Madden 17 - What's going on in your franchise mode?

DAVEFAN95 · October 26, 2016

In my Browns franchise I went 5-11 in my first year with three starting QB's (RG3 and Josh McCown, both benched. Cody Kessler ended the season and won 3 of my 5 games). Thought 5-11 was pretty realistic (well at least I did before the real NFL season got to week 5 and Browns were 0-5). Think I had a great draft as well. Drafted mostly on defense cause that wins championships. Sured up the CB2 spot with the first of my 2 round one draft picks, Cornelius Gilchrist (6'4, 209 lb corner with 93 speed, coverage ratings in the 80's and press at 79). Moved Demorio Davis to ROLB and drafted two MLB's, Darren Troutman and Alex Hutson, both guys are starting. Brought in Terrance Knighton and Demarcus Ware and moved Ware to LE (turned out great, 13 sack year through 9 games so far). Still struggling at both Safety spots, I did draft two guys at safety but neither are good enough yet but hopefully I'll sure them up, whether it be the young guys I've drafted or in the next free agency or draft.

Offensively, originally just signed as a backup, Chase Daniel beat Kessler in preseason for starting QB job and although statistically he hasn't been better (9-13 TD-INT), we have won more games with him and he's done enough in many tight games to get the win for us. Drafted 2 O-lineman for the right side, Ruff and Strickland, both really good blockers who just need some more awareness. Corey Coleman has had a major year this time around with eight touchdowns so far (through 9 games) and over 750 yards making a lot of big plays. While Josh Gordon has done well too leading the team in reception but has been more reliable at getting the first downs. Once again Isiah Crowell is this team on offense, as well as the rest of my RB's (when they are healthy), I drafted a few RB's in the draft in "Best player available" scenarios and picked a few up in the preseason as a way to pick up draft picks if they made the squad, but they actually turned out really well as Duke Johnson Jr and Victor Brown (both have 4.5+ in the YPC stat, however, both guys are injured atm, with Johnson on IR and won't be back til week 13, while Brown will be back in week 11 or 12). Crowell has rushed for over 1000 yards already.

I'm really interested in hearing what's going on in other people's games.

codey_v2 · October 26, 2016

I also started a Browns franchise. The only difference is that I'm flat out terrible at Madden, so I only played on pro and ended up beating the Giants 10-3 to win the Super Bowl after a 12-4 season. Haden got the only touchdown in the game off of a pick 6.

Ran with Kessler as my starter, but he got hurt midway through the season and I had to start McCown for about 10 games. Had a decent draft fixing up the right side of the o-line and getting the my secondary up to par.

DAVEFAN95 · October 29, 2016

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="codey_v2" data-cite="codey_v2" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I also started a Browns franchise. The only difference is that I'm flat out terrible at Madden, so I only played on pro and ended up beating the Giants 10-3 to win the Super Bowl after a 12-4 season. Haden got the only touchdown in the game off of a pick 6. Ran with Kessler as my starter, but he got hurt midway through the season and I had to start McCown for about 10 games. Had a decent draft fixing up the right side of the o-line and getting the my secondary up to par.</div></blockquote> Truthfully, I'm not very good at Madden either, especially on offense. I often make terrible reads and throw really bad interceptions, luckily my defensive play (especially against the run) and running with the football are quite good so I make up for it that way.

codey_v2 · October 29, 2016

Season 2 is going alright so far. I picked up Kawann Short in free agency to shore up my D-line and grabbed a low 80s combo new FS and CB to help with my secondary. The defense is really, really, solid now. Nothing mind blowing, but the only time we really get torn up is against superstar offenses.

One of my rookies is already starting at center, and I've got a few as backups on defense and a promising rookie TE behind Barnidge. I figure Barnidge is starting to get older so a talented rookie behind him to take his place is perfect.

Oh! I got a new FB too! Can't remember his name right now, but I'm finally getting some decent blocking out of the backfield, and he's got solid hands and speed that I can take advantage of.

D-Lyrium · October 30, 2016

I've played around with a few expansion teams (moved both the Bills and Jags to London in different saves) and keep getting into the negatives funds-wise because of the new stadium, keep forgetting to account for that. The Bills was my best, got to 2022, but now I literally can't resign anyone, so the save is kinda dead.

So just started a new franchise as the Bears, without any relocation (obviously, it's the Bears!).

I... I think I can see why Hoyer and Cutler both got injured. I had no idea the Bears O-Line was THIS brutal! That's definitely where my first year's draft is going to be focused.

D-Lyrium · October 30, 2016

Turns out there were a few nice gains to be had without bringing in anyone. Moved Kyle Long outside to RT, and brought Massie inside to RG. I also remembered that this roster was set pre-Sitton trade which explains a lot. I've gone in a similar direction and brought in JC Tretter because Sitton was too expensive in the game.

D-Lyrium · November 1, 2016

The 2016 Bears went 3-13, but lost 4th quarter leads in 3 games, Chargers style (one was on a blocked punt in our own end zone, returned 0 yards for a TD ¬_¬). We did knock the Packers out of the playoffs and injure Rodgers though, so there's that!

We spent the first half of the season without Jeffery or Royal due to injury (along with a few other, less prominent guys). Dallas beat the Pats in the Super Bowl.

The offense was absolutely horrendous, due to the crappy OLine. Cutler actually finished 34th in the NFL in passing yards, meaning two BACKUP quarterbacks out passed him (he was benched for 4 games, though).

The OLine, as I expected, were terrible other than Kyle Long (actually, Massie did ok too, and Tretter was good enough to get an extension. But the left side - y'know, the important bit - was a trainwreck).

Zac Miller was alright, but regressed a fair bit. Langford spent most of the year injured, as did Rodgers, but Carey stepped up and put up nearly 1k rushing yards (Rodgers was close too). We were actually one of the better rushing teams in the league, just couldn't pass for toffee (again, one look at the OLine could've predicted this).

Defensively we were actually pretty damn good, which only serves to prove how awful the offense were. We were THIRD in defensive passing yards. THIRD IN THE NFL. And we won three games. Mind you, rushing we were San Francisco bad so that made up for it.

Danny Trevathan had (another) breakout year, taking third place in NFC DPOY. Third in total tackles, and 2 INTs too. Freeman was top 10 as well, and he suffered from me usering him most of the time. Really pleased with our LB core (though a few more sacks from Young and McPhee would be nice).

In the offseason we basically went all-in on making the defence as good as possible, trusting the draft to save the offense. Basically bought a whole new secondary and filled in some backup positions. Acquisitions:

SS Donte Whitner

FS Micah Hyde

CB Brandon Flowers

RE Chris Canty

MLB J. Maluga

WR Jaron Brown

LG J Bushrod

In the draft:

1: LT Blackmon (78 OVR, Quick)

2: DT Poyer (69 OVR )

3: DT Jose (72 OVR)

4: LT Marino (78 OVR, Quick. Moved to LG where he's 76 OVR)

5: Traded for Tretter in preseason

6: RG Hartwig (70 OVR)

7: QB Way (67 OVR Slow. Basically a HB with decent short range throwing ability and not much else. He's a 'meh' Colin Kaepernick)

So not the best draft. The two LTs were decent finds, especially the 4th rounder (I wish I'd remembered that I found him and not drafted a LT in the first round!). First overall pick was the Browns, and they obviously took a QB (after signing Fitzpatrick in the offseason).

The Browns also signed Kamar Aiken, the Blair Walsh Project and... ewwww, Greg Hardy. Why, Cleveland, why?!

So our team for next year (projected starter first, italics is a draft pick, bold is a new signing. Haven't bothered including guys who're definitely on the practice squad/getting cut):

Offence

QB: Jay Cutler, Derek Anderson, Way

WR: Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Eddie Royal, Jaron Brown, Brian Hartline, Chris Givens, Cameron Meredith

TE: Zac Miller, Khari Lee, Matt Spaeth

FB: Chris Alecxih (UnDFA)

HB: Jeremy Langford, Jaquizz Rodgers, K'Deem Carey

LT: Blackmon, Marino, Charles Leno Jr

LG: Jermon Bushrod, Marino, Cody Whitehair

C: JC Trettern, Cody Whitehair, Bobbie Massie

RG: Hartwig, Bobby Massie

RT: Kyle Long, Bobby Massie, Marino.

K'Deem Carey actually had a pretty massive year, to the point where I contemplated not resigning Jaquizz Rodgers. Kevin White also had a massive year, and carried what little offense there was when Royal and Jeffrey were out, which is why he's improved enough to now be WR2. We scored 7 passing TDs all season, and White scored 4 of them (3 of those were thrown by Hoyer in his 2 starts).

We've got a good group of receivers, if only we could keep Cutler upright long enough to throw them the ball...

Defence

LE: Hicks, Bullard

DT: Goldman, Jose, Ego Ferguson, Poyer.

