==============================================================================
			      Madden NFL '09
	    Off-Season Walkthrough FAQ(Version 1.0; August 19 '08)
			  Written by: Aj_the_one

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A.Version History
B.Introduction
C.Legal Stuff
D.Owner Off-Season
 D1.Staffing
 D2.Training Staff
E.Stadium
 E1.Rename
 E2.Rebuild
  EE1.Design Stadium
  EE2.Secure Funds
  EE3.Submit Proposal
 E3.Upgrades
 E4.Pricing
 E5.Information
F.Regular Off-Season Schedule
 F1.Retired Players
 F2.Roster Management
 F3.Restricted Free Agents
 F4.Re-Sign Players
 F5.Free Agent Signing
 F6.The Draft
  FF1.College All-Star Game
  FF2.Rookie Workouts
   FFF1.Draft Time and Ratings Conversion
  FF3.NFL Draft
 F7.Roster Management
 F8.Sign Draft Picks
 F9.Free Agent Signing(Part 2)
 F10.Re-Order Depth Charts
 F11.Start New Season
G.My Franchise details and year end moves
H.Credits

*Represents nothing changed from '08

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.Version History
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.0- FAQ Completed

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B.Introduction
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WELCOME!!! to the offseason. To those who won the Super Bowl congrats!!! and
to those who didn't with some good off-season moves you'll get there soon 
enough. I should note that if you don't care much about how much money you 
make then you would probably do well to skip this section. Anyway enough with
the intro let's get started.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.Legal Stuff
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

Copyright 2007 Armand Sellers

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D.Owner Off-Season*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here you have a couple of options that concern the financial state of your 
team and also your coaches. Since this will be comprehensive I will break down
each option and explain what I think your best move should be. There is 
nothing that changed from last year's game in thi section.

D1.Staffing

There are some people who I have spoken to who believe that your coaches don't
matter. Well let me tell you now: IT MATTERS A GREAT DEAL!!! Your coaches 
affect just about everything that goes on with how your players play. If you
have coaches who have poor defense and don't have high ratings with certain
positions then not only will your defense play a little poorly(You can't
control everyone on the field)your players won't progress as much in the
off-season. With that said I'll break down the different coaches(Head, 
Offensive, Defensive, Special) and what their ratings mean.

Ratings(What they mean)
MOTivation- This stat basically determines how riled up your coach gets your
players. This is useful in pressure situations(especially on defense). Always
try to get a coach with a high stat.

Work ETHic- This determines how hard your players are worked by coach. This is
important for discipline. I've noticed teams that are lead by a coach with 
poor ethic commit more penalties(I should note that the difference isn't 
astonishing and quite hard to spot)

CHeMistry- This stat(though I really haven't seen a difference for this) is
for how well your coach meshes with the rest if team. As you all know the 
more you team plays like a team the better your chances of winning.

KNoWledge- This stat determines preparedness for the game(Once again this one
is a little harder to spot the difference). A coach with low Knowledge won't
hurt you team to much.

OFFense- This is very important(though not so much if you have already your
go to plays nad can gain easy yardage). This helps determine how good your
offense is(Mostly with the AI). Your Offensive coordinator should always have
a high offense as this also determines your offseason progression.

DEFense- This is the most important stat that a coach can have as it 
determines(along with the players you have) how good your defense is. A coach
(either Head or Defensive) with a high defense stat can make a defense better
than it actually is. My Head Coach is always defensive minded as is my 
Defensive Coordinator since most of the defense is controlled by the AI and
a high defense makes them smarter and raises their awareness in the offseason.

Offensive Line- This determines your effectiveness with your offensive line.
Most of these ratings determine how much the players at that position progress
during the season. This isn't as important because my OL has 5 players with
high ratings(avg 96) and they get better regardless(due to pancaking alot of
people and not giving a lot of sacks.

Quarter Back- This rating determines how much better your QB gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. This is important if you have
young QB's because you would want them to develop as fast as possible so they
can win Super Bowl's for you.

Running Back- This rating determines how much better your RB gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. Like QB's this rating should
be high if you have a young RB or 1st Round pick who you want to develop in
a Star.

Wide Reciever- This rating determines how much better your WR gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. You should get the general
theme of the position ratings by now but this is important if you want to
develop a young WR into a threat then your coach should have a high rating

Defensive Line- This rating determines how much better your DE and Dt's get 
as the season progresses and at the end of the season. Since I place more 
emphasis on defense than offense these ratings are especially important. The 
higher the rating the better they will get in the offseason and the better 
they will play also.

Line Backer- This rating determines how much better your LB gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. My coaches normally have a
high LB rating because I rely heavily on my LB's(Manny Lawson and Patrick
Willis) to roam the field and get tackles and deflect passes. As such they
need to get smarter(AWR) faster and with a high LB rating they will 
grow faster.

