=======================================================
      NFL Head Coach :  Weekly Prep Help FAQ           |
                      Final Version  
                      By: War_Gamer_67                  |
______________________________________________________/

Contents:
(search for B-1 to get to the end of season guide)

Weekly Prep Guide = A-1
End of season guide = B-1
RFA guide = B-2
UFA guide = B-3
NFL Draft = B-4
Training Camp = B-5
FAQs and Troubleshooting = C-1

=========================================================================

If you are reading this guide you need help on the weekly prep functions
(either that or you clicked by accident).  This is the schedule I have used for
the week and am able to get the majority of my players near max for the next
game.  If there is an (X) before the task it means it is set in stone in the
game and not able to be changed.   You may need a sheet of paper and writing
utensil for this.  Don't worry I will wait....  Okay, ready?  Here we go!

A-1

Monday :

(X) Office Hours:  Check who is still in the green and make a note of it.  For
me it is my starting linemen but for you it may be different.  Also press down
on the controller to see the weekly goals before you meet with the owner.

(X) Management Meeting:  Your boss (the owner) will give you the run down on
what NEEDS to be done for the week.  For me he rarely says anything since
everything is in good shape.  Make a note of what NEEDS to be done.  Lastly,
check your email and see if any trades have been offered.

(X) Office Hours:  Okay you are gonna want to adjust your schedule as follows.
The first practice should be RB vs. LB contact.  Followed by Inside Drills
contact, OL vs. DL contact, WR vs. DB contact (or non contact), OFF vs. DEF
contact and then OFF vs. DEF non contact.  Got it?

(X) Weekly Staff Meeting:  This is where you talk to your coaching staff and
get to hear them whine about how bad the game was.  Though you do get to hear
them praise your players depending on how great they did the following week.
It makes no difference what order you talk to them in so select a coach and
talk to them.  If the coach talks about poorly his position did then select the
aggressive option below and ream him.  More often than not they will get a
small bonus in that position.  Now the exception here is if their trust level
is very low.  Then you want to be passive and go with the "small trust drop".
Do NOT let the trust level get too low!  Always check it by pressing left on
the controller and then press X.

Occasionally your crack team of coaches will make some dopey decision like to
start jabroni "A" over your stud starter.  I am fairly sure it has to do with
their current rating in the game.  I agree with them which increases the trust
level (or negates the trust drop from above).  Don't worry your stud player is
not riding the pine on Sunday as you will understand later.  Also, I found out
a real easy way to increase trust in a positional coach is if you have a hold
out.  I have Mark Roman the SS holding out and for some odd reason my DB
coordinator insists I start him.  I agree and his trust level increases.  Then
at the end of the week (Saturday) in the meeting he does a 180 and suggests the
active player starts.  Thus doubling the trust level for him that week.

Tuesday:

(X) Gameplan Meeting:  This is where you go over the playbook for the upcoming
game.  During the preseason is the BEST time to make playbook chances and
create plays.  It is far better to make all the chances your heart desires in
one sitting or you will lose a lot of trust with your OC and DC changing the
playbook each week.  Just make sure you have a Hail Mary and a goal line
formation "Flat Slide" in the playbook!  Also know that every change you make
to the playbook results in a decrease of trust.  Mine got so bad I had the
coaches insulting me about using red pens and their trust bar was almost empty.
So my advice is to go into the playbook for each coach and back out using
triangle and make no changes.  Thus increasing the trust bar some.

(X) Office Hours:  Okay write down or memorize the halfbacks & LB ratings you
wish to have start.  If you are using a 4-3 like me then you should have a
grand total of 5 players.  HB, FB, LOLB, MLB, and ROLB.

(X)  Scouting Report Meeting:  Look over the notes for the next team and exit
out.

(X) Office Hours:  No need to bother with this and move on ahead.  Go to the
bathroom or get a drink while you wait for the load screen.


Wednesday:

(X) Scout Players:  Your scout will recommend you scout the opponent for the
following week.  Since you can not fire him and you are not his boss (the owner
is) treat him like the whipping boy he is and ignore his advice.  I see no
reason to scout the team when you have a scouting report in your inbox from the
previous day.  I highly recommend you scout the incoming draft class instead.

(X) Office Hours:  If you have yet to write down or memorize the halfbacks & LB
ratings you wish to have start do it now.  If you are using a 4-3 like me then
you should have a grand total of 5 players.  HB, FB, LOLB, MLB, and ROLB.

RB vs. LB contact:  You will first select what run you wish to use.  If the
back is speedy I would go with an outside run play and if he is power then go
with a dive play.  For Defence if you want your back to get more stats choose a
pass defence.  If you need more stats for your LB then choose a blitz package.
Now for the first 4 reps use your starting HB.  On defence I rotate my LB's for
3 reps a piece throughout the drill.  Your HB should be making solid yardage
and if not then motivate him aggressively.  Everytime I have aggressively
motivated after a LB stop the HB gets a TD the next rep.  After 4 reps choose
the FB and repeat the same procedure.  With the last rep choose a weak HB and
your best LB to get a mismatch to get that extra bump for him in stats.  Or
vice versa if you so desire

(X) Office Hours:  Now check the roster and see how many points your HB and LBs
improved.  Write it down if you wish for future reference.  You should have
your HB maxed out and FB maxed out and your LB's in the yellow range at the
very least.  Now make note of any HB or LB that is not maxed out and write down
how many points they need to be maxed out.

Thursday:

Inside Drills Contact:  I find a play that is at 46% and run that over and over
till it is a money play.  Same goes with the defence, though I highly suggest
you choose a dime formation so your HB's will get some yardage and break a few.
I choose a Prevent or a 3 deep since I will use that play on game day.  You
want your starters getting most of the reps so here is the formula I use:
1st vs. 1st
1st vs. 2nd
1st, vs. 1st
2nd vs. 1st
2nd vs. 2nd
1st vs. 3rd
1st vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 1st
3rd vs. 1st

If the Defence is kicking your butt motivate the entire offense.  Sadly you
must do this individually.  Make a note of who reacts negatively and adjust
accordingly the next time.  If your defence is STILL kicking your butt select
strategy and have all of them defend the pass.

(X) Office Hours:  Now check the roster and see who needs help for OL and DL
and how many points they have.  I would focus on the DE's before the DT's.  You
should have a max of 9 players but in my case I have about 6 since some of my
OL are maxed out.  As the weeks progress you should notice this as well.
If you have a few LBs who need a boost I would sub them in as D-linemen in the
depth chart so you can use them for the next drill.

