M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

[Iteachpercussion]

All right, I have been starting to think about and plan rosters for the upcoming M25. Yes I played the beta and no I will not comment on it other than to say I really enjoyed it. I have it preordered and I think (hope) that it will prove to be a great game for my classic rosters.

Something before I dive into particular season ideas.
Teambuilder: Yes, teambuilder is making its way to Madden. Unfortunately we have very limited information about how it will work, what it can do, or really anything. What we do have is some information from the NCAA teambuilder that is also coming out. It seems, from what I have read and heard, that for NCAA there is a 16 team limit on what you can add to the a dynasty. Also, it appears that teambuilder is for ONLINE dynasties only. In other words, the way I play the game, with 32 team control, will not be an option if using Teambuilder teams.

Now, I really do not know if that will be the case, because I have heard that the teams can be used in offline dynasties, but that is not confirmed.

Of course we will get more information on teambuilder eventually, but I am currently running with the assumption that I will NOT be using it for classic rosters. I am hoping that I can use it and use offline franchise and ultimately replace all 32 teams if I wanted; but, I am not expecting that and therefore I am planning on doing classic rosters how I have always done them.

If is my belief that we will continue to have the relocation options from M24 in the game as well and can move teams at the start of a season just like M24.

Ok, with all of that out of the way, here are my current ideas on classic rosters for M25. These are in no particular order of preference.

1985: Though I did 1984 for M24, I pretty much never got to enjoy the roster. M24 was a complete waste of my time and energy due to the 3-4 defense glitch and the horrible run/pass ratios. 1985 is a roster I have not done in quite some time and that is a season I really enjoy due to the Bear's defense and the start of the Kosar era in Cleveland. Of course USFL teams can be used for the expansion teams.

1986: A great year for my Browns, and lots of good stories that year. Buddy Ryan coaching the Eagles, the Bears still being a really good team, still a lot of legends playing in the league. The USFL was done, but its players could be used on expansion rosters.

1989: The year of the big Dallas trade! I have always seen 1989 has a transition year in the NFL. Dallas was about to build a dynasty and the Bills were a year away from 4 straight Super Bowls (winning zero of course)

1992: The current front runner in my mind. The last time I did a 1992 roster was M20. There were several coaching changes in the league going into the 92 season. The Steelers were coming back to life, Favre made his debut, Wyche was gone from the Bengals, the Cowboys dynasty began, just so much going on. Yes, I did just complete 1993 on M23 (for those still playing that game), but 92 was different. The WLAF was around and can give us the expansion teams.

1975: This is a year I certainly want to redo at some point. I made it several years ago and would like to revisit it again. The WFL was around and teams from that league can be the expansion teams. My concern here is if the game can handle such a run-oriented season. I am just not sure yet.

1999: The Browns are back, but boy were they BAD. 1999 set the stage for the early 2000s. It was a transition year as many of the old legends were wrapping it up but new ones were emerging.

2000: The Ravens defense was so good. The Browns still sucked something awful. Tom Brady was a rookie.

These are just ideas, and I am open to more. So, throw your ideas out there or support the ones I have listed. I am no real hurry to make a decision, just looking for ideas. The more background work I can do the better.
Just want to get the conversation started.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

Oh boy…..exciting stuff here.

1985 and 1992 are phenomenal seasons and I also love 1999 and 2000 (Greatest Show on Turf is in full force and you have the mighty 2000 Ravens defense and the Giants of 2000 were pretty damn good too).

1999 and 2000 were also the end of the Marino era in 99 and the start of till this day the Dark period for the Dolphins.

1986 is a great year for your Browns and I still play your 1986 on M16. Fantastic season and roster. So many good teams to choose from.


But yeah I am with you on 1992 and 1985. Awesome seasons indeed.

A 1975 would be pretty amazing as well.

[doncropper]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

1992 & 1975 would be my choices ...........