Defensive Backs- his rating determines how much better your CB's and Safeties
get as the season progresses and at the end of the season. I can't stress the
importance of having a coach who is good with the secondary. Since they are
almost always controlled by the AI they will need to be smart because if they
aren't your going to get beat deep and give up alot of yards. Make sure that
your HC or DC has a high DB rating so they will progress faster.

Kicker- This rating determines how much better your Kicker gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. This is important because 
everybody needs a good kicker. The better the coach the better the kicker 
gets.

Punter- This rating determines how much better your Punter gets as the 
season progresses and at the end of the season. This is important because 
everybody needs a good punter to put the ball deep in their own territory when
your O fails. 

IMPORTANT!!! I should note that Chemistry and Knowledge are that important in
my experiences. The most important stats are Motivation, Ethic, Offense, 
Defense and the position stats. Also my coaches for Head coach and Defensive
coordinator are interchangeable because I love defense coaches.

HEAD COACH

This is leader of your team on the sideline and as such this is the only 
coach who dosen't need to have stellar player ratings. He should however have
a high MOT, ETH, CHM, and KNW. These are leader qualities and I feel are the
most important.

Recommended Stats- High Coach stats, High defensive player stats.
Recommended Coaches- Joe Gibbs, Ron Rivera, Mike Nolan

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

The counterpart of the Defensive Coordinator, this guy is responsible for 
calling your offensive plays and some of your playbook(You Head Coach also
makes these decisions). For me the OC isn't that important because I know how
to run my offense to maximum effectiveness and most of my young players are
already stars so there's no need for them to develop. Still I believe in
spending money if you want to win so I would recommend a coach with a high
Offense stat and good player stats also(high 80's to mid 90's) in addition to
a high motivation stat.

Recommended Stats- High MOT and High offensive player stats.
Recommended Coaches- Tom Moore(Colts offensive mastermind), Mike Martz, Al
Sanders.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

This guy is responsible for your defense. What plays you call your playbook,
how they play, how motivated they are. As such it is extremely important that
you make sure that he has high ratings in Defense and also high player ratings
as this will make your entire defense better than it is.

Recommended Stats- High Defense and Defensive player stats, High ETH.
Recommended Coaches- Monty Kiffin, Joe Johnson, Mike Nolan 

SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR

This guy is responsible for the development of your Kikcer and Punter. He also
is responsible for everything related to special teams including kick and punt
returns(though not in this game)

Recommended Stats- Kicker and Punter player ratings
Recommended Coaches-  John Marciano, Jay Decamillis, F.Gansz Jr.

D2.Training Staff

I to think this really didn't matter that much until I chose I crappy company
and had 5 players get injured in the first game of the season. For the money
this is the best injury prevention you can get.

RECovery- This is how long it takes for your players to come back from an
injury. The higher the stat the shorter the injury will be. 

PReVention- This how efficient your staff is at preventing injuries. The 
higher this stat the less injuries your team will see.

KNoWledge- This is a combination of the two stats. This stat basically 
compliments the other two decreasing the chance of injury and also the length
of the injury.

Recommended Companies- Livelihood Training, Doc's Training Studio

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.Stadium*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This option has everything to do with the physical appearance of your stadium.
Like I said earlier in the FAQ, if you don't care much about how much money
your franchise makes then you really won't bother with your stadium because
alot of the stadium has to do with making money but that's something else
so read on for your dream stadium!!!

E1.Rename

You can rename your stadium for a certain amount of money per year from alot
of different companies. The most offers I have gotten in an Offseason was 4.
None of which were very good. I would recommend that you pick a contract that
is in line with your team success. If you always win the superbowl then wait
for a contract that demands that you win the super bowl because these 
normally pay you more money. If you only win 8 games then choose a sponsorship
that pays you to win at least 8 games that way you get some money for your
franchise which helps keeps you above the salary cap and out of the red.

E2.Rebuild

If you aren't happy with your current stadium or you just want to switch it
up you can rebuild your own stadium. This has various benefits because more
often than not your new stadium will make more money than your old stadium 
and will look better to you because you designed it!!! I would recommend that
everyone take this step as it will almost always maximize your profits.

EE1.DESIGN STADIUM

You have to build your stadium from a limited number of pieces for each 
section I will break down each option for all the section and what I think
is the best design.

N END ZONE
1st Deck- Indent, Stairs, Tunnel, Straight Across.
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available 
2nd Deck- Scoreboard, Open Ended, Scoreboard Cut-in, Straight Across
My opinion- Once again I went with he straight across design because it 
offers the most seats which would mean more money for the team.
3rd Deck- Scoreboard, Split Scoreboard, Open Scoreboard, Closed Scoreboard,
Straight Across.
My Opinion- Once again I went with straight across because of the potential
money.

N CORNER
1st Deck NW Corner- Extended, Tunnel, Straight Across, Stairs
My Opinion- Extended is the best option because it would have the most seats.
1st Deck NE Corner- Extended, Tunnel, Straight Across, Stairs
My Opinion- Extended is the best option because it would provide you with the
most seating.

