off trying to run with the original player than to switch to the closest defender on CPU run plays to the opposite side. It doesn’t make sense, but then again… neither does Madden.)

Madden 18 won’t have editing for Draft Classes. It will have the same relocation mode, but no expansion options. CFM also won’t have any real changes to the injury system other than supposedly including off-ball injuries. It seems like Franchise Mode effectively died after Madden 2005. With the PS3/360 consoles bringing high speed online gaming to the forefront of almost every gaming experience it’s really no wonder that this mode has lost so much momentum if not gone backwards a few steps over the last decade-plus.

This genuinely feels like a Madden CFM experience that most would be better to wait on for a purchase rather than buying on release day.

Making Your CFM Last For Decades – Team Building House Rules In Madden 17

In the words of Aaron Lewis (from Staind), It’s Been Awhile.

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In the spirit of not only updating NoobTubeTV with new and fresh things for the secular Holiday Season of Capitalism and video games during the winter snow and vortex. I am presenting a new way to play a part of your Madden 17 Connected Franchise Mode from the Owner/Coach perspective!

This will focus on house rules I have implemented over the course of playing multiple seasons with multiple teams in CFM. Before we get into the details of how to make a great experience more challenging and entertaining I have to give you the ‘why’.

Madden has improved in many regards as far as CFM goes. They really have made strides and complete jumps to another level in some cases. That said, they also have a lot of work to do with figuring out how teams deal with the salary cap and such. By the time you reach season 4 and 5 in your CFM (2019-2020) you will start to see that almost every team is in a dire situation with salary caps and such.

One easy fix is to turn off salary caps. I suggest not doing this simply because it’s nice to have a limitation placed on yourself during the offseason.

The other issue is that it is still way too easy to accumulated tons of first round picks and later picks as well. On top of that part being easy it is also relatively simple to scout for players that you can draft with assurance that they will be rated 75+ OVR. In order to preserve an ongoing CFM that will not only keep your team competitive, but also honest – here is my Madden 17 method of Team Management House Rules.

During The Season

Re-Signing Players – Because you get a chance to make three offers during the season before you have one final chance after the season and then into free agency this rule is easy.
NOTE – This doesn’t mean you are limited to having certain OVR players on your team. This is strictly a limit on re-signing players during the season. This is meant to make your team stay within the same general competitive level as others and give other teams a shot at signing great players as well.

Any player rated 90+ is permitted ONE offer at any point during the season and you can only re-sign ONE of these players during the season. If you have multiple 90+ rated players you must choose who you place the most value in keeping. If they decline you then have to wait until the final re-sign chance after your season is over.
Any player rated 80-89 is permitted TWO offers at any point during the season. The difference here is that you get to re-sign up to SEVEN players rated 80-89 during the season.
Players rated 79 and lower don’t have limits on offers. Do what you want to here.

Scouting and The Draft

Here’s the deal. You get to scout any players you want. Feel free to go bonkers and even get the Scouting Perk for your coach. The catch is that you are limited once the draft arrives.

Using the ‘Watch’ function is key to this rule and it will make the draft a hell of a lot more fun for you. Not to mention more challenging from the perspective of adding some realism.

First, your draft picks will have limitations (This will also help you avoid weird salary cap penalties if you want to cut a rookie with guaranteed money – this can and does happen).

Scouting and Watching –

Each draft pick you own will allow you to watch a certain number of players projected in that round (prior to drafting them)

1^st Round – 6 Watchable Players (2 Picks = 12 Watchable Players)

2^nd & 3^rd Round – 7 Watchable Players (two picks = 14 watchable players per round)

4^th – 7^th Round – 8 Watchable Players (three picks = 24 watchable players per round)

HERE IS THE CATCH!