OL vs. DL Contact:  Rotate through the OL starters and pit them vs. your DL
starters.  If you have a starter or two that is very low focus on them this
drill.  I use this formula:

RG vs. LE
RT vs. RE
C vs. LE or RE
LG vs. DT1
LT vs. DT2

With the remaining reps focus on those who need the boost by pitting them vs.
weaker linemen.  If your guys are not performing motivate them aggressively.
Take note of who reacts positively.

(X) Office Hours:  Now check the roster to see who improved and by how much for
OL and DL.  Then check on your WR and DB's and make note of the ratings.  Oh
and check the email inbox as well just in case.

Friday:

WR vs. DB contact or non contact:   This should bump up your QB as well so you
need to choose 1st string for this drill.  Focus on your top two CB's then your
safeties.  For WR focus on the #2 & #3 Wrs.  I know I know I bet you are
thinking what about my #1 WR.  No need to drill him much here as you will see
later on.

The best routes to run to get your WR's in top notch shape is the goal line
quick slant or slant route or the default formation and choose an angle route.
The slants with a speedy WR is a surefire way to get Tds.  Especially when you
go to strategy and choose "use your speed to get open" for the WRs.   If you
need more help on the DB front then choose streaks since your DB will bat it
down or pick it off more often than not.

The formula I use is as follows:

WR2 vs. SS
WR2 vs. FS
WR3 vs. CB1
WR3 vs. CB2
WR2 vs. CB1
WR3 vs. CB2
WR4 vs. SS
WR5 or TE vs. FS
TE    vs. (whomever is the lowest DB)

(X) Office Hours:  Now check the roster to see how many points your WR and DBs
increased by.  You should have your 2 WRs maxed out along with a few DBs.

OFF vs. DEF contact:  Okay if your owner wants running plays for money plays
then focus on that.  You do not have to if you are good with the other requests
from him since I have gotten away with doing 3 of 4 or 4 of 5 tasks and still
had a boost in trust from him.  Just remember that the run plays will affect
your HB and LBs more than the WR and DBs.  Personally I would focus on the run
this time around since it is contact and with non contact it is hard to break
one for a TD.  You may be able to get 2 or 3 running plays as money plays at
the very least.  I wont tell you what play to choose but I would recommend
using a HB dive just since it sucks to have the game on the line or short
yardage only to have your team hose up the dive play.   *sigh*   OH!  Do NOT (I
repeat) Do NOT select the Hail Mary or Goal line Flat Slide!!!!

Okay here is the formula I use for the strings:

1st vs. 1st
1st vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 2nd
1st vs. 3rd
1st vs. 1st
2nd vs. 1st
3rd vs. 1st
1st vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 1st

As always motivate as necessary and make note of it.  DO NOT give advice for
the HB the whole drill since he will embed that into his brain and do it all
the time in the game.  Use the advice sparingly if needed.

Saturday:

(X) Office Hours:  Check on who is not quite at max stats or what position
needs help.  Yes your QB and WR1 is in need of help so we will fix that now
with the upcoming OFF vs. DEF non contact drill.

OFF vs. DEF non contact:  Okay we are gonna focus on pass plays here for the
last 5 reps of the drill.  For the first 4 reps you should be able to get
another run or pass to money status.  Now for the last 5 reps you will select
Hail Mary for the offense and  Goal Line Flat Slide for the Defence.  Your QB
will air it out to the #1 WR who will be WIDE OPEN for a TD every time (unless
the bum drops the ball).  If he drops the ball I would motivate him
aggressively but I have yet to have him drop the ball.  After 5 reps of this
your QBs stats should be maxed out as well as your  #1 WR (you could gamble and
go with 3 or 4 reps if the play is already at 47% for a money play if you need
an
extra rep to get another play to money status).  Also with no down time for
them
to decrease in stats you will walk into the game with a maxed out QB and #1
WR!!!
So the formula is as follows:

1st vs. 1st
2nd vs. 1st
1st vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 2nd
Then the last 5 reps should all be 1st string offense so you could go:
1st vs. 3rd
1st vs. 2nd
1st vs. 3rd
1st vs. 3rd
1st vs. 1st

(X) Office Hours:  Now check the roster one last time and most of your players
SHOULD be maxed out.  Now there may be some who are not but do NOT worry!  You
took good notes right?  You know how much your player(s) increase in the drills
right?  So you can adjust accordingly the next week.  Every player reacts
differently and I roll with the Packers (I heard that laugh coming from you in
the blue shirt!)  so I can not speak for every other team in the league.  If
you want to contribute your notes and submit them then maybe I will make a
roster guide and give you full credit for it.

(X) Weekly Summary Meeting :  Ah yes..  Back to the coaches.  By now either
they will be upset that the positions are not up to par or they will be happy
that you did their job for them and the players are maxed out.  Feel free to
ream the coaches who complain for the positional boost (unless the trust levels
are low).  Those who are happy praise them and they will receive a nice trust
boost.

Also some coaches will do a mea culpa and suggest you replace the very same
player they recommended you replace earlier in the week.  No matter since you
will get a trust boost for their incompetence.  So that dopey decision earlier
about starting some jabroni over the star player will correct itself.  If not....

(X) Office Hours:  Go to Depth Chart and change it yourself!  The coaches trust
level does not decrease as far as I know and if it does it is soooo miniscule
it has no bearing on the overall trust level.  If you have more changes you
still have the...

Sunday
Pre-Game Review:  To make any final changes and tweaks.

Congrats you made it to game day with a team that is at a decent level!   Best
of Luck to ya and always pick tails!  Okay you don't have to pick tails I
guess.....

___________________
End of season Prep |  B-1
___________________|

Okay if you are reading this then you should have finished the season.  If
you have not why are you reading this?  Hopefully you won the Super Bowl.  If
so press the left ananlog stick to check out your NFC or AFC championship
trohpy.  Sadly the Lombardi trophy is not in your award case for some odd reason
despite you being carried off the field with it.

First on the agenda is to check your email and your agent should have some job
offers for you.  Go to your inbox to check them out.  I got 3 offers all from
teams
that went 11-5 the previous year.  I declined and then moved on to the....

[X] End of Year Meeting:  Here you will meet with the owner, my convo went like
this.

