Scouting Tool for Madden 17 CFM

[Old Man Nathy]

Quote: Originally Posted by motel08

How can I delete the example players?

Highlight the data for the example players in columns A to Q and hit the delete key... Don't delete the entire row.

As for compatibility with iPad, it would appear the tool definitely doesn't work on there for some reason. I can only guarantee it will work on Windows/Excel 2013 or newer. Any other spread sheet application, older version of office etc. it's going to be pot luck whether or not it works.

Wish I could give a better answer, but I am one person doing this in my very limited free time for no pay, and I haven't got the time or resources to check the tool in different devices and software, let alone actually attempt to make it compatible if there is a degraded user experience. Sorry

[motel08]

Quote: Originally Posted by Old Man Nathy

Highlight the data for the example players in columns A to Q and hit the delete key... Don't delete the entire row. As for compatibility with iPad, it would appear the tool definitely doesn't work on there for some reason. I can only guarantee it will work on Windows/Excel 2013 or newer. Any other spread sheet application, older version of office etc. it's going to be pot luck whether or not it works. Wish I could give a better answer, but I am one person doing this in my very limited free time for no pay, and I haven't got the time or resources to check the tool in different devices and software, let alone actually attempt to make it compatible if there is a degraded user experience. Sorry

Oh okay. I probably have to use the unprotected one.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Old Man Nathy]

Quote: Originally Posted by motel08

Oh okay. I probably have to use the unprotected one. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

You shouldn't have to. You can still remove the data in the protected version.

[bravesfan1984]

I just stumbled upon this thread and all I can say is, WOW. I can't wait to use this tool for my franchise. Old Man, you say you just run a sim style franchise correct? Do you just sim week to week, or do you do coach mode? I'm kind of done dealing with sliders and gameplay issues, so I'm going full on sim style.

[czechman89]

Just completed the Year 2 Draft for my Browns CFM, and wanted to share my results. (I know this isn't necessarily a "share your draft story" thread, but I think by presenting my thinking with every pick and showing how the scouting tool helped me to determine who to pick, where they might go if I didn't, ect. is worth the extra words below. If you're a TLDR type of person, no hard feelings, drafted players in bold below.)

Going into the draft, I wanted to address a few key roster weaknesses if possible; these included QB, RB, WR, Secondary, LB, and depth for OL and DL. Yes, essentially the entire team; the Browns be bad if you didn't already know.

As a side note, I believe in best available player (BAP) drafting, so when I have a player targeted, I try to move to where their value meets the value of when I'm drafting them in the draft order whenever possible, similar to how the best GMs in the NFL try to operate during the draft. This scouting tool does assist in this goal, as in many cases, a player's predicted draft spot (Early, Mid, Late) is somewhat accurate.

The Browns went 4-11-1 in Year 2 (simmed), and we ended up with the #2 overall draft pick. I had a lot of draft capital to work with, as I aquired extra picks in the Year 1 draft for this Year 2 draft. My Year 1 draft didn't have a ton of draftable talent (mentioned in earlier posts; not a single MLB, DT, or TE with a draftable status), so I stockpiled for Year 2, and it definitely worked in my favor. I don't have the specifics with me but I'll go by memory and some notes I took. I believe I had 1-1st, 3-2nd, 4-4th, 3-5th, 1-6th, and 2-7th rounders available to me in this draft.

OK, enter THE DRAFT (dun dun duuhhhnn!). My plan was to move back in the draft, as the #1 player on my board was estimated as a Late-1st. Trading back to #10 (and acquiring a future 1st and another later pick in this draft, don't remember exact spot), I selected my star RB who ended up being the #1 overall player in this draft for true talent. Again, he was #1 on my draft board.

Round 1 - Pick 10: R. McCollum, HB, 81 OVR, #1 talent, Superstar development

Needless to say, I was very happy with this pick: grabbing the #1 player and hitting a need for our team, always a win-win. Next up, I wanted to draft my QB of the future as they say. There were two options I would be happy with; one was a Mid-1st projected, the other a Late-1st, both with the same exact TVR on my board and obviously very similar skill set. I waited until pick #27, when the first of these QBs was drafted to make my move. I traded up to #30, just ahead of a team that needed a QB, and selected my future star.

