Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

[JaySmooov]

Well, I guess we can just agree to disagree then, no biggie.

I am surprised to see both of you say that weekly position changes rarely happen in the NFL, though. Aside from QB, which I agree it's rare but does happen, ie, Steve Spurrier, the other skill positions have this happen regularly.

I mean, what you're saying is true, but it doesn't happen as often as weekly, or even bi-weekly. I would hate to see a situation where Week 1, Vick is starting, then by week 3, Kolb is starting, then 2 weeks later, Vick is in again, then 3 weeks later, Kolb is in again...etc, etc, all because of ratings and hot/cold streaks.

That would cause more problems than do any good.

[TLF]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Ok, first of all, Madden never updated their depth charts weekly. The only time the CPU ever updated a depth chart, in season, was when a transaction of any kind occurred on the team.

Second, consider this: Michael Vick's rating will be pretty close to Kevin Kolb's. If Kolb is still an Eagle, and say Vick plays poorly in Week 1, ok, lets make Kolb the starter in week 2. Now, if Kolb plays decent, doesn't experience a SIGNIFICANT rating change, while Vick's rating resets because his cold streak ends (He didn't play week 2), you suggest that Vick become the starter again because his rating is better?

You're basically saying Madden should play to the hot/cold streaks to an EXTREME. The real NFL doesn't do that at all.

How long did it take Ahmad Bradshaw to become the starter over Brandon Jacobs? He didn't just simply get it over ONE GAME, he out-produced Jacobs over multiple games. And even though I'm pretty sure Bradshaw fumbled a couple times and Jacobs didnt, that wasn't grounds for an immediate change at RB again because Bradshaw clearly showed he was the better back.

When Manning went on his string of horrible games, did we see Curtis Painter at any point in time? No. Why? Because the NFL doesn't work that way. And you may say Manning's rating was nowhere near close to Painters, but im pretty sure Manning wouldve experienced an extreme point swing in that case.

Show me any instance where a coach repeatedly switched guys in-and-out of a lineup because he had the "hot hand."

Honestly, I think you psyched yourself up for a complex part/feature that won't even be implied in the game, and isn't even practiced in real life.

he has a point BUT since they have these new Rules with the Franchise QB or QB of the Future etc.

they could make it soo the better QB's with that role Manning , Brady , Big Ben , Ryan , Bree's etc. cant be pulled out

it makes alot of sense for a team like the Vikings they have a new 1st round QB BUT Joe Webb had a good showing in the last two of the season when they finally let him start

so if they are in a Position battle and lets say Webb wins it but then goes 0-4 after the first 4 games which is a 4th of a 16 game season he can realize he needs a change becuz he is at .0000 , the CPU Coach will realize this and change QB's etc.

they had it like this in Madden 05-08 on PS2 and XBOX where your team is updated/evaluated every 4 weeks annd at the end of Playoff's

so why couldnt it work for this




but forgetting about the QB because it techniqually isnt needed

id like to see them switch RB's in and out because Coached DO (maybe not with QB's) switch them in and out based on who is in the zone , i dont know why a Coach at Halftime would keep Greene in if he has 12 carries and is averaging 3.3 yards a carry , give LT the ball...!

[JaySmooov]

he has a point BUT since they have these new Rules with the Franchise QB or QB of the Future etc.

they could make it soo the better QB's with that role Manning , Brady , Big Ben , Ryan , Bree's etc. cant be pulled out

it makes alot of sense for a team like the Vikings they have a new 1st round QB BUT Joe Webb had a good showing in the last two of the season when they finally let him start

so if they are in a Position battle and lets say Webb wins it but then goes 0-4 after the first 4 games which is a 4th of a 16 game season he can realize he needs a change becuz he is at .0000 , the CPU Coach will realize this and change QB's etc.

they had it like this in Madden 05-08 on PS2 and XBOX where your team is updated/evaluated every 4 weeks annd at the end of Playoff's

so why couldnt it work for this




but forgetting about the QB because it techniqually isnt needed

id like to see them switch RB's in and out because Coached DO (maybe not with QB's) switch them in and out based on who is in the zone , i dont know why a Coach at Halftime would keep Greene in if he has 12 carries and is averaging 3.3 yards a carry , give LT the ball...!