RE: Canty, Unrein

LOLB: McPhee, Houston

MLB1(Run): Trevathan, Mauga

MLB2(Cvr): Freeman, Timu

ROLB: Young, Floyd

CB1: Fuller

CB2: Flowers

Nickel: Callahan

Dime/Sub: Porter

FS: Hyde, Amos, Jones-Quartey

SS: Whitner, Prosinski, Jones-Quartey

Pretty pleased with this secondary. Both MLBs have Quick development and Trevathan, as mentioned, is doing amazingly well. Callahan also had a really good season, I feel bad for signing Brandon Flowers really. But oh well. With the additions of Hyde and Whitner, this is actually a pretty ridiculous D. Floyd will probably be a cap casualty, no real reason to keep him around if I get a decent offer.

DAVEFAN95 · November 1, 2016

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="D-Lyrium" data-cite="D-Lyrium" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The 2016 Bears went 3-13, but lost 4th quarter leads in 3 games, Chargers style (one was on a blocked punt in our own end zone, returned 0 yards for a TD ¬_¬). We did knock the Packers out of the playoffs and injure Rodgers though, so there's that! We spent the first half of the season without Jeffery or Royal due to injury (along with a few other, less prominent guys). Dallas beat the Pats in the Super Bowl. The offense was absolutely horrendous, due to the crappy OLine. Cutler actually finished 34th in the NFL in passing yards, meaning two BACKUP quarterbacks out passed him (he was benched for 4 games, though). The OLine, as I expected, were terrible other than Kyle Long (actually, Massie did ok too, and Tretter was good enough to get an extension. But the left side - y'know, the important bit - was a trainwreck). Zac Miller was alright, but regressed a fair bit. Langford spent most of the year injured, as did Rodgers, but Carey stepped up and put up nearly 1k rushing yards (Rodgers was close too). We were actually one of the better rushing teams in the league, just couldn't pass for toffee (again, one look at the OLine could've predicted this). Defensively we were actually pretty damn good, which only serves to prove how awful the offense were. We were THIRD in defensive passing yards. THIRD IN THE NFL. And we won three games. Mind you, rushing we were San Francisco bad so that made up for it. Danny Trevathan had (another) breakout year, taking third place in NFC DPOY. Third in total tackles, and 2 INTs too. Freeman was top 10 as well, and he suffered from me usering him most of the time. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Really pleased with our LB core (though a few more sacks from Young and McPhee would be nice). In the offseason we basically went all-in on making the defence as good as possible, trusting the draft to save the offense. Basically bought a whole new secondary and filled in some backup positions. Acquisitions: SS Donte Whitner FS Micah Hyde CB Brandon Flowers RE Chris Canty MLB J. Maluga WR Jaron Brown LG J Bushrod In the draft: 1: LT Blackmon (78 OVR, Quick) 2: DT Poyer (69 OVR <img alt=":(" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />) 3: DT Jose (72 OVR) 4: LT Marino (78 OVR, Quick. Moved to LG where he's 76 OVR) 5: Traded for Tretter in preseason 6: RG Hartwig (70 OVR) 7: QB Way (67 OVR Slow. Basically a HB with decent short range throwing ability and not much else. He's a 'meh' Colin Kaepernick) So not the best draft. The two LTs were decent finds, especially the 4th rounder (I wish I'd remembered that I found him and not drafted a LT in the first round!). First overall pick was the Browns, and they obviously took a QB (after signing Fitzpatrick in the offseason). The Browns also signed Kamar Aiken, the Blair Walsh Project and... ewwww, Greg Hardy. Why, Cleveland, why?! So our team for next year (projected starter first, italics is a draft pick, bold is a new signing. Haven't bothered including guys who're definitely on the practice squad/getting cut): Offence QB: Jay Cutler, Derek Anderson, Way WR: Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Eddie Royal, Jaron Brown, Brian Hartline, Chris Givens, Cameron Meredith TE: Zac Miller, Khari Lee, Matt Spaeth FB: Chris Alecxih (UnDFA) HB: Jeremy Langford, Jaquizz Rodgers, K'Deem Carey LT: Blackmon, Marino, Charles Leno Jr LG: Jermon Bushrod, Marino, Cody Whitehair C: JC Trettern, Cody Whitehair, Bobbie Massie RG: Hartwig, Bobby Massie RT: Kyle Long, Bobby Massie, Marino. K'Deem Carey actually had a pretty massive year, to the point where I contemplated not resigning Jaquizz Rodgers. Kevin White also had a massive year, and carried what little offense there was when Royal and Jeffrey were out, which is why he's improved enough to now be WR2. We scored 7 passing TDs all season, and White scored 4 of them (3 of those were thrown by Hoyer in his 2 starts). We've got a good group of receivers, if only we could keep Cutler upright long enough to throw them the ball... Defence LE: Hicks, Bullard DT: Goldman, Jose, Ego Ferguson, Poyer. RE: Canty, Unrein LOLB: McPhee, Houston MLB1(Run): Trevathan, Mauga MLB2(Cvr): Freeman, Timu ROLB: Young, Floyd CB1: Fuller CB2: Flowers Nickel: Callahan Dime/Sub: Porter FS: Hyde, Amos, Jones-Quartey SS: Whitner, Prosinski, Jones-Quartey Pretty pleased with this secondary. Both MLBs have Quick development and Trevathan, as mentioned, is doing amazingly well. Callahan also had a really good season, I feel bad for signing Brandon Flowers really. But oh well. With the additions of Hyde and Whitner, this is actually a pretty ridiculous D. Floyd will probably be a cap casualty, no real reason to keep him around if I get a decent offer.</div></blockquote> Nice going on making your defense look legit. You have some talent on the offensive side of the ball as well so maybe you have a 10 win season, though that could be a stretch. I'm liking your receiver Corp a lot, but I think the running back is more of a committee than a subs thing. Do you plan to use all three guys?

D-Lyrium · November 1, 2016

Yeah, all three will see use. Sorry, virtual Fantasy fans!

I haven't looked into their ratings too much yet, but I find when I'm actually playing I have more success with Rodgers and Carey than Langford. Maybe just my playstyle. I play the Moments rather than full games, so I guess it's because I get more practice with them (3DRB).

Pretty sure I won't bother re-signing Langford when his contract's up.

10 wins might be a stretch with Cutler (he regressed quite a bit due to being godawful last year, 78 OVR at the start of pre-season). I'd be happy with 7.

D-Lyrium · November 1, 2016

First quarter update:

Pre-season injuries

Jay Cutler broke his toe, will miss first two games of the regular season.

Zak Miller broke his hand, will miss the first 4 games (bye week in week 5)

Mauga, only recently signed, out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Notable cuts

Cameron Meredith

Donte Whitner

Unfortunately for Whitner I realised that Flowers played SS better than he plays CB (so does Fuller, incidentally, but Fuller is a better corner than Flowers). So Flowers has moved to SS. Full ter is potentially a near-elite level strong safety though so will likely start there next year depending on what the free agency/draft pool is like for corners.

Week one

Chicago Bears 24 @ 34 New Orleans Saints

Anderson: 22-36, 369yds, 1-2 - Other than the INTs, he outpassed Brees (21-34, 273, 3-0)
Langford: 53yds from 24 rushes (Ingram: 174 from 27 with a TD).
Jeffery: 98 from 6. White: 61 from 5 Royal, 70 from 5 (Fleener: 74 from 5, 2TD).
McPhee: 3 sacks

The Saints are looking good this year, but Derek Anderson put up "breathing down your neck" style numbers for Jay Cutler to look at. As in real life, we're impotent in the redzone, and the Saints were able to run wherever they wanted. It should be noted that most of Ingram's yards were a 75 yard TD rush on a failed blitz.

Week two

(1-0) Washington Redskins 24 @ 7 Chicago Bears (0-1)

Way: 8-18, 91yds, 0-0
Langford: 43 from 15, TD
White: 36 from 3. Royal: 31 from 3.

Another fairly strong team, the Redskins suffered a setback when Kurt Cousins dislocated his ankle (it had nothing to do with Goldman sitting on it, honest). Backup QB Colin Kaepernick (yeah...) came in, and the Redskins offense came to an abrupt halt. Incidentally, I have no idea why Way was starting here. The AI seems to do that a lot (putting the backup QB in for the some early games)

Week three

(0-2) Cincinnati Bengals 24 @ 6 Chicago Bears (0-2)

Cutler: 13-27, 136 0-1
Langford: 73 from 20
Spaeth: 34 from 3. Yes, the blocking TE who can't catch a beachball was our leading receiver.
Danny Trevathan: 17 total tackles (16 solo, 1 assist), 1 INT. The man is a god.

This is the game I was most disappointed in. A Bengals team without Andy Dalton and Gio Bernard through injury, and Jeremy Hill through his departure for the Patriots, plus the return of Jay Cutler, and we... do worse than before. Seriously, Matt Spaeth? I mean, to be fair he also out-received AJ Green, but sheesh. Most of the Bengal's damage was done by their rookie running back out of Massachusetts Reggie Heath, 126 yards on 39 carries.