Round 1 - Pick 30: J. Patmon, QB, 76 OVR, #14 talent, Superstar development

6'6" QB who fits my West Coast offense scheme, along with 91 TA Short, 82 TA Mid, 90 THP, 85 TOR, 82 PA, and Superstar development? Thank you very much. Now, he doesn't stand out as one of those freakish 80+ OVR players right out of the gate (highest in draft was my 81 OVR HB), but with Superstar development I think he'll do more than fine and has all the tools to become a true Pro-Bowl level talent.
Next, I wanted to add a reliable receiver to help my new QB. There was one I was targeting who was a Mid-1st projected who hadn't been drafted yet. I sensed he might go quickly, so I traded up once more to snag him. Not sure how much longer I could have waited, but overall I'm happy I moved up.

Round 1 - Pick 32: A. Fajardo, WR, 76 OVR, #15 talent (not sure), Quick development

This WR will really help in the short passing game to complement my QBs TA Short. He has B+ in Spec. Catch, Catch in Traffic, and a B in Catch (don't remember final ratings), and is already a great route runner with good release as well. Next up was some help for the secondary. I really wanted to upgrade the SS position, and it just so happened that there was one who fit my need and provided even more value where I had my next pick.

Round 2 - Pick 39: S. Mosely, SS, 78 OVR, #16 talent, Quick development

This was a great value for me; a day-1 starter with really nice attributes to grow from, including 91 speed, hit power, and 89 acceleration if memory serves me correctly. He also had good zone coverage. I had another 2nd rounder remaining, and when it came time to pick, there were a couple players still at the middle of my draftable board who didn't necessarily fit a need, but sticking with my BAP draft philosophy, they were my best options here. I thought I might be able to add depth/move them around, specifically on my OL.

Round 2 - Pick 51: T. Brandon, LG, 77 OVR, #19 talent, Quick development

Another better-than-normal development player which is always a bonus. My plan was to move him to C, fortifying the interior of my OL (He became a 75 OVR Center). Next, I wanted to find a replacement for an aging RT, but there weren't any draftable RT remaining (whole draft was low on RT talent, of course...). When it came time for my next pick, I went with another OL, this time a RG who I would later move to RT.

Round 3 - Pick ??: B. Natkin, RG, 75 OVR (76 OVR when moved to RT), #38 talent, Normal development

My first Normal development "only" pick; glad that he'll be able to start at RT for now, has some good traits obviously. My next pick came in the start of the 4th round, and the only player on my board who fit near there was another WR. I figured I'd take a shot with him, even though I wanted more help on defense, especially in the LB and DT core, but no one in those groups fit the value here...you know, the whole BAP thing.

Round 3 - Pick 98: M. Barlow, WR, 76 OVR, #37 talent, Normal/Quick Development (can't remember, sorry)

This was another solid pick for the WR core; he also has good route running and release, along with 91 speed, 95 acceleration and agility, and will create a nice reliable option for our short passing offense and QB. I still had two 5th and one 7th round draft picks remaining after my trading up earlier. I really wanted to add a LB or a DT, but nobody remaining had a draftable grade. I traded away my first 5th rounder for a future 3rd round pick (silly AI logic), and was pondering my options in my last couple picks. There was one player who was high on my board, but labeled as a do not draft. He was a RE with really nice run stopping and strength traits, but I didn't need a RE as I had drafted a RE in Year 1 (who subsequently became the DROY helped by his 12.5 sacks and Superstar development). I wanted a DT. I thought, what if this prospect could play DT? His skills certainly fit what is required. So, and here's a tip/takeaway from this draft, I changed his position in the scouting tool spreadsheet to DT...low and behold, he became my #24 rated player on the board, and changed to a draftable status! I new exactly what to do, so I drafted him ahead of where he was projected (he was the best remaining RE and I didn't want to miss out on him now).

