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following rating from the ESRB
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FRANCHISE MODEFRANCHISE MODE
Franchise mode is back in Madden NFL 2004, but as you've come to expect over the years, there are a few new wrinkles. This
year's game adds Owner mode. Turn it on in the Franchise Setup screen, and you get to handle the business side of owning a
professional football team. No, we're not just talking about player contracts and free agent signings. You have to manage your
bank account like a real owner, by monitoring ticket prices, special events, coaches' salaries, concessions, and much more.
Watch your pennies, and you'll have cash for signing bonuses, contract extensions, and eventually, a new stadium.
In this chapter, we take you through Franchise mode, from the start of your franchise, all the way through training
camp, preseason, regular schedule, playoffs (you hope) and finally to the college draft. Then, it's back to the drawing board,
as you prepare for another season. It's a long haul from doormat to dynasty, and we'll show you how to make your football
dreams come true in 30 years or less!
Setting Up a Franchise
The first step in creating a franchise is to select the options that govern the league. You can set any
number of Users (Owners) from 1 to 32. If you activate Owner mode, the Coaching Changes and Salary Cap
options are automatically activated. As team owner, you no longer have control over the decision to fire
you (too bad), or the amount of your team salary cap. If you turn on Fantasy Draft, every player in the
game is released into a pool, and you take part in an original draft with 31 other user- or CPU-controlled
teams. Find more on this in the Fantasy Draft section below. Finally, you select a coach
and the associated team/playbook.
When Fantasy Draft is turned on, you go immediately to the draft
screen. If you opt to turn Fantasy Draft off, you begin with the
actual roster of the team you selected.
Note
Fantasy Draft
Now, it's time to draft our team. Our franchise is based on the Chargers, so we pick 22nd (determined by the CPU). The CPU handles the first 21 picks, and we're on the clock in round #1 (of
49). The Fantasy Draft screen includes 24 sortable ratings columns, so we can arrange the
players to suit our priorities.
Draft Day Strategies
You can arrive at the Fantasy Draft without a plan or a clue, and you might even end up with a competitive team. But,
thanks to the almighty salary cap, you need a financial plan or you will end up out of money and out of quality players
before the last round. Here are some thoughts on planning your draft strategies.
The game decides when a player hangs up his spikes. Keep in mind, the 38-year-old star you draft today may retire at the
•
end of the year.
Do you sacrifice the future to buy a winning team on draft day? If you spend every dime, there will be no money left to
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sign college draft picks before the beginning of next season.
Be careful about drafting an older player with a fat, long-term contract. His Overall Rating will probably erode over the
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next few years, and if you are forced to release him for a better player, you are stuck paying out the remainder of the
contract.
You should also keep some money on hand for signing free agents and handing out signing bonuses. It's a jungle out
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there, and he (or she) with the most coconuts gets to play the game longest.
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Note
It's difficult to decide how much money to devote to
each position. The following list ranks the highest paid
salaries by position during the 2002 NFL season (the
salary in parentheses represents an actual salary paid
to a position player in 2002). Obviously, you cannot
afford to pay these salaries across the board. In fact, if
you duplicated the salaries displayed below, you
would use up the entire team salary cap of $75
million for just 11 players! However, this list gives you
an idea of how NFL teams value each position. So, if
you are about to sign a punter for $5,000,000, you
may want to reconsider.
We decide to draft a quarterback in the first round, picking Tom Brady
(the author's Michigan roots are too strong to overcome). After
confirming our selection, the CPU handles the remaining teams, and a
recap screen lists every player taken in the first round. Interestingly,
Brady is only the 6th quarterback selected in the first 22 picks.
We have the 11th pick in round two, and we select LaDainian
Tomlinson. Other offensive stars are being taken, but it's obvious
that many teams in the league are more concerned about building a
strong defense or offensive line.
It's back to the 22nd pick in round three, and we focus on the
offensive line. Counting our dollars, we select Damien Woody, a young
center from New England. We note with interest that 7 of the first 10
players taken in the third round are defensive players.
Shifting to defense, we select left end Eric Hicks, a "steal" at
$650,000. Defensive selections continue to dominate the draft, so
we decide to stay on the other side of the ball and select middle
linebacker London Fletcher in round five.
1. Defensive End ($11,478,285)
2. Quarterback ($10,331,333)
3. Running Back ($10,306,600)
4. Cornerback ($9,079,843)
5. Offensive Lineman ($7,549,998)
6. Defensive Tackle ($6,980,000)
7. Linebacker ($6,258,333)
8. Wide Receiver ($6,061,235)
9. Tight End ($3,897,000)
10. Safety ($3,300,000)
11. Punter/Kicker ($1,916,666)
Note
As the draft progresses, the game tracks your selections, by position, with a few exceptions. OT
(offensive tackles), OG (offensive guards), DE
(defensive ends), DT (defensive tackles), and OLB
(outside linebackers), are grouped together, rather
than tracked by LG, RG, RE, LE, and so on. However,
each player's actual position is noted on the screen.
