I recently went through the off-season of Madden 25 in my 32-team franchise and I really enjoyed doing it, although it was quite the process, but it really got me to thinking about some ways that Madden needs to improve the off-season to become much better than what is currently in place.
I didn't realize this was going to be so long when I began writing it so I apologize for that but I believe there is a lot of stuff here that would greatly improve the enjoyment and quality of going through the off-season. Anyways, if you make it through it all, let me know your thoughts and other ideas on ways to improve the off-season. With any of the pictures you see below, just give them a click and it will open the full size of each one.
Free Agency
Pretty much everything here is stuff that should be essential but is just not included or avoided for whatever reason.
Restricted Free Agents - This is a necessity, plain and simple. No explanation needed. No reason why this isn't or shouldn't be part of the off-season.
Waivers - Applicable players who get released should have to go through the waivers process. I still look at the preseason as very much the offseason so it fits here as well as during the regular season. Just this last preseason, the Chiefs claimed 7 guys off waivers after final cuts. They were first in line due to being the worst team the year before. When Kyle Williams got cut during the regular season by the 49ers, the Chiefs put in a claim on him and were awarded him because no other team put a claim in on him. It's a very simple process that could be simply added to the actions part of your given week every time an eligible player is released. You hear it ALL the time when it comes to players getting cut mid-season and during the preseason that these players have to go through waivers before they truly become a free agent.
Compensatory Picks - This is something that may be a bit more difficult but, again, something that should be a necessary part of the off-season. The process of dispersing picks doesn't necessarily have to be perfect, just somewhat logical. This is an entire round of the draft that we miss out on as well as the possible bit of strategy that goes into letting players walk versus signing new players in free agency.
Restructuring Contracts - This is something we have seen a ton of already this off-season. Best way to do it would be to simply have a player have a yes-no option on whether or not he is willing to restructure. If not, you may be forced to cut/trade him as we've seen with DeMarcus Ware and Darrelle Revis.
Front/Back Loaded Contracts - This is something that was in Madden before and I have no clue why they took it out. It's something that allows you to be a little more versatile depending on your cap situation and should certainly be brought back.
Player/Team Options- Allow for player/team options to be negotiated in contracts. Allows for more creativity in negotiating contracts as well as additional management duties if a player opts out or if you feel the need to opt out of a contract of a under-performing player.
Transition Tag - The transition tag it a less expensive alternative to the franchise tag. The difference is that other teams can sign the player to an offer sheet as if they were an unrestricted free agent, but the original team has seven days to match. And unlike the franchise tag, if the player signs with another team, his original team receives no compensation.
Scheme Knowledge - I think that every player shouldn't be limited to one specific scheme, but should have some sort of knowledge rating whether it's a bar, letter grade, number, or whatever. This would apply to mainly to free agency as well as trades possibly. Basically, each player would be able to potentially fit multiple schemes and also have a variable of which schemes he fit/knew better. This would be something that both the player and teams would have to consider in free agency. Do they really want to bring a guy in that does not fit the scheme at all and try to make him fit in a square peg, round hole type of scenario? Or do they go for the safer choice who is less talented but has a greater knowledge or fit to their specific scheme? Also, does the player turn down extra money and a winning team to go to a scheme he is more familiar with (i.e. Red Bryant, Chris Clemons)?
Playbook Knowledge - This goes along with the scheme knowledge above. Basically, each player has a knowledge rating of each playbook in the game. The way I figure it would work is that they have a knowledge tied to each given play/route/run/block/etc. so that if they go from one playbook to another that has a lot of the same or similar plays, they're not completely out of the blue. This would affect not only free agents but also rookies greatly. Ideally, you would have position coaches as well as coordinators that affect how quickly your younger guys get acclimated/pick up the playbook and so forth. This is something that would not only directly affect the management side but would also contribute to potential changes in gameplay based on how much knowledge a player has of his teams given scheme/playbook. It would also greatly prevent or hinder the ability to just sign any players off the street and plug them in with no penalty at all. As well as putting you in a situation where you will kind of have to deal with rookie growing pains and things along those lines.