Round 4 - Pick 146: J. Pressley, RE, 70 OVR (76 OVR once moved to DT), #108 talent (misleading, higher if he had come in as a DT), Quick development

This pick sealed the deal on a great second draft for me. Not only did I hit almost all of the perceived needs of my team, I didn't reach on any pick and got really awesome value in return. Oh, and I figured out a little trick with changing the player's position to see if they fit better elsewhere! At this point in the draft, there were no other draftable prospects (I did try changing a few positions but to no avail). I traded away my last remaining 7th round pick for a future 5th rounder (thanks AI logic) and thus completed my Year 2 draft.

I hope this post further showed just how valuable this scouting tool can be. I was able to identify the talent, move to where they fit the value of my picks, and was able to get starting-calliber players with every pick. I think my last pick might qualify as a "hidden" bonus of this spreadsheet. If there's a player who you think might be good/better at another position, especially if he is a do not draft status, try changing his position and see what happens; you just might reveal a draft gem in the process.

Old Man Nathy, I'd say your Scouting Tool V1 is great, and with some tweaking/updates in the future, it could become the #1 draft pick on everyone's scouting tool board, ha ha

Thoughts on my Year 2 draft? Thanks for any feedback everyone, and happy scouting/drafting!

[Old Man Nathy]

Quote: Originally Posted by bravesfan1984

I just stumbled upon this thread and all I can say is, WOW. I can't wait to use this tool for my franchise. Old Man, you say you just run a sim style franchise correct? Do you just sim week to week, or do you do coach mode? I'm kind of done dealing with sliders and gameplay issues, so I'm going full on sim style.

Yeah I pretty much sim every game until the playoffs, then I usually can't resist jumping in (and usually getting beaten by the CPU because I suck). Make sure you get a good set of sliders and XP sliders if you're mainly simming. I put myself as an owner so I don't have to worry about getting fired etc. (and, effectively, I play as the GM anyway).

