Franchise Mode

[the max 0]

In pretty much every sports game out now, there's a franchise mode, and I'm sure that everyone has a different strategy.

 

Mine is rebuilding, believe it or not.

 

For instance, in all of my PC NHL games, I take a bad team with 1-2 good players (Atlanta for example) and see what I have. Atlanta started with Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk as their good players, with decent-average players surrounding them. My strategy is to lock up Heatley and Kovalchuk into long-term contracts and try to secure as much young talent as possible.

 

So, for my first season, I tanked the season. I basically acquired guys with good potential and semi-decent overall ratings and let them go nuts. By doing this, Heatley and Kovalchuk had good years, and with their potential stat playing into it, became better players. I thought I'd get a good pick, but that ended up fucking me over, as I got an overall 85 defenseman who broke his collarbone in the first period of the first game of the season. But, since the season before, I had traded good role-players for draft picks, I was able to take some of my drafted players and build them into what I wanted them to become. For instance, I wanted a #1 center to play beside Kovalchuk and feed him pucks. So, I took a draftee and had him chalk up assists consistantly, and bingo. Of course, my second year was only marginally better, so I ended up with a lottery pick again. This time, I ended up with a #2 pick, which thrilled me, as there were only two real sure picks in the draft. A franchise left-winger and an above average defenseman. I took the winger, paired him with Kovalchuk and my top center and they took off. I was able to free up some salary with veterans retiring and picked up a journeyman rightwinger to play with Heatley on the second line with a former draft pick centering that line.

 

Now, I'm in business, as I'm in my third year, have a stockpile of draft picks at my disposal to use as trade bait when I see fit (and I have used a few second rounders to get defensive depth) and a deep core of young talent to lead me on. I'm on my way to my first division title with six games to play until the playoffs, and will likely get the #2 seed in the postseason.

 

 

 

So, now that I've rambled, anyone else have any franchise stories or strategies from other sports games? This could be a fun thread.

[Brett Favre 0]

What I usually do is get rid of deadweight and clear cap room to sign that big free agent.

 

But there are times where I stockpile future prospects (World Series Baseball) and trade them for superstars. I once had a lineup of Jeter, Rodriguez, Bonds, Pujols, Helton and Magglio Ordonez for the heck of it. It's not as easy as it seems because all of those players were franchise players for their teams, and have high loyalty ratings. So what you would do is get a bunch of all stars who make little money, package them with prospects and trade them for these superstars. Luckily I had a decent pitching staff but my bench was abysmal.

 

In basketball I clear a certain amout of cap room to sign big free agents or players who are on the verge of becoming superstars. If I have two players at a position who are about the same rating, I trade the older one for a pick and clear some room. If I am under the players needed I trade 'em for a less paid player.

 

In football I do the same thing. I keep the young players and cut/or let the older guys contract expire. I keep doing this in 2K5, have only one one superbowl so far in like 8 years with the Jets. In Madden 2004 it worked well as I won 4 super bowls in a row with the Panthers.

 

All in all my strategy is not to totally rebuild, unless i'm bored. My strategy is to keep the young guys while clearing room to sign a big time player or a player on the verge of becoming big. I also like to trade the big money guys for picks whether it be a late draft pick or an early one just to get some room. I like to stay competitive year in, year out, although sometimes it just doesn't work.

[2GOLD 0]

I take the worse franchise and rebuild. I really wish all football games had a Expansion team option where the game would make two expansion teams and you could control one.

 

And the franchise would start with an expansion draft followed by a full draft. It would be more fun for me to build my franchise from the ground up and suffer through a season of crappy football.

 

I want a challenge and building from the ground up would be the ultimate challenge.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I take the worse franchise and rebuild. I really wish all football games had a Expansion team option where the game would make two expansion teams and you could control one.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Thank god for All-Star Baseball. The in-game engine is absolute shit, but it has an amazing Expansion Mode and the franchise mode squishes all of the other offerings that I've played.

 

In terms of team-building strategies, I tend to rely on inexpensive young pitchers with decent strikeout rates and K/BB ratios and cash it in on offense, usually focusing on guys who can hit home runs and play defense. The defense usually softens the blow of the young pitching, which I can continually keep fresh through the draft each year.

[the max 0]

I've tried with young pitchers, but I can't ever seem to get a good four or five starter, so as a result, I end up losing those games.

 

I typically build with one frontline top-notch starter and three decent-good starters and just run a four man rotation. Then, keep a relief pitcher with good stamina in the bullpen for long relief.