The Draft
IMO, the way the draft is handled needs a complete overhaul. From scouting to presentation, it all has to change. It doesn't necessarily need a complete rebuild, just a different direction using some of the things that already currently have in place.
Scouting - This has been one of the more difficult things to deal with and it seems like the process is changing every other year. I like the idea of the letter grades. I don't really like the idea of just throwing points at a guy and knowing his exact attributes though. This also brings up the issue of having to scout things like speed, player type, strength, and other attributes that would be common knowledge to virtually everybody in the NFL.
The idea I have for this is implementing guys like Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Mike Mayock, and other so-called draft experts into the mix of the scouting process. The season would start with each of them having their big board which would be like a mock first-round with their top 32 or maybe even top 50 players. In addition, they would each have their own additional letter grades for important attributes connected to that players position. This would be something that would be dynamic throughout the season and would play extremely well with the storyline and twitter feed aspects of CCM. No NFL teams are contacting Kiper, McShay, or Mayock for draft suggestions but this would be something a bit more cosmetic and would benefit the presentation of the draft (which I'll get to later) more than anything else as well as giving you additional data to ponder on prospects.
In addition to this, you would also have a staff of scouts. I haven't really thought this side of it all the way through but my initial thought was that you would have something along the lines of a head/national scout(s) and regional scouts. The national scout(s) would give you letter grades on virtually every player in the draft but they might be a little bit more vague (my thinking was strictly letter grades, no + or -), while the regional scouts give you a bit more detailed scouting but they are only limited to the players in that scouts designated region. These scouts would have ratings or attributes that would determine how close or accurate the player ratings were to the scouting grades they returned to you. So while you may have a great scout in one region bringing you very accurate grades, another region might suffer or conflict with what your other scouts are bringing back to you.
Combine & Pro Days - Two things completely ignored currently throughout the scouting process. This needs to be an offseason stage that offers nothing but simple, raw data. 40 times, bench reps, vertical height, hand size, height, weight, so on and so on. Again, this should just be raw data that you would get from the combine. A couple official 40 times and everything else you could possibly think of. One of the more difficult things to deal with would be the position specific drills. I think I would simply have a grade on these drills that ranked from 'Very Poor' to 'Outstanding' and have that grade come from the draft gurus as well as your head scout and even head coach. Same could be done for the 60 interviews allotted to teams where you get a grade based on whether your coach came away impressed, discouraged, indifferent, and so on from the interview. A wrinkle that could be added into this as well is having certain players not participate in certain drills and thus, not giving you any data for that category for the combine.
Which brings me to pro days. Have an additional stage of the off-season for the Pro Days where once again, you get more raw data in addition to everything else you've previously acquired. So for a player that participated in all the combine drills and pro days you'll have something along the lines of four 40-times along with all the other data. This also allows for players who "weren't invited" to the combine to have raw data attributed to them. It also allows you to have an abundance of diverse information on virtually every prospect in the draft while maintaining a decent piece of mystery behind each prospect.
Draft Projections - This is where the gurus come in again. Get rid of the round-pick specific draft projections and broaden them out. 1st, 1st-2nd, Top 5-Late 1st, that sort of thing. Also, have these draft projections be unique to Kiper, McShay, Mayock, etc. So maybe a QB is projected to be a Top 5-Top 20 for Kiper, but McShay sees the player as a Late 1st-Late 2nd. This continues to add to the intrigue of each individual player.
In addition to this, allow the user to create their own team big board where we can essentially put the players in order from who the user thinks are the best prospects to the worst based on scheme, attributes, or whatever the user deems most valuable.
Presentation - This is probably one of my biggest issues with the draft. It's just so bland and boring. All you really have to do is sit there and look at your draft board and maybe wait for Trey Wingo to pop on. There's a lot of ways to quickly and, IMO, drastically improve the draft process from an entertainment standpoint.
The storylines IMO opinion need to go. If they were more integrated into the CCM then I might be on board with them but the moment Adam Schefter stops talking they have zero relevance from that point on. I know the word generic scares a lot of people but I would honestly be fine with generic voice overs from Mel Kiper or McShay or Mayock for each prospect. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, I don't really care about the players backstory or his recent college escapades. I'd be fine with a quick, two-three line description that is relevant to the player drafted.