You must select your watched players before the draft begins.
You only get to manually draft a player that you have watched.
You may draft any player from any projected round at any time.
If none of your watched players are available you have two options
- Simulate the pick (you get to keep any draft pick obtained if it is traded and you must keep the player drafted for at least one season, if only on the practice squad.)
- Trade the pick
  - You may trade this for any pick or set of picks. However, you need to even out your pick numbers prior to Week 9 of the regular season.

You get a maximum of 12 picks in any one draft each year.

1^st Round – Maximum of two picks in one draft (Never two years in a row). If you have two picks in one year you only get one the next year. If you find that a team wants to trade up and give you a pick you can only do it for lower round picks OR must trade the new First Round Pick to a team with one of the ten WORST records without giving them more than two picks as well.

If you make an Washington/St. Louis for RG3 kind of deal with a team you must count your 1^st Round Picks as two picks each. This means you lose two picks extra picks that year. You must trade two picks two another team.

2^nd Round – Maximum of two picks

3^rdRound – Maximum of two picks

4^th Round – Maximum of three picks

5^th Round – Maximum of three picks

6^th Round – Maximum of three picks

7^th Round – Maximum of three picks

These rules are meant to keep your CFM fair for the CPU and fun for your own benefit.

I have had to make tough decisions and even gamble on re-signing a few players because of weak draft classes. Usually, I roll with my Browns in Madden CFM and this year I made it through five seasons before realizing that building such a dominant team with multiple draft picks made the actual experience less enjoyable. I had to start a new one just to keep my interest in Madden (as I don’t particularly enjoy the lag fest and arcade feel of Madden Online).

Now that these new rules have fixed my CFM experience, it’s time to start fresh and this time I will be starting with the Bills.

Happy Holiday Gaming!

Madden 17 CFM Sliders and Settings (1st Edition)

It’s that time of year once again. Time for everyone to bring their Madden clicks to NoobTubeTV for our sliders and settings. This year is going to be a bit different in a few ways. First, it is going to involve an initial shift to All Pro for our sliders. This is due to numerous statements from the developers and EA Game Changers that All Pro is the best difficulty to use if you want the more balanced/realistic gameplay. Personally, I’m starting to wonder if the statements of balanced gameplay and realism rely more on the player instituting house rules for sim play against the CPU.

I have noticed (like the rest of the Madden 17 players that there is a preponderance of fumbles and injuries (especially while simming).

It seems that EA Tiburon has stepped up their game and will be supporting the Madden experience more than we have seen in years. I will be doing the same with these sliders and settings for CFM. Expect updates and tuning over the next couple months. I usually create sliders with the intent of realistic substitutions, stats, and challenge. I find that gameplay/player animations have a tendency of dictating weird situations and morphing on the field. It isn’t my prerogative to go through every game like Sim Football Critic does on YouTube. I have recently started watching his videos with more regularity and highly recommend tuning into his channel if you enjoy watching gameplay and hearing coherent commentary. Also, I tend to agree with his philosophy that messing with the sliders too much will severely alter the performance of the game and your experience playing it.

Here’s the first iteration of our CFM Sliders for Madden 17.

Player Skill:

QB Accuracy

Pass Blocking

WR Catching

Run Blocking

Fumbles

Pass Def. Reaction

Interceptions

Pass Coverage

Tackling

CPU Skill:

QB Accuracy

Pass Blocking

WR Catching

Run Blocking

Fumbles

Pass Def. Reaction

Interceptions

Pass Coverage

Tackling

Special Teams – Keep All At 50

Injuries – 50

Fatigue – 57

Speed Threshold – 49

Penalties –

Def. Pass Interference – 80

(Keep all others at default)

SETTINGS

Skill – All Pro

Quarter Length – 12 Minutes

Acc Clock – ON (15 Seconds)

User Team Help – OFF (All of them)

Game Speed – Normal

Trade Type – Enable All

League Type – All

Relocation – Users Only

INJURY NOTE – This setting is totally up to the individual. You need to decide how you want to begin your franchise mode. Do you want to start with Week 1 Rosters? You might want to wait until the official Week 1 roster drops. Start your Franchise with injuries turned OFF and start your Franchise at Week 1 instead of Pre-Season.