 

Most of my money goes to hitting, although I tend to have an aggressive attack, so I like to have two leadoff hitters. Then, I just need one guy who has excellent long ball power, filling the rest of the lineup in with contact hitters.

 

That seems to work well for me.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

For football I usually go for my strategy of a great defense and a great running back.

 

So when I start I usually have to upgrade the line a bit, I like to have everyone at at least 78. I drop my receivers down to the team minimum and if anyone below the no.2 spot makes more than 750,000 or so I usually trade them for picks. I keep cheap QBs for the most part, Marc Bulger quality for a starter. I typcially raid free agency to fill any holes on defense and maybe add some depth. I then try to stack pile later round picks so I can replace backups that start demanding too much money. It usually takes 3 or 4 years to really get the team to where I like.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Only franchise mode I work with is Madden, and here's what I do:

 

I clear the board and do the fantasy draft. No way am I going to pay for the sins of a real-life team's crappy management by going through a "rebuilding" process.

 

I concentrate on defense, specifically the secondary, and offensive line. If memory serves, here's how my first four picks went in my Madden '04 game (I'm in season 3 so my memory on this is a bit cloudy): Rondee Barber, Brian Dawkins, Alan Faneca, Luke Petticoat.

 

I also draft people young, cheap and healthy, although Tommy Maddox was a steal...

[the max 0]

Has anyone else ever done a fantasy draft?

 

I was tempted to in NHL, but I don't know about salaries and everything working out.

 

Does it make the game anymore interesting by being able to draft your own team how you see fit?

[sfaJack 0]

I did a fantasy draft on one of the old football games on the N64 once (don't remember which game exactly). After picking up Barry Sanders with my first pick, I went with speed, speed, and more speed at most every other position, and particularly on defense.

 

The result was a lightning quick defense that allowed just about zero rushing yards and very rarely got burned on deep passes. My biggest weakness was a bunch of no-hands receivers that seemed to drop every other pass thown at them, however. I also had about $8 mil worth of cap space left over when I was finished, too.

 

Doing the draft was fun...for the first 20 rounds or so. Dealing with the salary cap got tiresome, as did scrolling through all the available players.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Oppressive defense that scores points and power running that gets 3 yards every play.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

In NCAA 2005, I started off by building my Pitt Panthers' defense and working with what I had on offense. It was tough (lots of 7-0 games) but I eventually worked up my team's prestige to the point where I was actually getting some blue chip recruits. Of course, that game is a lot different than others; you HAVE to be good to get the good players. So, in the end, what it comes down to is skill in the game. I quit as Pitt and went to Miami (Ohio) to have a challenge, and I just had to beat some good teams to bring up my prestige to a level where people who want more than a prestigous coach would sign on to me. Took a few years, but I'm there now (up to **** prestige with Miami and won the Nat'l Championship last year).

 

All in all, I rank the following priorities:

 

1) D-Line

2) Secondary

3) Running Quarterback (helps SO much when you have no o-line)

4) Star RB

5) O-Line

6) LBs

7) WRs (only really need one)

[Dr. Tom 0]

Usually, I do fantasy draft franchises in Madden or ESPN. I tend to play aggressive defense, but favor a ball-control strategy on offense. So I go after a franchise RB, the O-line to protect him, and a defense with speed at the back 7 positions. Decent QBs can be gotten later, and since I work off the run, it's much more important for me to have the great RB than a great QB.

 

When I'm rebuilding bad teams, I'll often sign big names off the free-agent wire, minimize their signing bonuses (so I minimize my cap hit), and trade them for positions I need and/or draft picks. It sound cheesy, and it probably is, but it works.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I ran a fantasy draft yesterday on MVP Baseball. Of course I worked Moneyball-style, looking for bargains. I'm always on the lookout for platoon players.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Usually, I do fantasy draft franchises in Madden or ESPN. I tend to play aggressive defense, but favor a ball-control strategy on offense. So I go after a franchise RB, the O-line to protect him, and a defense with speed at the back 7 positions. Decent QBs can be gotten later, and since I work off the run, it's much more important for me to have the great RB than a great QB.

 

When I'm rebuilding bad teams, I'll often sign big names off the free-agent wire, minimize their signing bonuses (so I minimize my cap hit), and trade them for positions I need and/or draft picks. It sound cheesy, and it probably is, but it works.

This is basically exactly what I do, except I don't emphasize speed at the safety position (because they're already 10 yards deep, and I'm not a huge fan of safety blitzing) and I prefer an offense that can chew up yardage whether by air or land.