And I know a lot of people really want something along the lines of the player walking up and shaking hands with the commish but, personally, I'd be completely okay with hearing that classic draft chime when a selection is in, and then a cut to something like this along with the quick description from Kiper, McShay, etc. This way you've got some sort of constant action and banter and it helps you get closer to resembling the real draft. You could even throw in lines while the clock is running where Wingo asks what somebody thinks this team will be looking for and then have Kiper, McShay, etc. say this team is probably looking for and then list some of that teams needs.
The last thing is to change the look of the draft while drafting. There needs to be the ticker along the bottom showing all the previous picks and upcoming teams on the board. Adding another bar with thigns like Kiper's best available, team needs, upcoming picks for each team, and all the stuff you see on a ESPN or NFL Network broadcast are essential to creating the illusion that you're actually participating in a real NFL draft. Ideally, you'd have something similar to this here with your draft board and other vital information taking place of the TV crew in the middle. You could also throw in things like cheers and boos (like they used to have) for picks that you see every year at the actual draft, they don't have to have any meaning whatsoever, just be cosmetic and add to the presentation.
Custom Draft Classes - This is something that needs to be implemented immediately. Especially considering the fact that it took so long to get NCAA Import back in and now NCAA is gone. Like I said before, I'd honestly just prefer that they trashed the storylines and just had the newsfeed talk about some of the top prospects and then add depth to the draft commentary.
The one thing about custom/editable draft classes is that if I'm playing a offline CCM with just myself, I still want there to be some mystery there. There needs to be some sort of way to randomize certain pieces of info so that you can't pinpoint the exact players you created in your draft class and just target them. Obviously, this would be an option as the vast majority would like to be able to pinpoint the players they created as well as not have issues with such things as creating authentic NCAA draft classes.
This also gives the user the ability to correct the flaws in the base EA generated draft classes. No more wide receivers, corners, and running backs with 60's for speed. No more classes where entire positions are gone with a couple of rounds to go. This is something that would give the user a great amount of creativity and control in their CCM.
I didn't realize this was going to be so long when I began writing it so I apologize for that but I believe there is a lot of stuff here that would greatly improve the enjoyment and quality of going through the off-season. Anyways, if you make it through it all, let me know your thoughts and other ideas on ways to improve the off-season. With any of the pictures you see below, just give them a click and it will open the full size of each one.
Free Agency
Pretty much everything here is stuff that should be essential but is just not included or avoided for whatever reason.
Restricted Free Agents - This is a necessity, plain and simple. No explanation needed. No reason why this isn't or shouldn't be part of the off-season.
Waivers - Applicable players who get released should have to go through the waivers process. I still look at the preseason as very much the offseason so it fits here as well as during the regular season. Just this last preseason, the Chiefs claimed 7 guys off waivers after final cuts. They were first in line due to being the worst team the year before. When Kyle Williams got cut during the regular season by the 49ers, the Chiefs put in a claim on him and were awarded him because no other team put a claim in on him. It's a very simple process that could be simply added to the actions part of your given week every time an eligible player is released. You hear it ALL the time when it comes to players getting cut mid-season and during the preseason that these players have to go through waivers before they truly become a free agent.
Compensatory Picks - This is something that may be a bit more difficult but, again, something that should be a necessary part of the off-season. The process of dispersing picks doesn't necessarily have to be perfect, just somewhat logical. This is an entire round of the draft that we miss out on as well as the possible bit of strategy that goes into letting players walk versus signing new players in free agency.
Restructuring Contracts - This is something we have seen a ton of already this off-season. Best way to do it would be to simply have a player have a yes-no option on whether or not he is willing to restructure. If not, you may be forced to cut/trade him as we've seen with DeMarcus Ware and Darrelle Revis.
Front/Back Loaded Contracts - This is something that was in Madden before and I have no clue why they took it out. It's something that allows you to be a little more versatile depending on your cap situation and should certainly be brought back.