Owner:  Thanks for all that you have done for the team this season.
Me:  You're Welcome

Owner:  Is there anything that you have for me?
Me:  ( ) No, I think we are all set
     ( ) Actually, I have decided to leave the team.  Thank you for the
opportunities.

I chose "we are all set" option and it then kicked me back out to the office so
I talked to the owner again since he had two more things to say according to the
upper right hand corner.

Owner:  I have one final thing for you.
Me:  Continue....

Owner:  (your name here) we are going to upgrade your office for next year.
Me:  Continue....

Owner:  We really appreciate all the success you've brought to this franchise.
Me:  Thank you this means a lot to me.

It once again kicked me back out to the office so I talked to the owner again
since he had one more thing to say according to the upper right hand corner.

Owner:  That's all I have for you coach.  Enjoy your time off and see you next
season.
Me:  You too, thanks.

I was hoping he would say I was chosen to coach the Pro Bowl but I guess that is
not an option. *sigh*

Before you move on make sure you write down any stats or scores you want to keep
Also go into roster and choose salary cap.  Make a note of who is in their final
year of their contract and needs to be resigned for next season.  I would also
say to check out the NFL.com option but I guess they do not update the webpage
for no mention of your Super Bowl win is on it. :( Make sure you do everything
you want to do to for there is no turning back one you choose to move on.  Oh
and don't forget to save the game before moving on.

After moving on you will see the Pro Bowl score followed by a message that says
"ending the current season..."
"Starting the next season.  Please wait..."
They really mean go to the bathroom or make a snack.


[X]  Start of Year Meeting:  Here you will go over the budget, set new yearly
goals and review or change your current philosophies.

If you got an new office you will now see it.  I have a flat screen TV, wood
floors a nicer chair, new paint on the walls, a tree in my office and a nice
expanded wooden shelving in the back with various team memrobilla.  Oh you now
can check out your Lombardi trophy if you so desire.  Sadly you can not rotate
it like you can in NCAA.

Check your email and if you followed my advice for scouting during the season he
should say that you have done an excellent job scouting, but we can do better.
I managed to scout 149 players during the reg. and post season.  You hopefully
should
be at or above this number.

Now talk to the owner who will make changes for the off-season.  He will tell
you your salary cap number, your staff budget amount and ask you if you want
to change your offensive and defensive philosophy.  I say if it broke don't
fix it but it's up to you.  At the end of the convo the owner will have set
your goals for the off-season.

You will exit out of the convo and now press down on the control pad to check
your goals for the off-season.  It should involve hiring or resigning your
staff.  Go back and talk to the owner.

The owner should talk about goals for the season.  Mine were to maintain last
year's level of success and then he expected me to go to the Conference
Championship.  You can choose for him to elaborate or you can be a yesman and
say "sounds reasonable". If you choose elaborate he will say "We did great last
year, and go to the Conference Championship this season."  Apparently you do
not need proper English to be an owner in the NFL.

Then he will tell you who you need to draft for the upcoming draft.  If you
choose please elaborate he will tell you what max overall rating he wants for
that position. Write it down so you know for the draft what you need. In my case
he wanted a DB with a 75 max rating overall.  Sadly there are few in my draft
class and odds are they will go in the top 20.  If you are lucky the owner will
ramble about future goals for the regular season.

You will exit out out of the convo and now feel free to check out your coaching
ranking.  Mine is 34 after going 16-0 and winning the Super Bowl.  Go back and
talk to the owner again and he will mention this starts the hiring process for
your staff. You can do this yourself or you can be lazy and have the owner do
it for you.  If you choose to do it yourself then....

[X]  Office Hours:

Now is the time to check which coaches contracts are up for renewal.  Make a
note of who they are and their stats.  I had my QB, RB and DB coach contracts
that were up for renewal.  My QB was 88 overall, RB was 86 and my DB was a
99.  My RB coach (Bennett) I plan to kick to the curb.  Also make note
of the trust levels.  If your coach is super low I suggest dumping him
unless his rating is high.

Open Time:

I guess if you want to make unlimited depth chart changes now is the time to
do it.  Otherwise I do not see a point in this task.  You can not make new
plays in the playbook, nor can you make trades or fire staff members.
I would sim to the..

[X] Weekly Staff Meeting

Here you will get an email from your scouting director giving you advice on
various positional coaches and their pros and cons.  Provided you have open
spots on the coaching staff.  I suggest making a note of the names and pros
and cons.  Now you will back out of the email and talk to the current
coaches (I had 12 things they said).  Mine went like this:

OC:  Our agenda today is to pick the coaches you will keep this season.
Review the coach roster in your computer to help make this decision.

*Seeing how you already have done this no need to do it again.*

Now you will talk to every coach and they will plead their case or kiss your
ass.

My QB coach said "(Your name here), my contract is up.  Re-sign me sometime
this week."

You can have mercy on them and choose
( ) I'll be bringing you back this year.  Let me set up a meeting.

or you can pull a Donald Trump and say
( ) This organization doesn't need you anymore.

Feel free to break out a hairpiece and say "You're FIRED!" if you wish.
Then laugh as he slowly leaves the room in tears!  Mwahahaha *evil laugh*

Obviously if you keep the coach they get a trust increase.  So you feasibly
could say yes to all of them and then refuse to sign them for the next task
which is...


[X]  Interview Coach

My DB coach who I said I would retain and set up a meeting with is now
demanding $800K over 2 years.  You can try to negociate a better deal or
accept his offer.  I chose to get a 3 year deal since he is a 99 overall.
Sadly he rejected a 1.4 million over 3 years offer and wants the 800K deal.
I gave in and accepted. You can choose to pass if you wish and send him
packing.  It will now automatically send you to...


[ ] Manage Staff

Here you can set up interviews for new coaches.  You made note of the ones
your scouting director emailed you right?  Contact them if you are interested.
I chose the two that my director requested and added one more for the hell
of it.  Now that you used all 3 of your tasks you can move on which will
put you at...


[X]  Interview Coach

Now you can interview the guys you contacted.  I suggest getting out the old
paper and pen/pencil/crayon to take notes on the coaches answers.  For my QB
coach hiring I was forced to ask about his philosophy with the first question.
Try to see if his repsonse jives with your philosophy in other words if he runs
a west coast and you run a balanced it may not be a great fit.  For me luckily
the first guy runs the same offense as I do.  Now you have choices on what to
ask.