S END ZONE
1st Deck- Indent, Stairs, Tunnel, Straight Across.
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
2nd Deck- Scoreboard, Open Ended, Scoreboard Cut-in, Straight Across
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
3rd Deck- Scoreboard, Split Scoreboard, Open Scoreboard, Closed Scoreboard,
Straight Across.
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.

S CORNER
1st Deck SW Corner- Extended, Tunnel, Straight Across, Stairs
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
1st Deck SE Corner- Extended, Tunnel, Straight Across, Stairs
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.

E SIDELINE
1st Deck- Straight Across, Stairs, Tunnel, Indented
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
2nd Deck- Press & Luxury, Open Single Deck, 2 Decks, Straight Across
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
3rd Deck- Press & Luxury, Press, Straight Across
My Opinion- I would recommend that you go with the Luxury boxes because on
average they should go for $7000 per box and there will either 44 or 88 of
them generating a good amount of revenue. 

W SIDELINE
1st Deck- Straight Across, Stairs, Tunnel, Indented.
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
2nd Deck- Press & Luxury, Open Single Deck, 2 Decks, Straight Across
My Opinion- I went with the straight across design because it has the most
seats available.
3rd Deck- Press & Luxury, Press, Straight Across
My Opinion- I would once again recommend that you go with the luxury boxes 
because they will add to the amount of money you make and make it easier for 
you to hit the $10 million per game mark.

ROOF/LIGHTS
Roof/Lights- 4 Lights, 6 Lights, 8 Lights, Roof 1(Canopy Dome), Roof 2(Steel
Truss with open middle), Roof 3(Steel Canopy Dome), Roof 4(Half canopy with
connection to seats to open), Roof 5(Spider Web Canopy Dome).
My Opinion- I went with the 8 Lights setup because I thought I might try some 
different than the 4. The only benefit to having a roof is that you stadium 
becomes weather controlled and you won't have to worry about playing in 
adverse weather(though this might backfire if you have to go to a cold weather
stadium or play in snow or torrential rains.

EE2.SECURE FUNDS
Before you can get started on your stadium you need to have the funds 
approved. You can choose how much you want the team to contribute or you can
sell Personal Seat Licenses. I Would recommend you put up at least 80% of the
money required or at least enough until the bar is dark green. If your 
proposal gets rejected you have to try over next year to build your stadium.

EE3.SUBMIT PROPOSAL
You need to submit your proposal next and make sure that it dosen't get 
rejected by following my advice above.

E3.UPGRADES
There are a multitude of upgrades that you can make to your stadium to give
your fans more to do or to make you luxury suites better. They even go so far
as to have a heated field to avoid an icy field. Most of these upgrades are
cosmetic such as the Screens but some do make a difference in the game notably
the Heated Grass and the Medical Facility which helps your players recover
faster by having a medical staff on the stadium.

Team Theater Screen- Cosmetic change for your fans. Cost=$1.5 million
Gourmet Coffe Shop-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$1.5 million
Global Village Eatery-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$1.5 million
Personal Video Game Consoles-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$1.5 million
Fan Wall-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$1.5 million
Interactive Kiosks-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$1.5 million
EA Arcade-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$2 million
Cup Holders-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$2 million
Internet Cafe-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$2.1 million
Super Suites-Cosmetic change for your luxury boxes.Cost=$2.3 million
Gourmet Chefs for Luxury Boxes-Cosmetic change for your luxury boxes.
Cost=$2.4 million
Mega Suites-Cosmetic change for your luxury boxes.Cost=$2.55 million
Luxury Box Masseuse-Cosmetic change for your luxury boxes.Cost=$4.55 million
Retractable Glass Windows-Cosmetic change for your luxury boxes.Cost=$6.1 
million
Light Projection System-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$6.6 million
Medical Facility-Reduces amount of time players are hurt during game.
Cost=$8.15 million
High Tech Playground-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$8.15 million
High Fidelity Audio System-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$9.15 million
Five-Star Restaurant-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$10.2 million
Super Screen-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$10.2 million
Personal Audio Systems-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$12.2 million
Heated Grass-Prevents your field from freezing if you play in a cold weather 
city.Cost=$13.25 million
LED Video Screen-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$15.3 million
Massage Seats-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$15.3 million
Rainwater Collection-Saves you money every year by collecting rainwater for 
irrigation and cleaning.Cost=17.85 Reduces Maintenance costs by $1.4 million
each year.
HDTV Replay System-Cosmetic change for your fans.Cost=$20.4 million
Retractable Field-Adds versatility to your field by adding mobility if rains
or snows when a game isn't being played.Cost=$25.5 million

IMPORTANT!!! I should note that each upgrade with the exception of the 
rainwater collection adds a certain amount to your stadium maintenance
per year. Since most of the upgrades don't actually do anything I would
recommend you only get the medical facility and Rainwater collection.
Everything else can be added as you like though it's all cosmetic

E4.PRICING
These are the prices of your tickets, parking, merchandise and your 
consessions.

