Hopefully I can help answer some of your questions.
Madden IQ is the name of what you are talking about. The game starts with a test that helps determine your level. You can disable this option from the settings once you start the game and play on regular difficulty levels i.e. rookie, pro, all-pro, all-madden.
For sliders you can look here:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...tball-sliders/
Heelfan's Slider Set Is What I use, but there are many more sliders you can chose from at the link above.
Heelfan's Set Is Here:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ers-360-a.html
For franchise I would say just go out and have fun my friend. I use the sliders for my 'chise also, but you could just do All-Pro if you feel that's the best route.