Well, after several franchises and having to survive with sub-par players I think I�ve finally developed a system that works. Granted, nothing is guaranteed in Madden and although these techniques work for me they may not work for every one.

Franchise Tips:

When starting a franchise I do not attempt to trick the PC into trading draft picks or outstanding players by giving them Lester or Allen. Instead, I carefully trim fat off my roster to allow for more cap room. Players with million dollar + contracts that have 5 or more years in the pros and are not above a 70 OVR are let go. Then I go to free agency to add depth to any position that needs it. Surprisingly enough, there are a few players in the FA market that improve nicely. I only draft rookies or players with no more than two years, who look like they have a good chance of improving and impacting their position immediately. I then re-order my roster and head into game one.

During the off-season it�s extremely tough to keep all that talent happy. Sometimes you will have to deal away or release some good talent to stay under the cap and still have depth at every position. What I like to do is take that aging superstar and trade him away for the number one pick. This doesn�t happen every year and usually not right away, but 5 or 6 years down the line you will have to part with your aging superstar and a swap for a top ten pick in the first round is more than fair.

Dump the players who are approaching the end of the road and are slowly declining, it�s not your fault they didn�t retire. During the FA signing period I will never sign a player over 30 years of age. I want to be sure they can fulfill their contract and still be young enough to compete.

During the draft I look to fill the areas I need depth or talent, then I take my chances with other positions.

Now here is where you�ll find those diamonds in the ruff: After the start of the new season, go to FA signing and screen each position for the rookies. Occasionally you�ll find that rookie LB who wasn�t signed with a speed of 80 and an OVR of 70 or a WR with a 100 speed and 67 OVR. I�ve found many great players who end up surpassing all my expectations.

Play Calling:

Probably one of the most important aspects of the game, if you can�t keep the defense honest you will have no chance of running a successful offense. As you know I currently coach the Raiders, but I�ve also coached the Dolphins, Patriots, Rams, Lions and Steelers and have won numerous Superbowls with each team.

You may have heard a lot of people on this board talk about mixing it up, but what does that mean to you? It means don�t be predictable. Be that insane bastard that always shows up for the family reunions. 2 and 15�run it, 3 and inches�throw deep.

Before you even start the game you should scout the other team for weaknesses. Check out their roster and team statistics to see who on their team is the weak link. Are the CB�s to slow to keep pace with your WR�s in Man Coverage? How fast are the LB�s and Safeties? Which defensive lineman can you run towards? Can you beat one of the defensive ends and outside linebackers on sweeps and tosses?

I would have to say one of my favorite plays for exploiting mismatches is the I formation, 3 WR, WR Streak. This play has the FB heading towards the flat, the SE running a streak and just for good measure I�ll usually hot route a WR to head towards the middle of the field. Now it�s very important that you set the defense up for this play, which is very easy to do. Simply toss a couple of flat routes and sweeps and the defense will eventually bump the receiver with the CB and then stay in the flat waiting for the FB and that�s when you hit the streaking SE. He�ll be too far away for the CB to make a play and in front of the covering SS so throw the ball fast and low. If the CB follows the WR, hit the FB, or the WR who is cutting across the middle. Not every play has to be a first down; instead you should be trying to set up the defense so you can attack that weakness for the big gain. Sometimes you�ll be running to the right and tossing to the left.

Well, what if they have a solid defense? That�s were timing routes come in. Throwing to the receiver just as he makes his cut will sometime give enough separation for the ball to be zipped in. There are also ways to create mismatches even against the best defenses. A LB would be hard pressed to try and keep pace with a WR or fast TE.

Now lets briefly cover man and zone coverage. Zone is designed to assign sections of the field to certain defenders and Man is exactly that, each defender is assigned a certain offensive player. Zones are susceptible to up the gut runs, sweeps, and routes that run underneath or over the coverage. Underneath is any thing that is in front of the zone defender and over is when a receiver is blown past the coverage and requires a lobbed pass over the zone defender's head. Man is susceptible to flats, sweeps and timing routes; comeback routes are great against man if you time the throw correctly.