TICKETS
Here is where you set the prices for your admission tickets. Depending on 
popular your team is I normally recommend that you raise the ticket price for 
everything until the price is $3 in the white. This will give you a small 
boost in revenue while not pissing away your fan support.

CONSESSIONS
Here is where you set the prices for the various foods that you sell at your 
stadium. Every team(and stadium) has it's own area specific food(for my team 
it's the San Fran Super Dog). Whatever your specific food is you should raise
the price on this at least until the the white arrow appears next to the price

MERCHANDISE
Here is where you set the prices for the souveniers that you sell at your 
stadium. Jersey's, Programs, Hats, Bobble Heads, Foam Fingers are what
I sell at my stadium.

PARKING
Here is where you can adjust the prices for the 5 types of parking tickets.
I normally leave them right on the border of green and white since the fans
don't complain that much.

ADVERTISING
This is where you choose how much money you spend to get your fans to the
games. The most effective is Television and if your fan support is high then
you'll only need to spend about 750K on that for you home games to bring you
to 100% attendance.

E5.INFORMATION
This is the breakdown of just about everything you could want to know about
your franchise. Everythign from how much your coaches are making to how much
you made for the year.

TEAM INFO
This basically gives a synopsis of you trades and signing while also showing
your coach/team prestige.

FAN SUPPORT
This shows the level of support that your fans have for your team on a yearly
basis. It is shown by a bar graph representing the years. The more you win 
the more the your fans will support the team and come out to the games which
in turn will make you more money from your attendance.

ATTENDANCE
This one is pretty self explanatory. It shows the level of your attendance for
the season. The more fanse you bring in the higher the bar graph will be.

EXPECTATIONS
This bar graph shows what the owner and fans expect of the team in the next 
year and the years in the future. If you win the Super Bowl then your 
expectations will be to repeat but if you finish in the bottom of the league
then your fans will expect a minor improvement next season which will be 
reflected in the bar graph.

INCOME
This shows in both a bar graph and pie chart how much money your team made
last year and also per game. The bar graph is used to show how much money you 
made in your home games and the pie chart is used to sow how much you made
for the last home game and also the for the total year. A very useful tool if
you care about how much money you make and also your owner rating. 

EXPENSES
Like the income section this shows your teams total expenses for the year in
a pie chart. It shows the total breakdown of where the money went. If you 
want to find a way to save some money then look no further than this expense
chart to find out where most of your money is going and where you can trim it.

FRANCHISE/TEAM
This shows the avergae ratings of every position on your team. It also shows
which 3 players have the most expensive contract on your team and the length
of said contract. Also included in this menu are the coaches salaries and 
their base rating(not player ratings) and how much they make and stack up a
gainst the league in terms of how much they get paid.

STADIUM INFO
This menu displays all the information onn your stadium including it's name,
age and condition amongst other things. It also displays all the upgrades you
have bought for the stadium. Not very useful except for when you want a 
synopsis of your stadium.

CITY INFO
This displays the inforamtion about the area city your team is in. It shows
the average temperature at the beginning and end of the season(Sept-Dec), and
also the avg. income of the area. It also shows how many teams are in the same
state as your team.

OWNER RATINGS 
This shows what your rating is as an owner. This is compiled by whether you
were in the red for the year and also if your team won the super bowl. Not
really important but you can see how other owners are stacking up against you.

E6.RELOCATION
If you feel the need to you can move your team to another city or even another
country. There are alot of different choices for you to pick from but more 
often than not the most attractive site will be Los Angeles. Once you pick 
your city you will have a process to complete you relocation which I will 
detail.

EE1.SELECT LOCATION
You're automatically taken here when you press relocate so you should choose 
where you want to go. The higher the desire of the city the more funding you 
will get to build your team.

Recommendation-Los Angeles, California(Why not bring football back there)

EE2.DESIGN STADIUM
Here is where you will build your new stadium. It's the same process as in the
Stadium so feel free to look back there for my recommendations on how to build
your stadium.

EE3.SECURE FUNDS
This menu also remains the same as when you are building a new stadium but now
you get a relocation package which is money to help you finance your stadium.

EE4.SUBMIT PROPOSAL
Same as before if your application is rejected you will have to start over 
again next year.

EE5.CHANGE NICKNAME
Here you can change the name of your team and also you primary and secondary
colors. You can pretty much let your creativity fly here in designing your 
colors and team name.

EE6.CHANGE UNIFORM
Similiar to change nickname only your dealing with your jersey design. There 
are a multitude of colors available for you to choose from and like your team
name you can pick whatever makes you happy... after all it is your team.

