A little OT here, but I read somewhere once that only about 10% of people play their games online competitively. That means the other 90% of gamers buy games to play offline. Predictably, you're going to hear more from the online players... well, online. Reality is most people want / need a franchise mode in order for the game to have replay value so many people view APF as having no replay value, and justifiably from their viewpoint.
For online gamers, APF2K8 has amazing replay value though. TONS of replay value by creating different teams via different strategies, great online leagues and tournament support as well. For hard core online gamers, you really do owe it to yourself to drop $5 on the game, and play online. It really is the best simulation football sports game to date. I have read, indirectly, that even 'ole Ian is a fan of the game.