My personal settings are going to feature the latest roster update (as of August 26)… this means I will need to trade Mingo to New England for a 5^thRound Pick. I will start with Pre-Existing Injuries Turned On with Pre-Season Injuries Turned Off. I want to start realistically with players out for 2016 that are injuried now, but I also want a chance to build my own team and deal with my own alternate Madden universe.

Injury – On

Pre-Existing Injury – On (this is totally up to you)

Madden 17 Franchise Mode Team Guide

With only a few weeks until Madden 17 is officially released we now know the top rated players at most positions. This seems to be more important to Madden’s online players than anyone else. Sure, it might be nice to know these things for some sort of subjective discussion about which player is better or simply deserves a better ‘Overall’ rating.

For the rest of us the ratings that really matter are position specific as well as the ‘under the hood’ ratings like ‘Potential’, etc. These ratings drive our Franchise Mode every season from deciding who to cut in week three of the pre-season to who will be placed further down the depth chart. Madden isn’t friendly to developing players on the bench. So, deciding which player you will use at QB is going to be crucial just as it will be important to look at other young players that might need to train up somehow – more on player editing to come.

Going into my first season of Franchise Mode I try my best to stay true to how my team is going through the pre-season, etc. The problem with this mindset is the same I talk about every year. This isn’t ‘real life’ this is your team and your Franchise Mode. It is with that consideration that I am putting together the Madden 17 Franchise Mode Team Selection Guide.

With that said, here’s the Madden 17 Franchise Mode Team Selection Guide

Arizona Cardinals – A team that is in ‘win it all mode’ doesn’t need a lot of work to win you a Super Bowl in the first season of your franchise mode. They will need to start looking for a new franchise QB as well as a replacement for the aging Larry Fitzgerald as he and Carson Palmer both work into the twilight of their careers. This is one of the better defenses in the league as well and hopefully EA will make sure to update the Mathieu contract in the first update if they haven’t already.

Atlanta Falcons – For being a team that has been a middle of the pack contender in recent years they have really struggled to make up for a couple seasons of terrible defense. They don’t have a defensive identity and Matt Ryan is looking more like a mediocre Philip Rivers as every season goes by. Thankfully, they do have Julio Jones at WR and two decent HBs in Freeman and Coleman. Not to mention the off-season signing of Alex Mack at Center. This is a solid option if you like to have a couple pieces in place before starting a Franchise.

Baltimore Ravens – Speaking of mediocre and overrated Quarterbacks – Joe Flacco is both of those things coupled with being over-paid for his talent level. It seems that if any team is almost totally in rebuild mode with money sunk into aging and overrated players this is one of those teams. WR’s are all injury prone and your HB situation is suspect at best. Add to this situation a defense that seems to be getting by on name recognition more than actual talent – the Ravens could be a nice sleeper team to have a bit of fun rebuilding both in talent and in budget.

Buffalo Bills – The Bills have a couple great playmakers in McCoy at HB and Watson at WR. Their QB, Tyrod Taylor is a poor man’s Mike Vick. Sure, he put up some decent numbers last year, but no one building a Franchise outside of Virginia Tech fanboys is going to want Taylor as their QB of the future. Defensively the Bills are stout. They could use some upgrades at virtually every position, but they also aren’t bad if you want to use the saying ‘bend, don’t break’.

Carolina Panthers – Back from a loss in the Super Bowl. The Panthers are back and this time they will have their #1 WR in Kelvin Benjamin. They could use an upgrade at HB and it wouldn’t be shocking in my view to see them take one in the first round of the 2017 Draft. This team is a monster defensively, even without the loud mouth that was/is Josh Norman. Keep this team healthy and you will be in the Super Bowl again in 2016.