Note
One of the more challenging aspects of the Fantasy
Draft is the Current Pick Cap, which limits who you
can select in a given round. The Current Pick Cap
changes, depending on how much you spend from
round to round, so it's a good idea to watch your
spending. If you take the top-rated player available
(they are often the most expensive) in each of the
first several rounds, you are likely to be strapped for
cash while still trying to fill important roster spots. So,
think value for your dollar, especially during the first
10 rounds.
The thought of L.T.
running behind a wall
of papier-mâché has us
very worried, so we
devote rounds 6 and 7
to the offensive line,
drafting right tackle
John Tait and left guard
Edwin Mulitalo.
Before making our
eighth round selection,
we review our draft
picks. We still have not
selected a receiver, but
the offensive line is
still a concern, so we
look for a left tackle.
The Steelers' Marvel
Smith is young,
talented, and under a
million dollars.
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Tip
It's easy to get wrapped up with skill ratings such as
Speed, Awareness, Catching, etc., as you peruse the
draft lists. However, don't overlook the INJ rating. All
the talent in the world won't do you any good if your
player is on injured reserve for most of the season.
We jump back to
offense with round 9,
selecting speedy Corey
Bradford, and then back
to defense for Eagles
right end Ndukwe Kalu
in round 10.
Draft Priority List
The following Draft Priority List will help you draft an entire starting team with your first 25 picks. With your core in place, concentrate on wide receivers and interior line backups (offense and defense) with your next several picks. After that, it's best player
available as you select backups for every position. Use reserve wide receivers as punt and kick returners.
1. Quarterback: The leader of the offense
2. Halfback: We value Speed, Awareness, Acceleration, and
Breaking Tackles
3. Center: Strength up the middle—it works for baseball
and football
4. Defensive End: An unstoppable pass rusher and run stuffer
5. Middle Linebacker: An anchor for our run and pass defense
6. Offensive Tackle: Our star quarterback needs protection, and
our future running back needs a few holes to run through
7. Offensive Guard: Strength, pass blocking, run blocking, and
a little speed for pulling
8. Offensive Tackle: A strong tandem is critical
9. Wide Receiver: Speed, Acceleration, and Catching ability
are the keys
10. Defensive End: Another quick, strong defender who hates
quarterbacks
11. Cornerback: A good cover man with enough speed to play
man defense
12. Outside Linebacker: Speed, Strength, Awareness, and
Tackling ability
13. Defensive Tackle: An immovable object for the defensive
front; we also like at least one strong pass rusher (Speed,
Awareness, Tackling) at tackle
14. Strong Safety: A run stopper who can blitz and intimidate
receivers over the middle
15. Wide Receiver: Another great pair of hands for the defense
to worry about
16. Outside Linebacker: Defense wins championships, and this
pick rounds our trio
17. Tight End: Run blocking is important, but we want our tight
end to catch the ball. Speed here is a bonus
18. Cornerback: It takes two. If our first cornerback has blazing
speed, we look for run stopping ability here
19. Free Safety: A ball hawk with speed to play center field
20. Offensive Guard: With studs at the tackles and one
outstanding guard, an average quality #2 guard is okay.
21. Fullback: Run blocking and the ability to catch an
occasional pass
22. Halfback: A good backup is critical over a long season
23. Kicker: Obviously, we are more interested in scoring
touchdowns than kicking field goals
24. Punter: Controller technique is more important than
punter ratings
25. Cornerback: Speed, Awareness, and Catching ability for the
extra defensive back
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As you move into the latter stages of the draft, check the
Breakdown screen to see which roster spots need filling.
The draft will not let you take more than what you need
for a position, until the required number of players is
drafted. However, it is important to track the distribution
of players or you may end up with poor quality at positions that have been overlooked.
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The Draft Continues
Using our priority list, we move through the next 39 rounds of the draft. With an eye toward our bankbook, we complete the draft
with just over $17 million left under the salary cap. We certainly could have spent more money, especially during the early rounds.
But, the idea of building our team through the draft is more exciting. And, with cash on hand, we can sign a free agent to replace
an injured player. Here is a look at our roster, by position.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ROSTER
Player Position Rating Age
Tom Brady QB 90 26
Chris Redman QB 75 26
Ray Lucas QB 65 31
LaDainian Tomlinson HB 95 24
Jamel White HB 79 26
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala
Dan Kreider FB 77 26
Kevin Johnson WR 83 28
Corey Bradford WR 80 27
James Thrash WR 79 28
Terry Glenn WR 79 29
Isaac Byrd WR 70 28
Jeremy Shockey TE 92 23
Pete Mitchell DT 73 31
Jason Dunn TE 57 29
Marvel Smith LT 84 25
Overall
HB 72 26
Player Position Rating Age
Jeremy McKinney LT 59 27
Edwin Mulitalo LG 88 28
Matt Campbell LG 72 31
Ryan Schau LG 63 27
Damien Woody C 90 25
Cory Raymer C 76 30
Tony Semple RG 75 32
John Tait RT 87 28
Eric Hicks LE 86 27
Willie Whitehead LE 67 30
Ndukwe Kalu RE 81 28
James Hall RE 68 26
Cornelius Griffin DT 86 26
John Thornton DT 82 26
Larry Smith DT 75 28
Mike Vrabel LOLB 80 28
Overall
Player Position Rating Age
Overall
Keith Mitchell LOLB 66 29
London Fletcher MLB 89 28
Mike Maslowski MLB 79 29
Zeke Moreno ROLB 70 24
Don Davis ROLB 68 30
Jerry Azumah CB 79 24
Terry Cousin CB 77 28
Dale Carter CB 77 33
Tod McBride CB 66 27
Jason Bostic CB 65 27
Keion Carpenter FS 77 25
Brent Alexander FS 74 32
Reggie Tongue SS 85 30
Jay Bellamy SS 70 31
Todd Peterson K 66 33
Bill LaFleur P 73 27
Training Camp
New to Madden NFL 2004 is Training Camp. Here,
you can hone your playing skills, while at the same
time earning attribute points for the players who
complete their training successfully. There is a
limit of one player per drill, and the same player
cannot compete in more than one drill. However,
after completing a drill successfully, you can
double your points by repeating the drill at a higher
skill level. The attribute awards are based on the
level of trophy that you earn (three levels). The
following sections give you overviews of all nine training events, with tips on
improving your skills.
