Madden finally gave fans what they had been asking for with its #FixMaddenFranchise campaign, winning EA’s attention as promised since day one. Madden 22 set Ultimate Team and Face of the Franchise aside to ensure Franchise mode delivered. While fans still await promised changes such as overhauling scouting practices for next year, most were pleased with what turned up this time around – here are some helpful tips and techniques on establishing an iconic Madden 22 franchise similar to that seen with Steelers of yesteryear or Cowboys of 90s or Patriots teams of years past or future!
Are You an Up-and-Coming NFL Star, an Innovative Head Coach or a Lifelong Franchise Owner? Within Madden 22 Franchise Mode there are three paths you could take as either owner, coach or player; we suggest opting for owner mode for an immersive experience and leaving coach path only as an option if that is what interests you most. If it’s football you love the player path provides quick and straightforward fun; otherwise the owner path provides more scope.
To maximize your Madden 22 Franchise mode experience, opt for Owner. As owner, there’s nothing that stops you from doing everything from playing every game and hiring and firing coaches and personnel to moving teams and more! Don’t let being an Owner overwhelm you; in future sections we will discuss that aspect as well.
Quality of Life
No matter if it is your first Madden 22 experience or returning veteran, making quality-of-life adjustments before beginning can make life as an NFL player, coach, or owner much simpler. Here are a few ideal settings you should change under League Settings tab to make life much simpler in Madden 22!
To locate League Settings: for Team page > Options.
Selected Franchise Settings. Select League Settings for League Changes (prior to starting new franchise). As this setting can change at any time via League Settings tab – here are a few that might interest you:
Difficulty
There’s no advantage to playing on Rookie or All-Madden difficulties – simply select one that meets your skill level, increasing it when necessary when games become tedious. All-Madden should be the goal if playing online; beating both CPUs on All-Madden will enable you to perform well against other players; in doing so, All-Pro difficulty becomes active by default and will become much tougher; think of this like swinging a weighted baseball bat!
Practice Injury
Turn this option off. NFL players get hurt during practice all of the time in real life; if your Madden 22 franchise strives for hyper-realism, that may be fine; otherwise if you prefer breaking more realistic rules for video gaming purposes then practice at any intensity without fearing one of your stars tearing their ACL – just don’t overdo it, leaving your team fatigued on Sunday!
Quarter Length
This one can be tricky. By default, six-minute quarters may feel tedious; however, longer quarters provide more opportunities to reach weekly goals. Example: Your weekly passing goal could be 250+ yards – this may not be possible with shorter quarters on All-Pro/Madden difficulties – yet different goals like throwing two touchdown passes may fit more easily within your time constraints. As our quarters tend to switch back and forth between MUT and Franchise modes, keeping things consistent between MUT and Franchise is also crucial – something which we’ll cover later.
Accelerated Clock can often prove problematic when trying to read or make adjustments; you should opt instead for chew-clock tempo when playing games. Accelerated Clock may exacerbate problems more than it helps when making reads and adjustments.
At the bottom of your league settings you will find several user team help settings you can set to auto or manually, depending on which elements need your control versus those handled by the CPU. Making life simpler by changing these options to automatic may include:
Preseason Cut Days for Contract Negotiations and League Advancement For contract negotiations, switch this feature off whenever one of your star players wishes to negotiate for more money – no sense allowing DaVante Adams go because you want his deal renegotiated without paying him more! Pay him what’s owed him now.
League Advancement will automatically skip over to the following week once your game ends, so make sure that before beginning that week you have gone through your order of operations for that week – with any necessary settings being left at manual settings (scout college players, bid on free agents and manage practice reps as appropriate).
Fantasy Draft To maximize Franchise mode in Madden 22, running an initial fantasy draft is key. A fantasy draft allows you to build the team of your dreams through careful selections in this initial redrafting of every team roster in all leagues – simply choose wisely when making selections! For this to work: To conduct one: To Do an Initial Draft:
From the Franchise screen, select Create New League. When asked whether online or offline is better for your team needs, online should always win; when selecting team roles (being that we’re doing a fantasy draft, most things change aside from head coaches and stadiums), select Use Active Roster instead. From here select Create New League before online versus Offline as appropriate before choosing team type with head coaches/stadiums remaining the same; when picking team roles (player, coach/owner etc). Once created you may also set rules about online/offline competition among teams (which should remain unchanged). From here select Create New League before online /offline mode as shown above (online/offline option will display). From here select Use Active Roster;
Start off your season right by switching over to fantasy draft mode, then proceeding with your season.
If you choose the player role, your fantasy draft will be simulated and you may end up on an unexpected team (we picked Dallas Cowboys but ended up on Denver Broncos). To draft your team directly however, select either coach or owner role instead and let’s examine how that team would draft itself:
How to Draft the Ideal Team in Madden 22
As anyone familiar with fantasy football will attest, draft order seems random; we ran it four times and ended up getting Cowboys and Buccaneers twice each as the 2nd pick and Patriots once, followed by Raiders at 8th and then Raiders as 31st. This indicates the draft order does not follow NFL season schedule in 2020 when Buccaneers would automatically have last pick as Superbowl champions determining each draft order outcome.