[Armor and Sword]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

1992 & 1975 would be my choices ...........

Would be quite Epic.

[nayah2o0]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

I’m currently playing your 1993 on M23 & loving it. My choices for classic seasons, 1975 & 1989. I’m also playing the 1975 rosters for MLB24, even breaking out the APBA team cards. Love all your rosters/playbooks, Great Work!!!

[Iteachpercussion]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

I have been playing a lot of M23 recently; both my 1987 and 1993 rosters.

I forgot how run oriented the Run Heavy playbook was and it really does a nice job of replicating the run/pass ratios of 80s football. If the CPU can run the ball, they will.
I played Steelers vs Bengals on my 87 roster and James Brooks was killing me on the ground. So the Bengals kept running. Kinnebrew and Jennings also got a handful of carries. The Bengals won 24-10 and they ran 58% of the time.

If I was smart, I would have made a 70s roster for M23.

[nayah2o0]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

I just finished a 24-20 Lions over Bucs game. Great Fun! Had Detroit, Barry ran 31 times for 90 yards & TB’s Cobb and Workman combined for 26 carries/88 yds. I benched Rodney Peete after 2 picks and a fumble and had Erik Kramer led the game winning TD. Played it on the Portal, next up NE v NYJ!

[Armor and Sword]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

Percussion.....Teambuilder looks like what you want in creating classic rosters from scratch.

From their Franchise/Presentation blog today:


Manage Personalities Through Dynamic Storylines
In Madden NFL 25 you’ll craft your franchise story through more than 70 brand new dynamic storylines, making you really FEEL as if you’re running an NFL team. Players will remember what you say and the promises you make, and these storylines won’t just take place over a single game – they can span entire seasons.

You’ll feel like you’re actually managing a team and not just looking at rows in a spreadsheet. Just like a real NFL coach, you need to know your players and their unique personalities. Let me walk you through a few of the new storylines so you have an idea of the depth we’ve added this year.

In one of our storylines, you’ll have a player who shows up to training camp out of shape. How you react and the choices you make will have a different impact based on your player’s personality type. Push the right buttons? You’ll motivate him to play better than he normally would for the first three weeks of the season. Say the wrong thing and he’ll start the year out of shape.

In another storyline, reporters put you on the spot at the start of the offseason and want to know if you have a plan for the offseason. Be careful what you commit to because your players and the media will hold you to it. If you say the team will go out and make a splash in the NFL Draft, you’re going to have to answer for it if you don’t.

Another one of my favorites is when your players point out weaknesses in the opposing team as you’re meeting during a strategy session. You get to choose how to attack that weakness and the level of risk you’re willing to commit to determine if the team is successful determines your reward.

We’re re-creating as many situations from real life as we can, so you’ll even be given the choice to sit your rookie quarterback for the entire year to develop him like Patrick Mahomes did. If you can commit to that and be patient, the reward he’ll receive at the end of his first year will set him up for success moving forward.

All of these dynamic storylines take place in new environments like the team meeting room, coach’s office, press conference, practice sideline and your locker room. You’ll also receive text messages from your coordinators and players in the coach’s office environment.

In all of our storylines, your choices will have a big impact, especially when it depends on the personality types of your players. There aren’t any dynamic storylines where your choice doesn’t matter and making the right decision could change the entire narrative of how your team performs on and off the field.

These storylines will be at the forefront during intense contract extension negotiations and trade demands. You’ll influence offseason workouts and help players through slumps or historic seasons.

Additionally, revamped breakout storylines provide a variety of new and impactful ways to improve the emergent players on your roster.

null

Breakout Storylines
In Madden NFL 25, we've completely revamped our breakout storylines and rebuilt each one from the ground up. In doing so, we wanted to ensure that there was more variety, freedom, and more risk and reward when playing through these storylines. Now when you encounter a breakout storyline in franchise, there will be a number of different paths and outcomes to experience that can be positive or negative, last one week or several, and some that can even earn a player significantly more than just a development upgrade. One of the paths you can go down includes talking with your offensive or defensive coordinator before the game on how to utilize the breakout player with the ability to choose his goal for the week. Following the game, there will also be a slim chance for a double or nothing opportunity where the storyline will extend a week further. That gives the player the opportunity to either double down and earn yet another development upgrade or redeem themselves with a second chance to earn the upgrade.