( ) Let's talk strategy
( ) Let's talk motivation

It depends on what you feel is important. I chose strategy since I felt my last
QB coach made stupid decisions on the field and I lack in strategy as a coach.
His reply was:

"When giving the responsibility of offensive play calling, I've never lost with
a lead late in the game."

I now can choose
( ) Ok, how about player evaluation?
( ) Ok, how about work ethic?

I want a strong work ethic in my team so I chose work ethic to which he said:

"I feel like if I can spend at least 8 hours gameplanning, I should be ready
for any
opponent.

( ) What kind of skills do you look for in a QB?
( ) How would you go about improving our run game?

I dont give a crap about what my QB coach thinks about the run game so I
chose the QB question instead.

"A guy that has a lot of mobility, and can run with the ball when needed."

( ) Whats your take on zone blocking schemes for our OL?
( ) How do you get the most out of your corps of recievers on gameday?

I chose the OL question.

"Zone blocking?  Oh that's used on 3rd and long situations.

( ) What skills do you think are important for the TE position?
( ) What type of impact do you think special teams have on a game?

I chose the special teams one.

"I'll be honest - I think special teams is for guys that aren't good enough to
be starters or who can kick the ball.

Now you have the option of signing him or letting him go.  I chose to sign him
and see what he wanted.  Now choose to negoiate the contract and you can see
his stats.  He had a very high SP & ST rating (high 90's), QB rating of 76
and work ethic of 69.

I won't bore you with every interview I plan to do but hopefully you get the
jist of the interview process.  Just make sure you take good notes so when
another potential coach says the same thing as a previous coach you have
an idea what his rating will be.  Also if your scout mentions the coach is
a poor TE coach (for example) trust him and don't waste a question about
TE's.

You will go back and forth between manage staff and interview coach until you
have hired enough coaches for a full staff.  Oh you can also rehire your old
coach back if you want.  Just make sure you have a full roster before the RFA
period begins or the owner will hire the coaches for you.

Oh and check your email constantly to see retirements and new scouting
reports on the coaches and save your game before moving on!


___________________
RFA Guide          |  B-2
___________________|


[X]  Management Meeting

Now the RFA period begins!  Take a gander at all the retirements as you sim
to this period.  If you have lost any players make a note of it!
Also it will show the new coach signings around the league.
Oddly Martz is now the HC of the Ravens and Dick Jauron is the new
coach of the Patriots in my season.  When you are done laughing at the
absurd coaching decisions press X to continue.

Check your email to confirm the retirements of your players.
The owner will say:

"Last week your goal was to have all your positional coaches filled."
( ) Continue...

"I looked over that roster today and like the staff we have assembled.
( ) Thank you for the update
( ) I made these goals to improve this team not to please you!

"Starting this week we need to re-sign our players.  Talk to your staff to see
who they think we should resign.  If you agree with their advice.... I'll put
those players in your keys to victory for this period.  You may want to view
the free agency pool for better players before resigning ours."
( ) I'm on it
( ) I'm going to have one of my coaches do this.

The owner will then remind you about the RFA period and suggest you look at the
TV screen for any help you need.  Since you should know how to do this feel free
to move ahead to...

[X]  Weekly Staff Meeting

Now your crack team of coaches will advise you who to resign.  I had 4 coaches
offer advice.  My WR coach wanted me to resign Javon Walker.  I agreed and my
coach got a trust increase.  My OL coach wanted Adrian Klemm
resigned and I agreed so his trust increased.  I think you get the
picture by now.

Now go to roster and salary cap to see who has contracts that are due up.
Alsosee if you have any holdouts.  I have 2 and think I will let my WR
holdout since my WR coaches trust level will increase next season due to it.
I mentioned this in the weekly prep guide and don't feel like explaining it
all over again.  Just search for holdout and you should find it.
Lastly, go check the NFL rosters to see who is gonna be a FA.
Yes I am aware it is time consuming though if you know
you need a QB just change "position" to QB and scroll through the teams.
If you want to know who else is a holdout in the league change "sort by"
to "contract status".  Anyone in the green is a holdout.

When you are finished move on to the next step.

[X] Scout Players

Okay this is one of 8 more times you can scout players before the end of the RFA
period.  By now you should be scouting any position you may need to fill a void
in.

[X]  Resign Players

This is the next step and start resigning your players you plan to keep.  I
would go after the ones on your keys to victory first.  Remember you can only sign
a certain amount per session.  Go to player roster and choose "salary cap" to
resign them or if you know who their agent is you can call their agent instead with
the phone option.  I would ignore the holdouts and deal with them later.

You can also "franchise" tag the player if you wish.  Sometimes the "franchise
tag" is a help as it locks your player in.  The downside is the amount of cash you
are doling out for him.  If negioations are going poorly and he is a top tier player
I would just "franchise tag" him.

Sometimes it helps to have players sign long term deals as to spread the cash
out over numerous years though it may hurt you down the road.  Though only UFA's
you can do this to.  With RFA's I recommend the following:

Since you have first dibs to make a qualifying offer (a one year deal at __
amount) you can lowball the offer and hope no other team matches it.  Or you can
pay a bit more and even if a team matches the offer you will get a draft pick as
compensation.  Don't worry you can match any offer a team throws at your RFA.
Upon making an offer the agent will tell you to wait to see if another team makes
an offer.

Oh and do NOT forget to budget your cash!  Set aside some for FA's and draft
picks!  Yes that may mean you have to release a few players.

[X] Agent Callback

If you gave a lowball offer and the agent said he would get back to you about it
now is when he gets back to you.  Either the agent will say they accept or they
do not accept your offer.  If they decline you can turn around and give them a new
offer when you are in "resign players".  Or you can give them the middle finger and
end all talks with the agent and player.

[X] Management Meeting

Okay here is where the owner will scold you for not resigning the players in the
"keys to victory".  If you did sign all the players needed then you should get a
message about how you have completed your goals for the resign period and you
will have the option of simming to the UFA period.  Choose "cancel", talk to the
owner and then manualy go to the UFA period yourself.  Though I won't hold it
against ya if you sim it.... Really I won't!  Though you will miss out on the below..

[X] Weekly Staff Meeting

Here your staff will try to find you sleeper picks for the upcoming draft.  I
assume the higher the player evaluation stat the better the sleeper pick.  Look to
see what coach will say something.  Then I would go to the player roster and check the
draft picks of the coaches that have a pick.  So if the QB coach has something to
say make note of the QBs not are not scouted and then see if your coaches are on the
same wavelength.  If you agree with your coaches than they will get a trust boost.