Now what? Well, there are two choices before you. Either start another franchise until a good pick appears (we did this with Raiders and got second). Or simply accept whatever choice comes your way and play along as best you can; remembering draft snakes means getting last pick in first round will get first in second.
Whom should you draft first?
If playing an offline solo franchise, my top tip for drafting is keeping the draft paused. Doing this allows time for you to consider each pick before making your choice.
Make sure to select an elite offensive player such as Travis Kelce, DaVante Adams Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson first when picking players – this may vary depending on who’s available and can best benefit your team. Select a quarterback early or else risk being stuck with Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Gardner Minshew or Marcus Mariota as your only options for quarterbacking your fantasy team.
While Ryan or Roethlisberger may seem suitable in theory, their lack of mobility makes them inferior choices in modern NFL. If your plan involves building a pass-heavy team (Tom Brady may be available to you), consider choosing an agile quarterback such as Josh Jacobs for optimal results if possible – Matt Ryan did win an All-Madden Super Bowl, after all! So choose wisely. But remember, mobility shouldn’t be your sole determinant when building running football teams!
Be mindful of your core needs on the left side of the screen and fill them based on available players with OVR ranks of 100 or better. Don’t take twice an identical position while selecting players; let the CPU auto-draft your backup players once your starting lineup has been chosen.
Draft an Impactful O-Line Drafting an effective offensive line cannot be overemphasized in fantasy football drafts. Once you’ve assembled your QB, WR1, HB and top TEs such as Kelce or another top option in Kelce), build your offensive line by starting from left or right tackle, working through to guards/lg/c or center and all three centers before adding your wide receivers (70+ OVR is fine); but an ineffective offensive line can make or break a team! As seen above in our 20th Round Draft where top-tier wide receivers remain available!
Defensively, target top cornerbacks to round out your linebacking core and defensive line. CBs may still be available; a devastating front seven is what wins games; just ask Tampa Bay.
Let the CPU choose your backups
1. Our AI has successfully selected an outstanding offense.
2. Drafted an effective starting defense team.
3. Scored an overall team 82 score; however we lost against Bengals team.
Once your starting lineup has been constructed, take some time to pick out a solid kicker (Justin Tucker may still be available), before allowing the CPU auto-draft backup players. By employing this strategy we were able to achieve an 82 OVR team consisting of an 89 offensive rating (89 offensive line rating vs 75 defensive rating), with 75 defensive rating due to choosing talented offensive lines over game-breaking defense. As part of a simulation we completed an 11-5 season but unfortunately lost out in Super Bowl 50 against Patrick Mahomes-led Bengals; ironically Mahomes appeared as both Franchises!
Gameplanning explained Once game day arrives, your first task should be creating your weekly game plan under the Weekly Strategy tab. When setting it on defense, consider which skills your opponents excel at (for instance Sam Darnold is known for throwing it deep, ranking fifth overall last year in our fantasy league), while Austin Ekeler often ranks somewhere around middle to back of rankings when it comes to inside/outside running strategies compared to Darnold who excels at throwing deep passes). We would effectively block Darnold’s deep ball attempts by taking away their deep ball so we force them underneath or running their football instead!
As on offense, our goal on offense should be to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses or counter their strengths while playing to our own strength and advantage. Game planning for offensive match-ups against teams such as Eagles can be complex – they often love blitzing with 15 touchdowns scored off it last season! So the CPU might suggest going with Throw It Medium plan; we intend instead on countering their blitz using our wide receivers getting open space quickly instead.
Practice and Player Health.
Practice hard during preseason if practice injuries have been disabled; use this time to level up some 70-75 OVR players by levelling them up a few notches. Once season play has begun, don’t push too hard during practice (Bill Belichick may disagree!); too much hard practice could leave your players fatigued by game day; set your practice intensity level to Half Pads to reduce fatigued players and distribute practice time among starters and backups alike (For example in image 1, we will give Matt Ryan some rest while prioritizing our FB, while allocating practice time among everyone else) before giving Matt Ryan some rest while prioritising his position (in image), plus creating some breathing space underneath our offensive line will ensure you won’t experience pressure all game long while running from pressure created by fatigued line players is never good news either). A fatigued offensive line leaves players running for their lives all game long; fatigued offensive line will put pressure upon opponents as your players are under constant pressure while running for their lives during every game they encounter pressure from pressure that pressure caused by pressure-force-driven opponents running against you all game long!
Practice will lead to improvements to your gameplan stats that’ll take effect when choosing plays that follow it.
Fulfill Your Game-Day Goals
Achieve game day goals to earn staff points and level up coaches and coordinators is essential to earning staff points to move up in your coaching or coordinator roles, but we advise setting realistic targets, especially on more difficult difficulties or shorter quarters.
