I love Madden. I have since the first version became available on Sega Genesis and I still remember beating the console 217–0. It was pretty easy. I took the 49ers and ran a deep post to Jerry Rice from Montana every play. All you had to do was hike the ball, count to three, and let the ball go.
The game has had its off years and there have also been years where the team at EA seemed to rest on its laurels. I suspect the planning meetings those years went something like this:
“Hey guys, we need to make this year’s Madden. Time to get to work.”
“Have you looked outside? We’re in Southern California. Let’s go to the beach. Just update the player names. Everyone’s going to buy it anyway. That’s why we got that exclusive license with the NFL.”
“But we can add new features.”
“We did that last year and the NFL scolded us. Remember that ambulance that ran over players and the dizzy icons above players’ heads when they got concussed?”
“Oh yeah. Screw it. Meet you at the beach.”
In the last couple years though, I have to hand it to the people at EA, because I have loved each new release and have appreciated the new features they have added each year, with the exception of the Target Passing thing they tried in Madden 18. They really seem to be working to improve the game each year, even though they really don’t have to. As someone who LOVES the game, I appreciate that.
But here’s something to know about me: I am not a gamer. I am not going to sign up to play in Madden Leagues or Tournaments. For one thing, I’m really not good enough. For another, I just have no desire to do so. I don’t play online either, mostly because I don’t want to get obliterated by a trash-talking ten year-old. I also don’t play on All Madden, because I think I’ll feel even worse if I get obliterated by a machine (although maybe I shouldn’t).
But I do play Madden. A LOT.
I play in Franchise mode. Exclusively (although I did play the Longshot story this year). It has gotten to be a bit of an obsession for me. at night, I get into bed and think about my roster (and I have remarkable recall of every player on my team, even though theya re almost all auto-generated players at this point). Sometimes when I’m on the road, I even wish I could be doing something with the game, even if I’m not playing an actual game. In fact, I wrote an article that was the outcome of such a longing and you can read it here (it’s pretty awesome if I do say so myself): https://medium.com/@dushanewalker90/the-video-game-we-all-want-a6d203922eae
Last year, I bought Madden 2017 and fell in love with it. I started a franchise with the Tennessee Titans (I thought it would be fun to play with Mariota) and moved the team to Portland, Oregon as soon as I could. I don’t live in Portland, but I have some family there and like it there, so I chose to relocate the team there. I built a playbook and learned everything I could about my players. I took copious notes throughout the season on draft prospects, recording every fake Tweet in order to make the most informed choices come draft time. I even read Michael Holley’s “War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team” and applied the Patriots’ approach to my drafting. I traded players when they reached their peak and brought me the most value in return. That meant I traded DeMarco Murray right away for draft picks and developed Derrick Henry. Then, after Henry had a break-out year, I traded him for more draft picks. I held onto Mariota for a while, but once he turned 32, I traded him as well.
And it worked. My team got better and better, and it seemed I managed to accumulate half the first and second round picks in each draft. I drafted speed wherever possible (especially at WR and RB- I got those guys in later round too!), made trades during the draft and throughout the season, and even found a franchise QB to replace Mariota with a late pick in the first round (he went on to set a number of NFL records before I inevitably traded him- a very proud moment for me).
By the time Madden 2018 came out, I think I had played 14 full seasons with the Portland River Hogs (formerly the Titans).
I started the 2018 version with the Cleveland Browns and I moved the team to Chicago, since I actually did live there until recently. I am now entering my fifth season with the team, and I am proud to say that there are only a handful of players left on my roster from the current team.
So yes, I may not be a gamer, but I do play Madden enough to feel my opinions count for something.
And I have one VERY strong opinion, or rather one addition to the game I would LOVE to see in 2019. I also have some other suggestions, but remember: THERE IS ONLY ONE CHAMGE I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT TO SEE!!!!!!