Another variant allows you to choose the difficulty of the goal for your breakout player heading into their next game. Choose an easier goal and you’ll receive less of a reward. But if you decide to choose the hardest challenge and succeed, watch as your breakout player has the potential to jump multiple development slots, earn a huge chunk of XP or even multiple permanent attribute upgrades. In addition, we have a variant that allows for instant gratification where your breakout player will instantly upgrade in development following a strong performance and will have the opportunity to follow that performance up and progress even more. Another variant allows you to choose how to approach a player following a strong performance. Approach it passively and risk less penalty upon failure but also earn less of a reward if you are successful. Approach it aggressively and you’ll earn huge upgrades for the player, potentially catapulting them into superstardom. On the flip side, if you fail that aggressive challenge, you risk potentially setting the player back for the foreseeable future.

And then lastly, there's a variant of the breakout storyline that can last for either a week or half the season. We really wanted to emulate the stories of players like Isiah Pachecho and Puka Nacua, who broke out after the season started and came out of nowhere. In this variation, sustained success will keep the storyline going and will give you the chance to turn Normal or Star development players into X-Factors, with every step along the way becoming more challenging.

We’re excited to see how you interact with the newly revamped breakout storylines and hope they add significantly more immersion and variation when you’re developing your players in Franchise Mode.

Experience The New NFL Draft Night
I’m thrilled to share something we've been working on tirelessly, and it’s finally here – welcome to Draft Night!

Your authentic Draft Night experience starts when Roger Goodell takes the stage. The draft environment is dynamic, with the Draft Board up****** in real-time. After selections are made, you’ll witness the iconic moment of your draft pick walking across the stage, holding up their new jersey or receiving the life-changing call from home. And yes, they’re dressed in sharp suits, not uniforms, adding to the realism. There’s a brand-new prospect board that makes drafting players easier and more intuitive than ever before, while draft grades give you immediate feedback on your picks.

null

This level of authenticity is something we’re incredibly excited to bring to you. And that authenticity doesn't end on draft night, it also extends beyond the draft and onto the gridiron. We've made significant changes to how gear and equipment are assigned to draft prospects meaning you’ll notice the superstars of tomorrow in all of the new gear and updated equipment and looking more authentic than ever.

Prospect Hub
To reduce friction in the scouting and drafting process, we've completely redesigned the prospect hub in Madden NFL 25. Previously, in order to see a prospect's athletic grades or physical measurables, you would have to go all the way into the player card. This year, we've brought all prospect information forward into a more familiar spreadsheet format and you'll now be able to view and sort all prospects by their region, attributes, physical grades, as well as both Combine and Pro Day data. Whether you're searching for a Wide Receiver that ran the fastest 40-Yard Dash or a cornerback that has the best Man Coverage grade, you can do that quickly and efficiently, making the scouting and drafting process a more seamless experience.

Franchise Central: Your New Home Base in Franchise
null

Franchise Mode has found a new home base. Welcome to Franchise Central, where you’ll have all of the key information you need at your fingertips, while starting your league and selecting your team has never been easier.

The league creation flow has been updated to make the selection of your league type and roster clearer, and the team select screen now provides expanded information about rankings, top players, and rosters.

One of our favorite additions is the new personal message system. It delivers smart suggestions from characters within your organization, offering suggestions on players you should target that are on the trade block, free agent signing suggestions, injury updates and more. We’ve added a new Top Stories section as well, delivering breaking news, including stories that are more visual and instant reactions to choices you make during the new dynamic storylines. We also focus Top Stories on season matchups, game recaps and player performance narratives that showcase the worldbuilding in your league every week. Franchise Central also provides easy access to standings and matchups, all from your new home base, while in multi-user Connected Franchises, other people in your league will be able to more readily see your decisions and activity.