EE7.FINALIZE
Here you will submit your total application and will be warned that your fans
 won't be pleased with your moving and for to expect a rough year financially.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F.Regular Off-Season Schedule
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the meat of your team building and the part of the game responsible 
for keeping your franchise dominant or getting it there. I will outline each 
option and give my recommendations for what you should do. I should note
that the outline for this year's game hasn't changed.

F1.RETIRED PLAYERS
I normally skip right through this section because I keep my team young and 
seldom have any retirements on my team. If you want to see who retired for the
year then look no further than this screen. If breaks it up by position and 
can be sorted from top to bottom in whatever rating you want.

F2.ROSTER MANAGEMENT
In this screen you will see the player whose contract is up. The players that 
you see are the ones that the game thinks you should cut. Often I don't follow
 this but to each his own.

F3.RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
These are the players who have been with your team for 3 years and are set to 
become free agents. You can a make an offer to them and depending on how much
offer another team must meet you demands to sign the player. So if you offer 
the max they will have to give up a first round pick to get your player
(depending on how good he is).

F4.RE-SIGN PLAYERS
This section of the offseason is crucial because you have to choose who to 
resign and who to release. Also adding to the frustration is that some of your
player will holdout if they feel they aren't being paid enough. I would 
recommend that you resign your higher rated players that are hard to replace
at least until you can get a rookie or younger player to take their place.

IMPORTANT!!! When signing contracts for players you know you aren't going to 
trade give them the MAXIMUM SIGNING BONUS but reduce their total salary until
the bar turns yellow or red. The point of this is to minimize the damage to 
your team salary eveyr year. I have seen contract where players earn 6 million
this year then the next year earn 9 or 10 million. These kind of jumps are 
unhealthy for the long term position of your team. I REPEAT only do this with
players you aren't going to trade. If you trade them you will take a heavy 
penalty and will have to play that bonus for the length of the contract. 
Also avoid the franchise tag. It will take a chunk of you cap this year l
imiting what you can do with rookie contracts and free agency.

F5.FREE AGENT SIGNING
If your team struggled last year then this would be the ideal place for you to
improve your team. Just be wary of player over 33. At this age their stats 
will start to decline at the end of the year. If your team is relatively young
and good then you really won't need to sign a free agent unless you want to 
make a strong case for repeating.

IMPORTANT!!!My contract guidelines apply with free agents too. Give them a 
high bonus but low salary so their salary doesn't jump an astronomical amount
over the length of the contract.

F6.THE DRAFT
I'm pretty sure some of you have skipped to this section to see what I have to
say about the draft and my recommendations well look no further I will outline
everything about the draft especially how to interpret the scouting times into
ratings for your players.

FF1.COLLEGE ALL-STAR GAME
I've only done this once. While I had fun playing the game I really wouldn't 
recommend it because it wastes alot of time and you can just as easily see the
players that you want by running them through the combine. I do like the idea
of playing with the teams to get a feel for how they would play on team and 
getting a first hand look at their talents.

FF2.ROOKIE SCOUTING
This is the most important part of the draft because it will give you a 
barometer of how the player will be in the NFL. Once you select a player there
 a couple of mini-camp drills that you can do gauge the players talents. I'll 
break these down also.

IMPORTANT!!!!Yous hsould always look to see what the player got on their 
interview. It determines their Awareness which is important at every single 
position. IF the interview is anything below Great Tread lightly. I would 
recommend picking players who got average or below on their interview only 
if they are physically gifted for their position and their stupidity can be 
overlooked(A LB who runs the 40 in 4.3-4.40)

QUARTERBACKS
Pocket Presence/Precision Passing mini game- Needless to say you wold want 
to get a gold because it will give you the only insight into how strong the 
QB's arm is. You will also know by the how hard he throws the ball during the
drill so pay attention to how fast the ball is moving.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Pass Accuracy
Gold-Pass Accuracy, Scouting Report
 
RUNNING BACKS
Catch Ball/Route Running mini game- As usual you should try to get gold on 
these drills but I would recommend that you do the catch ball drill as it's
 easier to get a gold. You also get a preview of how fast you back will be.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

Ground Attack mini game- Depending on how many holes you need to fill I would 
recommend only doing this drill as it's put all aspects of your RB on display
and should be pretty easy to get a gold.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Run Power
Gold-Run Power, Scouting Report

Kickoff/Punt Return mini game- This is exactly as it sounds. It's a test to 
see how many yards you can get from a kickoff/punt. Not worth using a workout 
though.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Kick Return
Gold-Kick Return, Scouting Report

FULLBACKS
Catch Ball mini game- As usual you should try to get gold on these drills but 
I would recommend that you do the catch ball drill as it's easier to get a 
gold. You also get a preview of how fast you back will be.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

Ground Attack mini game- Depending on how many holes you need to fill I would
recommend only doing this drill as it's put all aspects of your FB on display
and should be pretty easy to get a gold.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Run Power
Gold-Run Power, Scouting Report