True, but that doesn't mean LT will outproduce him, and that doesn't mean LT should be the starter just because Greene had one bad game. What if the Jets were playing the steelers? Even Chris Johnson got shut down to 66 yards by them.

I never knew if they evaluated every 4 weeks. But either way, none of that will be in, or Donny wouldn't said so. Unless they haven't given EVERY detail yet. But it think it's good enough that teams will assess and see if a guy is worth keeping ahead of the QB of the future now.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Ok, first of all, Madden never updated their depth charts weekly. The only time the CPU ever updated a depth chart, in season, was when a transaction of any kind occurred on the team.

Second, consider this: Michael Vick's rating will be pretty close to Kevin Kolb's. If Kolb is still an Eagle, and say Vick plays poorly in Week 1, ok, lets make Kolb the starter in week 2. Now, if Kolb plays decent, doesn't experience a SIGNIFICANT rating change, while Vick's rating resets because his cold streak ends (He didn't play week 2), you suggest that Vick become the starter again because his rating is better?

You're basically saying Madden should play to the hot/cold streaks to an EXTREME. The real NFL doesn't do that at all.

How long did it take Ahmad Bradshaw to become the starter over Brandon Jacobs? He didn't just simply get it over ONE GAME, he out-produced Jacobs over multiple games. And even though I'm pretty sure Bradshaw fumbled a couple times and Jacobs didnt, that wasn't grounds for an immediate change at RB again because Bradshaw clearly showed he was the better back.

When Manning went on his string of horrible games, did we see Curtis Painter at any point in time? No. Why? Because the NFL doesn't work that way. And you may say Manning's rating was nowhere near close to Painters, but im pretty sure Manning wouldve experienced an extreme point swing in that case.

Show me any instance where a coach repeatedly switched guys in-and-out of a lineup because he had the "hot hand."

Honestly, I think you psyched yourself up for a complex part/feature that won't even be implied in the game, and isn't even practiced in real life.

Like I said before, I know for a FACT it auto updated USER teams depth chart weekly but you probably are right about transactions causing the CPU team to auto update. Upon further thought, injured starters never leave the starting positions and that's why they start again when they come back. My bad.

I didn't "psych" myself up, I believed the auto update depth chart for CPU teams happened weekly and would inadvertently create position battles when paired with weekly ratings variations. I still believe the auto update depth chart will simulate position battles, in whatever instance the CPU team depth charts, auto update.

Maybe NOBODY agrees with me and that's cool because if I am right, EVERYBODY owes me a cookie!! LOL

[Mr_Riddick]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

I mean, what you're saying is true, but it doesn't happen as often as weekly, or even bi-weekly. I would hate to see a situation where Week 1, Vick is starting, then by week 3, Kolb is starting, then 2 weeks later, Vick is in again, then 3 weeks later, Kolb is in again...etc, etc, all because of ratings and hot/cold streaks.

That would cause more problems than do any good.

At that point, I think if done right that's when player roles really have to factor in. I hope this system works 100%, it would really suck if all of this didn't factor in.

[RGiles36]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Well, I guess we can just agree to disagree then, no biggie.

I am surprised to see both of you say that weekly position changes rarely happen in the NFL, though. Aside from QB, which I agree it's rare but does happen, ie, Steve Spurrier, the other skill positions have this happen regularly.

Not to derail this thread, but can you think of some examples? It's definitely not regular for the Cowboys, and I'd feel comfortable suggesting it's not regular for many teams.

All the shuffling is done prior to the start of the season. Once that depth chart is created, coaches tend to ride those out except in the case of injury or obvious situations.

Think of a player like Dez Bryant: clearly a better receiver than Roy Williams, although he still has some things to learn. Think he became the starter? Nope -- he got more playing time when healthy, but Roy was the starter. Hell, our whole secondary was on "Madden cold streaks" last year -- they didn't lose their starter status.