Pocket Presence
This is one of the toughest
drills. Your job is to avoid
being hit by the yellow tennis
balls firing at you from the
four ball machines set up
around your "pocket." While
avoiding the balls, which
simulate sacks, you must
throw the ball to one of the
targets as the appropriate letter flashes on the screen. And, you cannot
leave the pocket, or your throw will be discounted. Here are some
important tips for improving your performance.
— Don't jump around in the pocket. Wait until a
— Each target does not keep the same letter for
— Above all, don't get happy feet. Avoiding the
Note
Training Camp is not mandatory. You can
skip it and move on to Preseason.
"sack" ball is fired at you, move out of its path,
and then throw the ball to the target.
an entire session, so don't get locked into "A"
being in one spot, or you'll lose your rhythm.
balls is not as difficult as it looks. Make short
quick movements, set your feet, and throw.
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Swat Ball
This is another tough camp, but you
need these skills to roam the
defensive secondary with confidence.
With the clock ticking, you must run
to three different stations (one is
active at a time) to knock down or
intercept a pass. Success here
depends on three factors. First, get to
the designated location quickly. This
means put your head down and run
as fast as you can. Second, after you
arrive, square your body to the ball to
improve your chances of swatting or
intercepting the pass. Third, time your
leap or swat movement so you don't
miss the pass. To improve your
chances of intercepting the pass,
position yourself in front of the
barrier, but not too close.
Trench Fight
The Trench Fight camp teaches you
how to spin, rip, and shove your way
past offensive linemen. Your job is to
capture all three flags in a limited
amount of time. At most, you have 13
seconds to capture the flags.
Clutch
Kicking
The Clutch Kicking drill is relatively
easy. Just keep kicking field goals
until you rack up enough points for a
trophy. As you advance through the
levels, you have to contend with
strong winds, and of course, the
kicking meter moves much faster.
But, for now, relax, stretch out your
leg and knock it through the uprights.
Note
A punter or kicker can
compete in either of the
kicking drills to improve his
skills.
Corner Punt
The punting drill teaches you to bury
a punt inside the 20-yard line, without
having it roll into the end zone for a
touchback. Ideally, your kick should
hit and go out of bounds inside the
20. A semicircular bull's-eye with
three sections is painted on the field
in each "coffin corner." The closer
your kick lands to the goal line, the
more points you earn. A green flag
marks where each successful punt
lands or goes out of bounds. Use
height, power, and direction to guide
your punts to either corner. There is
no wind to contend with at the Rookie
level, but you need to consider the
wind as you advance through the
levels.
QB Precision
Passing
This camp teaches you how to time
the release and intensity of a pass so
you hit a receiver at the optimal point
in his route. Your goal is to throw the
ball through the golden hoop when
the receiver is in the proper position.
You receive points for passing the ball
through each hoop, and a bonus if the
receiver also catches the ball.
Ground
Attack
The RB Ground Attack teaches halfbacks, fullback, tight ends, and wide
receivers how to use jukes, spins, stiff
arms, and sprints to avoid would-be
tacklers and score as many touchdowns as possible. Avoid the barriers
also, because they slow you down and
allow the two defenders to catch up to
you. To master this drill:
— Position yourself strate-
gically so that your
blocker shields you
from the first tackler
— After you get through or
around the tackling
dummies, run toward
the far corner of the end
zone. This forces the
tacklers to run farther to
reach you. Also, it is
easier to juke and cut
back against a tackler
running at you from an
angle.
— If you must run straight
into a tackler, use the
Sprint button at the
point of impact to
improve your chances
of breaking the tackle.
— Use a stiff arm against
a tackler approaching
you from the side.
Catch Ball
The key to mastering this drill is to
time your "route" so that you arrive at
the same time as the ball. If your
timing is a little off, you can leap or
dive to make the catch, and earn
extra points.
Chase and
Tackle
In this drill your goal is to bring down
the ballcarrier as quickly as possible.
Use the Sprint button to close quickly,
but watch out for the barriers,
because the ballcarrier will use them
to his advantage. You still earn points
if your partner makes a tackle, but to
rack up a big score, make most of the
hits yourself. Above all, don't let the
ballcarrier reach the end zone, or you
suffer a touchdown penalty. For a nice
bonus, try using the Strip button to
cause a fumble.
