Miami Dolphins Franchise

[TeamBuilder]

http://espn.go.com/videogames/features/madden/madden10?teamId=12

Now that the ratings are out... Here is my game plan for franchise mode. Players I plan on keeping beyond my first year are listed in parenthesis after the position description.

QB- Chad Pennington is the starter, but not for long. If I can get some good value in terms of draft picks I will not hesitate to deal Pennington. Chad Henne and Pat White are the future here. Henne seems to be the immediate replacement but Pat White might surpass him in a year or so. (Henne and White)

HB- Ronnie Brown will be my starter for the next 3-4 years but I will look to upgrade in the backfield through free agency. Maybe I'll look to add Edgerrin James (and bring him back to Miami) to form a 1-2 punch. Ricky Williams will be dealt for future draft picks. (Brown)

FB- Louaska Polite will be rarely used until I pick up a qualtiy fullback in free agency or the draft. Then things will get more exciting because I like to utilize my fullback in the passing and running game. (None)

WR- Ted Ginn and the 6'5" Rookie Patrick Turner will be my starting wide receivers. Apart from those two, I will definitely look to upgrade in the off-season. The only wide receiver likely to survive until year 2 is Davone Bess as my slot receiver. (Ginn, Turner, and Bess)

TE- Anthony Fasano is a beast of a run blocker and an average receiver. Although I will try and upgrade in the off-season I still plan on keeping Fasano as a 2nd or 3rd string TE. (Fasano)

OL- Tackles Jake Long and Vernon Cary, guards Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas, and center Jake Grove will all stay on my team in year two. But I do plan on trying to sign Levi Jones and Kendall Simmons and play one of them at right guard, using Thomas as a key backup. (Long, Carey, Smiley, Grove, and Thomas)

DL- Ends Phillip Merling and Kendall Langford will be fixtures for the next decade. I will move Randy Starks to nose tackle and look to trade Jason Ferguson for future picks. I am also eyeing free agent former #4 overall draft pick Dwayne Robertson as a backup nose tackle and second defensive tackle in a 4-3. (Merling, Langford, and Starks)

LB- This is the interesting part of the defense. Channing Crowder is a fixture at one ILB spot. The other might be Akin Ayodele or I may pick up Nate Webster or Napoleon Harris as free agents and give them a shot. On the outside I have options, I could start a lethal combination of Joey Porter and Jason Taylor, or I could trade Porter for some high draft picks and start Taylor in his place. That would leave the LOLB position to Matt Roth, a good run stuffer. But I may also sign Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilia to start as an OLB pass rusher. Paired with Jason Taylor he could potentially wreak havoc on the opposing quarterback. Of course a lot can change depending on if Cameron Wake is in the game or not. (Crowder, Taylor and Roth)

CB- This part of the defense is oozing with potential. Rookies Vontae Davis and Sean Smith will start for me from day one. Both possess excellent press corner skills. Davis could develop into a pure lockdown corner and Smith will be able to cover bigger receivers with his 6-4 height. Will Allen will either bring veteran leadership from the nickel, or he will be traded for picks and I will sign the former Dolphins Dynamic Duo of Sam Madison and Pat Surtain to hold down the nickel and dime spots. Former 1st round pick Jason Allen will be moved back to safety. (Davis and Smith)

FS/SS- Both safty spots are in great hands with Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson. Both are sure tacklers that will help againts the run and receivers over the middle. Jason Allen will be the backup at the FS position. (Bell, Wilson, and Allen)

K/P- Carpenter and Fields are both average so I may look to upgrade in the off-season.

Top 5 positions to upgrade in the off-season...

1. Wide Receiver- Looking to add a game changer.
2. Linebacker- More youth with high draft picks.
3. Tight End- Receiver with speed at the position.
4. Fulback- Multi-threat option out of the backfield.
5. Halfback- Someone to split carries with Ronnie Brown.

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Ohh I should also state, this is for offline franchise.

[FOREST007]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

i lol'd at this thread, i thought i was the only one planning on what i was gonna do when the game launches.

im gonna sign chris mcallister, marvin harrison or amani toomer, and derrick brooks for the falcons

[Spanky]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

TeamBuilder. couple of questions:

1. Have you determined who you will schedule in the preseason, assuming they reinstated the customize preseason schedule option?

2. Have you determined which games you will wear the aqua jerseys and which games you will don white? Also, are you planning on breaking out the orange jersey for a game or two, perhaps one of the Monday Night Games, vs. the Colts or the Jets?

[Cryolemon]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Also, are you planning on breaking out the orange jersey for a game or two, perhaps one of the Monday Night Games, vs. the Colts or the Jets?