[X] Pre-Combine Meeting

Okay here is where you will get detailed reports on players for the draft.  You
had 25 reports but after agreeing with your coaching you should have less since
those players you agreed to are already chosen for you.  Seeing how you have most
of the draftees scouted you can key on players you really want to draft.  Unless you
have a high draft pick I would focus on mid range players.  Choose a few top rated
players in a position that is deep.  Also, for example if you are torn between
two players at the same position this is the time to scout both and compare since
your scouting numbers may not tell the whole story.


[ ] Sign Players

Here you can sign FA's.  In the RFA period these players will be guys who are
out of football (did not play last year).  If you have the need to fill open spots
go ahead and sign a few.  For example if you need 2 QB spots filled and need a low
tier guy to be a 3rd string go ahead and sign a QB then.  These guys are fairly
cheap so it won't put a dent in your cap room.

[X] Combine

Sadly you can not go to the combine and see the players workout.  You have to
take your scouting directors word about the draft workouts.

--------------------------
Start of RFA offer period
--------------------------

[X] Management Meeting

You will meet with the owner and check your email as well for trade offers.  I
got one from Philly asking me to trade Wimberly for Trotter. If you want to make
the deal you have to go into calendar and swap out sign players with trade players.

The owner will say "Starting this week you can make offers on RFA players from
other teams.  Try to improve the talent in areas we are lacking."

[ ] Sign Players

Be careful if you plan to do this!  If you value your draft picks you may end up
losing them by signing RFA's.  If you have low picks in the draft or numerous
first and third round picks then you should be okay.  If you feel the talent in the
RFA pool is greater than the position you need in the draft than I would suggest
making the offer.

Go to "salary cap" to track down the players who you can make offers on.  Yes I
know there is no way to sort them and you have to manually go through each team.
Or if you need a certain position choose it and scroll through that way.
More often than not the player will be coloured red if you have sort by on "salary".

For example if I need a QB I am going to look at all of them team by team and
write down who I am interested in and their stats.  Then I will call them up by
clicking on the player I am interested in.  This will bring up the agent screen
and now you can see if the draft pick you are losing is worth it.  You will see
this in the offer screen in case you were wondering.  In my case I offered Matt
Schaub a contract and was out only a 3rd round pick.  Not a bad deal since
the depth at the QB spot in the draft was weak.

If your offer was decent the agent will tell you he will wait for other offers
and get back to you.  Oh and you only get 3 calls/offers per session.  Stupidly,
by going to the offer screen wastes an offer/call.  I suggest writing down what
draft pick you would be losing even if you don't want the guy just so you know
for future reference.


[X] Post Combine Meeting

Here your scout will give you the lowdown on the 25 players you wanted detailed
reports about.  Select "Let's get to it" and you will see the reports on the
players. Read over them and if you are not interested in a certain player than
make a note of it.  Trust me on this.  You need to have a semi organized paper
for the draft since time is of the essence and you won't have time to go hunting
for this info.  That and the reports in the inbox go away eventually before
the draft.  I have a draft board and here is an example of it using a player
I scouted for the upcoming draft:

My Projection
~~~~~~~~~
Round 2: (DT) Andrew Blake, 60-84 + speed, strength  - awareness, immature
Round 3: (CB) Ty Cummings, 65-83 + speed, hands, man  - tackling, zone

During the draft I cross out the player as he is drafted.

Okay now you can scout 8 more players as you see fit.  I would scout the
players in the detailed reports you are interested in if they are not well
scouted yet.  The RB my coach recommended was poorly scouted prior to the
combine and now he is listed as "scouted".  So he is easy to be well scouted
only using 1 of the 8 scouting turns now.

Feel free to move players up and down your draft board as in real life the more
you scout and your needs on your team change throughout the trading and signing
process.  Oh and if you are whining about how time consuming this process is then
I can only say.. HELLO!  This is the point of the game!!  Stop reading now and go
play Madden or something then!!!

[ ] Trade Players

Here is where you can trade draft picks or players prior to the draft.  Check
your email for trade offers or if you wrote any down on your paper previously.
If I have a holdout I will try to see what I can get for him.  Try to make fair
trades so the other owners trust level does not drop a lot.  Trading is also a
good way to dump players you were thinking of getting rid of and getting something
in return.  If you are unsure if the cpus player they are offering is any good wait
until you....

Oh yea you can NOT trade away a draft pick that is already part of a RFA
compensation.  In other words I could not trade away my 3rd round pick since it
was already promised  to the Falcons for the Schaub offer.

[X] Scout Players

Scout more players for the draft.  If you want you can also use this time to
scout possible players you might trade for to make sure the player you get is not
a bum. Also, when I find new draftees I am interested in I move them onto my draft
board.

[ ] Play Designer

If you feel creative and want to make a few new plays for the upcoming season
go ahead and make a few.  Remember by adding the new plays to the playbook
during the gameplan review phase your OC or DC trust levels will decrease so
don't get too crazy with the new plays!

[ ] Select Coach Clothing

If you have ample time to spare and wish to be the fashion icon of the coaching
world then swap a sign player or trade player task to this task.

This about sums up the RFA period.  The 4 above tasks are repeated until you
reach the UFA period.  You also have the office hour time to look over rosters.
The management meeting will consist of the owner mentioning how he has nothing
to say to you and how great things are going.  I dunno why he couldn't have just
emailed you instead...

If you want to sim ahead I would recommmend simming past the office hours
and sign and trade players tasks until you reach the scouting portion.  Just be
sure to check your email often for trade offers.

___________________
UFA period         |  B-3
___________________|

[X] Management Meeting

Hooray!  You made it to the UFA period!  First things first so check your email
and see who accepted your RFA offers.  Schaub accepted my offer so I am out a 3rd
round pick.  The RFAs on my team all accepted my lowball offers so I am stuck with
them and get no compensation picks for them.

Now talk to the owner and in his infinite wisdom will say....

"This week we start signing free agents.  Remember our yearly goals and check
our roster for weaknesses.

After selecting "I've got this covered" he will then say ....

"You met the re-sign period goals.  The coaches are happy to see their players
back."

This is provided you did resign those players in the keys to victory section.
Your
coach trust levels should increase as a result.  Choose
( )Thank you for the update (if you want a trust boost)
or
( ) I made these goals to improve the team.  Not to please you!!!

Before you move on ahead I strongly suggest to go to roster and look at the
UFAs now available.

[X]  Weekly Staff Meeting

Here you will meet with your staff.  I had no issues so my OC said everything
was running smoothly.  If things are not running smoothly I guess the coaches
will complain?

Oh check NFL.com and sometimes they have a UFA player and his grade on the front
page.  It can save you a scouting turn provided you are interested in him.

[X] Scout Players

This is your last chance to scout players before the draft.  You have 3 scouting
sessions left before the draft so use them wisely!!  You can also scout UFAs if
you plan to sign some.  Or you can scout players who have been offered to you in
a trade.  If you check your inbox you should have the scouting reports for your
first preseason
opponent.

[ ] Sign Players

Now after re-signing the players you want and can afford to keep you can go
after the FA's.  You should check your cap room amount and budget wisely.
If you have a lot of draft picks or high draft picks I would spend maybe
30% to 40% of my cap room remaining on FA's.  Unlike Madden you get no incentive
of saving money and being fiscally responsible so spend like a drunken politician
I say!!!

Remember that some of these guys who are now UFA's are high priced.  Don't get
caught up in a bidding war or overspend.  I would choose one or two needs and focus
on them instead of scattershotting offers to everyone.  You can also resign your
old players if you feel you made a mistake or forgot to resign them in the first
place (DOH!) Oh and most importantly check how many players are on your roster!
If you fill up your roster with FA's then you have no room on the roster to sign
your upcoming draft picks!

As for me I saw no attractive & affordable UFAs available to fill the spots I
needed so I will take my chances in the draft.  I have 10 spots open on my
roster so I am well prepared for the draft.

[ ] Trade Players

This is also your last chance to make any last minute trades prior to the draft.
It is also a great way to see if the CPUs roster is full or near full when you
do make a trade.  If it is full I would not expect to be trading a player to them
during the draft.

Another way to check the other teams roster is to go to each team and count how
many rows and multiply it by 8 then add the last row since it probably won't have
8 players in the row.  If you lack multiplication skills I say shame shame shame!!
I guess you better break out the calculator or an abbacus or something.  Make sure
to make note of those teams who have full rosters.

*************
NFL DRAFT!   *  B-4
**************

Okay here is where the fun is IMO.  Unlike Madden you are on the clock and have
to make quick choices.  I enjoy sitting through the whole draft and not simming
through it.  By now you should have about 181 players scouted.  You should now have
an idea of who is going where and make any final updates to your draft board.

Before you start the draft go to roster breakdown and make note of your needs.
Therefore in the later rounds you can grab a need and fill a hole in the roster.
Also, if you plan to trade any players write their names down so you do not
forget in the heat of the moment and panic trying to beat the clock.
Remember when your owner gave you a goal at the end of the season about drafting
a certain position?  Add that to your draft sheet as well.  Do not forget to check
the "keys to victory" by pressing down on the control pad.

Lastly, I would get a BEvERage of your choice and a snack since this takes a
while. Oh go to the bathroom if needed.  Though you can press start and pause
the game.  You have your draft board good to go right?  You have a list of
positions you need to be filled right?  Okay let's begin!

Mel will welcome you to the draft.  For my 2007 Draft he said it was one of the
weakest drafts in recent memory.  He then mentioned a few top prospects.
Remember them and write them down!  He likened a QB named Patrick to Culpepper
and said the best prospect was a LT named Henderson and then mentioned that a
TE from USC should also be a high pick.

On your left hand side you have your draft notebook which is where you will
choose your player from and you can see who is already drafted and who you drafted
as well. When choosing a player make sure you have it on non drafted players!
You can also sort by position so you are not wasting time scrolling through
100's of players.

In front of you is the computer which serves no value since you should have all
the needed info on your draft paper.

To the right is the phone.  If you wish to make trades this is where you will
do it.  Seeing how time is of the essence start negoiating before the team is due
up to pick.  Have a clear idea of what you want to deal for and for whom.
This is not the time to be trying to make lopsided trades in your favor for
time is not on your side! After the trade is made you will have little time
to make your selection!

Keep an eye on the draft ticker in the upper left hand corner to see who is