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Preseason
After sweating through Training Camp, the next step is Preseason, where you begin the long grind toward
the playoffs. If you select Play Week, you go to the preseason schedule, where you get your first glimpse
of the team you drafted. We'll cover preseason shortly, but for now, let's spend a little time with the
Franchise Rosters screen. For now, we'll cover only the options that have relevance for preseason. Later,
as we move through the schedule we will revisit other report screens as needed.
Franchise Rosters
Under the Roster heading of the Preseason screen you
find several ways to view and manipulate your roster,
beginning with View Roster. As pictured above, this screen
lets you sort your players by one of 24 columns.
You can also view Contract, Attribute, Career, and Award
screens for each player. And, you can edit Information (Name,
College, Jersey #, and Right/Left), Appearance, Build, and
Equipment). For details on editing and creating players see
the Game Modes and Features chapter.
DEPTH CHART
This is where you make the tough decisions on whom to start at each position. Before the
first game, you can only make "paper" decisions, arranging the Depth Chart according to
each player's history and potential. After playing a few games, reality steps in and dictates
additional changes due to poor performance, injuries, or changes in your coaching schemes.
You can select Auto Reorder and let the CPU set your Depth Chart according to player
attributes. However, this should be a hands-on experience. The process of arranging your
Depth Chart reveals your team's strengths and weaknesses. To give you an idea of what to
look for, the following lists include observations on our preseason roster.
Offense
— Quarterback: Obviously there is a big drop-off
between Tom Brady and Ray Lucas, but that is
to be expected. This might be an area we look
to shore up with a trade, or in next year's
college draft.
— Halfback: Tomlinson is the package at halfback,
and since we are running primarily a single
back offense, Jamel White is more than
adequate to occasionally spell L.T., and he has
above average speed. If we need to go three
deep, Fuamatu-Ma'afala is solid, but lacks the
speed of Tomlinson or White.
— Fullback: Dan Kreider is an above-average run
blocker, but unproven as a runner and receiver.
We thought about drafting Alstott for his explosiveness, but the price tag was a bit high. We
might check out the free agent market if Kreider
cannot provide occasional offense.
— Wide Receivers: We're very pleased with our
quartet of Kevin Johnson, Corey Bradford, James
Thrash, and Terry Glenn. Bradford and Thrash
have explosive speed, but we are a little
concerned about Bradford and Glenn's tendency
toward getting hurt. We plan to rotate this group
quite a bit, and possibly look for a free agent
acquisition.
— Tight End: When you draft the best young tight
end in the NFL, it's all good. Jeremy Shockey
has it all: size, strength, speed, and catching
ability. Pete Mitchell provides extra beef in the
big set, and he can catch the ball.
— Offensive Tackles: John Tait and Marvel Smith are
solid at tackle, but there is a considerable dropoff with Barrett Brooks and Jeremy McKinney. An
injury would force us to make a trade or sign a
free agent.
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Defense
Offense cont.
— Offensive Guards: Edwin Mulitalo at left
guard is a horse, and veteran Tony Semple
is solid on the other side. Reserves are
better than at tackle, with Matt Campbell
and Ryan Schau.
— Center: Damien Woody is one of the best
young centers in the NFL, with excellent
pass and run blocking skills. Backup Cory
Raymer is a proven performer. This is
probably our deepest offensive line
position.
* Left End: Eric Hicks does not possess great speed,
but he has excellent awareness of the field and he
is equally capable of stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback.
* Right End: Ndukwe Kalu had eight sacks last year
and anchors the right side. We are counting on our
ends to blitz frequently this year. Time will tell
whether or not we need to upgrade this position.
* Tackles: Cornelius Griffin and John Thornton are
loads in the middle, and backup Larry Smith has
solid skills.
* Left Outside Linebacker: Mike Vrabel is a run-
stopper who can also blitz effectively.
* Middle Linebacker: London Fletcher is the quar-
terback on defense. He has excellent awareness
of the field, and his acceleration enables him to be
among the team leaders in tackles. Backup Mike
Maslowski is a tireless worker who picked off
three passes last year.
* Right Outside Linebacker: Zeke Moreno is the heir
apparent to Junior Seau's job. He is young, with
great potential, but he has yet to put up big
numbers. This is an important position, and
Moreno will need to step up.
SUBSTITUTIONS
We decide to use Pete Mitchell as a
run blocker in one of our two-back
Adjusting the Depth Chart should
align most of your players properly in
every formation. But, you can finetune each offensive and defensive set
in the Substitutions screen. This a
great tool lets you visualize your team
as it will appear in a game. The
subtleties of your players' abilities
may escape you in the businesslike
format of the Depth Chart, but when
you see players in their positions on
the field, you may be inspired to make
a few changes.
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sets, spelling fullback Dan Kreider.
FREE AG ENTS
If you finish the draft and then notice
some glaring holes on your roster, the
Free Agents screen may hold the
* Cornerbacks: Dale Carter is the veteran leader in a
secondary that has above average speed. Only
four interceptions from Carter, Azumah, Cousin,
and McBride last year, so we need to step up our
performance with the controller.
* Free Safety: Keion Carpenter has excellent speed,
while Brent Alexander provides a solid, veteran
presence.