Under All-Madden difficulty and 4-minute quarters, there’s simply no chance we could generate over 450 yards in total offense; simply not enough time in the game! But an overwhelming victory may still be achievable by either playing through it all or joining at crucial moments in it.
As a coordinator, it’s best to select goals within your control as an administrator. Most offensive goals, like passing and rushing touchdowns are within your reach; some defensive ones like Pick It Off Twice and Recover Two Fumbles might not be quite so easily achievable due to simulation of most games; no conversions on fourth Down is the easiest of these for three staff points.
EA Sports have provided plenty of insight into Madden 22 Franchise mode’s full scouting mechanics, so in the interim be sure to spend all your scouting points each week on filling any needs your team may have in terms of positions to fill, such as where there may be holes; focus on top prospects at that position for possible draft choices; when it comes time to draft only your first and second-round selections are key for further development in league play; all others fall within mid-60 OVR standards and must undergo further training once selected in-game!
Scouting provides you with an effective means of discovering gems within a rough. When enabled via League Settings, an artificial intelligence will only scout top prospects and not waste your time with potential gems that do not offer as much.
Play the Moments
Engaging in full game Madden Franchise can take weeks of practice before becoming tediously repetitive, so selecting Play the Moments instead can provide relief from more monotonous aspects and thrust you right into game-altering moments like third down conversions, 2-minute drills, opening offensive drives (start of game and second half) or RedZone drives (on both offense and defense). Do well here and never lose a matchup again!
If the game starts getting away from you or at any point during a quarter you feel powerless to control, or want to begin running out the clock at the end of a quarter, take full control. We highly advise taking control during key matches like playoffs and Super Bowl to prevent surprises!
Owning a Stadium
Happy fans tend to spend more money, which in turn encourages your team to perform well on the field and convince fans that it is worth spending money at your stadium. As your team wins games and ticket prices gradually increase as fans respond positively, keep increasing them until your fans tell you when it has reached an uncomfortable level; once that happy medium has been found don’t change it! Also keep track of capacity/ticket sales ratio so your capacity matches with those sold and always aim for sold out crowds; that will guarantee profits! As long as your team keeps winning games you will continue making money!
No matter where the game takes place, away teams lose money when it doesn’t sell concessions or tickets. Make sure team gear on the road provides maximum value; while this might only amount to millions in savings annually, it could make all the difference when signing free agents at year’s end.
Consistency between game modes
If you enjoy switching back and forth between Franchise and Ultimate Team modes, using identical playbooks between them would be best. To modify them in Franchise mode simply head to Manage Staff > Team Schemes where you can choose what playbooks to implement (ie, if your Ultimate team runs 49ers’ offense, set your Franchise team accordingly).
Similarly, if you play Ultimate Team using a mobile QB, select one or more mobile QB-equipped teams in Franchise mode for Franchise mode selection. We already discussed why selecting such players when entering fantasy drafts.
- Team Relocation and Branding: Expanding on the owner mode, delve into the possibilities of relocating a franchise to a new city, including the steps involved in choosing a new city, stadium, and team branding. Discuss how this can affect team finances, fan engagement, and overall team success.
- Advanced Scouting and Draft Tips: While the article mentions utilizing scouting points, providing more nuanced advice on scouting could be beneficial. For instance, discussing how to prioritize scouting based on your team’s long-term needs or sharing tips for finding late-round gems in the draft could add depth.
- In-depth Financial Management: Go beyond stadium management and explore the financial aspects of running a franchise. This could include managing the salary cap, navigating the complexities of player contracts, and strategies for maximizing revenue through merchandising and ticket sales.
- Player Development and Training: Offer insights into the player development process, including how to use weekly training sessions effectively, the importance of focusing on young players with high potential (hidden gems), and how to balance the development of stars versus role players.
- Building Team Chemistry: Discuss the importance of team chemistry and morale in Madden 22 and how it affects player performance. Provide strategies for building a cohesive team, such as matching player personalities, addressing players’ concerns, and managing egos.
- Long-term Franchise Strategy: Give readers a roadmap for building a dynasty over multiple seasons. This could include balancing short-term success with long-term development, managing aging stars and their contracts, and drafting strategies that ensure a steady influx of talent.
- Utilizing Free Agency: Dive deeper into the free agency process, discussing how to identify value signings, when to make a big splash in free agency, and how to avoid common pitfalls like overpaying for declining talent.
- Community and Fan Engagement: Explore how community and fan engagement can impact a franchise. Discuss strategies for increasing fan loyalty and engagement, such as community events, social media interaction, and in-game promotions.
- Advanced Gameplay Tips for Critical Moments: Provide advanced gameplay tips for navigating crucial moments in games, such as managing the clock in close games, play-calling strategies for 2-minute drills, and defensive adjustments to protect a lead.
- Leveraging Online Resources: Encourage readers to leverage online resources, such as Madden forums, YouTube tutorials, and Twitch streams, where they can learn from experienced players and keep up to date with the latest strategies and updates.