 

1. O-Line and D-Line first, absolutely. Games are often won in the trenches, and they say that for a reason.

2. Running Game and Run Defense

3. QB's and WR's

4. Secondary

 

While I like to control the ball (and it's especially fun when you play 10-minute quarters like I do), it can get boring at times, and sometimes you have to be ready for a shootout, and having an offense that can turn it up and score 30+ in a game at any given moment is a plus.

 

I'm a master of the 2-minute drill, anyways.

[Guest El Satanico]

speed and youth

 

I build a defense that's all about speed and coverage. My Linebbackers must have at least 75 speed, my secondary must have at least 85 speed, I like my defensive ends to be near 70 speed at least and I like my defensive tackles to be near 60 speed at least.

 

I build a offense about speed and ball control. I like my RBs to have least 85 speed, my WRs to have at least 88 speed and my TEs to have at least 70 speed.

 

My WRs and LBs are expendable and I replace them whenever they come up for big contracts. I will always sacrifice veterens if I can sign someone younger who has comparable stats.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

For my football games, mainly ESPN or Madden (also for MVP Baseball), I'd always trade away the high-priced stars for a more moderately priced young players (For example if I was New Orleans Saints, I'd trade Horn for Randle El) I always end up with at least 20 million in free money to play with, which I'd use to build my receiving corps (I use a passing style so receivers are important)

 

This ESPN season saw me having Boldin, Fitzgerald, Stallworth, Randle El and David Terrell all in the same uniforms at one point or other.

[Kapoutman 0]

I play NHL 2004, and I use the New York Rangers strategy. I know it doesn't work in real life, but it's a pretty good option in vidoe games.

 

Basically, I clear every unknown guys and exchange them with draft picks against established players for my first two lines, and then I go for young, but good players as back-ups(Like Gaborik from Minnesota or Nash from Columbus). I sign them for 6 years, and once I made them superstar and they ask for too much when the time comes to renew their contract, I trade them against newly established players that are either on the down but still good, or up and coming players. These two categories do not cost a lot, so I redo the same cycle every 3 years or so.

 

That way, I always have a ass-kicking team of great players and still make a profit because I either pick them up while they're young or while they're old and have nowhere else to go. That works, I won the Cup every season I've played.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Question for the NHL/MLB drafts:

 

Unlike the NFL, which has a salary cap, does each team in the NHL and MLB leagues have a certain "budget" you're not allowed to go over when signing free agents and draft picks?...

[the max 0]

Not that I've come across.

 

I just try to keep my salary under a certain point otherwise I don't make a profit.

[Kapoutman 0]

Question for the NHL/MLB drafts:

 

Unlike the NFL, which has a salary cap, does each team in the NHL and MLB leagues have a certain "budget" you're not allowed to go over when signing free agents and draft picks?...

NHL has absolutely no salary cap, but they are trying to have one right now, which is why the players may go on strike this fall.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Question for the NHL/MLB drafts:

 

Unlike the NFL, which has a salary cap, does each team in the NHL and MLB leagues have a certain "budget" you're not allowed to go over when signing free agents and draft picks?...

MLB has no salary cap wahtsoever. Most games assign you a budget, which you must stay under.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

It depends on the game really. Usually though I like the biggest challenge possible so I try to create a team/franchise whenever possible. In football (college especially) I go with a grinding offense and a run stuffing defense with at least one good/very good pass rushing defensive end (who I control). Then I recruit speed speed and more speed for defense and offensive skill positions. Then once I get a few stars I open up the offense a bit and start laying into teams. Usually takes me a about 3 or 4 years to get my team exactly where I like it but then I run off national championships constantly.

[Ced 0]

I'm all about bringing a crappy team into dominance.

 

In Madden 2004, the first thing I did was take over the Arizona Cardinals and deal Emmitt Smith to whoever was dumb enough to give me a draft pick for him. Then I went into the free agency market, grabbed the best talent I could sign without signing bonuses, then proceeded to deal them all for draft picks and/or younger talent. I eventually wound up with 2 first round picks and 3 second round picks along with Deion Branch from the Pats in my first franchise year, easily sowing the seeds for the rebuilding process.

 

In NCAA 2005, I spend most of my first recruiting year trying to snatch up the best D-Line and LB players I can get to commit to my school along with a running back and maybe some O-Liners if I have the time to do so. A solid run-stopping, pass-rushing defense to force alot of 3 & Outs, and a rush-offense to tire out the opponent's D-Line and set up the pass. Basic football strategy, but it works really well.