* Strong Safety: Reggie Tongue has good overall
speed and strength, and above average
awareness skills. Acceleration is question mark, so
we will probably run deep zones.
* Special Teams: We didn't select a punter or kicker
until the late rounds, so this is an area of
weakness. Punter Bill LaFleur is adequate, but
Todd Peterson's accuracy is a question mark.
* Kick Returners: Corey Bradford and James Thrash
provide the blazing speed on kick-offs.
* Punt Returners: James Thrash will handle the punts.
He has more than enough speed and good hands.
answers to your problems. But, don't
get your hopes up. Remember that 32
teams passed on these players after
49 rounds. However, as we scan the
list we notice Joel Makovicka, a runblocking fullback. With only one
fullback on the roster, we decide to
tender an offer. Always looking for a
bargain, we offer less than the $2.18
million he is looking for.
Our first offer is rejected, so we drop
down to a one-year deal with a signing
bonus. Makovicka's agent accepts the
deal, and we sign the fullback for one
year at $1.32 million, considerably less
than the $2.18 million/three-year
contract he was looking for. We have a
backup fullback, and the good news is,
our salary cap cushion is still well over
$15 million. After sealing the deal, we
make a quick stop at the Substitution
screen to work Makovicka into a
couple of sets, lightening Kreider's
workload.
Note
Signing a free agent before
your first season is
painless. However, after the
season, the process
becomes much more
difficult as big name
players decide to test the
free agent market. You
need to open your wallet
and compete aggressively
to sign the players you
covet. More on this later in
the chapter.
Page 9
TRADE BLOCK
to inspire any interest. Sadly, we are
trying to get something for nothing, so
rather than add to our frustration, we
back out of the trade market for now.
RELEASE
PLAYER
players, but we notice that defensive
end Eric Hicks is in the last year of
his contract. With an Overall Rating of
86, he is a bargain at $650,000, and
he knows it. If we want to re-sign
him, we need to pony up $13.18
million over the next four years. We
decide to wait, with the understanding that he might want much
more if he has a great year.
MANAGEMENT
It is tough enough to stock a balanced
roster for your first season, so you
probably will not have extra players
for trades. However, you can jump in
and attempt a blockbuster if you
covet a particular player who eluded
you in the draft. This is also a good
way to find a little more cap room by
dealing a player with a fat contract.
You can also trade future draft picks,
although we do not recommend it
unless you are trying to win the Super
Bowl right now.
Just for grins, we decide to offer
speedy Terry Glenn (and his
5YR/$9.05M contract), hoping to find
a big, durable, possession receiver.
We enter WR for our target position,
and a minimum Overall Rating of 80.
No takers; these owners are smart.
We throw in a fifth round draft pick
and resubmit the deal. Still no
interest. We decide to take the offer
off the table and concentrate on
preseason. Other teams' needs may
change dramatically when the injuries
pile up.
TRADE PLAYER
The concept is the same, except this
time, you make a specific trade offer
to another team. When you assemble
a proposed transaction, you get an
immediate analysis of how the other
team values their player and yours, so
you get an indication of your chances.
With Terry Glenn rated as an "F" and
Tai Streets as a "C+", our chances
aren't even on the scale. Even the
addition of a third round pick did little
Unless you sign a bushel of free
agents after the draft, it's unlikely
you'll be releasing players before the
season starts. However, after playing
a few games, you may make adjustments, especially to the last several
spots on the roster.
Note
Before you trade or release
players, review the transaction as it pertains to
Salary Cap penalties. You
are liable for any signing
bonus money that is
distributed over the length
of a contract. Hence, if you
trade a player who is
promised $500,000 per year
over the next four years, you
take a $2,000,000 million
cap penalty.
RE-SIGN PLAYER
Our last stop in the Rosters section is
at the Re-Sign Player screen. This is
an optional exercise where we can
make contract extension offers to
lock up any number of players with
multi-year deals (within the limitation
of our Cap Room). We recommend
getting through one season before
immediately signing up too many
ROSTER
BREAKDOWN
A final check of our roster shows 50
players, with all positions adequately
filled (when a roster is missing
players at any position, that position
is boxed on the Roster Breakdown
screen). Note there are two requirements for each position: Active
Required and Required (Total).
Coach Options
GAMEPLAN
Before starting the season, it's a good
idea to visit Coach Options, especially
if you plan to let the CPU take over
your team at any time during the
schedule. On the Gameplan screen,
you can select a defense type (4-3, 3-
4), and set offensive and defensive
strategy percentages for running and
passing. You can also adjust the bar
between Conservative and Aggressive
play. The following sections describe
the Gameplan and Management
options that control how the CPU
coaches and manages your team.
Even if you are a hands-on player,
you can control only one player at a
time on the field. However,
NFL 2004
for every position in the CPU Player
Management section. First you can
set the priority (how much effort the
CPU puts into managing the player on
the field). The default settings are fine.