In other week 3 news, the Bears re-signed 26 year old punter Pat O'Donnell to a 5 year, $15.8m deal and 25 year old cornerback (soon to be strong safety) Kyle Fuller to a 5 year, $34.4m contract. Lamarr Houston was traded to Minnesota for a 5th round pick this year, and 2nd and 7th round picks next year. The only other deal on the table was an inferior offer from Pittsburgh.

Week four

(0-3) Chicago Bears 10 @ 20 Minnesota Vikings (2-1)

Cutler: 16-23, 137, 1-1
Langford: 49 from 13
White: 45 from 5. Royal: 28 from 5, TD. Spaeth: 21 from 3.

Worth noting that in this game White had a 65 yard TD reception chalked off for holding. But still, given the opposition, this was more promising. At least from a defensive point of view. ONLY 20 points allowed! ¬_¬

Akiem Hicks was re-signed for 4 years for $27.5m. I might've overpaid slightly here but I didn't want to have to look for a better LE. I want to try and keep as many key components of my defense around as possible and build the offense through the draft. Kyle Long and Alshon Jeffery are the only guys on my offense who were here when I got here that I'm desperate to keep.

Around the league

There are a few surprisingly close divisions at the quarter mark, and some absolute dumpster fires (hi, NFC West and our own NFC North!)

AFC North:

Steelers 3-1

Bengals 2-2

Ravens 2-2

Browns 2-2

AFC South:

Jaguars 4-0

Texans 3-1

Colts 3-1

Titans 1-3

AFC East:

Jets 4-0 (!)

Pats 3-0

Bills 2-2

Dolphins 0-4

AFC West:

Chiefs 3-1

Broncos 2-2

Raiders 1-2

Chargers 1-3

NFC North:

Vikings 3-1

Lions 1-3

Bears 0-4

Packers 0-4

NFC South:

Saints 4-0

Falcons 2-1

Buccaneers 1-3 (with SIXTY FIVE points allowed. IN TOTAL. The lowest total by any team who's played all four games. And we thought OUR offence was bad)

Panthers 0-4

NFC East:

Dallas 4-0

Redskins 3-0

Giants 3-1

Eagles 1-3

West:

Seahawks 2-2

Rams 2-2

Cardinals 0-4

49ers 0-4

So basically, the NFC Championship game is Dallas vs. New Orleans, and the east is getting both wildcards. ¬_¬

Top news stories

Players done for the season:

Tyrod Taylor (compound foot fracture last week)

Tevin Coleman (fracture kneecap in first game)

Chris Ivory (broken leg in preseason)

Tyler Lockett (torn rotator cuff)

Other notable injuries:

Joe Flacco, did his MCL in pre-season. Should be back in 2 weeks.

Kirk Cousins we know about from earlier.

Marcus Mariota broke his collarbone in pre-season, expected back in week 7.

Carson Palmer injured his hip, hence the Cardinals being 0-4. Out until week 10. John Brown has also been out for a few weeks.

Here's a random list of a few interesting QB situations I noted:

Cardinals: Previously mentioned that Palmer is out. Their starting QB is EJ Manuel. Hence the 0-4 thing.

Chiefs: Behind starter Alex Smith are Landry Jones and Zach Mettenberger. Wait, which team is this again?

49ers: Replacing Colin Kaepernick (Redskins) and Blaine Gabbert (FA) is rookie Nick Cortez (80 OVR), backed up by Geno Smith.

Jags: Bortles is still kicking ass, backed up by our own Brian Hoyer.

Jets: The 4-0 start has been masterminded by first round pick Vinny Purvis, who is top 5 in passing yards so far. Blaine Gabbert backs him up after being snubbed by San Francisco.

Patriots: Rookie second round pick Nick Lehmann, backed up by Jimmy Garopolo and... CASE KEENUM (Brissett is on the practice squad).

Raiders: Still led by Carr, but backed up by JOHNNY FOOTBALL! YES!

Rams: Jared Goff has taken over (82 OVR :/), backed up by Nick Mallett and that Christian Ponder guy, remember him?

Ravens: While Flacco is out, they have a solid backup in Nick Foles. Worth noting that both of their wins were games Foles started (vs. Browns and Bengals).

Seahawks: Lord Buttfumble is their backup. Lucky DangerRuss is invincible.

Texans: Osweiler is still there, backed up by Cody Kessler, who's probably the best backup in the game in terms of OVR (sadly, the game has not been kind to Dak Prescott).

Also, Sam Bradford is back in Philly, backing up Wentz. It's, it's not going well.

This took bloody ages, I'm only doing yearly recaps. Sod it.

Oh, and in this reality Mike Bercovici from Undrafted made the San Diego roster! Yay!

DAVEFAN95 · November 1, 2016

First quarter update:

Pre-season injuries
Jay Cutler broke his toe, will miss first two games of the regular season.
Zak Miller broke his hand, will miss the first 4 games (bye week in week 5)
Mauga, only recently signed, out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Notable cuts
Cameron Meredith
Donte Whitner

Unfortunately for Whitner I realised that Flowers played SS better than he plays CB (so does Fuller, incidentally, but Fuller is a better corner than Flowers). So Flowers has moved to SS. Full ter is potentially a near-elite level strong safety though so will likely start there next year depending on what the free agency/draft pool is like for corners.

Week one

The Saints are looking good this year, but Derek Anderson put up "breathing down your neck" style numbers for Jay Cutler to look at. As in real life, we're impotent in the redzone, and the Saints were able to run wherever they wanted. It should be noted that most of Ingram's yards were a 75 yard TD rush on a failed blitz.

Week two

Another fairly strong team, the Redskins suffered a setback when Kurt Cousins dislocated his ankle (it had nothing to do with Goldman sitting on it, honest). Backup QB Colin Kaepernick (yeah...) came in, and the Redskins offense came to an abrupt halt. Incidentally, I have no idea why Way was starting here. The AI seems to do that a lot (putting the backup QB in for the some early games)

Week three

This is the game I was most disappointed in. A Bengals team without Andy Dalton and Gio Bernard through injury, and Jeremy Hill through his departure for the Patriots, plus the return of Jay Cutler, and we... do worse than before. Seriously, Matt Spaeth? I mean, to be fair he also out-received AJ Green, but sheesh. Most of the Bengal's damage was done by their rookie running back out of Massachusetts Reggie Heath, 126 yards on 39 carries.

In other week 3 news, the Bears re-signed 26 year old punter Pat O'Donnell to a 5 year, $15.8m deal and 25 year old cornerback (soon to be strong safety) Kyle Fuller to a 5 year, $34.4m contract. Lamarr Houston was traded to Minnesota for a 5th round pick this year, and 2nd and 7th round picks next year. The only other deal on the table was an inferior offer from Pittsburgh.

Week four

Worth noting that in this game White had a 65 yard TD reception chalked off for holding. But still, given the opposition, this was more promising. At least from a defensive point of view. ONLY 20 points allowed! ¬_¬

Akiem Hicks was re-signed for 4 years for $27.5m. I might've overpaid slightly here but I didn't want to have to look for a better LE. I want to try and keep as many key components of my defense around as possible and build the offense through the draft. Kyle Long and Alshon Jeffery are the only guys on my offense who were here when I got here that I'm desperate to keep.

Around the league

There are a few surprisingly close divisions at the quarter mark, and some absolute dumpster fires (hi, NFC West and our own NFC North!)

AFC North:
Steelers 3-1
Bengals 2-2
Ravens 2-2
Browns 2-2

AFC South:
Jaguars 4-0
Texans 3-1
Colts 3-1
Titans 1-3

AFC East:
Jets 4-0 (!)
Pats 3-0
Bills 2-2
Dolphins 0-4

AFC West:
Chiefs 3-1
Broncos 2-2
Raiders 1-2
Chargers 1-3

NFC North:
Vikings 3-1
Lions 1-3
Bears 0-4
Packers 0-4

NFC South:
Saints 4-0
Falcons 2-1
Buccaneers 1-3 (with SIXTY FIVE points allowed. IN TOTAL. The lowest total by any team who's played all four games. And we thought OUR offence was bad)
Panthers 0-4

NFC East:
Dallas 4-0
Redskins 3-0
Giants 3-1
Eagles 1-3

West:
Seahawks 2-2
Rams 2-2
Cardinals 0-4
49ers 0-4

So basically, the NFC Championship game is Dallas vs. New Orleans, and the east is getting both wildcards. ¬_¬

Top news stories

Players done for the season:
Tyrod Taylor (compound foot fracture last week)
Tevin Coleman (fracture kneecap in first game)
Chris Ivory (broken leg in preseason)
Tyler Lockett (torn rotator cuff)

Other notable injuries:
Joe Flacco, did his MCL in pre-season. Should be back in 2 weeks.
Kirk Cousins we know about from earlier.
Marcus Mariota broke his collarbone in pre-season, expected back in week 7.
Carson Palmer injured his hip, hence the Cardinals being 0-4. Out until week 10. John Brown has also been out for a few weeks.