Quote: Originally Posted by czechman89

Just completed the Year 2 Draft for my Browns CFM, and wanted to share my results. (I know this isn't necessarily a "share your draft story" thread, but I think by presenting my thinking with every pick and showing how the scouting tool helped me to determine who to pick, where they might go if I didn't, ect. is worth the extra words below. If you're a TLDR type of person, no hard feelings, drafted players in bold below.) Going into the draft, I wanted to address a few key roster weaknesses if possible; these included QB, RB, WR, Secondary, LB, and depth for OL and DL. Yes, essentially the entire team; the Browns be bad if you didn't already know. As a side note, I believe in best available player (BAP) drafting, so when I have a player targeted, I try to move to where their value meets the value of when I'm drafting them in the draft order whenever possible, similar to how the best GMs in the NFL try to operate during the draft. This scouting tool does assist in this goal, as in many cases, a player's predicted draft spot (Early, Mid, Late) is somewhat accurate. The Browns went 4-11-1 in Year 2 (simmed), and we ended up with the #2 overall draft pick. I had a lot of draft capital to work with, as I aquired extra picks in the Year 1 draft for this Year 2 draft. My Year 1 draft didn't have a ton of draftable talent (mentioned in earlier posts; not a single MLB, DT, or TE with a draftable status), so I stockpiled for Year 2, and it definitely worked in my favor. I don't have the specifics with me but I'll go by memory and some notes I took. I believe I had 1-1st, 3-2nd, 4-4th, 3-5th, 1-6th, and 2-7th rounders available to me in this draft. OK, enter THE DRAFT (dun dun duuhhhnn!). My plan was to move back in the draft, as the #1 player on my board was estimated as a Late-1st. Trading back to #10 (and acquiring a future 1st and another later pick in this draft, don't remember exact spot), I selected my star RB who ended up being the #1 overall player in this draft for true talent. Again, he was #1 on my draft board. Round 1 - Pick 10: R. McCollum, HB, 81 OVR, #1 talent, Superstar development Needless to say, I was very happy with this pick: grabbing the #1 player and hitting a need for our team, always a win-win. Next up, I wanted to draft my QB of the future as they say. There were two options I would be happy with; one was a Mid-1st projected, the other a Late-1st, both with the same exact TVR on my board and obviously very similar skill set. I waited until pick #27, when the first of these QBs was drafted to make my move. I traded up to #30, just ahead of a team that needed a QB, and selected my future star. Round 1 - Pick 30: J. Patmon, QB, 76 OVR, #14 talent, Superstar development 6'6" QB who fits my West Coast offense scheme, along with 91 TA Short, 82 TA Mid, 90 THP, 85 TOR, 82 PA, and Superstar development? Thank you very much. Now, he doesn't stand out as one of those freakish 80+ OVR players right out of the gate (highest in draft was my 81 OVR HB), but with Superstar development I think he'll do more than fine and has all the tools to become a true Pro-Bowl level talent. Next, I wanted to add a reliable receiver to help my new QB. There was one I was targeting who was a Mid-1st projected who hadn't been drafted yet. I sensed he might go quickly, so I traded up once more to snag him. Not sure how much longer I could have waited, but overall I'm happy I moved up. Round 1 - Pick 32: A. Fajardo, WR, 76 OVR, #15 talent (not sure), Quick development This WR will really help in the short passing game to complement my QBs TA Short. He has B+ in Spec. Catch, Catch in Traffic, and a B in Catch (don't remember final ratings), and is already a great route runner with good release as well. Next up was some help for the secondary. I really wanted to upgrade the SS position, and it just so happened that there was one who fit my need and provided even more value where I had my next pick. Round 2 - Pick 39: S. Mosely, SS, 78 OVR, #16 talent, Quick development This was a great value for me; a day-1 starter with really nice attributes to grow from, including 91 speed, hit power, and 89 acceleration if memory serves me correctly. He also had good zone coverage. I had another 2nd rounder remaining, and when it came time to pick, there were a couple players still at the middle of my draftable board who didn't necessarily fit a need, but sticking with my BAP draft philosophy, they were my best options here. I thought I might be able to add depth/move them around, specifically on my OL. Round 2 - Pick 51: T. Brandon, LG, 77 OVR, #19 talent, Quick development Another better-than-normal development player which is always a bonus. My plan was to move him to C, fortifying the interior of my OL (He became a 75 OVR Center). Next, I wanted to find a replacement for an aging RT, but there weren't any draftable RT remaining (whole draft was low on RT talent, of course...). When it came time for my next pick, I went with another OL, this time a RG who I would later move to RT. Round 3 - Pick ??: B. Natkin, RG, 75 OVR (76 OVR when moved to RT), #38 talent, Normal development My first Normal development "only" pick; glad that he'll be able to start at RT for now, has some good traits obviously. My next pick came in the start of the 4th round, and the only player on my board who fit near there was another WR. I figured I'd take a shot with him, even though I wanted more help on defense, especially in the LB and DT core, but no one in those groups fit the value here...you know, the whole BAP thing. Round 3 - Pick 98: M. Barlow, WR, 76 OVR, #37 talent, Normal/Quick Development (can't remember, sorry) This was another solid pick for the WR core; he also has good route running and release, along with 93 speed, 91 acceleration, and will create a nice reliable option for our short passing offense and QB. I still had two 5th and one 7th round draft picks remaining after my trading up earlier. I really wanted to add a LB or a DT, but nobody remaining had a draftable grade. I traded away my first 5th rounder for a future 3rd round pick (silly AI logic), and was pondering my options in my last couple picks. There was one player who was high on my board, but labeled as a do not draft. He was a RE with really nice run stopping and strength traits, but I didn't need a RE as I had drafted a RE in Year 1 (who subsequently became the DROY helped by his 12.5 sacks and Superstar development). I wanted a DT. I thought, what if this prospect could play DT? His skills certainly fit what is required. So, and here's a tip/takeaway from this draft, I changed his position in the scouting tool spreadsheet to DT...low and behold, he became my #24 rated player on the board, and changed to a draftable status! I new exactly what to do, so I drafted him ahead of where he was projected (he was the best remaining RE and I didn't want to miss out on him now). Round 4 - Pick 146: J. Pressley, RE, 70 OVR (76 OVR once moved to DT), #108 talent (misleading, higher if he had come in as a DT), Quick development This pick sealed the deal on a great second draft for me. Not only did I hit almost all of the perceived needs of my team, I didn't reach on any pick and got really awesome value in return. Oh, and I figured out a little trick with changing the player's position to see if they fit better elsewhere! At this point in the draft, there were no other draftable prospects (I did try changing a few positions but to no avail). I traded away my last remaining 7th round pick for a future 5th rounder (thanks AI logic) and thus completed my Year 2 draft. I hope this post further showed just how valuable this scouting tool can be. I was able to identify the talent, move to where they fit the value of my picks, and was able to get starting-calliber players with every pick. I think my last pick might qualify as a "hidden" bonus of this spreadsheet. If there's a player who you think might be good/better at another position, especially if he is a do not draft status, try changing his position and see what happens; you just might reveal a draft gem in the process. Old Man Nathy, I'd say your Scouting Tool V1 is great, and with some tweaking/updates in the future, it could become the #1 draft pick on everyone's scouting tool board, ha ha Thoughts on my Year 2 draft? Thanks for any feedback everyone, and happy scouting/drafting!