You can fine-tune them, but rather
than set every player to maximum, it's
a good idea to isolate the players who
are most important to the success of
your team.
special tendency bar that relates to
his position. The categories are as
follows:
Quarterback:
Halfback:
Fullback:
Wide Receiver:
Tight End:
Ta ckle, Guard, & Center:
Defensive End, Tackle:
Linebacker:
Cornerback, Free Safety,
Strong Safety:
Kicker & Punter:
Madden
lets you set tendencies
Additionally, each player has a
Pocket/Scrambling
Power/Speed
Blocking/Receiving
Speed/Possession
Blocking/Receiving
Pass Blocking/Run
Blocking
Pass Rushing/Run
Stopping
Run Stopping/Coverage
Coverage/Hard Hitting
Accurate/Power
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Although we think managing player
contracts and the draft are the main
reasons for playing in Franchise
Mode, you may want a little assistance from the CPU. You can let the CPU handle any combination of
player management duties (see picture above).
We'll preview Stat Book and League News after the
season is underway and information is available.
Play Week: Preseason
Now, it's time to begin the exhibition season. We launch our inaugural
season with a loss, followed by three straight victories. With the regular
season ready to start, we go back to the Rosters menu and check the Injury
Report. Unlike some teams that have several players on the shelf, we make
it through the preseason with injuries only to reserve linebacker Don Davis,
and starting tackle John Tait. Fortunately, Tait's PCL sprain is not serious
and he is listed as "probable" for the season opener.
Note
If a player suffers a serious injury that sidelines
him for all or most of the season, you can place
him on Injured Reserve and free up a roster
spot. However, once you designate a player for
this list, he is unavailable for the entire season.
The decision cannot be reversed.
RATINGS
Finally, you can go to the Ratings
screen to see how many Coaching
Points you've accumulated. The Front
Office also includes comments about
your performance, so you can bask
in the glory of your accomplishments
(or quit before they fire you).
Note
Before advancing to the regular season schedule, we select View
Progression, to check the progress of our players (and others around the
league). Most players stay the same, but those who work the hardest,
receive the biggest payoffs. LaDainian Tomlinson goes into the regular
season with positive increases in four attribute categories. Even more
impressive is the progress made by Zeke Moreno, who we're counting on at outside linebacker.
Play Week: Regular Season
We win our first four games, and then facing a winless Ravens team, we lose. One of our starting receivers, James
Thrash is out for two weeks, so we look to the free agent pool for another receiver. Veteran Shawn Jefferson is
available. His agent wants two years at $1.96 million, but we offer one year at $950,000 with a $150,000 signing
bonus. Shawn is eager for work, so his agent accepts without a second thought.
Owner's Box
With the season almost one third over, it's time to step into the Owner's Box and shuffle some papers. Our team is off to a fast start,
so this might be a good time to raise a few prices.
A quick look at the Balance Sheet
shows that we are $3.65 million in
the red, which is actually a dramatic
improvement from the beginning of
the season, when we were on the
wrong side of the ledger by more
than $12 million.
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Before making any financial decisions we check in with the Board of
Advisors. They suggest using our Cap
Room, but the team is winning, so
we'd rather keep things as they are
and look forward to the draft and offseason free agent market. Perhaps
we'll bump the parking and
concession prices just enough to
offset some of the deficit.
Page 11
We begin with raising ticket prices,
applying most of the increases to the
most expensive seats and luxury
boxes. This affects only about 30
percent of the seats, so the backlash
should be acceptable.
Not wanting to give the fans too much
bad news at one time, we raise the
Concession prices to the high end of
acceptable (the Vs. Expected arrow is
still green).
After raising prices, we put a little
back into Advertising, buying some
billboard space for $50,000.
Stat Book
The game tracks Individual,
Career, Team, Rankings, and
Coach statistics for every team,
player, and coach in the game.
You'll want to spend hours
scrolling through the pages, but
for now, here are a few screens to
whet your statistical appetite.
Individual stats
Team Rankings
League News
This section is a great place to
admire your players' most
memorable performances. You
can view Weekly Awards, and
see weekly updates to Yearly
Awards and Pro Bowl team
selections (after week 8). The
following screens include
samples of the award reports.
Finally, the Horse Trailer features
a Player of the Week for each
week of the season.
We do the same with Merchandise,
boosting only the price of jerseys over
the expected level.
Keeping with our policy of sticking it
to our wealthiest fans, we boost the
Valet parking price to $50, while
keeping the other prices in the green.
After raising prices, we win the next
two games, and the fans don't seem
to mind that their wallets are lighter.
Our Income has taken a nice jump
and the team is still winning, although
our advisors say that some fans are
staying away because of the
increased parking prices. We feel
bad…not really.
Individual defensive stats
Weekly Awards
Career stats
Yearly Awards
Team Offensive stats
You find many different ways to view
your financial and team data in the
Owner's Box.
Pro Bowl voting
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Post Season
Highlights
THE SUPER BOWL
Horse Trailer
The Updates screens include
weekly reports on the following:
— Coach
— Signing
— Re-Signings
— Holdouts
— Releases
— Trades
— Injured Reserve
— Retirements
A Mid-Season
Update
We finish the regular season with a
record of 12-3-1, and after watching
the Wild Card games, we prepare for
our first playoff game against Miami.