Player/Team Options- Allow for player/team options to be negotiated in contracts. Allows for more creativity in negotiating contracts as well as additional management duties if a player opts out or if you feel the need to opt out of a contract of a under-performing player.
Transition Tag - The transition tag it a less expensive alternative to the franchise tag. The difference is that other teams can sign the player to an offer sheet as if they were an unrestricted free agent, but the original team has seven days to match. And unlike the franchise tag, if the player signs with another team, his original team receives no compensation.
Scheme Knowledge - I think that every player shouldn't be limited to one specific scheme, but should have some sort of knowledge rating whether it's a bar, letter grade, number, or whatever. This would apply to mainly to free agency as well as trades possibly. Basically, each player would be able to potentially fit multiple schemes and also have a variable of which schemes he fit/knew better. This would be something that both the player and teams would have to consider in free agency. Do they really want to bring a guy in that does not fit the scheme at all and try to make him fit in a square peg, round hole type of scenario? Or do they go for the safer choice who is less talented but has a greater knowledge or fit to their specific scheme? Also, does the player turn down extra money and a winning team to go to a scheme he is more familiar with (i.e. Red Bryant, Chris Clemons)?
Playbook Knowledge - This goes along with the scheme knowledge above. Basically, each player has a knowledge rating of each playbook in the game. The way I figure it would work is that they have a knowledge tied to each given play/route/run/block/etc. so that if they go from one playbook to another that has a lot of the same or similar plays, they're not completely out of the blue. This would affect not only free agents but also rookies greatly. Ideally, you would have position coaches as well as coordinators that affect how quickly your younger guys get acclimated/pick up the playbook and so forth. This is something that would not only directly affect the management side but would also contribute to potential changes in gameplay based on how much knowledge a player has of his teams given scheme/playbook. It would also greatly prevent or hinder the ability to just sign any players off the street and plug them in with no penalty at all. As well as putting you in a situation where you will kind of have to deal with rookie growing pains and things along those lines.
The Draft
IMO, the way the draft is handled needs a complete overhaul. From scouting to presentation, it all has to change. It doesn't necessarily need a complete rebuild, just a different direction using some of the things that already currently have in place.
Scouting - This has been one of the more difficult things to deal with and it seems like the process is changing every other year. I like the idea of the letter grades. I don't really like the idea of just throwing points at a guy and knowing his exact attributes though. This also brings up the issue of having to scout things like speed, player type, strength, and other attributes that would be common knowledge to virtually everybody in the NFL.
The idea I have for this is implementing guys like Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Mike Mayock, and other so-called draft experts into the mix of the scouting process. The season would start with each of them having their big board which would be like a mock first-round with their top 32 or maybe even top 50 players. In addition, they would each have their own additional letter grades for important attributes connected to that players position. This would be something that would be dynamic throughout the season and would play extremely well with the storyline and twitter feed aspects of CCM. No NFL teams are contacting Kiper, McShay, or Mayock for draft suggestions but this would be something a bit more cosmetic and would benefit the presentation of the draft (which I'll get to later) more than anything else as well as giving you additional data to ponder on prospects.
In addition to this, you would also have a staff of scouts. I haven't really thought this side of it all the way through but my initial thought was that you would have something along the lines of a head/national scout(s) and regional scouts. The national scout(s) would give you letter grades on virtually every player in the draft but they might be a little bit more vague (my thinking was strictly letter grades, no + or -), while the regional scouts give you a bit more detailed scouting but they are only limited to the players in that scouts designated region. These scouts would have ratings or attributes that would determine how close or accurate the player ratings were to the scouting grades they returned to you. So while you may have a great scout in one region bringing you very accurate grades, another region might suffer or conflict with what your other scouts are bringing back to you.
Combine & Pro Days - Two things completely ignored currently throughout the scouting process. This needs to be an offseason stage that offers nothing but simple, raw data. 40 times, bench reps, vertical height, hand size, height, weight, so on and so on. Again, this should just be raw data that you would get from the combine. A couple official 40 times and everything else you could possibly think of. One of the more difficult things to deal with would be the position specific drills. I think I would simply have a grade on these drills that ranked from 'Very Poor' to 'Outstanding' and have that grade come from the draft gurus as well as your head scout and even head coach. Same could be done for the 60 interviews allotted to teams where you get a grade based on whether your coach came away impressed, discouraged, indifferent, and so on from the interview. A wrinkle that could be added into this as well is having certain players not participate in certain drills and thus, not giving you any data for that category for the combine.