Here's a random list of a few interesting QB situations I noted:
Cardinals: Previously mentioned that Palmer is out. Their starting QB is EJ Manuel. Hence the 0-4 thing.
Chiefs: Behind starter Alex Smith are Landry Jones and Zach Mettenberger. Wait, which team is this again?
49ers: Replacing Colin Kaepernick (Redskins) and Blaine Gabbert (FA) is rookie Nick Cortez (80 OVR), backed up by Geno Smith.
Jags: Bortles is still kicking ass, backed up by our own Brian Hoyer.
Jets: The 4-0 start has been masterminded by first round pick Vinny Purvis, who is top 5 in passing yards so far. Blaine Gabbert backs him up after being snubbed by San Francisco.
Patriots: Rookie second round pick Nick Lehmann, backed up by Jimmy Garopolo and... CASE KEENUM (Brissett is on the practice squad).
Raiders: Still led by Carr, but backed up by JOHNNY FOOTBALL! YES!
Rams: Jared Goff has taken over (82 OVR :/), backed up by Nick Mallett and that Christian Ponder guy, remember him?
Ravens: While Flacco is out, they have a solid backup in Nick Foles. Worth noting that both of their wins were games Foles started (vs. Browns and Bengals).
Seahawks: Lord Buttfumble is their backup. Lucky DangerRuss is invincible.
Texans: Osweiler is still there, backed up by Cody Kessler, who's probably the best backup in the game in terms of OVR (sadly, the game has not been kind to Dak Prescott).

Also, Sam Bradford is back in Philly, backing up Wentz. It's, it's not going well.

This took bloody ages, I'm only doing yearly recaps. Sod it.

Oh, and in this reality Mike Bercovici from Undrafted made the San Diego roster! Yay!

This was awesome to read. When I get to season three, I'm gonna do quarterly updates. In fact, I'm gonna play some Madden right now.

Rayelek · November 2, 2016

Reading these really makes me want a new madden. I'm still on Madden 2013 on my PS3. Maybe next year.

D-Lyrium · November 2, 2016

Welll, since it was popular... Quarterly is still too much effort for so little gain, but at the same time yearly seems too long to wait. 2017 Part 2 Week 6 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(3-2) Pittsburgh Steelers 14 @ 9 Chicago Bears (0-5) Cutler: 10-19, 96, 0-3. Anderson: 15-22, 216, 0-0. Langford: 30-86 (Bell 18-98, TD) Jeffrey: 8-108</div></blockquote> Enough was enough, it was time for a change. After Ross Cockerell pulled in his second INT of the day, Cutler's third, on a pass that nobody else had a chance at, I pulled Cutler and sent Anderson out to battle. Anderson did better, but couldn't get the ball into the endzone. There were positives, however; our defence limited one of the best offenses in the league to 14 points, and any team other than us could probably have used that to their advantage. To add insult to injury, defensive end Chris Canty tore up his knee and will be out for 8 weeks. So he's on the IR, essentially meaning his season is over as we're unlikely to feature in the playoffs, which also means his Chicago Bears career is likely also over. Rookie DT Poyer has been called up from the practice squad and will back up Bullard, who's taken over starting duties at LE. Jermon Bushrod signed a one year contract extension - while our rookie Marino is coming along nicely and has now taken over starting duties, I have plans for Bushy. He's a good backup, and cheap enough. Week 7 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(4-2) Atlanta Falcons 24 @ 19 Chicago Bears (0-6) Anderson 12-20, 168, 0-1. Cutler: 5-7, 91, 1-0. (Ryan: 22-30, 286, 2-0). Rodgers: 14-46 (Freeman: 24-109, TD). Royal: 6-93 TD (Jones: 9-206, 2TD).</div></blockquote> The more things change, the more Brett Anderson breaks his thumb and Cutler goes back to starting for 3 weeks. We were ok. Julio Jones played though. 'nuff said. Fuller did his best, and 206 isn't that much when you look at their WR depth chart - they had nobody else really to go to. Backup defensive end Unrein also tore his shoulder in this game, but we should be ok. Week 8 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(0-6) Chicago Bears 17 @ 31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7) Way 25-38, 281, 2-1 Rodgers: 14-33 Miller: 11-120, TD Jeffrey: 6-55, TD.</div></blockquote> Yup, Miller's back. With a bang. With Anderson out, Cutler in the doghouse and the season not able to get any worse, rookie QB Olajuwaun Way took the field, and actually did really well, managing the same number of passing TDs in one game as both our other QBs managed in the previous three. The Buccs, who at the end of 12 weeks have the third least Points Against tally in the NFL despite their atrocious record, came out swinging here and picked up win #2 of the season. I think Jameis Winston was injured in this game too, as their backup QB put up some big numbers against us. Either Winston went down, or they were just taunting us. I was debating whether or not to give Miller an extension, and this was the game that made it more likely than not. Do you feel excited? Are we about to turn this around? Or are we slipping towards 2008 Detroit Lions territory? Clue: We're off to Lambeau Field next. Week 9 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(0-7) Chicago Bears 20 @ 14 Green Bay Packers (4-3) Way: 13-22, 127, 1-1 Carey: 17-59, Rodgers: 17-46, Way: 6-19 Carey: 3-30, TD. Alecxih: 1-2, TD (Richard Rodgers: 11-103).</div></blockquote> The Only Way Is Up! Not exactly an impressive performance (wait a week or so...) but Way got the job done here against the Packers. Green Bay's only touchdown was a Feastmode 3 yard rush. They missed the PAT then kicked two field goals and sacked Way for a Safety. Weird game. But we WON! Also, props to the opportunist Chris Alecxih, our rookie undrafted free agent fullback, who scored his first TD with a 2 yard reception, his only one of the game. Ka'Deem Carey also came up with a receiving TD - I guess if our running game isn't working, we have to get them involved somehow. Unfortunately we lost Eddie Royal for 6 weeks with torn knee cartilage, but as you'll see... the Next Man Up delivered. Week 10 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(1-7) Chicago Bears 34 @ 28 San Francisco 49ers (4-6) Way: 28-44, 353, 3-1 (Nick Cortez: 30-44, 201, 3-1) Rodgers: 18-51 Way: 8-31 Miller: 6-71. Hartline: 6-105.</div></blockquote> Where there's a will, there's a Way! This was a breakout game for so many people. Obviously, Olajawhatever Way had an epic game which was good enough to earn him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honours, but also Brian Hartline, stepping in as slot receiver, had a 100 yard game. Alecxih was back, this time with a rushing TD (again, his only carry of the game), John Brown reminded us he also exists, with a TD. Finally, Ka'Deem Carey registered a rushing TD to complete an offensive explosion. Nick Cortez, the 9ers first round draft pick, also had a very decent game. Brett Anderson returned from injury, but nobody cared. If you look closely at the depth chart these days, you'll see he's technically Way's backup. But shhhhh, don't tell Jay. Week 11 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(2-7) Cleveland Browns 7 @ 21 Chicago Bears (2-7) Way: 26-35, 288, 3-0 Rodgers: 21-64 White: 8-68. Jeffrey: 5-83, TD. Miller: 5-63, Hartline: 5-37, 2TD.</div></blockquote> He does it his Way! So... Brian Hartline's a thing, huh? A clean game for Way, where he spread the targets around a fair bit and found the endzone with relative ease. He's also just become officially better than Brett Anderson, in terms of OVR, so it's a shame that he's a slow developer. I'll miss the puns, most of all. I've got my eye on a stud rookie QB, but I'm beginning to worry I'll be drafting too low to get him at this rate! This was also when I finally pulled the trigger on Zac Miller's contract extension, 3/$12.9m. He bounced back nicely from the dip in OVR caused by the injury and is clearly now good enough for me to not need to draft an early round TE. Brandon Flowers is becoming an issue though. He and I have wildly differing views as to what constitutes a reasonable contract offer. The plan was always to draft him some CB buddies in next year's draft, but the idea was that they accompanied him, not replaced him... Annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be any way to view possible free agents before actual free agency starts in Madden, so I'm not sure if I can afford to let him go or not. Week 12 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>(3-7) Chicago Bears 24 @ 18 Detroit Lions (2-8) Way: 21-29, 240, 2-1 Langford: 21-74, TD. Rodgers: 10-29. Hartline: 8-126, TD</div></blockquote> Way to go! Brian Hartline for MVP! His second 100 yard receiving game in three weeks, and his fourth touchdown in that time. Eddie Royal's contract extension is sat on my desk. It's not signed. It might never be. Not that they're direct competitors (if anything, Royal is competing with the almost invisible John Brown), but it's hard to forget that Hartline stepped up after Royal got injured. So, almost embarassingly, with five games to go we're a game back from the NFC North title (ok, 1.5), after an 0-7 start. We've got an emerging young QB who we know is slow to develop and will never be a gunslinger, but who's doing too well to replace right now. And we've got Brian freakin' Hartline! Oh, and remember when I mentioned the Buccs were 3rd in the NFL in terms of points per game against? We're 5th. Defence wins... the hearts and minds of the people? Week 12 NFL Standings AFC North: Steelers 8-3, Bengals 7-4, Ravens 6-5, Browns 2-9. South: Jaguars 9-2, Texans 6-5, Colts 5-6, Titans 4-6 East: Jets 7-3, Bills 7-3, Patriots 7-3, Dolphins 2-9 West: Raiders 7-4, Chiefs 5-6, Chargers 5-6, Broncos 4-7. NFC: North: Vikings 5-6, Bears 4-7, Packers 4-7, Lions 2-9 South: Saints 9-2, Falcons 6-5, Panthers 6-5, Buccaneers 4-7 East: Cowboys 10-1, Eagles 6-5, Redskins 6-5, Giants 5-6 West: Seahawks 6-5, Rams 6-5, 49ers 4-6, Cardinals 1-10 (ouch...) It's almost as if Carson Palmer is kind of a big deal in Arizona or something. Also, Dallas vs. Jacksonville. The Super Bowl EVERYONE wants. ¬_¬ The NFC South and East look sewn up at this point, as do the AFC South and West. That AFC East, though...!

