[Starbase503]

It is an idea with merit, but I wouldn't use it and I am not sure it would be possible to implement, other than an option for a player to use or not. This game is played so many different ways for so many reasons. I echo the others who have said once a franchise starts, it's its own entity. Even though I actually play out my schedule on pace with the actual NFL (I played the two Monday night games on Monday night), I don't want the real world to impact my franchise outside of getting the rosters before I start. But after that, what happens in my franchise should be independent of the real NFL.

It also would prove problematic for those who play many seasons in a few months, as this feature would be impossible to use in these cases. And for those players, realistic mirroring of the NFL probably isn't even relevant, since the rookies coming in over those several seasons are fictional and already has separated their franchises from the National Football League they first assumed to emulate.

But that does bring up a point. I have read that injuries don't impact Madden like they should, so maybe that is an issue that needs to be corrected. But regardless, let's look at Tom Brady. Is there ANYONE out there who didn't hear about it? Brady went down, it was news. But in Madden, how do know when a star (or a third-string special teams grunt, for that matter) goes down with an injury?

NFL 2k5 is a gem in so many ways, and one of those I loved was the weekly Sportscenter. Chris Berman ran down last weeks scores and showed highlights, but even more important Trey Wingo ran down trades, free agent signings and injuries. As one who controlled all 32 teams, this was an incredible value, as I knew which teams I needed to address before the next week. Why can't we have something like this in Madden? They DID sign that exclusive contract with ESPN, didn't they? When are they actually going to use it?