considered the top remaining picks.  Or as I like to say the
Best Player Available (BPA).  Has anyone else noticed it says NFL Draft 2006
on it?  Odd....

If you have a top 5 pick you should already know who you are drafting in the
first round.  If the player you want is gone and you feel the highest player
on your draft board will be available then trade down a few spots no more
than 4 or 5 spots I feel.  I make sure I am on the team I plan to trade
with as soon as the player I want is gone so I save time.

Always be thinking 5 spots ahead.  You do not have enough time to sit around
and think.  To quote the wrestler Scott Hall "You hesistate you get punked".
Or you can throw caution to the wind and ask your dunce of a scouting
director on who he would draft.  Be warned he gets upset and his trust
decreases if you do not pick who he wants.  Personally I could care less how
upset he gets.  Odds are his trust is already is low due to you personally
choosing the players to scout.

If you have a pick in the top ten keep an eye on who is being drafted and
perhaps make a move to acquire a top 5 pick that may have slipped a few spots.
Use some common sense and realize if a few players went higher than expected
(either according to your projections or what Mel says) then there is a good
chance your player could be around by that time.

If you have a mid or late first round pick just sit back and relax and you have
ample time to shop around players or picks to move up or if the player you want
is gone then maybe you should think about trading down.  The players asking price
being a 2nd rounder will be less than a mid or late first rounder would.

After the first pick is made Mel will comment on it.  For me he said the player
chosen was a stretch and had only one good season in college.  Come to think of
it I wish they had college stats for these players.  Anyways the computer has 45
seconds to pick a player and they usally use less than the alotted time.  After
the first ten picks check your draft board and examine if you will be able to
choose a player you want projected in your first rounder list.  I am lucky since
only one of my 5 is off the board.

Now we are on pick 24 overall and I have pick 32.  I know only have 2 players
on my board left.  I am now calling teams to see about possible trades.  I will
give up a 4th rounder and hope to swap 1st round picks.  Indy (pick # 27) is not
interested in my offer so I will wait a few more picks and cross my fingers...

As I was about to trade with Seattle to move up the player I wanted was picked.
I decided to stay put at #32 and chose the last player on my first round board.
I consulted my scouting director who wanted a SS rated as an 84 but I went with
the DT rated as an 83 who fills a immediate need.  All my projected picks in the
first round were selected in the first round.  Now we move onto the 2nd round where
in a trade with the Saints (my holdout WR Ferguson for an OLB and we swapped 2nd
round picks) I have the 18th pick in that round.

Starting the 2nd I have about 7 players on my board projected in the 2nd so I
should get one of them hopefully.  After the first ten picks I still have 4 of my
players available.  I decided to stay put and then with my pick decided on the BPA.
A CB who had a max rating of 87 who had slipped out of the first round.  My 3rd CB
is rated a 74 so I feel this is a good pick.  Though his hands are a 93-99 so
maybe I will move him to WR if need be.  Also he completes one of the owners
requests.

With no 3rd round pick (due to the Schaub RFA compensation) I am forced to sit
and cross off players on my board.  I have a few 2nd rounders I projected still
around half way through the 3rd but don't have the means to trade up.  Thus ends
day 1 of the draft.

Now go over your draft board and make sure you did not miss anyone.  I have a
projected 2nd rounder still around and about five 3rds as well.  Make note of
position holes you need filled for day two as well.  Then look for any sleeper
picks available for day two and make note of them.  If you want to make a trade
now is the time to do it!  You can make unlimited trades so don't worry.
Oh and be sure to save as well!

On day two I have 6 picks.  I have two 4th rounders (pick #24 and #32).
I plan to package the picks in a trade if need be to move up and grab a
few players on my board.  I ended up taking a HB with a max rating of 80 and
a DT with a max  rating of 84.  In the 5th I took a DE with max rating of 79
and a QB with a max rating of 71.  I grabbed a kicker and punter with my last
2 draft picks (round 6 & 7). While you are waiting during the last round go to
calendar and change the trade player session with sign player session.

Now that the draft is over SAVE THE GAME!  Now you can evaluate your draft.
I managed to complete all my goals (draft a QB, draft a kicker and draft a DB
with a max rating of 75)!  All my picks except two were either projected to go
in that round or I projected them to go higher.  Also, your scouting director
should have no trust left.  It took me two drafts and ignoring his advice during
the off-season, regular season, post season, (hell I never listened to him once
I think) to get him at zero trust.  Now you will move on to the.....


[X] Management Meeting

Here the owner will go over the draft and praise you if you met your goals.
If you have holes in your roster remember you are still in the UFA period so
you can sign UFA's if need be.  Oh check your email too.  My convo went like
this:

Owner:  We filled all the positions we neededand picked up some great players
this year.
( ) Continue....

Owner:  And just as a reminder, you need to sign our draft picks by the start of
preseason.
( ) Thanks for the reminder

Next convo:

Owner:  We still have positions to be filled on our roster during this UFA
period
( ) Continue

Owner:  Then our goals for this period will be complete
( ) Thanks for the update
( ) Don't you think I have more important things to do?  I'll get to it when I
get to it.

Next Convo:  (By now he is calling me "My favorite coach")

Owner:  Thanks for bringing in that highly touted DB
( ) Not a problem

This should complete this meeting and now go to your next meeting.


[ ] Office Hours

Go to "Salary Cap" and scroll down to the bottom.  You will see the players you
drafted.  It will say "unsigned" under any player you drafted.  Make note of
this for you will return here when you get to the "sign players" task and sign
your draft picks that way.


[X] Weekly Staff Meeting

Here you will talk to your staff.  For me everything was "running smooth" so
did not have to talk to anyone and can move onto the next task which is....

[X] Scout Players

Here you can scout any players you wish to trade for if you need holes filled
or you can scout UFAs like your scouting director requests if you so desire.
When I allowed my scouting director to scout FA's I wonder who he scouted since
I saw no new players who were fully scouted.  Personally I make note of who is
leaving my team next year and start scouting that position on other teams who
will be RFAS or UFAS next year if I do not plan to resign my players.
You could also scout your draft picks you never scouted prior to the draft to see
if they are worth signing.

*tip*  I found out you can scout a few players and when there is two or one
players left to scout, go back and talk to the scouting director and now you
can let him scout whomever he wants.  Thus giving him a trust boost.

[ ] Sign Players

Here is where you are gonna sign your draft picks.  You can return to the
"salary cap" option or go to the phone and choose "agents".  Then find your
draft picks on the list and start negioating contracts.  Most people forget to
do this and end up having their draft picks in the UFA pool.  You can sign a max
of 3 players per session so you will probably end up repeating this task.

When you are done signing your draft picks you can sign other UFAs to fill
holes. If you lack cap room then you were not following my advice earlier.
You can either trade away over priced players for cheap ones or take the cap
penalty and release them.

Obviously your top picks will demand more $$$ than the later round picks.
Also you do NOT have to sign all your draft picks!  If the ham and egger you
drafted in round 7 stinks after scouting him then either sign him to a long term
cheap deal so you have a roster spot filled for the next 5 to 6 years at bargain
basement prices or do not sign him and he will go back into the FA pool.

If you sign your picks to 3 year deals they will be RFA's at the end of their
contract so you amy get compensatory picks for them down the road.  I would not
sign anyone to a one year deal unless you are low on cap space or have no
intentions of keeping them around.

I only had one player (DT) who was being a jerk with a contract offer.  I
wanted a 4 year deal worth 5 million but he wanted a 3 year deal worth 6.74