Let's be honest: when a player gets benched, it's often the beginning of the end for that player's time on whatever team. That's the message that's sent. There is no starter-bench-starter-bench in the NFL. If you're doing that shuffling in-season, then it's an admission that you did a poor job evaluating in the offseason. What NFL coach is going to admit that? LOL

[JaySmooov]

Like I said before, I know for a FACT it auto updated USER teams depth chart weekly but you probably are right about transactions causing the CPU team to auto update. Upon further thought, injured starters never leave the starting positions and that's why they start again when they come back. My bad.

I didn't "psych" myself up, I believed the auto update depth chart for CPU teams happened weekly and would inadvertently create position battles when paired with weekly ratings variations. I still believe the auto update depth chart will simulate position battles, in whatever instance the CPU team depth charts, auto update.

Maybe NOBODY agrees with me and that's cool because if I am right, EVERYBODY owes me a cookie!! LOL

Yeah it did auto-update USER teams, but only if you made a transaction.

For that matter, teams will not shuffle guys in and out, as evidenced by this response (from the franchise interview):

[quote]OS: Are there team-building stages in Franchise mode now? To be clear, will some teams play the veteran who is slightly better while chasing a Super Bowl, while another rebuilding team will play the rookie with the higher potential even though he may have a lower rating than some veteran?

Looman: Well, we added a lot of different things in there that sort of combine to create that type of effect I guess you could say. We added the player roles back in, which was a feature we had during the last generation. A lot of those roles affect the logic in the game. So if you have a guy on the team who has the role of “quarterback of the future,” a team won’t go into free agency or select a QB early in the draft because they’re trying to build around that QB.

He basically dodged the question at hand, answering with what will happen in franchise instead of saying "no" outright. So players won't be shuffled in-season. No big deal, teams will be smart enough to evaluate their rosters intelligently in the off-season.

But there is never a position battle unless there is A) Uncertainty [ala Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones in the beginning of the year, as they didn't know who would be better, and waited to see who would take the job, which was Charles]; or B) reason for a demotion/uncertainty being CREATED (ala the NY Jets and Shonn Greene struggling out the gate, opening the door for LT to be the starter and get the lion's share of the carries, even though it was still a committee and at times LT was outproduced by Greene, LT never let the job go once he became the starter. I also know this because LT AND Green were both on my fantasy team haha).

We're not really disagreeing. We're (Or at least I am) saying your point is a little extreme. There is shuffling, but not THAT much throughout a season.

[JaySmooov]

Not to derail this thread, but can you think of some examples? It's definitely not regular for the Cowboys, and I'd feel comfortable suggesting it's not regular for many teams.

All the shuffling is done prior to the start of the season. Once that depth chart is created, coaches tend to ride those out except in the case of injury or obvious situations.

Think of a player like Dez Bryant: clearly a better receiver than Roy Williams, although he still has some things to learn. Think he became the starter? Nope -- he got more playing time when healthy, but Roy was the starter. Hell, our whole secondary was on "Madden cold streaks" last year -- they didn't lose their starter status.

Let's be honest: when a player gets benched, it's often the beginning of the end for that player's time on whatever team. That's the message that's sent. There is no starter-bench-starter-bench in the NFL. If you're doing that shuffling in-season, then it's an admission that you did a poor job evaluating in the offseason. What NFL coach is going to admit that? LOL

THIS I wish I could convey my thoughts this clearly haha. But yeah Dez Bryant is clearly better than Roy Williams. And, even after Roy fumbled a game away, they still stuck with Roy because once you bench a player, you're basically admitting that he was sucking it up, unless it's disciplinary.

And, what IF the 'Boys would've benched Roy for Dez Bryant, then 2 weeks later Roy has a good game. They're not gonna just immediately insert Roy back into the lineup.

HOWEVER, I'd would like to think if a player is going on consecutive cold streaks, say a 2-week, followed by a decent game, followed by a 1-week, then a average game, then a 3-week, and his confidence rating drops, you have to think, would the CPU recognize THAT and make necessary adjustments?

[Thinking Out Loud]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

At that point, I think if done right that's when player roles really have to factor in. I hope this system works 100%, it would really suck if all of this didn't factor in.