Chicago Bears – A team with one of the most overrated and overhated players in the league in Jay Cutler has some serious question marks coming into 2016. Alshon Jeffery is destined to become a free agent in 2017 and the rest of the team seems to be made up of place holders with unproven talent. WR, Kevin White and HB, Jeremy Langford could be the answer the Bears need for losing two great (albeit aging) players at those positions over the last couple seasons. On defense they have still been trying to find an identity after losing Urlacher to retirement. This is one of my favorite teams to suggest to anyone looking for a rebuild in a tough division that actually has different weather during the season.

Cincinnati Bengals – They are still looking like the favorites to win the AFC North. Andy Dalton is going to be your solid and tough QB that shouldn’t get you more than 30 TDs a year. That said, you have AJ Green, but you have lost a couple WRs in the offseason. Still, the offensive line is good and if he can stay healthy, Eifert will make opposing defensive unit cringe. On defense you are going to be pretty much set. There is no such thing as personal fouls or ejections in Madden for dirty players like Vontaze Burfict – so have fun with that.

Cleveland Browns – My beloved Browns. What can I say? They are the consistent choice among Madden Franchise Mode junkies that want to build a constant loser into a winner. The Browns are intriguing in many ways though. On offense you get a chance to redeem the career of Robert Griffin III. You also get a fresh batch of WRs and Josh Gordon should actually play this season (sit him the first four games if you want to – I plan on sitting him during my Franchise Mode for that time period). The running backs are really only two-deep as Crowell and Johnson are very much ‘thunder and lightning’. It might be worth drafting a HB in the 2017 Draft with the Browns as well. On defense they desperately need a new SS and FS as well as someone to compliment Joe Haden at the other CB spot since Justin Gilbert looks like he might have to play nickel – if that.

Dallas Cowboys – Somehow, the Cowboys always manage to look like a team or at least sound like a team destined to rebound from yet another season of disappointment. This season their defense already looks like a trailer park dumpster fire. Now they are hoping that Romo doesn’t die on the field or the like. Couple that with having the oft-injured Dez Bryant and you would think that this team is a terrible choice. Well, maybe in real life. In Madden 17 with the initial rosters, this could be one of the best teams to pick if you want to push for a Super Bowl. You will want to upgrade the defensive secondary and draft a QB or two in the 2017 Draft, but otherwise, you have one heck of a roster.

Denver Broncos – From world champions and Hall of Fame QB to riding your defense to victory. Most people will probably make the switch to Paxton Lynch as their starter in Franchise Mode. If you consider the fact that the Broncos have lost no one but an ancient Peyton Manning they might be a lock for most people to win another Super Bowl easily in the first season of Franchise mode. You will want to look into drafting a new HB in 2017 and probably load up that O Line as well.

Detroit Lions – The Browns of the NFC! Detroit lost Calvin Johnson just like they lost Barry Sanders. Now they have… well… Matt Stafford? If there were a team I’d give anyone props for taking in an online Franchise Mode with a bunch of friends it would be the Lions. They are a mess from the top to the bottom. You might consider setting your 2016 season goal to 7 wins if you play with decent difficulty sliders. You need to build this team through the draft and you will need to make sure that it includes a backup QB, starting HB and a WR that will hopefully make everyone forget about Megatron. Good luck with that.

Green Bay Packers – If this team stays healthy they are a lock for the playoffs. You have the obvious in Aaron Rodgers and Co. The only thing you might want to look into at this point is getting some younger WRs and consider the possibility of replacing Clay Matthews or at least backing him up as he ages. A new Tight End in the draft would only help matters.

Houston Texans – One of the teams that reminds me of Madden 06. Why? Because you have a huge arm at QB with Osweiler and two speedsters at WR with Hopkins and Fuller. Not to mention the fact that you now have Lamar Miller and his speed at HB. Yeah, the Texans look awesome on paper this year. Couple that with the obvious presence of Watt (99 OVR) and Clowney and Co. on defense… this is a scary team to face.