QB Protection mini game- This will reveal how well your FB blocks pass rushers
Again not worth using a workout.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Pass Blocking
Gold-Pass Blocking, Scouting Report

WIDE RECIEVERS
Catch Ball/Route Running mini game- As usual you should try to get gold on 
these drills but I would recommend that you do the catch ball drill as it's
easier to get a gold. You also get a preview of how fast you WR will be.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

Kickoff/Punt Return mini game- This is exactly as it sounds. It's a test to 
see how many yards you can get from a kickoff/punt. Not worth using a workout
though.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Kick Return
Gold-Kick Return, Scouting Report

TIGHT ENDS
Catch Ball mini game- As usual you should try to get gold on these drills but 
I would recommend that you do the catch ball drill as it's easier to get a
gold. You also get a preview of how fast you TE will be.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

QB Protection mini game- This will reveal how well your TE blocks pass rushers
Again not worth using a workout.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Pass Blocking
Gold-Pass Blocking, Scouting Report

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
QB Protection mini game- This will reveal how well your OL blocks pass rushers
If you are considering taking an OL in the first round then do this workout if
you don't have alot of targets to scout.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Pass Blocking
Gold-Pass Blocking, Scouting Report

Trench Fight mini game- This will reveal how well you OL blocks when running 
the ball. Like OB Protection only do this if you have the workouts to waste.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Run Blocking
Gold-Run Blocking, Scouting Report

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN
Chase and Tackle mini game- I would recommend this workout if your end has a
40 time of at 4.45. This would put his speed in the low to mid 80's suitable
for chasing down the RB.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Tackling
Gold-Tackling, Scouting Report

Trench Fight/Rush QB mini game- The Rush QB mini game is the most accurate 
indicator of how he will perform in a game situation. Trench Fight will 
basically showcase his speed, strength and agiliy also. I would recommend the 
Rush QB if your DE or DT has a 40 lower than 4.5 and a bench or at 28 placing
his strength around the mid 80's.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Tackling
Gold-Tackling, Scouting Report

LINE BACKERS
Chase and Tackle/Rush QB/Trench Fight mini game- I would recommend the Chase 
and Tackle workout if your serious about drafting a LB because it shows you
his agility, speed, acceleration and tackling all the tools he needs to be 
effective.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Tackling
Gold-Tackling, Scouting Report

DB Cover- I can't recommend that you waste a workout on this game because 
hands aren't a vital stat for your LB, at least not enough to warrant wasting
a workout on a fairly hard mini game.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

CORNERBACKS AND STRONG SAFETIES
Chase and Tackle/Rush QB/Trench Fight mini game- I can't recommend the Chase
and Tackle workout for your corners of Strong Safety because you can get all
the info you need from the DB cover mini game.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Tackling
Gold-Tackling, Scouting Report

DB Cover/Swat Ball mini game- If you are going to draft a corner or safety
then I would recommend you do the Swat Ball workout because it shows you
everything that's important at the position Speed, Acceleration, Agility, and
Catching and it's easier to get a gold in.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

Kickoff/Punt Return mini game- This is exactly as it sounds. It's a test to
see how many yards you can get from a kickoff/punt. Not worth using a workout
though.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Kick Return
Gold-Kick Return, Scouting Report

FREE SAFETIES
DB Cover/Swat Ball mini game- If you are going to draft a corner or safety
then I would recommend you do the Swat Ball workout because it shows you 
everything that's important at the position Speed, Acceleration, Agility, and
Catching and it's easier to get a gold in.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Hands
Gold-Hands, Scouting Report

Kickoff/Punt Return mini game- This is exactly as it sounds. It's a test to
see how many yards you can get from a kickoff/punt. Not worth using a workout
though.

Bronze-Nothing
Silver-Kick Return
Gold-Kick Return, Scouting Report

FFF1.Draft Time and Ratings COnversion
In this section I will display the time or unit of measure for the player then
convert it into what their rating should be.

IMPORTANT!!!These ranges are from the highest that I have seen the rating
matched with what the scout said(I saw a LB who had amazing Tackling and had a
rating of 93). So these aren't perfect but they should be really accurate and
let you know what you are getting.

40 Yard Dash
This is responsible for your speed rating. Be careful though. I drafted a HB 
who ran a 4.27 40 but whose speed was only 90. This was because his Shuttle 
time was a ridiculous 3.68 which gave him great acceleration. Also it should
be noted that speed is one of the Core stats that can't be trained or raised
by workouts.

IMPORTANT!!! These aren't perfect estimates only a blanket range. Since the 
speed is difficult to determine from the 40.