The reason I didn't mention Player Roles factoring in, is because to "earn" Player Roles, those players have to meet certain rating criteria. So presumably, a "Franchise QB" labeled QB's OVR rating would be high enough that streaks and/or weekly consistency wouldn't put them at risk of losing their starting job anyway. Also, the back up QB would not see the field enough to get on a "hot" and challenge for the start.

Same thing with other positions because to get on streaks will require playing time and the less playing the time a player receives, the less of a chance of a streak.

So starting players with positive Player Roles already have superior ratings and greater risk/reward for potential streaks over bench players.

[sniperhare]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

One thing confirmed to us today was you are not going to be able to edit potential, just ratings. Still not sure on height and weight.

[JaySmooov]

On another note, Im waiting to see some of the roles for the QB in Madden. Will NE QB Ryan Mallett have the "QB of the Future" role? Will Chris Ponder in Minnesota have "Franchise QB"? Will Tony Romo STILL be considered the franchise QB? What will Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick, Jake Locker, and Ricki Stanzi have?

BTW, Mel Kiper really seems to think Stanzi is in the perfect situation in KC, and thinks in about 2-3 years, he'll be the starter over Matt Cassel. Cassel never struck me as very good anyway, just a Kyle Orton-ish type QB. Not exactlya stop-gap, but just a decent, serviceable player who will put up good numbers to hold you over until you get a guy you can develop.

[JaySmooov]

One thing confirmed to us today was you are not going to be able to edit potential, just ratings. Still not sure on height and weight.

Sniperhare, will we be able to edit the traits and tendencies? SPECIFICALLY on imported draft class players? I would like to be able to do my research and make Andrew Luck, LaMicheal James, and others play as themselves as much as possible.

[JaySmooov]

Man, there's speculation that the Cowboys could sign Nnamdi Asomugha. I cant imagine the amount of online abuse the Cowboys would have if they got him.

[goravens2052]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Can someone find out if EA has finally caught up to the NFL and fixed their Playoff Seeding and have a graphic for the playoffs, I.E. a Bracket. I'm going to guess they didn't do that since it wasn't mentioned but it would be nice to have the proper seeding for once in Madden.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Not to derail this thread, but can you think of some examples? It's definitely not regular for the Cowboys, and I'd feel comfortable suggesting it's not regular for many teams.

All the shuffling is done prior to the start of the season. Once that depth chart is created, coaches tend to ride those out except in the case of injury or obvious situations.

Think of a player like Dez Bryant: clearly a better receiver than Roy Williams, although he still has some things to learn. Think he became the starter? Nope -- he got more playing time when healthy, but Roy was the starter. Hell, our whole secondary was on "Madden cold streaks" last year -- they didn't lose their starter status.

Let's be honest: when a player gets benched, it's often the beginning of the end for that player's time on whatever team. That's the message that's sent. There is no starter-bench-starter-bench in the NFL. If you're doing that shuffling in-season, then it's an admission that you did a poor job evaluating in the offseason. What NFL coach is going to admit that? LOL

Ok, I am going to try to articulate what I am saying in a way that HOPEFULLY doesn't make me sound like a football ignorant. LOL

I am a Redskin fan and just off the top of my head, they rotated Safeties Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore and Chris Horton almost weekly, when that positions was in flux. Also, the same thing with LB when Antonio Peirce was lost to the Giants, DT before they acquired Haynesworth, CB interchanging Smoot and Rogers when Shawn Springs was the #1 corner and with the #2 WR position for the 2009 season and a portion of 2010 before finally settling on Armstrong.

My point being, positions in flux without a solid OVR dominant player, can rotate weekly during a season. This is rare with NFL QB's but in the other positions, is quite common because the NFL is a performance based league.

Also, I don't think streak would cause this to be overdone because if a player won or lost their a starting positions because of a streak, that could last up to 3 weeks before a position change would take place again. Plus like I said in another post, bench players would have less opportunity to get on streaks so a starters performance and consistency would have the most control over them keeping their starting position.