Franchise Central will deliver key information at your fingertips. You’ll see info on your matchup and insights into your opponent, focused on stats and top players for both teams. After the season and during bye weeks, you’ll get information about your team’s rankings and needs, as well as draft prospects in the positions you need most. You’ll see your standings in the conference, the top players around the league, and be able to track your goals.

Customize and Build a Powerhouse with Team Builder
Customization is key, and we know our fans crave it. In Madden NFL 24, we brought forward brand new commissioner tools and expanded relocation options. But we realized something was missing. You couldn’t fully customize the most important thing in your franchise: your team. That changes now.

In Madden NFL 25 you’re able to design your own team from the ground up using the suite of customization tools available on the Team Builder website.

Create + upload your own logos
Personalize:
Uniforms (Home, Away, Alternate)
Helmets
Stadium
On-field logos
Build your rosters
Option to create every player if you’d like to!
You can import up to 32 Team Builder teams into a Franchise.

Want to share your creations? Looking to browse others? Jump into the download center and explore teams created by the community.

Team Builder content can be used in Franchise mode on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions. Internet connection & EA account required. Applicable platform account may be required. Age restrictions may apply.

[Iteachpercussion]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

This is great news about Teambuilder!

I was really worried after the way Teambuilder was put together for College Football.

I am also hoping that unlike CF, you can use the Teams in offline franchise mode. But beyond that, this has the potential to be simply amazing!!!!

[Iteachpercussion]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

The big question for this year is going to be, did EA fix the run/pass ratios from last year? If that is not fixed, or at least better, classic rosters will suffer.

That will be the first thing I test in the game when it comes out.

It would be totally fixable if we could use custom playbooks for CPU teams. That would solve so many issues in CPU play calling.

I am trying to stay optimistic that the play calling will be better this year.

[StormsWarning]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

The big question for this year is going to be, did EA fix the run/pass ratios from last year? If that is not fixed, or at least better, classic rosters will suffer.

That will be the first thing I test in the game when it comes out.

It would be totally fixable if we could use custom playbooks for CPU teams. That would solve so many issues in CPU play calling.

I am trying to stay optimistic that the play calling will be better this year.

Not going to ruin the beta, since I don't know how all that goes, without getting into trouble but I'll just say I think we are in for a treat and alot of people will be pleasantly surprised.

This isn't real life, stats may not be exactly where we want them, but if we take the approach of it's a video game, and to have fun most importantly well be ok.

I'm excited for the game in General and if team builder is like they say you'll see some good rosters coming out.

The biggest thing for me is what can truly be edited and we won't know that until the game is out.

In cfb though you can do alot of really cool creation. And even if it is online, you can create a private league with password, and set your dynasty up as you would Normally.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

This is great news about Teambuilder!

I was really worried after the way Teambuilder was put together for College Football.

I am also hoping that unlike CF, you can use the Teams in offline franchise mode. But beyond that, this has the potential to be simply amazing!!!!

Yeah that’s the only thing that was not revealed. Can teambuilder teams be used in offline franchise.

Regardless Percussion if not….you can do it the way you always have and like Storm eluded to about the beta….we are in for a treat this cycle.

[Iteachpercussion]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

As long as there is not some strange bug again (hello 3/4 defense issue) that creeps up out of nowhere, the only things that is of a concern for me at this point is the CPU play calling. The run/pass ratios in 24 were simply out of control and ruined the any hope of creating a realistic experience for any season, including current.

Unfortunately, that was still a hot topic on the feedback. I am hoping it was addressed, but that is something we will not know until we get to play the game. I will be testing it right from the start.