rvdjrv2002 · November 4, 2016

My main Franchise is a multiplayer ive been part of for multiple Maddens we are currently in year 3. I have been playing as the Houston Texans playoffs in year 1 no thanks to Brock Osweiler who much like the real thing stunk a hole in the roster and was benched in at least 4 games for Joe Webb, We won the less than stellar AFC South but lost in the Divisional Round of the post Season to the Cincinnati Bengals (another User Team). JJ Watt was the Runner up to the AFC DPOY.

The draft in year 1` was was very kind in Houston. Brock Osweiler was traded pre-draft for another 1st rnd pick from Kansas City. Free agency was fairly un-eventful only a handful of new players were signed with Ted Ginn Jr being the biggest.

The draft saw Houston take a QB, a SS and a WR in the draft all of which have developed into elite players at their position.

QB Cole Foley out of LSU

SS Joey Dutka out of The Ohio State

and WR Kevin Blaylock out of Bowling Green State was arguably the steal of the draft coming out of Round 5

Year 2 was an amazing season as Houston only lost 1 game in the Regular Season to the New England Patriots who were the defending AFC Champions(User team) Houston would secure a wild card bye and then go on to defeat the Denver Broncos (user team) with a domination victory with a margin of over 40 points. However we could not topple the PAtriots in the AFC Championship. JJ Watt syeamrolled the competition for AFC DPOY with a record setting 28 Sacks on the year. Cole Foley made the list of most TD PAsses in a season with 58 as a rookie.

Free Agency was once again fairly uneventful once again. The Draft saw us select a Defensive End out of Stanford Charlton Willie to pair opposite Watt. A CB was drafted in the first round to help build a secondary that had been lacking as Demarco Rutherford was drafted out of Florida.

Which us to year 3 we are 4 games into the season on week having had an early Bye we sit 3-1 our only loss coming from New England. Willie and JJ Watt have been tearing it up combing for 16.5 sacks the extra .5 belonging to Willie who is an early fav for DROY.

I am planning to start a fresh single player game not sure what team but planning for a lower tier team not sure if I want one to relocate or not gbut when I start it I will keep up with notes for this thread edit: Ive since settled on the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets

codey_v2 · November 10, 2016

I've made it to season 3 with the Browns, won the Super Bowl both seasons on pro.

I've built the team up really well, but I'm switching out to play as owner of the Dolphins now. I want to do the stadium build up/expansion stuff.

DAVEFAN95 · November 10, 2016

Cleveland Browns Year 2 Offseason

After finishing 10-6 and failing to make the playoffs (Yup, Cleveland have no luck) I went to the draft and free agency looking to boost this squad. Didn't do much here and decided my best opportunity to round out this team was in the draft. I had three 1st round picks, overall the 1st, 20th and 21st. (traded away a lot of draft picks to get them as well promising DT Danny Shelton). I'll only tell you about these as I had about 11 picks total and traded down a lot so I'll talk more about them just before I play week 1 So first pick of the draft had to be a QB and I took Thomas Logan out of Nebraska. Good pocket passer who was definitely a franchise QB, superstar dev. Delighted with the pick. After Green Bay snagged the MLB I wanted (but I then went and traded for him anyway. bye 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks, worth it), I went nickel corner at number 20 with speedy man to man CB Vintize Forbes. Very happy with this one as well, with Joe Haden's speed dropped to 87 (meaning he can't keep up with elite speed guys on the outside in man to man), this means on 2 TE sets I can put Haden back into SS, Forbes at CB1 (covering WR2) and Gilchrist (last years 1st round pick, 6'4 209lbs, 93 speed corner) at CB2 (covering WR1). I want to play a lot of man and with my safeties pretty poor at man, using Haden as a safety against TE's seems like a good idea. In the nickel, I can have Haden, Gilchrist and Forbes at CB, Reggie Nelson at FS (72 man coverage, which is okay) and P. Meyers at SS (75 man, which is solid) on man to man calls,which mean I can blitz 6, especially if I play 2-4-5 (which I do a lot). ANyway,, the final first round pick was Jamie(?) Morency at ROLB. After DeMorio Davis refused to resign with us last season (mainly cause I had no intention of keeping him for four years at 25 mil at 28), I needed a replacement. The initial idea was to get Jason Crumpler (GB stole him as I said earlier) throw him at MLB with Alex Hutson (Draft pick last year, no idea what round. I'm thinking 3-4) and put Darren Troutman (2nd round pick last year I think) at ROLB. But now I have a bit of a problem. At LB I have Ogbah, Troutman, Crumpler, Hutson, Morency and Davidson (later round pick this year), I can't start them all. Right now I'm gonna go Ogbah (LOLB, had a 22 sack year last year), Troutman & Crumpler (MLB), Morency (ROLB) using Hutson as a run stopper/zone coverage hybrid and Davidson as a situational pass rusher.

Anyway, expect a roster update soon on who made the squad. I'll tell you more about these new guys aswell and you can help me sort out this talent packed roster.

D-Lyrium · November 10, 2016

End of Season Update~! <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Packers 23 @ 16 Lions Way 19/32, 258, 1-0 Langford 15-56. Way 4-12. Miller 6-110 TD. White 4-46. Hartline 4-50</div></blockquote> A disappointing loss which basically gave the division to the Packers. Nobody really stood out here, and only one TD for the Bears. Bad news for Way, who injured his leg and will miss the rest of the season. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Panthers 24 @ 28 Bears Anderson 17/28, 255, 1-1 Rodgers 17-54, TD. Carey 7-14 2TD. White 7-95. Miller 4-88. Rodgers 3-51 TD</div></blockquote> An impressive win, especially considering what happens later in the season. Anderson did fine for - technically - a third string QB, and the defence kept Cam quiet. Big game for Kevin White, too. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="42841" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Bears 18 @ 7 Vikings Cutler 22/38, 201, 0-0 Rodgers 35-94 Miller 5-41, Rodgers 5-38, White 4-46</div></blockquote> 18 points and not a TD to be had. Yup, SIX field goals in this game. The Vikings were shut out until the fourth quarter where a lapse in concentration allowed a breakaway Matt Asiata touchdown to save their blushes. Jay Cutler suited up for this one as it was very unlikely Anderson would be back next year. He was... unimpressive. The win gave us second place in the division however, over the Vikings. AFC Final Standings North: Steelers 11-5, Bengals 9-7, Ravens 8-8, Browns 5-11 South: Texans 9-7, Jaguars 9-7, Titans 8-8, Colts 6-10 East: Jets 11-4-1, Patriots 10-6, Bills 7-8-1, Dolphins 2-14 West: Raiders 9-6-1, Chiefs 8-7-1, Chargers 8-8, Broncos 6-10 NFC Final Standings North: Packers 9-7, Bears 7-9, Vikings 6-10, Lions 4-12 South: Saints 11-5, Panthers 10-6, Falcons 9-7, Buccaneers 7-9 East: Cowboys 12-4, Eagles 10-6, Washington 9-6, Giants 7-8-1 West: Seahawks 9-7, 49ers 7-8, Rams 7-9, Cardinals 3-13 The Packers and Texans squeaked into the playoffs by virtue of winning bad divisions. Both wildcard teams in the NFC would've won all but two of the other divisions in the league. Wildcard Round Bengals 24 @ 14 Raiders Eagles 17 @ 24 Packers Patriots 26 @ 29 Texans (Lehman 29-42, 465, 3-1. Gronk 9-188 TD. Panthers 28 @ 21 Seahawks Gronk had 115 RAC, more than any other receiver had total yards! Also, I believe the 465 yards the Patriots rookie put up in this game is third all-time in the postseason, one yard off Drew Brees in second. Definitely a rookie record. Tom who? Divisional Round Bengals 31 @ 28 Jets Panthers 29 @ 24 Cowboys Texans 41 @ 27 Steelers (Kessler 23/35, 337, 4-1. Jaelen Strong 7-144 2TD) Packers 20 @ 28 Saints Yup, that's Cody Kessler, backing up for the injured Brock Osweiler. The Texans aren't too worried! Championship Round Bengals 23 @ 12 Texans Panthers 42 @ 21 Saints (Cam Newton 25-26, 274, 2-1. Rushing: 8-31 (2TD). Home field advantage? Pffft. Winning your division? Pfffft. I also love how Cam's only incompletion was an interception. Super Bowl 52 Panthers 21 - 42 Bengals Dalton: 15/21, 179, 3-0 Newton: 18/46, 189, 0-2 An odd game, in that there were no really notable stat lines. Well, there was one... AJ McCarron: 2-2, 40, 1-0. The Bengals were so far ahead, they brought in AJ McCarron in the Super Bowl, and he threw a TD pass. Ouch. Next: Awards and Offseason pt1.