Can't speak for him, but I know I will. They've never lost IRL when wearing that jersey, and I think it looks cool.

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

TeamBuilder. couple of questions:

1. Have you determined who you will schedule in the preseason, assuming they reinstated the customize preseason schedule option?

2. Have you determined which games you will wear the aqua jerseys and which games you will don white? Also, are you planning on breaking out the orange jersey for a game or two, perhaps one of the Monday Night Games, vs. the Colts or the Jets?

I would love to answer these questions...

1. If I can schedule pre-season games they will be against...

Patriots- No better feeling in Madden than sacking Tom Brady and seeing him not get up.

Eagles- Team that I think will win the NFC, should pose a challenge.

Colts- One of the toughest teams to play against. One time, I was down by 5 points with 8 seconds and I got tackled at the 1 yard line with no time outs left and couldn't get another play off. It was very similar to the Rams/Titans superbowl.

Cardinals- I used to role with the Cardinals back in Madden 06. I would take John Navarre who at the time I think was rated 65 OVR and make him into a Pro Bowl player. That was back when progression was every 4 games so if you played well you could progress. Anyway, always been my favorite NFC team.

2. I'll definitely mix it up with the jerseys, no gameplan yet as to which games will bring out which colors... but i'll keep you posted.

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

i lol'd at this thread, i thought i was the only one planning on what i was gonna do when the game launches.

im gonna sign chris mcallister, marvin harrison or amani toomer, and derrick brooks for the falcons

Planning it all out is the only thing that keeps me sane while I wait for release. The first off-season is my favorite part of the game, because then you can mold the team the way you want to.

[Lucicren]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Very interesting read, I actually really enjoyed this, put a lot of thought and effort into I think, you should do one for The Bears

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Very interesting read, I actually really enjoyed this, put a lot of thought and effort into I think, you should do one for The Bears

I would love to. Keep your eyes out, might be up in about 30-40 minutes in this same thread (wouldn't want to spam the boards).

[Lucicren]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Sounds good, it would be a very good idea to maybe even run something like this in a blog type of form, interesting read, you can do one for all 32 teams, just if your looking for something to do. I have to leave for about 2-3 hours but I'll definitely send you a message about the Bears one when I get back, a lot of fun to read.

[canes21]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

I don't want to be that "guy", but could you do one for the Skins too. I want to see if we both have the same opinions, plus you'll be unbiased and actually release the players that need to be unlike me.

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

Very interesting read, I actually really enjoyed this, put a lot of thought and effort into I think, you should do one for The Bears

For the Bears I would do this...

QB- Cutler is obviously not going anywhere, he's going to be behind center in Chicago for a while. Only problem is... he doesn't have much to throw to outside of Greg Olsen and potentially Devin Hester. Something I would definitely address would be a backup quarterback, I'm thinking Vince Young, he'll be cheap to get at 68 OVR, and a definite weapon for wildcat and spot work.

HB- Matt Forte pretty much never has to come off the field (99 stamina). But I'd like to get Garret Wolfe involved a little bit to, he's got some elusiveness. I would put Wolfe in the game for situations involving spread offense. But mainly it's Forte all day long.

FB- Jason McKie doesn't do much for me...other than block. I have a creative idea for the offense and I would need a fullback who can catch the ball out of the backfield. I'm thinking Jacob Hester, he's a 70 OVR and a backup fullback for the Chargers. His 80 catch rating and 88 carry rating means he can receive out of the backfield and will rarely turn the ball over (ohh and did I mention, he can run the ball to). Between him and Forte's 83 catch rating, Cutler will be able to spread the ball around more.

WR- An obvious weakness for the Bears, but I'm not really all that worried about it (I'll explain why when I get to TE's). Hester can burn it up on one side, and I would insert Jhonny Knox as my other starter. Neither are really polished receivers but they are viable deep threats. Surprisingly I would not send them on many deep routes. Instead I would use them to run WR drags all day. Let them get some quick separation and then get across the field, once they're a step ahead of the defender give them a short pass and let them go to work.

TE- The reason I wasn't worried about WR is because TE would be the focus of the passing game. Greg Olsen is going to be a top TE now that he has a good quarterback to throw to him. But it doesn't stop there. The "big" trade I would make with the Bears is to pick up another tight end, Vernon Davis to be exact. His hands aren't excellent but he has big play ability. (Namely, he's fast and can take advantage of Cutler's arm). He's a 78 OVR so I wouldn't have to sell my soul to get him. Now I have two monster tight ends, with a solid 3rd TE in case either Olsen or Davis goes down.