The injury report is not good. Corey
Bradford is out for the season with a
hip fracture, and starting offensive
tackle Marvel Smith is out for the
duration of the playoffs with a torn
tricep. We sign a journeyman tackle
to take Smith's spot, and reorder our
depth chart, moving backup Barrett
Robbins into the starting slot. We had
already picked up Shawn Jefferson,
and he has contributed positively to
our playoff run. Now, if only the
offensive line can hold together for a
few more games.
The long, hard, season comes to an
exciting finale in Houston, Texas,
where our Chargers take on the
Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
A bad case of the controller jitters
leads to four and out on our first
possession, and Seattle marches
down the field for the first score. But,
we come right back down the field to
tie it on a pass from Tom Brady to
Kevin Johnson.
After Eric Hicks smothers Rich
Gannon on third and long (I should
have signed him to a new contract
when I had the chance), the Chargers
get the ball and march right back
down the field. Brady's third
touchdown pass finds James Thrash
in the corner of the end zone.
After nine games, our Chargers are
sitting atop the AFC West with a 7-1-1
record. As for those controversial
price increases, well, everyone loves
a winner. Our $3+ million deficit has
turned into nearly $10 million in
positive cash flow. So much for our
advisors!
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Despite our patchwork offensive line,
we survive the Division Championship
Game against Miami, and advance to
the Conference Championship Game,
where we beat Houston 20-10. We're
going to the Super Bowl!
Just two plays after the kickoff, Zeke
Moreno intercepts a Rich Gannon
pass to give the Chargers the ball
deep in Seattle territory. On the very
next play, we connect again, this time
Brady to Jeremy Shockey to make the
score 14-7.
LaDainian Tomlinson is on the
receiving end of soon-to-be-named
Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady's fourth
touchdown pass as the Chargers put
this game away late in the fourth
quarter. The Seahawks score a consolation touchdown and the game ends
28-14 as we bring a Super Bowl
Championship to San Diego in our
first year.
Page 13
After a well-deserved celebration, we return home to San Diego to
bask in the glory of an amazing year. After simulating the Pro Bowl,
we have the option to import a Draft Class from
If you don't have a completed college season, you can proceed to
Owner Mode Off-Season.
Owner Mode Off-Season
that the old ball yard is still in good
shape. A few upgrades may be in
order, but we certainly aren't ready to
build a new stadium. So, we opt for a
new EA Arcade.
Note
Don't forget that every
What a difference a Super Bowl
championship makes! We review our
season end financial statement,
which shows a whopping $47.25
million in net income.
After handling our staffing transition,
we review the Coach Progression
screen to see what we learned during
our Super Bowl season. We improved
in almost every category.
stadium upgrade comes
with yearly maintenance
fees; so don't overstress
your current cash flow.
NCAA Football 2003.
Before moving to the Off-Season
menu, we review Staffing, Prices, and
the Stadium. Our current Training
Staff, Health Consulting, obviously did
a few things right, as we survived
some key injuries. However, Elite
Health Co. has much more experience
in the areas of Prevention and
Knowledge. So, we reward Health
Consulting for winning the Super
Bowl by giving them their walking
papers. With $47 million lying around,
we don't hesitate to pay Elite Health
Co. $2.72 million, more than double
the salary of Health Consulting. Hey,
it's a business, remember?
After a successful season, both on the
field and off, we decide to bring our
concession and ticket prices back into
the green level. We wouldn't want to
be perceived as greedy.
On the Stadium Central screen, we
review our current stadium and find
Building a new stadium takes upward
of $250 million, and at least half of
the money should come from your
bank account if you want to sell the
city on the idea. Five or six successful
years should put enough money in the
coffers to put a reasonable plan on
the table. Until you have the cash,
don't waste our time.
Building a
Stadium
The process of building a stadium
includes four parts: Design Stadium,
Secure Funds, Submit Proposal, and
Finalize.
Design three decks all around the
stadium, including: end zones, sidelines, and corners. You can place
stairs, indent the seating, add scoreboards, and select a closed or open
design. Choose lights, wall patterns,
field composition, and roof style.
Many of the options are cosmetic, but
your choices for seating (open or
closed) have a direct impact on the
stadium's capacity, so keep in mind
whether aesthetics are more
important than ticket sales.
Step two is the nitty gritty of finding a
substantial amount of cash to build
your new stadium. The more cash you
contribute as an owner, the more likely
it is that the voters will endorse your
plan. Watch the Likelihood of Approval
bar to monitor the feasibility of your
proposal (it takes almost half the
money to make the bar turn green).
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Step three (and the last step if you
are turned down) is to submit your
proposal. Unless you are prepared to
pay for at least half of the cost, you
can expect a refusal from the voters.
Once turned down, you cannot
attempt to rebuild the stadium until
next year.
If your proposal is accepted, you
receive a schedule for building the
new stadium. It generally takes a year
to complete, so you need to stay put
as a lame duck team for one year.
This is not a pleasant experience; get
ready to lose a bundle as you play
before sparse crowds of angry fans.
The off-season is very busy in
Madden NFL 2004, so the schedule is
very helpful. Although you do not have
to follow the order of events on the
way to starting a new season, if you
skip one, you cannot go back and do
it later. The following sections
describe each step in the process.
The off-season schedule is packed
with important tasks, and you must
complete each one to advance to your
next season. The following sections
take you through each step.