D-Lyrium · November 11, 2016

End of Year Awards

Pro Bowl Selections: Willie Young (1), Kyle Fuller (1), Brandon Flowers (2)

Obviously pleased with Fuller, and Flowers getting to his second Pro Bowl is pretty cool. Willie Young was a shock, the veteran who started the season as a backup has had an epic season after the injury to Floyd. Obviously nobody on offense was even close.

Most Valuable Player: Le'Veon Bell (Cam Newton, Russell Wilson)

Coach of the Year: Todd Bowles (Jason Garrett, Doug Pederson)

AFC

OPOY: Le'Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers

DPOY: JJ Watt, Brian Cushing, Ryan Shazier

OROY: Purvis (QB, NYJ), Lehman (QB, NE), Nua (WR, Miami)

DROY: Moorehead (Browns), Logan (Steelers), Brinkley (Jets)

NFC

OPOY: Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees

DPOY: Aaron Donald, Robert Wagner, Cam Jordan (Danny Trevathan: 8th)

OROY: Cortez (49ers), Way (Bears), Jarrett (... Saints? I think?)

DROY: Middleton (Falcons), Pearson (Eagles), Stanley (Cardinals)

Linebackers: Young, 5th. Trevathan, 8th.

Defensive Backs: Fuller, 1st.

Stats

Passing: Way: 1,826 yards (11 games). 13 TD - 5 INT. Cutler: 977 yards (8 games), 3-4. NFL leader: Philip Rivers: 4,701, 30-14.

Rushing: Langford: 162-502, 3 TD - 0 FUM. Rodgers: 168-495, 1-1. Way: 44-195, 0-3. Carey: 52-153, 4-0. NFL Leaders: Jamaal Charles: 290-1,594 15-3. Le'Veon Bell: 262-1,528, 20-0.

Receiving: White: 67-678, 0 TD. Jeffery: 57-759, 3. Miller: 56-662, 3. Hartline: 37-477, 4. Royal: 24-306, 2. Rodgers: 22-247, 1. Langford: 12-222, 1. Carey: 11-159, 2. NFL Leaders: AJ Green 103-1,533, 12. Richard Rodgers(!?): 106-1,076, 4.

Defence: Trevathan: 142 total tackles (113 solo), 2 Sacks - 2 Interceptions. Freeman: 118(88) 3 - 0. McPhee 102(73): 7.5 - 1. Young: 100(75), 10 - 1. Flowers: 81(71), 0 - 1. Hicks: 69(53), 6 - 0. Fuller: 75(56) 0 - 5. NFL Leaders: Denzel Perryman: 150(127), 2 - 1. JJ Watt: 82(63), 25-0. (NFL Sacks Record). LaVonte David: 131(103) 4.5 - 7.

Team Stats:

Total Off. Yards: 30th, 5,125 (1st: Steelers, 6,639).

Passing Yards: 24th, 3,687 (1st: Chargers, 4,703).

Rushing Yards: 24th, 1,438 (1st: Panthers, 2,353).

Total Yds Allowed: 1st, 5,352.

Pass Yds Allowed: 1st, 3,247.

Rush Yds Allowed: 32nd 2,105 (1st: Packers, 1,348).

Pts Allowed: 3rd, 326. (1st, Buccaneers, 314).

Annoying that the garbage time TD vs. the Vikings in the final quarter of the season ended up costing us 2nd place in points allowed. And it's clear that our secondary and linebacking corps doesn't need any help this offseason, we're basically the new No Fly Zone. The D-Line, however... hmm.

And I still can't help but feel sorry for the Buccs. Similar to us, they conceded on average 19 PPG and finished last in their division with a 7-9 record.

Notable Retirements

Terrell Suggs

DeMarcus Ware

Donald Penn

Cameron Wake

Frank Gore (:'()

Bears:

Matt Spaeth

Chris Canty

Head Coach Hirings

Chuck Pagano - Indianapolis Colts

Jim Caldwell - Jacksonville Jaguars

John Harbaugh - Arizona Cardinals

Bears Players Not Returning

SS Brandon Flowers - While an excellent player and having had a good season, we haven't got the cap room to spare to keep him around unfortunately.

DT Ego Ferguson, DT J. Poyer - Two young DTs drafted recently by the Bears (Poyer was our second round pick last season), but neither have developed enough to trouble the starters. Poyer especially has been a bust. Ferguson could've stayed if he didn't want so much money.

WR Eddie Royal, Chris Givens. Royal simply wants too much money for what he brings to the table, though I fully expect him to have a good season elsewhere. Givens played 27 downs last season and didn't have a single reception.

LT Charles Leno Jr.

TE Khari Lee

RE Mitch Unrein

CB Sherrick McManus - These four are all below the standard we're looking for and we can find cheaper, probably better, replacements.

QB Derek Anderson - If we're left needing a third-stringer come pre-season, he'll be the guy we go to. He served us well, but no sense extending his contract now.

HB Senorise Perry - A 5th-string HB, but he was our special teams go-to guy. Now we've got a few guys just as good, so we no longer need him.

MLB Brock Coyle - Only ever hired as a stopgap backup due to an injury, no need to re-sign him.

Team Needs

Grades from in-game. Also this is before off-season XP is spent, so some players should jump up a bit before the season kicks off next year.

LT Trajuan Blackmon [b-]. Last season's 4th rounder, Blackmon has developed massively over this season and is now a very good LT. No worries here.

LG Eric Marino [C+]. Our first round LT converted to guard. Hampered by injury this year, and was also the backup for a while. Has a high ceiling though and someone I'm excited for next year. No worries here.

C JC Tretter [b-]. Solid, still has room to grow. Very happy here. Might even have ripped the Packers off a bit, feel a bit guilty.

QB Jay Cutler [C+], Olajuan Way [C]. Ah, the conundrum of the offseason. Way came second on OROY voting and did really well in reserve. More of a Kapernick/Taylor style rushing QB, not much of an arm, and slow development. Cutler in theory has decent ratings but has regressed a bit and has just been... bad. But he's mega expensive. What to do...

HB: Jaquizz Rodgers [C], Ka'Deem Carey [C]. I'll be honest, I'm not sure what happened to Jeremy Langford. I'm 90% sure he didn't retire, being 25 years old, and I can't remember seeing him in my quick glance through the FA list. But he's not on my roster, so he must be. Whoops. Regardless, Rodgers has had a decent season in a team not that keen on rushing. Carey has provided the efficient, punchy touchdown runs in short yardage situations. Not an urgent need, but we'll need to replace Langford.

FB: Michael Alecxih [C]. Love him. Signed as an undrafted free agent, he's blossomed into a great blocking FB. Already progressed quite a bit with the potential to go further. Signed to a long term contract. No need to replace him.

TE: Zac Miller [C]. Battling regression, but still a key part of our offense. As he's now the only TE on the roster after Lee was released and Spaeth retired, we clearly need more bodies here, but I'm not sure we necessarily need to 'upgrade' despite his reasonably low OVR. A blocking TE is a must, I can't live without one.

WR: Alshon Jeffery [A-], Kevin White [b-], Brian Hartline [C], John Brown [C]. Obviously we need to bring in the usual slew of training camp wide receivers to fight for places, because we've only got 4 on the roster, but I'm happy with the 4 guys we have. Jeffrey is still a top-tier WR despite the QB service letting him down, Kevin White had a good year and became a solid WR2. Brian Hartline had a renaissance and became a great slot receiver, earning himself a contract extension. John Brown didn't really do much, but I'm happy to keep him around. No real issues here.

DT: Eddie Goldman [C+], Manuel Jose [C-]. The stats rarely lie, we were terrible against the run last year. Eddie Goldman is ok, but not great. Very young though so room to grow. Manuel Jose was a draft pick last year who didn't get to play much.

RE: Johnathan Bullard [C]. Bullard is only young, and has Quick development. Was thrown into the starter role after Canty's injury. With Canty retiring, we'll have to decide whether to give him the starting role or maybe look at free agency. Definitely don't need an early draft pick here.