All day I would run the Power I Twin TE formation, with variations of that set.

QB- Cutler
HB- Forte
FB- J.Hester
WR- D.Hester
TE- Olsen
TE- Davis

Everybody on the field is a weapon (with Jacob Hester being the secret weapon that no one would expect much from). When running the ball, having two tight ends can basically give you 8 blockers (including fullback) for Forte to use. If the safties creep up Olsen and Davis have the speed to burn them. Also... Vince Young is on the bench and could be brought in to run a spread offense to catch the defense off guard.

I'm headed out to dinner I'll post the defense later.

[TeamBuilder]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

I don't want to be that "guy", but could you do one for the Skins too. I want to see if we both have the same opinions, plus you'll be unbiased and actually release the players that need to be unlike me.

Actually, I've already done one for the Skins, it's all on paper (did it in a notebook when I was on a long car ride). I can type it in when I get back from dinner. I had been toying with the idea of using the Redskins for a second franchise. Check back in a couple hours.

[tonedeaf]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

New York Giants Franchise

QB: Resign Eli Manning to a 7 year contract. He will be my QB until he retires. IMO, Carr is the best back-up QB in the NFL, so i will tie him up for the next 4 years. While my franchise progresses, i will be trying to get Andre Woodson to reach his potential(hopefully its on the high side). QB is set for a very long time.

RB: Have a great duo of RBs with Jacobs and Bradshaw. Also the rookie Andre Brown is an excellent receiving back and Ware could be a sleeper on this team. I will lock up Jacobs and Bradshaw for the long term and im set at RB.

FB: Great run blocker in Hedgecock. I will dig through FA and see if there are any good back-ups. When he gets up there in age, i will draft another run blocking FB to replace him.

WR: Tough choice for me here. I will prolly end up starting Nicks and Smith with Moss in the slot. If i don't have any success with these guys in the first couple games, i may end up trading for Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall or maybe even Braylon Edwards. Its gonna require a decent amount of picks and i will prolly through in Manningham or Hixon. I may end up trading for one of these guys right off the bat, but i have not decided yet.

TE: All set at TE for the long term. Have great blocking TEs and we drafted Travis Beckum who is a great receiving TE. No problems here.

OL: Best group in the NFL if you ask me. I may end up moving Deihl back to LG and put the rookie William Beatty at LT. Seubert will make an excellent sub. Again, im all set at this position.

DL: The best DL in the NFL IMO. Tuck, Osi, Kiwi, Bernard, Canty, Robbins and Cofield are just a dominate group of guys. They all will get playing time and i expect this group to lead the NFL in sacks and QB hurries. Tuck was re-signed in 07 so he will be here awhile. Depending on how Kiwi plays throughout mid-season, i may re-sign him to a long term deal, or i will trade him before the deadline is up. Osi will be re-signed before the season starts. DL is good for years to come.

LB: I will try to trade away Pierce, but if i dont get a good looking offer, i will keep him until his contract is up. I will build Sintim into an all pro LB who will start by year 2. During my first off-season, i will be drafting and signing LBs in the FA and draft. This position is the teams weakness IMO so it will take some time before they become a solid group.

CB: Ross will need some work so i will train him to his fullest potential. Webster is a lockdown CB. I have great nickle CBs in Dockery and Thomas. CB position should be set for a few years. I may end up drafting a CB or looking in the FA after a season or two. Or i may end up trading Dockery for a late round draft pick.

FS/SS: Phillips is the next Sean Taylor(R.I.P). I will groom him to his highest potential which i expect to be at least 92. Michael Johnson is a decent safety and i may end up looking for a replacement in a couple season depending on how he performs. C.C Brown wont be on this team for long, maybe a season if that. I will look through FA and the draft for depth which is what this position lacks.

P/K: Feagles will be around for another year or two, so when he retires, i will obviously have to get a replacement. Tynes is just awful and he will be gone immediately. I may end up keeping him 1 year so the roster is as realistic as possible.


My primary goal is to keep most of my starters on this team for the next 7 years. Since this team won't be to difficult to win with and will stay the same for a very long time, i will have to do another franchise with a poor team. I like to rebuild and that won't be the case with the Giants. I will prolly end up picking Browns, Bengals or Lions to rebuild.

My Giants franchise will consist of 15 min quarters with accelerated clock on and on All-Madden. I will prolly play 1 game a week and ironically it will be on Sunday, lol.

I tried one....Not as good as yours, but its something to do. This is actually pretty fun and gets you more pumped for this game.

[stlstudios189]

Re: Miami Dolphins Franchise

These are actually fun to read guys, keep it up. I might post for the Browns tonight.