I think we can all sit around and bash EA all day long but, what really needs to happen in order for Madden to get better?
Having played the crap out of franchise mode and not even touching the other modes I may have a bit of a bias but believe me when I tell you I know franchise mode in and out.
I think the first thing that needs to happen is a complete re-coding of the game. From positions to player values to the NFL calendar in franchise mode and it all needs to go.
When I say positions.. Madden is stuck in the 90s. It was in huge improvement when they added the 3rd Down back and Nickel defense positions like SUB LB and stuff but it is still 1 dimensional as heck.
I have also played the absolute crap out of MLB The Show's Franchise mode and I think Madden can learn a thing or two. The first major take-away is how players are valued in franchise. A ton of MLB contract negotiations rely on a players "Service time" which resulted in this being coded into the game. So young high overall players may not be guaranteed to get a huge deal unless they are Mike Trout or Aaron Judge. You see teams (on cpu) valuing players with a proven track record in the league versus taking chances on young unproven players. The NFL has a youth movement every year but you will also see CPU in madden make some ridiculous decisions with regards to money because so much of it goes on overall.
A huge part of this is also MLB The Show's morale system. If you ask me this is the biggest things they did right that no one talks about. I have attached a screenshot of MLB The Show's morale screen. I didn't take it and I hate that it's the Yankees but for the sake of the discussion it will do;
Can you imagine if Madden players had a preference to play in a certain REGION? Close to Home, close to paradise, no preference etc (pictured) [Andy Dalton signing with Cowboys as a TCU Legend and to be close to home]
Or certain players prefer to only play for elite coaching? [Players being more or less interested in playing for a good coach like Belichick or Andy Reid vs young unproven guys like Matt Patricia or Kliffy King]
What about contracts? The Madden contract system is a disaster and operates on one thing- Overall. Players do not have opinions about their current contracts and are completely predictable when discussing extensions. In MLB if a player is psyched about his contract he literally works harder and gets attribute increases. If he is upset about his contract his attributes dip and the player is susceptible to a slump. Madden tries to accomplish something like this with morale but again it is completely one dimensional, gives no insight into what the player is thinking. They are happy or sad in Madden.
I can go on and on about how this single MLB the Show tool could change the face of Madden forever but I wanted to move forward to when I mentioned positions. This ties in big time when I mentioned recoding the game. The defensive positions on Madden are stuck in the 90s. So many defenses in today's league run Weakside/Strongside line backers vs ROLB/LOLB.. when you look at madden.. bam once again one dimensional.
Players positions should be determined by the scheme they play in, not permanently attached to their player card.. This is most important for edge players. For this example we can look at the Eagles schemes. Madden forces the left and right aspect on them when they are nutritious for moving around their front guys. Their 4-3 front invites all kinds of movement between positions when looking at their linebackers and line. But in madden, their entire defense will play the same positions basically all game.
Another example I'll use; If TJ WATT was to go to a new team that played 4-3 defense, Madden would force him into coverage more often than we he would be allowed to rush the passer with his hand in the ground at 43 DE.
Finally, the timeline of Franchise mode compared to the real life NFL calendar is a joke. There should be a literal calendar with the NFL calendar (towards cuts, trade deadline, 53 man roster, player extensions etc) instead of being prompted by nothing but a todo list that is as repetitive as repetitive gets.
Obviously recoding the game would be a huge task but it would also invite innovation to a game that feels like its 15 years old. I love the NFL and buy Madden every year but these are just somethings I've thought about for a while that I wanted to write down.
What do you think?