LE: Akiem Hicks [b-]. Despite being in the traditional position to blame when the run defence sucks, Hicks is our best DLineman. Possibly swapping him to RE would be an option, and drafting a run stopping LE? Hicks and Bullard are very similar, versatile ends so it may work to our advantage to move Hicks to the right.

ROLB: Leonard Floyd [b-], Willie Young [b-]

MLB: Danny Trevathan [b+], Jerrell Freeman [b-], Mauga [C-]

LOLB: Parnell McPhee [A-]

Obviously the pride of Chicago, our LB corps is awesome. Leonard Floyd took the year off with an injury, I'd actually forgotten Willie Young was supposed to be a backup. Now I have an issue. Mauga regressed due to his injury but hopefully can serve well as a backup. The only question here is whether I keep Willie Young, or try to trade him. I can't bench Floyd, he's a young, excellent talent. But Young doesn't deserve to be benched either. And I do need cap room...

FS: Micah Hyde [b-], Adrian Amos [b-]. Amos will probably move to CB next season because there's a need there and he's too good to be on the bench, but otherwise I'm happy with Micah Hyde.

SS: Prosinski [D]. Regressed as he's not played all year. The intention was to move Will Fuller here, but with Flowers leaving I'm not sure that's a great idea. Definitely a candidate for a draft choice.

CB: Will Fuller , Bryce Callahan [C], Tracey Porter [C-]. Porter isn't really good enough. Callahan made a decent nickel, but I'm not sure I'd trust him as a regular CB2. Fuller is obviously excellent and will only get better. This area needs work.

So:

Free Agents: Backup O-Line, backup receiver TE, blocking TE, backup MLB, backup edge rusher if Young is traded, Safety, Cornerback, the usual flurry of WRs.

Draft: Quarterback?, Run-stopper DE, Cornerback, Safety.

Questions:

- Quarterback. What would you do here? I figure I have three options:

1, keep Cutler as #1 with Way as #2, don't draft a QB this year.

2, keep Cutler as #2, with Way as #1, don't draft a QB this year.

3, try to trade Cutler in pre-season, draft a QB to replace him, keep Way as #2.

There's absolutely no way I can draft a top tier QB and keep Cutler. The danger is, if I draft a QB and nobody wants Cutler... Way did pretty well last season but wasn't amazing. Plus he has Slow development, so probably won't ever be a top QB. I feel it's pointless 'wasting' a season trying to develop him. Cutler might have a comeback year...

- Edge rusher. Do I trade Willie Young? Floyd is obviously the better choice long-term but Young was so good last year... If there's an injury though, we could use him. Trading him would free up some much needed cap space however.

The free agent class overall isn't inspiring. Positions of need are rather sparse in terms of top-tier talent, but pretty deep in terms of backups, should be able to find some bargains.

DAVEFAN95 · November 11, 2016

Questions:
- Quarterback. What would you do here? I figure I have three options:
1, keep Cutler as #1 with Way as #2, don't draft a QB this year.
2, keep Cutler as #2, with Way as #1, don't draft a QB this year.
3, try to trade Cutler in pre-season, draft a QB to replace him, keep Way as #2.

There's absolutely no way I can draft a top tier QB and keep Cutler. The danger is, if I draft a QB and nobody wants Cutler... Way did pretty well last season but wasn't amazing. Plus he has Slow development, so probably won't ever be a top QB. I feel it's pointless 'wasting' a season trying to develop him. Cutler might have a comeback year...

- Edge rusher. Do I trade Willie Young? Floyd is obviously the better choice long-term but Young was so good last year... If there's an injury though, we could use him. Trading him would free up some much needed cap space however.

The free agent class overall isn't inspiring. Positions of need are rather sparse in terms of top-tier talent, but pretty deep in terms of backups, should be able to find some bargains.

For me, you have to trade Cutler. This team can blossom into a defensive team with good moves in the off-season and solid draft. D-Line, CB and S are needs on this team. Try sort at least one of those areas in free agency and use the draft to sort the rest. You also might want to change your offensive focus. Try run the ball 40 times, only throwing on third downs when you have to. That's a good way to win football games, especially if you can keep the opposition off the board. In terms of the QB situation, there is no problem in signing one or two veteran cheap QB in free agency and give them no bonus. Keep Way and draft a QB in the mid rounds of 3-5. The preseason have a QB battle between the four guys, using a different QB for each quarter and change what quarter they play in as well each week. That way all of them play one quarter with the first team and three with the backups. Then look at the stats and see who you think performed the best and keep the 2/3 best ones.

Getting rid of Willie Young is a bad idea for me, there is absolutely no problem in bringing him in off the bench for a few plays to rest up Floyd. Use him to keep guys fresh, why not give McPhee a rest on a 3rd and forever where you're playing a zone to bend but not break. Young can be used, just find the situation you'd use him most and do it. If you trade Cutler, you won't need to trade Young as well.

DAVEFAN95 · November 15, 2016

Cleveland Browns 2018 Season Squad (Year 3)

Key

Bold New Signing

Italic Rookie I picked in season 1 draft

Italic and Underlines New Rookie

OFFENSE

QB

Thomas Logan 82 (R1 P1 18 Nebraska)

Brian Hoyer 70

The turnover at this position has been fierce over the last few years. Started with RG3, the McCown then Kessler in year one, Kessler lost the job to Chase Daniel in year two preseason and Daniel wasn't resigned and Kessler was traded away at the end of season two. So who was next up? I was hoping maybe a big QB free agent would be available and Drew Brees was there but I didn't want to go for him as I didn't have much cap space. So, I decided Thomas Logan in the draft was my best bet at a franchise QB. I used a few trades I had accumulated over the years and some good back ups to acquire three first round picks and one of them was the first pick in the draft. Logan was that pick and at 79 OVR ( I have bumped him up three points already) I had my guy. Hoyer is also back in Cleveland beating out Keith Hogan in preseason for the backup job.

HB

Isiah Crowell 84

Duke Johnson Jr. 77

Victor Brown (UDFA 17 LSU) 72

Right here is my offense. Crowell was the rushing yards leader last year and I can't help but go for it again. DJJ was out on IR for most of the season and Brown showed he has a spot in this offense, especially with 96 speed. I usually share the load as 20-10-10 in terms of attempts and more often then not, Crowell has gotten over 100 yards from that. I expect my running game to be the best part of my offense again this year... but also, maybe not

FB

Will Ta'ufo'ou 71

Signed last year, Ta'ufo'ou was very good in the I formation last year and showed that FB's aren't dead quite yet. He ran the ball a few times, caught a few balls, he's not a, how you'd say, stat sheet stuffer but nonetheless a huge part of this offense.

WR

Josh Gordon 83

Corey Coleman 83

Judah Bowens (R4 P8 18 Liberty) 78

Ted Ginn Jr. 76

Terrelle Pryor Sr 73

Jakeem Grant 73

Tyson Irving (UDFA 18 North Carolina) 71

Gordon led the league in receptions last year, Coleman was top 5 in yard until a dislocated elbow took away 5 games of his season, and Terrelle Pryor... was there. Gordon and Coleman are my starters and are very good on the outside. Pryor has been trade worthy since he regressed during the off-season (not the same Pryor we are seeing in the league now). Signed Judah Bowens to be my slot guy, might move him outside and throw Coleman in the slot on 3WR sets just because of how good Coleman was in the slot last year. I also signed Ted Ginn and Marquise Lee for the slot but with Bowens available in the fourth I couldn't leave him there. Ginn had a really good preseason, had a few drops but nothing terrible so I kept him over Lee who struggled to get separation on the outside. Pryor at this point will more than likely see use in the red zone due to his height with Gordon. Didn't work very well last year but it's still nice to have the option. Grant is my returner and a hell of a good one, can also give you elite speed in the slot if needed. Irving was undrafted and I signed him to fight for the slot position. He's a good route runner and has good skills, just needs more awareness. He'll get a few snaps in the slot as a possession receiver.

TE

Gary Barnidge 80

T.J Green (R7 P22 18 East Carolina) 72

Phillip Supernaw 72

We all know what Barnidge can do at tight end even if he didn't have a great year last year and regressed over the pre season but is still a very good option at TE. Green was signed due to Barnidge being old and boy is Green good, he showed that in the preseason. He's not exactly a receiver as his catching and route running are poor enough, but he does have very good blocking. I get his catching and route running up we could have a very good TE for the future. Supernaw was brought in solely for 3TE sets as he's a great blocker.

RT

Jason Strickland (R1 P4 17 Ohio State) 85

Shon Coleman 71

Strickland was a major upgrade at RT when I drafted him in the first draft of the franchise. Not only is he a great run blocker but his pass blocking is also good meaning he is a great tackle. He came into the league as a 78 RT, and look at him now. He was even picked to the pro bowl last year. Shon Coleman is a backup and he's alright I guess never needed him to come in, so happy days.