Indianapolis Colts – They have invested in fixing the O-Line for Luck and even signed your QB for the next half decade or so. You will want to replace the ancient Frank Gore at HB and probably get yourself a new tall WR to help Luck out a bit more on offense. On defense you need to figure out in which order you want to replace everyone. The Colts defense is strikingly bad and yet somehow they aren’t talked about for their terrible nature.

Jacksonville Jaguars – If you want the young up and coming team this is it. They have some great young players on both sides of the ball. A franchise QB, a tough running HB in Yeldon, two great WRs and Julius Thomas at TE. Then on defense they have two of the top rated players from the 2016 draft in Ramsey and Myles Jack. This team scares the hell out of me on Madden and in real life – they might just surprise everyone this year – except Jaguars fans… and me.

Kansas City Chiefs – They are in big salary trouble and that means you will need to figure out your plan of attack. I suggest trading away your biggest salary hogs early on and hope you can get a couple draft picks in return. You need to get a real answer to the aging Jamaal Charles at HB and desperately need to get more WRs on this team. For being a passing league, the Chiefs make you think they will try to win with a 30 year old HB kept together with a bit of duct tape and glue. Their defense is high end, but will you be able to afford to keep all of them? Doubtful.

Los Angeles Rams – I’ve been through St. Louis once and that is enough for me to understand why the Rams would move to Los Angeles. Yes, I have love for the midwest as I am from Ohio, but wow… talk about getting a team full of weapons and having them in a new shiny stadium!? This might be the most enjoyable team to build around new QB Jared Goff and what looks like the next great HB in Todd Gurley. You have another 99 OVR player in Aaron Donald on defense as well. All said and done, you will want to look into investing some draft picks in WRs if possible. Granted, with the trade to get Goff you might have to search for the hidden late round gems for a couple years.

Miami Dolphins – It’s hard to decide how to build this team. The offense needs new players virtually everywhere. The defense has Suh at DT and a couple other pieces as well. In all honesty, the Dolphins are a team with a new coveted head coach and I am willing to bet that whoever takes this team will do so with the singular goal of finding a new QB to build around first and foremost.

Minnesota Vikings – They have a great coach (which never matters in Madden) and it looks like Teddy Bridgewater might be a solid game manager at QB. With a couple great young WRs it seems to me that you really need to find Adrian Peterson’s replacement sooner rather than later. Then add a couple pieces to the defense and you will be fighting the Packers for NFC North dominance in short order.

New England Patriots – The Patriots are the football version of the San Antonio Spurs. They are designed to win around two people – Their Hall of Fame cheater of a QB in Tom Brady and their (doesn’t matter in Madden) Hall of Fame Coach that isn’t actually in the game anyway. Brady is going to be done soon. Most Patriots users are going to try and install Garopolo as the heir-apparent. I must ask other than Gronkowski (who is at his peak and probably passing it quickly) who else on this team is really a piece you’d consider ‘the future’. The Patriots are a great team and should get you to a Super Bowl in the first couple seasons of Franchise Mode. However, you are going to need to invest in draft picks early on if you have any hope of maintaining their dynastic dominance. Who are we kidding, most Patriots users will play on Rookie difficulty and run up the score on every team. Just joking…

Not really.

New Orleans Saints – The Saints are in a similar boat as the Patriots, but they do have a decent power HB in Ingram with good young WRs and Fleener at TE. They do need a lot of help on defense and this should be where you focus your growth as well. Draft for defense and try to find a replacement for Brees and you will pose a real threat to the Panthers again soon.

New York Giants – The story of the day is aging QBs. Manning is a good one to get you through a few more seasons, but you will want to have someone behind him. Your HB is over 30 and there isn’t much help behind him. Two great WRs (one is a rookie in Shepard… the other is the amazing OBJ). Get yourself some more help on an improving defense and the Giants will be a favorite for the division nearly every year.