Also, as soon as there are Teambuilder teams available, I will be looking at the importing into franchise and how it functions.

Make no mistake, I am very excited for M25. But, after M24, I am a bit cautious. M24 had so much potential, but the bugs just destroyed the cycle for me.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

As long as there is not some strange bug again (hello 3/4 defense issue) that creeps up out of nowhere, the only things that is of a concern for me at this point is the CPU play calling. The run/pass ratios in 24 were simply out of control and ruined the any hope of creating a realistic experience for any season, including current.

Unfortunately, that was still a hot topic on the feedback. I am hoping it was addressed, but that is something we will not know until we get to play the game. I will be testing it right from the start.

Also, as soon as there are Teambuilder teams available, I will be looking at the importing into franchise and how it functions.

Make no mistake, I am very excited for M25. But, after M24, I am a bit cautious. M24 had so much potential, but the bugs just destroyed the cycle for me.

Same here......I played 6 full seasons on 23 and enjoyed it a lot depsite zero penalties.

24 had zero penalties but OOTB the gameplay was beautiful.....after update 1.6 I was done. They ruined the smoothness of tackling and cratered to the MUT Mob.

I pray that 25 does not follow the same vicious cycle.

The Beta was great....penalties were great.

As far as play call ratios.......the issue is modern game vs classic game. Today's NFL is a wide open vertical passing game or short west coast approach and of course some teams have RPO built QB's which has also changed the landscape of playcalling strategies and tendencies.....very few teams ground and pound anymore. So finding that playbook or playbooks and scheme that open up the run/pass balance is the key to longevity.

I yearn for the day EA Madden can follow the NBA 2K model of Era mode. I can't praise 2K23/24 enough in that regard of having gameplay tuned to specific era's and player tendencies pretty on point for an OOTB experience. Yeah guys fiddle and tweak to make it even more accurate....but 2K gives players those critical tools to do so.

Fingers crossed on M25 because CFB 25 is a monster game and will be a forever kind of game for me.....already know it.

[Iteachpercussion]

Re: M25 Roster thoughts and ideas

Same here......I played 6 full seasons on 23 and enjoyed it a lot depsite zero penalties.

24 had zero penalties but OOTB the gameplay was beautiful.....after update 1.6 I was done. They ruined the smoothness of tackling and cratered to the MUT Mob.

I pray that 25 does not follow the same vicious cycle.

The Beta was great....penalties were great.

As far as play call ratios.......the issue is modern game vs classic game. Today's NFL is a wide open vertical passing game or short west coast approach and of course some teams have RPO built QB's which has also changed the landscape of playcalling strategies and tendencies.....very few teams ground and pound anymore. So finding that playbook or playbooks and scheme that open up the run/pass balance is the key to longevity.

I yearn for the day EA Madden can follow the NBA 2K model of Era mode. I can't praise 2K23/24 enough in that regard of having gameplay tuned to specific era's and player tendencies pretty on point for an OOTB experience. Yeah guys fiddle and tweak to make it even more accurate....but 2K gives players those critical tools to do so.

Fingers crossed on M25 because CFB 25 is a monster game and will be a forever kind of game for me.....already know it.

I agree about the modern NFL compared to what I try to replicate. However, even at that, the Madden run/pass ratios do even come close to modern NFL standards. The sad thing is that it is a VERY easy fix yet EA seems uninterested in fixing it. Even if they do not want to mess with playbooks themselves, a super easy fix is to allow users to assign custom playbooks to CPU teams in franchise mode. That alone could solve the problem.

I am very hopeful M25 will be the game it can be. I was VERY impressed with beta, and add to that all of the new franchise mode additions and Teambuilder. This SHOULD be an epic game.

I too am loving CFB25. I have not been able to play as much as I want, but I enjoy it every time I play. Oddly enough, the CPU play calling in CFB is outstanding. The CPU will run the ball, and for many teams, run it a lot.