RETIRED
PLAYERS
Our draft day strategy of putting
together a young team pays dividends
during our first off-season. Our
Retired Players list contains only four
players. The most notable name is
cornerback Dale Carter. The good
news is, he also retires a hefty
contract, so we have more money to
sign a top draft pick or free agent.
RE-SIGN
PLAYERS
Note
If you're willing to take the
time, you can save money
during negotiations by
starting low, and working
your way up. However,
your deal should be
reasonable. If you make
several ridiculously low
offers, the player's agent
may shut the door and
test the free agent market.
If you have to compete
against other teams, the
price to sign your former
player will be much higher.
Try shortening the length
of the contract. This
reduces the signing
bonus payout, which
affects your salary cap.
Building a new stadium as part of a
relocation package is a little easier,
but you need to receive an offer from
another city. You can move on your
own, but the new city will contribute
far less to your efforts. During the city
selection process, pay special
attention to the weather (it affects the
style of stadium you should build) and
the per capita income (it takes
disposable income to buy luxury
boxes).
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Note
If you haven't already done
so, you're prompted to fill
any coaching vacancies
before moving to the OffSeason menu. You can
make the hire yourself, or
let the CPU handle all of
the vacancies.
Schedule
Unfortunately, our list of players to resign is long, and it includes some key
players from our championship team
including Pro Bowl center Damien
Woody, linebackers Eric Hicks and
Zeke Moreno, and offensive tackle
Marvel Smith. The harsh realities of
pro football tell us that we can't sign
everyone and still have enough
money for the draft.
We sign Woody, Hicks, and Moreno for
a combined $24 million. It's a big
chunk, so we study the remaining
free agents carefully. After tough
negotiations, we re-sign Keion
Carpenter, a young free safety. We let
the remaining 11 free agents pack
their bags. After the CPU completes
negotiations for the other 31 teams,
we advance to Rookie Scouting.
Page 15
ROOKIE
SCOUTING
players who are disappointing our
scouts, and adding new players who
seem to be excelling in the workouts.
NFL DRAFT
Our first round pick, cornerback
William Wyatt, is the most difficult
draftee to sign, but we think he has
the potential to be a star in this
league. As we move down the list, the
deals get smaller and smaller as the
talent level decreases. We finish the
signing period with almost $15 million
left under the cap. We'll need every
penny to sign free agents.
days up to 30. As you move
through the free agent signing
period, you receive news about
signings and/or rejections. If an
offer is refused, you find out who
else is interested in the player, and
the amount of their offer.
RE-ORDER
DEPTH CHART
The Rookie Report is our first look at
the draft pool. We can designate up to
15 players for scouting. After
checking off our players, we advance
to the Scouting Combine.
SCOUTING
COMBINE
In the second round, the Scouting
Combine, we review the class again,
paying special attention to the 15
players we designated for special
scouting. Each player has notes from
the scouts: some are promising,
while others suggest that we look
elsewhere.
SCOUTING
WORKOUT
Before starting the draft, we check
the Roster Breakdown screen to see if
we have any holes on our roster. As
Super Bowl Champion, we have the
32nd pick in the first round, so our
options are limited. Amazingly, some
of our "scouted" players are still on
the board. We select cornerback
William Wyatt out of N.C. State. If he
lives up to the scouting reports, he
should be able to fill Dale Carter's
shoes and add more speed to our
defensive secondary.
We draft a defensive end and
defensive tackle with our next two
picks. Unfortunately, that's it for our
scouted players. Now, we're flying
blind. We check the basic scouting
information as the draft continues
through seven rounds.
Note
The process of signing
draft picks has a different
atmosphere than signing
established NFL free
agents. You can afford to
start low, because you
have negotiating rights to
the players. Also, the
players usually make
reasonable demands. If
you guess right and lock
up a future star to a multiyear deal, it's money in
the bank.
FREE AG ENT
SIGNING
After signing free agents to fill our
roster, our last task before starting a
new season is to reorder our Depth
Chart. Considering our contract
demands, we make it through the offseason in pretty good shape. Our
Super Bowl team is largely intact;
although we lost backup quarterback
Chris Redman. Our replacement,
Shaun King, is considerably less
skilled, so we need to make sure Tom
Brady stays healthy. We are excited
about our #1 pick, cornerback William
Wyatt. If he is a fast learner, our
defensive secondary should be
improved. Finally, we upgraded our
offensive linemen and linebackers,
two areas that were problematic last
season when injuries thinned the
ranks. All in all, it was a good offseason. Now, all we have to do is win
back-to-back Super Bowls!
The process continues in the Scouting
Workout, as the reports become more
detailed and more emphatic about
each player's abilities and future
potential. We start to weed out the
SIGN DRAFT
PICKS
This is where we fill the remaining
holes on our roster. The free agent
signing period is 30 days, and it is a
no-holds barred bidding war. There
are no allegiances here, so be
prepared to fight hard to get the
players you want. After tendering
offers, you can advance the period
one day at a time, or any number of
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Do you want more
strategy
for this and other
great games?
Click here to visit Prima Games web site for more information on Strategy Guides!
pr
l
magames.com
The best source
for strategy
on the web.
Page 17
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Platforms: Nintendo GameCube
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ONLINE STRATEGIES*for the
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