Madden NFL 10: Building a Super Bowl Contender - Strategy Guide

Strategy Guide

Madden NFL 10: Building a Super Bowl Contender

Submitted on: 11/10/2009 by

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As an avid franchise player, I’m always looking for teams to rebuild or improve and develop into Super Bowl contenders year in and year out. So from time to time, I’m going to showcase a team and talk about what I would do to help build it into a team that works for me -- and hopefully for you.

Arizona Cardinals Preview

Offense

It’s no secret that the Cardinals have one of the NFL’s most prolific receiving trios. Fitzgerald, Boldin and Breaston will spread out opposing defenses and give rookie running back Beanie Wells and promising second-year pro Tim Hightower room to run.

At age 38, Kurt Warner boasts some great passing ratings, at least by Madden standards, but he may only be around for a season or two. If Matt Leinart is not your cup of tea, start looking for a quarterback of the future.

The offensive line is an above average unit that won’t demolish opposing defenses, but will get the job done for your team. The center position is the only weakness because Lyle Sendlein lacks the strength that is needed to handle the more powerful nose tackles in the league.

Defense

The Cardinals defense has some playmakers in each unit. Darnell Dockett will wreak havoc no matter where you line him up on the defensive line. Former second-round pick Calais Campbell has "B" potential and progresses
nicely.

Karlos Dansby can do it all from any linebacker position. His only weakness may be coverage, but even that is helped out by his 6-foot-4 frame and ability to knock down passes. Gerald Hayes (MLB) is great at stopping the run game and hits hard.

The secondary has a nice trio of players. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will easily progress and become one of the top cornerbacks in the game. Free safety Antrel Rolle is excellent in zone coverage and has great hands (76 catch). Adrian Wilson is a dominant strong safety who excels in run support and can be used on the blitz.

Building My Cardinals

When building the Cardinals into the team that fits my style, I look at the strengths of my team. The defense already has some playmakers, so I think it’s a great idea to improve this area even more. With a few key additions, this could be one of the best defensive units in the league.

Secondary: Looking at my personnel, I think a zone coverage/zone blitz style of defense would work well. Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle both excel in zone coverage, with Rodgers-Cromartie quite capable of handling it as well. The first thing I want to do is look for a corner to complete my secondary. Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers would fit my zone defense scheme perfectly. He has excellent speed, good zone-coverage ratings and the best hands of any corner in the game (80 catch) -- not to mention he would be playing corner across the field from his cousin. I would want to look into possible ways to acquire him without having to lose anyone I deem essential to the future of my franchise.

Linebackers: With Dansby and Hayes already in place, I’m looking for two more linebackers to complete my linebacker unit in a 3-4 defense. A.J. Hawk and Manny Lawson are two players I would target. Hawk has good all-around skills with room for improvement, while Lawson boasts great size (6-foot-6), mobility (89 speed), and pass-rush ability (87 finesse move).

Defensive Line:Whether I decide to play Dockett at nose tackle or defensive end is really inconsequential because he is a staple either way. Bertrand Berry will most likely be moved in a trade, leaving my only hole at right end (Calais Campbell is starting at left end). A player I may look at acquiring is Vernon Gholston from the Jets. He has excellent strength (87) to play a 3-4 DE, and will provide some adequate pass rush from the position. At 70 overall, he will be a bargain to acquire.

On the offensive side of the ball, my team is looking really good. I plan to build around Leinart, so I may move Warner in trade. His 94 overall rating should bring in some great value. The only other piece I may try to upgrade is the tight-end position. A more viable receiving threat at the tight-end position would give me more options.

Be sure to check in next week. I’ll have my complete Cardinals roster along with the list of moves I made to build my franchise.

Madden NFL 10 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 liquidmuse @ 11/13/09 04:42 PM

