08-31-2011, 09:50 PM
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#5
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Banned
OVR: 11
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Knoxville, TN
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Re: For those of you that do 32 team franchises
I'm strictly an offline franchise guy, and without the option of 32 team control, I would have quit buying Madden years ago.
One thing to remember and watch for as to setting things to CPU as mentioned above, is that when an assistant becomes a head coach, everything sets to CPU, so any options you had set for HUM would need to be set back to HUM. Learned that the hard way.
Advantages:
-Changing coaching tendencies (run/pass ratio, aggressiveness) for better gameplay and for more realistic sim stats.
-Setting the RB carry splits for each team (which actually worked last year), which might need to change from year to year according to personnel changes.
-Being able to change between 3-4 and 4-3 defenses (usually after a coaching change). Note: when playing against a team that has changed its defense, you still need to give it the appropriate (3-4 or 4-3) playbook in the pregame options. Example: Todd Haley goes to a new team. Since his options were already set with KC, those would carry over to the new team, so its sim stats on defense should reflect a 3-4, but on the pregame screen the new team will still have its default playbook, which might be a 4-3. Change the defensive playbook to KC, and it will ruin a 3-4. Or say the 3-4 is a bad fit for the personnel on the team Haley goes to. You can change his defense to 4-3.
-Appropriate personnel for defensive schemes. It's extra work, but worth it to me, for each team to have front seven people that are height/weight appropriate for their scheme. I'll do DE-DT, DT-DE, DE-OLB and OLB-DE position changes when needed. And now that we can edit ratings in franchise, we can offset the large OVR increase of a OLB going to DE or the large drop of a DE going to OLB. I also occasionally use position change to move old, slowing down corners to safety, change undersized rookie LB's to safety, etc.
Return Specialists and other depth chart settings: There are exceptions, but star WR's and RB's are not generally return specialists as well. CPU does a poor job of assigning return duties. The other most common changes I do are long snapper and 3rd down back (I like to go with the best catch rating vs. best OVR there). Other CPU depth chart issues are OL and the secondary.
-Re-signing players: too often I have seen head-scratching releases, and in general CPU teams tend not to retain enough of their players, so I like to do a lot of re-signings myself. I'll look at the list for each team and have them try to keep the guys they should. I use a random number generator and 34-100 means the guy re-signs and 0-33 means he decides to go FA. With the guys going FA, I'll use the franchise tag if there are any with a high enough OVR to merit it. This both keeps the CPU teams from doing stupid releases and creates a better FA pool.
-Drafting: I like to set drafting to HUM and draft for all team's needs for 2 or 3 rounds before simming the picks for the other teams. I also roate the picks for teams with the same reord like they do IRL.
-Cutting fake UDFA's (new this year): there's a thread about the fake UDFA issue. 32 team control is a good work-around for that.
Disadvantage: The more time you spend helping the CPU overcome their weak team management, the less time you have to actually play games. My offseason routine usually takes 2-3 days (I do FA signings differently, too) but the elimination of so much CPU stupidity is worth it.
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