million.  Mind you this player was a 4th round pick!  I ended up caving after
a few stalled talks.  I would have traded him away but you can not trade the
rights to the player away if he is not signed by your team.  Nor will he sit
out all season and enter the draft again next year like in real life.
(Stupid EA)

You can also sign holdouts here if you wish.  Strahan is holding out so after
finding out he wants a pay increase from 4.25 million to 5.74 million I told
his agent to suck an egg and he will remain a holdout for now.  The only purpose
he will serve is to increase my DL's trust levels.

[X] Office Hours/Other tasks

If you have any other tasks to do that I have listed in the UFA portion of the
game, now is the time to complete those tasks.  Make sure you have a full roster
before training camp and make sure you have completed any other owner goals as
well.  When you complete the goals you will be asked to skip ahead to the
training camp portion of the game.  Decline this since you might have draft
picks still to sign or trades to make.  You will also miss who is on the waiver
wires.  I will sim from meeting to meeting to scouting so I do not miss anything
You also might wish to change the depth charts on your roster before training camp
as well since you have new faces on the roster.

*tip*  If you have a positional coach who has a low trust level I suggest putting
your backups as starters on the depth chart for that position.  Trust me you will
understand later.

Check your email occasionally since the CPU has been known to dump decent
players onto the waiver wire after signing their draft picks since they have cap
issues or roster size issues.  Some teams may offer you trades as well.
Then when ALL is done make sure to SAVE the game and move on to....


##############
Training Camp #    B-5
##############

Okay the only real purpose this serves is to get your team ready for the regular
season.  I am unsure if your players max stats improve during this like Madden.
You have ample time to get money plays and get your players stats up before the
first pre-season game.  I have never had an issue with injuries in training camp
(knock on wood) but I would train your backups more than the starters.  If you
are the paranoid tin foil hat kinda of person than maybe your first stringers
should play only non contact drills.  Then prior to the last preseason game
start practicing them in contact drills

[X] Management Meeting

You will notice that the draft info is now erased from the NFL.com option

The owner will go over anything that needs to be done.  My convo went like this:

Owner:  The team has all the players we need.  Speaking for the entire team;
well done.
( ) Thank you for the update.
( ) I made these goals to improve this team.  Not to please you!!!

Owner:  Today kicks off the training camp period.  Our primary goal during this
time is to get the players ready for the preseason.
( ) Continue....

Owner:  I don't expect them to be at 100% of their potential, but they should at
least be 50% of the way there.
( ) Thank you for the reminder

Leave here and sim to

[X] Weekly Staff Meeting

Talk to your OC who will mention that the staff will go over any backups they feel
deserve the start.  Remember when you put the backups as starters on the depth chart?
Now the coaches will suggest the real starters should start.  Accept their advice and
they recieve a trust boost.

Now after doing that move on to the next step.

[X] Scout Players

Okay now you should be able to start scouting next years draft picks!  You should
have wrote down whose contract is up at the end of the season and you also should
have an idea who is retiring.  I would scout those positions first.  Then I would
start scouting postions you are weak at.  If you have 3 solid HB's do not waste
time scouting HB's then!

Yes there will be players already scouted.  Those are the top picks which everyone
already knows about and have projected to be top picks.  I would write them down
on your new draft board.  Remember that players with a "S" are players who are known
but not a lot is known about them, the players with "PS" are your sleeper and
unknown picks.  "PS" players may take 3 to 4 tries to get them fully scouted.
"S" players usually take 1 or 2 tries.

After scouting the players add them to your draft board.  Yes your draft board, like
real life, will flucuate up and down as you scout more and more players.

[ ]  Drills

By now you should be familar with the various drills.  The training camp drill
schedule is similar to the regular season one with a few exceptions.  I would
focus on your rookies, FA's and backups more than your starters.  A base formula
would be like this:

1st vs. 1st
2nd vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 3rd
1st vs. 2nd
3rd vs. 2nd
2nd vs. 1st
3rd vs. 3rd
2nd vs. 2nd
3rd vs. 3rd

For one on one drills:

S = starter
2 = 2nd string
B = 3rd string/backups

S vs. S
2 vs. 2
S vs. B
B vs. B
B vs. 2
2 vs. 2
2 vs. S
B vs. 2
2 vs. B

Like the reg. season make note of who is improving and by how much.
Remember!  The owner only wanted them at 50%!  Why waste time getting
everyone to 100%?  Also your starters won't be playing the whole game
in preseason (unless you sim it) though even then your coaches should
have your backups as the starters in the meeting.

As far as money plays go I would get your usual plays up to money status
but after the 1st preseaon game those money plays are back down to 47% or
lower.

[X] Weekly Summary Meeting:

Just like the regular season the coaches will try to convince you to change
starters.  It's up to you if you want to do that.  Assuming you are actually
playing the preseason games it makes little difference as you can sub in the
backups after the first series.  If you plan to sim the preseason games then
I would keep the backups as starters.  Though if it is the last preseason game
I would play the starters quite a bit so their stats do not drop off that
much.



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tips & Troubleshooting  C-1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Q:  My starting HB is not in the game all the time!

A:  Go to depth chart and go to "other", odds are you have someone else as
your 3rd down back.  Change it to your starter.  Also go to substitutions and
see if you have your backups in certain formations and change it to your starter

Q:  I can not find the Hail Mary play.

A:  I found it under the "Singleback - 4WR Flex " formation

Q:  How can I tell if my coaches are getting the positional boost?

A:  Two ways, the first being if you are quick enough to move the arrow over his
head to see the - for the trust drop and then a + for the boost.  The other is
make note of your coaches rating prior to the meeting and then look again after
the meeting.

Q:  My stupid kicker and punters ratings never increase!!

A:   I decided to go to depth chart and put my kicker as the 3rd string QB
and after the weeks practice I saw little overall improvement.  I now motivate
the holy hell out of them every practice and get an ever so slight boost.  I
also motivate them prior to kickoff as well.  The highest I have seen my
kicker(68-78) is a 72 and it was during a game.

Q:  My game freezes!

A:  My advice is "Save early and save often".

Q:  Hey!  You are a liar!  I don't get as many ______ as you say you do!

A:  I assume your coach has the same work ethic as myself after a long night of
drinking.  Don't blame me for your coaches lack of work ethic!

Q:  What purpose does telling the owner "I made these goals to improve the team.
Not to please you!!!" serve?

A:  I honestly have no clue other than to upset the owner.  If someone knows
clue me in.

Q:  Help how do I know if my draft picks signed with my team?

A:  If they have N/A under them they are not signed.  If they have a # they are
 signed.

Q:  Can I change the # of my newly acquired players?

A:  As far as I know you can not.  I know it is sacreligious to have a new #4
on the Packers roster but sadly some things are out of your control.
As they say in Japan "shikata ga nai"....

Q:  I found out for my team its better to tweak your guide for the weekly prep
and change this to that.

A:  The weekly prep guide is a base.  Feel free to tweak it as you see fit as
it can better help your team.  The main purpose of the guide is to get you
started and win a few games so you do not get upset with the game. Thus
preventing you from going to the message board and whining like a 3 year old
and saying you will never buy an EA game again with the end result being making
an ass of yourself in the process.

Q:  Why won't my players stats increase in the offseason like Madden?

A:  I am 90% sure it has more to do with your coaching staff than performance.
I had Reggie Bush rush for 1800 yds and 17 tds his rookie year and he did not
improve.  After year 2 he did improve and I had hired a better RB coach that
season.  Coincedence?  I dunno.