I took on the Lions, the worst-rated team, handled all the franchise elements, & then simmed the seasons. I'm in year 20, & I've won 10 Super Bowls. Yes, with the cap on. What i do every year---
1st)re-sign my homegrown players if they're over 80, & the "foreign" players if they're over 90. I give the negotiations 3 trys, rounding up to the next 10 million each time. If the agent still refuses, apply the franchise, or just let them go. My paradigm for contracts is based on a 5/5/3/1 template from their rookie year...meaning 5 years, then another 5, etc., all the way till 14 years---then, unless they're over 90, let them go.
2)Before free agency, I look @ the depth chart---any guy not needed(the 3rd QB, the 4th RB, etc.), I look to let go to clear space. Under 70 release, over 70 trade for draft picks. If you *really* need cap space, IMO, trade the guys under 80 making a million or more for picks. Sometimes this accrues cap penalties for your next off-season, but eventually this evens out.
3)Free agency, I generally make a play @ everybody over 80, except kickers & punters, who I only go after if they're over 90. In terms of contract, I use the same template, & it seems to work out pretty good, in terms of keeping a player effective---i.e., if they have 1 year experience, I sign them to a 4 year contract...10 years experience, a 3 year contract. Whatever rounds up to the 5/5/3/1 template.
4)The draft---pre-draft, if a player is under 90 & has 10 years of tread or more, trade them for draft picks. If you get over the allotted 10 picks, just start giving them the pick @ the bottom of your draft(7 & work your way up). Stockpiling picks in the 3-5 range keeps you in good, cheap talent if you've scouted effectively.
5)The draft---don't forget to scout before you play or sim your season!---& my preference is essentially to do what I'd do if I was a GM(or George Young)---scout the guys with good name & good college ;o) ...sounds weird, I know, but Jim Druckenmiller never had a chance, while Joe Montana did. Averages out in your favor. I generally prefer the bigger guys on the line & often elsewhere, though it doesn't matter that much, &/or guys from *smart* colleges. In the PS2 franchise, I only picked guys who had IQ scores "good" or above---generally, these guys will maximize whatever athletic ability they may have. In the next gen however, they don't have this feature(yet), so I err on the side of a good school.
Lately I've been just going off my "scouted" list during the draft, & it seems my Super Bowl run has increased(If you don't mind picked a 5th round guy in the 3rd, etc.). If a scouted guy is under 70, I ignore him. When the good scouted guys run out, I go to the "available" list, & pick the guy with the most equidistant star out of the 1st 6 or so. I have zero idea what the abrvs. mean outside the star, & don't care that much. But this seems to work good, except for WRs. Most WRs suck. Oh, & I never draft for need.
6)signing---I just sign everybody to a 5-year, & if their rating is 69 or below, I just cut 'em(if they're superfluous on the depth chart---for example, the 3rd SS, & I have already have 2 FS & 4 CBs.)...& if you have too many linebackers, they always make good linemen. Safeties make decent corners too(good corners are few & far between). Also be careful---if you move a player to a new position, the computer starts him there, when all you needed was minimum position fodder.
7)& clearly, a good coach, coordinators, & QB seem to be key. Matt Stafford for me did very well, but I had my eye on a QB of the future whenever I could, & got Darius Pryor(3rd round?)out of Texas...& now he's won I've lost count how many MVPs. I also hired Mike Tomlin when Schwartz's contract ran out, & he's winning @ a close to 80% clip. If another team outbids you for him in the offseason, up his contract to the next 10 mil. I've found Josh McDaniels, Rob Ryan, Housmenzatta(T.J.), Wes Welker, & Ed Reed to be great coordinators.
8)DO NOT buy stuff for your stadium. This seemed to matter in PS2, but next gen seems to be a detriment.
9)profit! ;o)

# 22 BZito75 @ 12/01/09 01:12 PM

I think the real way to build a team is through a fantasy draft.....

# 23 jinc1019 @ 12/01/09 01:44 PM

I agree but...that's not really the point of this particular forum....

# 24 Madden Head @ 12/01/09 04:13 PM

Are you talking about siming the games, or do you play them out? What settings do you use?

I started a 49ers franchisae the other day. All I did to change the team was sign Garcia and Lorenzo Neal out of the free agency and I am destroying the chompetition. A joke my friends and I are making is that as the user, I am not making "decision to hurt the team." [note the lack of an "s" at the end of decision. This goes back to Mike Singletary's speach after his first game as head coach last year. You can see that great post game speech here.] As the user, I can be smart with the football as the QB and not go into panic mode that Alex does in real life.

I don't know. I would like guides like these to matter, but until ratings matter, and franchise gets some head coach/last gen madden love, I have a hard time playing franchise mode for very long. The general guide to "rebuild" a team in Madden 10 is to get fast linebackers, corners, receivers and backs along with a good QB. You can save money and draft picks by using bad O and D linemen. When playing, don't send a lot of blitzes. The computer AI is really good at picking up the blitz and you are really just taking players out of coverage. The computer tends to have a hard time against heavy zones. Control a defensive linemen to rush the passer and you shouldn't have too much problem stopping even the best computer controlled teams. When you have the ball, just call a balance of run and pass so you can mix in the play action. Use drag and post routes to attack man. Use curl, slant, and verticle routes to flood a zone and find receivers that bleed between those zones. The plays named "Verticles" have one route by the TE or nickle WR that runs a long corner route that often opens up the middle of the field. These are the very plays that Vernon Davis in real life has run to score at least half of his 9TDs this year, 3 in one game all on the same route combo.

My point? If you want to play a realistic franchise, you can and don't really need a guide to do so if you understand what is "realistis" and if you want to "beat Madden 10" you can just cheese the hell out of it. Either way, you should win because the computer is bad at this game.

# 25 JayInSaratoga @ 12/01/09 04:39 PM

I agree with some of the moves on offense. Bringing in a player like Bush, who hasn't lived up to his draft status, makes sense as a decent compliment to a power runner like Wells.

But I don't think the author understands the difference between the 4-3 defense and 3-4 defense.

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