4.2-4.29=95-99
4.3-4.39=89-94
4.4-4.49=82-88
4.5-4.59=75-81
4.6-4.69=68-74
4.7-4.79=61-67
4.8-4.89=53-60
4.9-4.99=Under 50

Shuttle Run

3.7-3.79=96-99
3.8-3.89=92-95
3.9-3.99=88-91
4-4.09=86-87
4.1-4.19=79-85
4.2-4.29=70-78
4.3-4.39=62-69
4.4-4.49=56-61
4.5-4.59=50-55
Below 4.6=Under 50

Cone Drill

6.6-6.69=96-99
6.7-6.79=88-95
6.8-6.89=85-87
6.9-6.99=82-84
7-7.09=78-81
7.1-7.19=74-77
7.2-7.29=66-73
7.3-7.39=57-65
Below 7.4=Under 50

Bench Reps

35-40=95-99
34-30=85-94
29-25=80-84
24-20=75-79
19-15=65-74
14-10=59-64
Under 10= Below 50

Vertical

Above 40"=92-99
39-35=83-91
34-30=70-82
29-25=56-69
24-20=Below 50

IQ Test

Amazing=74-81
Great=67-73
Above Average=60-66
Average=55-59
Below Average=50-54
Terrible= Below 50

Arm Accuracy

Amazing=87-93
Great=80-86
Above Average=74-79
Average=66-73
Below Average=Don't bother
Terrible=Don't Bother

Run Power

Amazing=88-95
Great=80-87
Above Average=73-79
Average=66-72
Below Average=58-65
Terrible=Don't Bother

Hands

Amazing=83-88
Great=76-82
Above Average=69-75
Average=61-68
Below Average=Don't Bother
Terrible= Don't Bother

Run Blocking

Amazing=87-93
Great=80-86
Above Average=73-79
Average=66-72
Below Average=Don't Bother
Terrible= Don't Bother

Pass Blocking

Amazing=87-93
Great=80-86
Above Average=73-79
Average=66-72
Below Average=Don't Bother
Terrible=Don't Bother

Tackling

Amazing=85-92
Great=78-84
Above Average=71-77
Average=63-70
Below Average=55-62
Terrible= Don't Bother

Kick Power

Amazing=93-99
Great=86-92
Above Average=78-85
Average=71-77
Below Average=Don't Bother
Terrible=Don't Bother

Kick Accuracy

Amazing=93-99
Great=86-92
Above Average=78-85
Average=71-77
Below Average=Don't Bother
Terrible=Don't Bother

F3.NFL Draft
Here is where you will pick the future of your team!!!You can either draft 
your rookies and start them or draft and trade them for more experienced
players(Which I wouldn't recommend becuas they will probably grow to better
than the player you will replace them with). In this section I will suggest
the best attributes that you should look or in your players at each position
other than the numbered estimates(40 time, cone, shuttle etc.)

IMPORTANT!!!If you want to render this whole FAQ useless you can just cheat 
and simulate the entire draft all the way to the free agent signing and see
which rookies are the best and their actual ratings in the view rosters screen
Though this will make you league unbalanced if you keep on picking the best 
talent each year.

QUARTERBACK
Since this player will be you firld general you should want his awareness to
be as high as possible. Also his accuracy should, at the very least, be above
average though I would recommend Great or Amazing. Also his scouting report
should say he has an amazing arm because Throwing power is harder to raise
than Accuracy(for me anyway).

Arm Strength-Should have a scouting report stating he has a very good or 
amazing arm.
Arm Accuracy-Should be either good, great or amazing.
IQ Test-Should be amazing or at least great.

HALFBACK
The most important qualities in your HB should be speed(Since it can't be
raised by training or games)and Running power which is his ability to break
tackles.

Run Power-Should at least be Above Average. Better if it's anything above Good
Hands-Since this is his catching and carrying it should at least be Good

FULLBACK
I wouldn't suggest that you waste a workout on the fullback since you would 
probably have more pressing needs at other positions. But the stats would be
the same for the Halfback with the exception of the blocking.

WIDE RECIEVER
The most important aspects of your WR should be speed and hands(alongside 
agility and acceleration).

Hands-Should be Amazing or at least Great as you don't want to have to train
this.

TIGHT END
Like the fullback you should only scout a TE if he runs the 40 with HB or WR
speed. Other than this it's not worth the scout. Same stats as the WR.

OFFENSIVE LINE
If you are looking for the next great OL then you should scout some one who 
they project to go in the Top 5 or 10. Since this is a hard position to 
predict how good someone will be.

Run Blocking-Should be no lower than Great
Pass Blocking-Should also be no lower than Great.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Since the only thing you can go on is tackling make sure this is at least
great along with a bench of at least 28-35.

Tackling-Should be at least Great.

LINEBACKER
Since these will make or break your defense(most of the time) speed should be
important as should tackling.

Tackling-Should be at least Above Average but preferably Great or Amazing.
Hands-Doesn't really matter but I guess at least Average depending on how much
they will play the field.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
These guys should be fast and should have at least Above Average hands so they
don't drop to many INT's. For the safeties tackling should be at least Above 
Average.

Tackling-At least Above Average for safeties, Average for corners
Hands-Should be at least above average.