The BEST Possible New Feature EA Can Offer…and one that is so easy that there is no reason the new feature shouldn’t be offered in Madden 2019:
After I choose my franchise team, let me choose to play with the new roster for 2018 OR let me choose to start the franchise prior to the 2018 Draft if I would prefer. This would be a remarkably simple addition for the people at EA to make to the game and I think it is an option many people would like to have, even if they don’t yet realize it. Allow me to present a scenario. Assume you are a Browns fan. The team has the first and fourth picks in the draft. You really want the team to take Saquon Barkley first and Sam Darnold fourth. Instead, the Browns do something very, very Cleveland Browns-y and take Baker Mayfield first overall. You are PISSED about the team’s prospects for next season. Then you realize if you want to play with your beloved Browns in Madden, you will have no chance of getting your hands on Barkley or Darnold, and you are stuck with Mayfield as your QB. After this realization, you are even more devastated. Oh wait! Good thing Madden 19 has a new feature that allows you to conduct the 2018 NFL Draft the way you would have liked! You take Barkley first overall and scoop up Darnold or Josh Allen with the number four pick and take the Browns from worst to first in the AFC North. Take that Jimmy Haslam! Now if only you could pull together a billion dollars or so to buy the team in real life and turn around the franchise.
Other Features That Would Be Great, but not as great as the one above (and please know that some of these might already be in place but I’m just too dumb or stuck in my ways to realize):
- Give us more information on the scouting reports. For instance, let me know if a QB is right-handed or left-handed (kickers too!). I hate when I scout a guy and draft him and find out he’s a lefty. I like to roll right, not left!! It throws my whole game off. Also, let me know the age of prospects. On more than one occasion I’ve drafted 24 year olds (and they weren’t from BYU).
- Auto-generate college stats for the players I’m scouting, and show me who wins the season awards. This might not change much for my approach to drafting, but it would be fun and give some more context to the guys I’m looking to draft. I sometimes can see who won the Heisman, but I’d also liek to see who wins other awards.
- Offensive Linemen get injured in real life, but rarely in Madden. I don’t want anyone to get hurt here (they may be fake players to you, but they’re MY FAKE PLAYERS…and sometimes my friends- sad face), but I do want you to keep me somewhat honest. I shouldn’t be able to have a team with only one back-up lineman. Take a look at injuries (by number of games missed) in 2018 by position and have the game reflect those injury numbers and frequencies.
- Please let me move my team even if the team is in good standing. There are some teams I would love to play with, but I’d REALLY love to play with them if I could move them to another city.
- While we’re at it, why not let me add an expansion team and force an expansion draft. I know it’s been a while since that really happened…but it would be fun to start (literally) from step one.
- In 2018, you allowed me to prioritize my draft board, but it is such a tedious task. Make this feature a little more user-friendly. In fact, if you really want to help me out, allow me to prioritize positions for my draft and then prioritize players within each position. I end up doing this in my off-line notes, and it’s much more effective than using the game’s draft board (though I appreciate the effort you made in 2018 to add this feature).
- It’s great that I can trade draft picks during the draft, but why can’t I trade players during the draft? I’d love to be able to initiate trades during the draft. That is, if the NFL allows you to do that. I think the league allows that…but maybe not?
- I think everyone wants to see better uniforms for teams that relocate. I’d also like to see more cities as options. The uniforms really do need work though. Some of them are really…generic.
- On one occasion, my coach retired and I wasn’t aware he made such a decision. This happened in 2017. In 2018, I saw that my coach retired in my news feed, so I planned to make an offer to a great coach. Mike Tomlin was available!! I’ve always liked him, so I decided I would make him an offer, only to see that, in a shock to me, he had already signed on to be my coach. Sweet! Then I moved forward a week and found out that I had been tricked. Mike Tomlin hadn’t signed on to be my coach. In fact, he had gone elsewhere and I was left with a Level 3 coach being my best option. Good thing I will still carry him to a title.
- It’s great that you let me know in the off-season who has made the Hall of Fame. It would be even cooler if you let me know how my players were progressing toward achieiving such an honor.
- It would be fun to be able to reorganize the league (move teams across conferences or divisions) or even to start a legue from scratch- picking the teams that would be in it as well as holding a draft composed entirely of fake players.
- I would like to have some more consistent off-season progression across positions. Every year, it seems I am able to massively develop my entire Offensive Line, but my Running Backs and Defensive Linemen get almost no progression points. It’s sad.
- Can we select a Player of the Game at the end of each game?
- I can look up the career stats of any of my players and see how they stand against some of the all-time greats. What I can’t do is see how my team defense stacked up against the classic Raven, Viking, or Bear defenses. I’d love to see just how stingy my defense is compared to the great defensive teams. Same obviously goes for offense.
- You give me the option to advance my team by simulating ten years. What about just five years? Can I get five years? Or maybe three?
Oh, and while we’re at it, how about bringing back NCAA Football? This is a wishlist after all!!