New York Jets – The Jets somehow don’t look as crappy as they always seem like that should. You have Hackenberg waiting in the wings and two veteran WRs in Marshall and Decker. You also have an older HB in Forte that will need to be replaced soon. The defense has been the bread and butter of the Jets for years and this year is no different. You will want to find a new CB as Revis ages, but focus on your offensive aging and you should be up there with the Patriots.

Oakland Raiders – The Raiders really just need a defensive backfield. Get your DB situation fixed and this team will pose a major threat to anyone. The offense is somehow looking like a dangerous deal with Derek Carr, Murray at HB and Cooper at WR. The Raiders are going to be a fun team to use as they are young on both sides and Kalil Mack will be the only guy you want to control on defense.

Philadelphia Eagles – If any team gets to be laughed at it is the Eagles. You basically lost your picks for Carson Wentz. I imagine most Eaglers users will implement him immediately rather than sitting him like they hope to in real life. Even with that they have an HB made out of glass in Ryan Mathews and one decent WR in Jordan Matthews. Zach Ertz at TE is nothing to get excited about. Then on defense you have a steaming pile of nothing impressive. If ever a gamer wanted to start with a team that was shredded by a former coach it would be the Eagles. Good luck and godspeed.

Pittsburgh Steelers – As I’ve stated before. Madden doesn’t have real life things like suspensions. This means that Le’Veon Bell will never get suspended as he should. The same goes for his fellow pot smoking teammate, Martavis Bryant at WR. This basically leaves the door open for people to dominate with the Steelers and their great weapons on offense – including Antonio Brown and the newly signed TE, Ledarius Green. On defense they are a team that is still rebuilding from their dominance with Polamalu, but that shouldn’t take long in the draft. They will be up there with the Bengals for the AFC North as long as you have Roethlisberger and a decent backup/future starter at QB.

San Diego Chargers – The Chargers drafted Joey Bosa at DE and have the pieces they need to be a threat, but they aren’t that scary. You will want to get another WR to take pressure off of Keenan Allen and certainly must replace Antonio Gates as soon as you can. Rivers isn’t going to get any younger either, so you might want to focus on how to fix your aging offense before this middle of the pack team totally bonks out altogether.

San Francisco 49ers – It’s a damn good thing that your coach doesn’t matter in Madden. Chip Kelly is in San Francisco now and it doesn’t look like they are going to do much to help him improve his name. Carlos Hyde is a great HB to have as he is still young. Kaepernick is a Madden friendly QB as he has mobility, etc. but really, you will want to find new players at almost every position. You might as well start with a new coach as Kelly should never have been hired to coach anywhere anyway.

Seattle Seahawks – No more Marshawn Lynch. You do still have a dominant defense and Russell Wilson and the brittle Jimmy Graham at TE. It would be a great idea to invest in new WRs and a couple new HBs to compete with Rawls for the starting spot. Sherman won’t be great for much longer either, so look into a couple defenders as well. Otherwise, the Seahawks are still a team built to win it all for the next couple years – even if only defensively.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – A young team with a strong offense built around Winston. You will want to find a couple new WRs and a TE soon. Make sure to continue investing in your defense as you need to compete with the likes of the Panthers and Saints – that’s not fun if you can’t play defense. The Bucs are a team that should get you to the playoffs within the next two seasons

Tennessee Titans – Mariota looked good when he was healthy and in Madden he is a strong QB for a mobile/west coast system. Invest in your O-Line to protect him and build up your lacking defense. The Titans look like a fun team to build if you know what you’re wanting to make them into. I suggest taking a look at what you want to do defensively and either start fresh with a new system or try and use the couple pieces they have.

Washington Redskins – It’s hard to look at Cousins as a long term answer… it’s more difficult yet to see him as a fun QB to build around. He isn’t as exciting in Madden as he is in real life with his ‘did you like that?’ attitude. They have a great TE in Reed, but their WRs are old minus the new rookie in Doctson. It will be interesting to see how people build the Redskins as I think they could be one of the more interesting teams to grab ahold of and truly make into your own.