Now that's a strong draft class! I'm doing a sim-only rebuild CFM with the Browns and it took me until Year 3 to get them to the playoffs, Year 5 to get them to the big dance. Reckon you might beat me with a class like that!

Great tip RE switching player's positions in the tool. Not quite foolproof, but you should find that "natural" position changes like 5 technique DE to DT are quite accurate with the end result.

Version 2 of the tool coming this weekend (just want to run another class to test it), which has lots of tweaks to the TVR to make it fairer/more accurate across positions, and loads of tweaks to the drafting criteria. I've had a much broader dataset to work from than when I originally built the tool, and I've sorted out some problem positions like safety. Think you'll all be pleased with the results .

[czechman89]

Thanks Nathy! I think this was probably one of the best drafts that I could expect; everything seemed to line up well for me and where I was able to move in the order. The tool definitely made that possible.

As for Version 2 of the tool, that's awesome news! Can't wait to see and test out what you've implemented. I'm sure you'll discuss some of the additions/modifications. Anything along the lines of a less black-and-white Draft or Do Not Draft status? Looking forward to it either way.

[tdawg3782]

Quote: Originally Posted by Old Man Nathy

Yeah I pretty much sim every game until the playoffs, then I usually can't resist jumping in (and usually getting beaten by the CPU because I suck). Make sure you get a good set of sliders and XP sliders if you're mainly simming. I put myself as an owner so I don't have to worry about getting fired etc. (and, effectively, I play as the GM anyway). Now that's a strong draft class! I'm doing a sim-only rebuild CFM with the Browns and it took me until Year 3 to get them to the playoffs, Year 5 to get them to the big dance. Reckon you might beat me with a class like that! Great tip RE switching player's positions in the tool. Not quite foolproof, but you should find that "natural" position changes like 5 technique DE to DT are quite accurate with the end result. Version 2 of the tool coming this weekend (just want to run another class to test it), which has lots of tweaks to the TVR to make it fairer/more accurate across positions, and loads of tweaks to the drafting criteria. I've had a much broader dataset to work from than when I originally built the tool, and I've sorted out some problem positions like safety. Think you'll all be pleased with the results .

I can not wait for V2. Sounds like all that data helped out. I'm about to do a draft tonight probably. I've got about 60+ guys scouted so I'll do the actual Ovr like I did last time if you still need data. Let me know.

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