RG

Trevor Ruff (R2 P10 17 Northwestern) 82

Jermon Bushrod 75

Ruff is a really good guard and although not quite to Strickland's level yet (the pro bowl berth for Strickland gave him huge XP gains), Ruff is getting there and is just as good as Strickland except for a few Pass block and impact blocking points (probably 2 in each category) but seems I drafted Ruff in the 2nd round I can't be mad. Thanks to these two picks in the first draft I have solidified this O-Line, something that killed us in year one. Bushrod was signed as a backup and he's got good ratings. Not amazing by any means but good.

C

Cameron Erving 76

Daniel Kilgore 73

I wanted rid of Erving in year one, believing he wasn't good enough for this O-Line, I was wrong and Erving has been solid through two years. He plugs up the middle well on runs, protects the middles on passes and can get outside on screens, can't do anymore than that. Kilgore was signed purely as a backup.

LG

Joel Bitonio 84

Sebastian Vollmer 73

The left side of this line was elite from the start. Bitonio at guard is a really good blocker in general, in both categories and protects the backside really well. I never had to look for any part of the left side of this line, and Bitonio won't be going anywhere. Vollmer was signed as a backup tackle initially but I moved him to guard to backup Bitonio. Vollmer would more than likely be the true replacement if any of our tackles went down.

LT

Joe Thomas 97

Spencer Drango 73

Best left tackle in the god damn league, Joe Thomas is great at everything. No really, he genuinely is. Sure he's regressed a bit but who doesn't going into their 33rd year on earth. I might have to look into a good LT in the draft this coming year though. Drango has been around this team since the start and I don't remember if he ever started. I like Drango but I don't think he's a starting LT and with Thomas in the twilight of his career, maybe Drango needs to show if he deserves it or not.

DEFENSE

LE

DaMarcus Ware 83

Vince Walker 72

You know who Ware is and you know what Ware does. I don't need to explain anything to you. Oh, I will mention he had a 20+ sack year last year. Walker was signed for a run stopper at LE. He's probably better at that than Ware but expect Ware to do a lot of the work this year.

RE

Tyrone Holmes 79

Kyle Williams 72

Holmes has been "the other guy" in this D-Line as he usually takes on two line men in our nickel packages to free up our other pass rushers. Holmes however, is a good pass rusher himself, think he got 7.5 sacks last year (in the best pass rushing team in the league, I may add) but Holmes is best when he gives other guys one on one matchups on the outside. Williams was signed for the same reason Walker was, for run stopping ability at RE. Truthfully, Williams will probably have more snaps at DT when I need a second big body in the middle or at LE when I need a run stop and it looks like its going to the strong side.

DT

Terrence Knighton 81

Haloti Ngata 78

Maliek Collins 74

Knighton was signed last year as a NT to sure up the position. Shelton is gone (didn't have the development I wanted) Knighton was much better than I expected. He regressed in the offseason, that's okay. I'll prob pick a DT first next draft if the value is there. Knighton takes a lot of plays off anyway, due to me playing a lot in the nickel. Knighton what's needed of him and thats take up two blockers in the run game to let and DE, blitzing LB or S get the tackle in the backfield. Ngata will be used a lot to help Knighton stay fresh and he'll do the same job as Knighton will. Collins was signed as a backup and Williams will more than likely take more snaps at DT then he will.

LOLB

Emmanuel Ogbah 84

Time for the best pass rusher on this team to stand up, Ogbah has been amazing through two years with double digit sacks in the last two seasons (22 sack year last time out) and great ability getting to the RB for TFL's Ogbah and Ware make the left side of our defense an O-Line's nightmare as they can hurt you badly in the pass rush and also get off their blocks to get to the backfield and Ogbah did the latter pretty much by himself last season (with help with a blitzing safety from time to time.) Ogbah plays three downs and is awesome at it, his coverage skills are meh, but seems he's blitzing 9 times out of 10 he rarely gets caught for it.

MLB

Darren Troutman (R2 P3 17 Stanford) 81

Jason Crumpler (R1 P13 18, Traded from Green Bay) 81

Alex Hutson (R3 P3 17 Texas A&M) 77

Kevin Reddick 68

Troutman is a really good blitzer at MLB. Great in the run blitz or pass rush, Troutman does really well at plugging up holes in the middle for RB and creating pressure on QB's up the middle to flush them out to other pass rushers. Troutman had a 7.5 sack year last year and was our best MLB by far. Crumpler was my guy at MLB in this draft, but those pesky Packers stole him from me. So, I got traded for him and my 2nd and 3rd round picks went bye bye. It was worth it though, Crumpler is a run stopper/coverage guy so he's a great MLB2 for Troutman, luckily I also have Hutson who is the same type of MLB as Crumpler so in obvious passing situations putting Hutson and Crumpler in coverage is all good. We used to have DeMorio Davis here and after a 134 tackle season I moved him to ROLB to cover a need but Davis is gone now and with ROLB still a bit meh, Troutman may play some snaps at ROLB with Hutson and Crumpler inside.

ROLB

Jamie Morency (R1 P21 18 LSU) 77

Shaq Lawson 77

Za'darius Smith 72

Kejuan Davsion (R6 P27 18 UNLV) 72

Morency is a starter right now but he didn't do great during the pre season. He's a decent pass rusher but I haven't seen enough of him to indicate he can give me the same production as Davis who had 11 sacks last year (I told you we were the best pass rushers in the league). We'll see. Lawson looked good in the Pre season, as did Za'darius Smith both new signings and situational pass rusher, altough Lawson is more than that to me. Davison is an out and out pas rusher and did well in the pre season but he isn't anything more than another situational pass rusher. There's alot of options here, but I'm not sure who to pick. Troutman will take some snaps here, no doubt but does Morency deserve a start over Lawson, not sure yet. The season well tell us a lot here, and with Holmes not exactly being a run stopper, the weak side might be the best side for our opponents to rush to.

CB

Joe Haden 85

Cornelius Gilchrist (R1 P3 17 Georgia) 85

Vintize Forbes (R1 P20 18 Georgia) 78

Marcus Burley 74

Taje Lawe 68

I hate to brag but this is better than any Arizona or Denver CB troup that has been around for the last few years. Haden has regressed slightly, I can deal with it, he's still an amazing player and can play man to man, something I want to do. Gilchrist is like a big WR playing CB at 6'4 209 lbs and 93 speed and great man and zone coverage and good press. Forbes, another great man to man corner with good speed. This team is a very good man to man blitzing team, seriously we can destroy teams with those kinds of plays and Haden, Gilchrist and Forbes as our three CB's in the nickel, we'll hurt you. Burley was formerly the nickel corner but is now a sub nickel corner when we play zone on 3rd and long as Forbes' zone coverage isn't great. Lawe seems like another "he's a backup" kind of player but truly that's wrong. I signed Lawe last year for my practise squad and has great speed, coverage skills and press, but his play rec and awareness are really low. If I get them up, I won't need to draft a replacement for Haden when he regresses too low as I can just move Gilchrist and Forbes up and throw Lawe at nickel.

FS

R. Nelson 81

Perry Mayer (R6 P27 18 Arkansas St) 75

Safety has been nasty for me in recent years, but I finally signed somebody who can cover well in the zone and man. Nelson isn't very fast but seems he'll be paired with TE's most of the time, I'm fine with that. Nelson isn't going to force many fumbles but that's completely fine if he can cover well. Mayer was actually a CB when I drafted him but moved him to safety cause well, he can do it all. His Zone is good, his man is better than Nelsons and he has good speed. Can't really complain with that. Truthfully I was thinking of starting Mayer over Nelson due to how much man I play but the game decided for me (you'll find out how later). Mayer does look like a future

starting safety to me though.

SS

Kysheon Jarrett 80

Rashawn Jones (R2 P20 18 Notre Dame) 78

Jarrett has quietly built up a good OVR for himself and has created a niche of being able to do everything decently. He can do zone decently, man decently, good hit power. He's a good safety and I like him a lot. Why draft a safety in the second round then? Jones looked good at that spot so I took him but he's a lot like Jarrett but has better Zone coverage. Jones may take over at SS during the season or next season but I don't know if Jarrett deserves to be sitting on the bench.

K

Patrick Murray 73

Strong and accurate leg, no problems here

P

Ryan Quigley 80

Same here and punter. No problems.

Injuries.

TE Gary Barnidge (1)

WR J. Grant (2)

FS P. Mayer (4)

ROLB Z. Smith (5)

Yeah Barnidge is out week one but Green should fill in fine. Grant is out for the first two weeks but his returner duties are easily filled. Ginn will be KR and Brown will be PR. Mayer's injury means Nelson must start for the first four weeks of the season, can't see Mayer coming back and taking the starting job. Smith isn't a big deal as I have three other ROLB's.

So, what do you think? I set my goal as make the playoffs and with us getting 10 wins last year with a poor QB, I can't see us getting anything less than that. The team is better this year. We face the Raiders up first in a tough test. So what do you think this team's record will be?

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Madden 17 - What's going on in your franchise mode?

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