Which brings me to pro days. Have an additional stage of the off-season for the Pro Days where once again, you get more raw data in addition to everything else you've previously acquired. So for a player that participated in all the combine drills and pro days you'll have something along the lines of four 40-times along with all the other data. This also allows for players who "weren't invited" to the combine to have raw data attributed to them. It also allows you to have an abundance of diverse information on virtually every prospect in the draft while maintaining a decent piece of mystery behind each prospect.
Draft Projections - This is where the gurus come in again. Get rid of the round-pick specific draft projections and broaden them out. 1st, 1st-2nd, Top 5-Late 1st, that sort of thing. Also, have these draft projections be unique to Kiper, McShay, Mayock, etc. So maybe a QB is projected to be a Top 5-Top 20 for Kiper, but McShay sees the player as a Late 1st-Late 2nd. This continues to add to the intrigue of each individual player.
In addition to this, allow the user to create their own team big board where we can essentially put the players in order from who the user thinks are the best prospects to the worst based on scheme, attributes, or whatever the user deems most valuable.
Presentation - This is probably one of my biggest issues with the draft. It's just so bland and boring. All you really have to do is sit there and look at your draft board and maybe wait for Trey Wingo to pop on. There's a lot of ways to quickly and, IMO, drastically improve the draft process from an entertainment standpoint.
The storylines IMO opinion need to go. If they were more integrated into the CCM then I might be on board with them but the moment Adam Schefter stops talking they have zero relevance from that point on. I know the word generic scares a lot of people but I would honestly be fine with generic voice overs from Mel Kiper or McShay or Mayock for each prospect. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, I don't really care about the players backstory or his recent college escapades. I'd be fine with a quick, two-three line description that is relevant to the player drafted.
And I know a lot of people really want something along the lines of the player walking up and shaking hands with the commish but, personally, I'd be completely okay with hearing that classic draft chime when a selection is in, and then a cut to something like this along with the quick description from Kiper, McShay, etc. This way you've got some sort of constant action and banter and it helps you get closer to resembling the real draft. You could even throw in lines while the clock is running where Wingo asks what somebody thinks this team will be looking for and then have Kiper, McShay, etc. say this team is probably looking for and then list some of that teams needs.
The last thing is to change the look of the draft while drafting. There needs to be the ticker along the bottom showing all the previous picks and upcoming teams on the board. Adding another bar with thigns like Kiper's best available, team needs, upcoming picks for each team, and all the stuff you see on a ESPN or NFL Network broadcast are essential to creating the illusion that you're actually participating in a real NFL draft. Ideally, you'd have something similar to this here with your draft board and other vital information taking place of the TV crew in the middle. You could also throw in things like cheers and boos (like they used to have) for picks that you see every year at the actual draft, they don't have to have any meaning whatsoever, just be cosmetic and add to the presentation.
Custom Draft Classes - This is something that needs to be implemented immediately. Especially considering the fact that it took so long to get NCAA Import back in and now NCAA is gone. Like I said before, I'd honestly just prefer that they trashed the storylines and just had the newsfeed talk about some of the top prospects and then add depth to the draft commentary.
The one thing about custom/editable draft classes is that if I'm playing a offline CCM with just myself, I still want there to be some mystery there. There needs to be some sort of way to randomize certain pieces of info so that you can't pinpoint the exact players you created in your draft class and just target them. Obviously, this would be an option as the vast majority would like to be able to pinpoint the players they created as well as not have issues with such things as creating authentic NCAA draft classes.
This also gives the user the ability to correct the flaws in the base EA generated draft classes. No more wide receivers, corners, and running backs with 60's for speed. No more classes where entire positions are gone with a couple of rounds to go. This is something that would give the user a great amount of creativity and control in their CCM.
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