KICKERS
If you want to scout a kicker or punter(which I only do if I'm looking for a 
career kicker for my team)then Power is more important because Accuracy will
be raised as the season progresses.

Kick Power-At least Great
Kick Accuracy-At least Good 

F7.ROSTER MANAGEMENT
Nothing has changed in this screen, as it's the same as before.

F8.SIGN DRAFT PICKS
Like your free agents the rookies who you know are going to be great you
should sign to long term(6-7 years) deals with a large bonus, as this does 2
things: It keeps them happy and it reduces the amount that they gain every
year of the contract which is better for your team. Just make sure that you
reduce their salary if you raise their bonus.

F9.FREE AGENT SIGNING
Like before there are some players who didn't get signed(rookies too)and you
can choose to sign them or let sit in free agency. I have gotten a couple of
gems in this pool. They were rookies who didn't get drafted but had great
potential.

F10.RE-ORDER DEPTH CHARTS
You can auto adjust your depth chart(to get rid of open backup positions)then
just pick through and change whatever you don't like. This is the easy way as
opposed to going through it from scratch.

F11.START NEW SEASON
Happy with the moves you made in the offseason?Well get ready to start 
training camp. Which is exactly what this option will do. Once you press this
you will move on to training camp ending your offseason.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G.My Franchise and Off-Season Moves
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 YEAR 1(19-0 Superbowl Champs)

I started my franchise with the 49ers and immediately made trades for a
younger set of CB's(Leon Hall;Bengals,Richard Marshall;Panthers both are 
23). I Reggie Smith to SS and I picked up C.J Gaddis as FS since he's fast
and hits hard. I also wanted to strengthen my front 4 so I went and Keith
Rivers(Bengals LB and he's 22) and changed him to a LE which made his
overall 93. I also wanted to get a good young WR so I went and got Devin
Thomas(Redskins and he's 22). I also switched Delanie Walker to FB from
TE caus he is fast and can catch. I traded my 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks
for the Bears 1st and 3rd round picks(since I know my picks are going to be
last). Simply put I made my team younger and slightly worse for the interim
because I know in a year or two my players overall will go up by at 6 or 7
in the first year(Which the players that I got have went up). Here is the
lowdown on my moves by option.

COACHING CHANGES-Hired Monte Kiffin as my Defensive Coordinator
and F.Gransz Jr. as my Special teams Coordinator

NEW STADIUM!!! I desgined my own stadium which is basic in design but
will seat 81,000 people and bring me at least $9-10 million every home game.

RETIREMENTS- Allen Rossum(CB), Issac Bruce(WR)
ROSTER MANAGEMENT- Released Ashley Lelie(WR), J.T O'Sullivan(QB)
RFA's-Got a 5th round pick for Parys Haralson(LB)
RESIGN PLAYER-Eric Heitmann(C; OVR=92)Total=$7.86M/3yrs, $3.12M Bonus
Shawntae Spencer(CB; OVR=83)Total=$8.71M/3yrs, $3.48M Bonus
FREE AGENT SIGNINGS-None. I feel they are overpriced temporary fixes.
DRAFT PICKS-

Richard Thompson(LOLB;Age=21)=Not Signed

Marcus Willis(MLB;Age=21)Total=$17.36M/7yrs, $6.93M Bonus
Ovr=78 Tak=82 Awr=70 Str=84 Agi=70 Acc=86 Spd=85 Cth=75 

P.Hall(WR;Age=21)Total=$17.85M/7yrs, $7.14M Bonus
Ovr=76 Cth=79 Spd=98 Acc=85 Agi=90 Awr=44 Jmp=99 Btk=66 Str=61

T.Gaffen(LOLB;Age=23)Total=$6.25M/5yrs, $900K Bonus
Ovr=74 Tak=71 Awr=61 Spd=84 Str=78 Agi=80 Acc=87 Cth=50

C.Mays(RT;Age=22)Total=$6.00M, $800K Bonus
Ovr=71 Pbk=83 Rbk=66 Awr=70 Str=93 Spd=59 Acc=87 Agi=46

D.Poole(LT;Age=21)Total=$5.85M/5yrs, $800K Bonus
Ovr=71 Pbk=85 Rbk=66 Awr=66 Str=95 Spd=49 Acc=83 Agi=55

C.Rose(K;Age=23)Total=$3.15M/7yrs, $1.05 Bonus
Ovr=74 Kac=80 Kpw=90 Awr=87

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS-None
REORDER DEPTH CHARTS-Not quite sure how to map this out....
START NEW SEASON-As you can see from my offseason work I choose
to homegrow alot of my talent, as it's cheaper and the team has more chemistry
as a result.

YEAR 1 SCORECARD= 11672 Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.Credits
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- EA Sports for making another Madden game and satisfying the Football hunger
- The NFL for having such a great sport
- Gamefaqs for posting my FAQ
-You the readers for motivating to write the FAQ 

Anything that you have to add or any comments please e-mail me at:

[email protected]