Those of us who have designed defensive plays are familiar with inside/front and outside/behind man coverage. For those who are not, here�s a quick explanation: Inside-front has the defender between the QB and receiver at all times, a good way to get those picks and preserve the clock. Outside-behind has the defender between the end zone and the receiver, also helps protect the sideline incase their trying to preserve the clock.

Passing:

When passing, look at the play being selected. Choose which receiver will get the first look, which the second and so on. I know I make it sound easy, but I have my trouble with good pass coverage myself. The key is to scramble, step up into the pocket or roll out to buy more time for either a receiver to make his cut or break off his route to come back for the ball.

I�m sure everyone knows by now that you should always put the ball where your receiver is the only one who can make a play for it. Throw low, left, right, or high. Whatever is required to keep the defense from getting to the ball. Once you catch the ball be aware of where you are. If your receiver turned towards the ball as it came in, push up on the D pad, anything else will either move him forward towards the offensive line or prolong his streak to the end zone. Zig Zagging or running at an angle tends to buy more time when the defense has speedy CB�s zeroing in.

Spread the ball around. Don�t throw to only one or two receivers every time. Pass out of typical running formations, any of the big or two TE sets.

Be patient. Passing is relatively the same with any team, but it�s a lot like driving a stick shift�every clutch is different and it takes a small amount of time to get the timing down. This is also true with each team. QB�s and WR�s are completely different from team to team and timing and limitations are different for each team.

Speaking of limitations�know your teams. The WR or TE with the OVR of 52 will not always catch the ball if he is open. This is disappointing, but a sad fact.

Running:

If you�ve scouted your opponent you should already know where you�re attacking. Now it�s just a matter of setting up the defense with the pass to get those big chunks of yards everyone likes. Simply setting up the defense is not enough though. If you ran every play the way it was designed you would seldom have gains of more than 3 or 4 yards. Improvising on the spot is what allows you to break long runs of 10 or more.

First, never speed burst unless you are trying to outrun a defender. Bursting through the hole or to the outside too soon will get you tackled for losses more often than not. On outside runs, let the blocking set up and run accordingly. If the defender is being blocked inside, run out and vice-versa.

We all know that juking a defender head on will usually allow you to blow right by him, but juking a defender coming in from the side as he dives works just as good. Also, on sweeps and tosses, it sometimes helps to run straight, just inside the offensive line, and then juke outside. This makes the defense commit to the inside run and minimizes the coverage to the outside.

Up the gut runs are a little tougher, but not impossible. Hit the hole that opens up, which may sometimes be a hole other than the one the play was designed for. Juke away from the middle LB as soon as you clear the hole. Quickly pick and run the route that will give you the most yards for the play.

Defense:

Pressure the damn QB. If you allow him to sit in the pocket he will pick you apart. Force him to throw the ball before he wants to.

Good CB�s and safeties are a must in my defense because I often depend on them to cover man to man while my front contains the run and pressures the QB.

Blitzing is very effective when done properly. One of my favorite blitzes is the 3-4 stud, shifting the line twice. This has the two outside LB�s coming in off the defensive ends. See the key to a successful blitz, in most cases anyway, is to select a defensive lineman who is responsible for opening the hole for the blitz. Swim moves will always draw double coverage, which frees up other areas of the line.

There will be times where you just can�t stop them with the blitz and man coverage. That�s when you need to start mixing in some zone coverage to get some double and sometime triple coverage on a receiver.

Tips for Kick/Punt Returns:

Same as running, don�t speed burst and wait for your blocking. On kick returns I usually choose Jumbo or Sideline, run just off the hash marks and make my moves as the defense comes in. On Punt returns I pick the Punt Block because it rushes the kicker, which doesn�t allow the defense to get downfield, and usually only two defenders are all you have to contend with. If you get by them it�s an easy 20 + gain every time.

Custom Plays:

These are great and usually are designed for big to medium gains, but going to the bank to many times will get you overdrawn. Use them wisely and if at all possible only in emergencies. I started using my custom plays right off and amassed an unrealistic sack and rushing total so to keep the game realistic I only use them when it is imperative that I score or stop the offensive drive.

I think that about covers it. I didn�t want to go to in-depth and bore the hell out of you, but I did want to give you some tools to work with. My best advice to you is to read this board and try the tips given. They may not work for you all the time, but they will help you develop your own unique style of play.