So does that mean that the drafts will be randomized as the first year could be heavy qb's but if you start over it could be heavy rb's or will it be the same?  I am glad progression will be fixed so that the talent level throughout the franchise will remain about the same.  I hope that there are a lot of sweet things to put in our stadiums keep up the good work in good ole visual studio!!

I must admit that I am impressed by these new additions, but I still want you guys to take out that radio guy and replace him with commentary from Madden. I know it's not too late. Sorry EA, but right now it looks like I'll be renting Madden first and buying All Pro Football 2k8.

Im glad they are fixing the draft this year. In Madden 2007, if you didnt have a top 10 pick, your pick was worthless. And the players never progressed through their careers.

well lets see here.... very sad, this "city relocation" has been in the game and the same thing he is saying was in the game last year. waste of time and space

ya know i just hope this producer doesn't get blasted like the rest of them. lol keep up the good work!

will there be a college all star game for 360?

one more thing,I shouldnt have to check the injury report after every game to notice any key injuries around the league.there should be a bottom line allerting me of league news,like mlb 2k7.pretty please!!

fucc this..presentation puhlease!!

this relocation thing is wonderful, but the real question becomes, what are you doing about uniform creation?

I loove reading these blogs. It is informative and keeps us up to date. Keep up the great work.

IF YOUR GOING TO BRING BACK CREATE-A-TEAM YOU HAVE TO GIVE MORE CHOICES FOR LOGOS AND UNIFORM CREATION.ALSO WHEN YOU RELOCATE A CURRENT NFL TEAM ALOW US TO PUT THERE LOGO ON THE NEW HELMETS.YOU COULDN'T IN 07.SAY I WANT THE SAINTS TO WEAR BLACK HELMETS I STILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO PUT THERE LOGO IN THE NEW HELMET.PLEASE EA

Very nice work.  I can't wait to see how all these things work come August.

Great!!!!!! Now Add great Commentary and all the throwback & alternate jerseys and we got a winner!!!!

I am very glad to hear you guys are changing the draft classes because on 360 I get so tired of having 10 top 5 DEs and everyone else sucks. Also the progression system change is a great because after a few years of franchise it seems all the defensive players became horrible. You guys should look fix the computer drafts as well because it would always pick the best player availible no matter who they had at that position

I'm very glad to hear that the draft part is back!! I can't wait to get Madden08

since i'm pretty forced to play the 360 madden, i'm glad to see that they are a least getting it back to where 05 was. this may be the Madden i've been waiting for...for 3 years.

Please, please, PLEASE give us the option to turn off the CPU teams' ability to relocate. I love this option, but I hate it when you get 3-5 years into a franchise and several teams are now fictional.

 I'd really love to see an option to individually determine which teams are allowed to relocate and which ones are not. Green Bay is a city that seemingly in Madden struggles to keep their team, but in real life the Packers are owned by the fans and will never be allowed to leave. I'd also like to protect my storied rivalries ie... Dallas vs Washington, Chiefs vs Raiders, Giants vs Eagles, well, you get the picture.

I'd also really like to see an option to lock the franchise settings on a pre-start franchise options menu. In other words, let me set the qtr length, difficulty, relocation on or off, mini-game progression on or off, set the AI levels and then injuries on or off and set the slider for injuries for simulation, and then let me lock all of those settings so that they can't be changed after the franchise begins!!!

Does this mean the end of exporting our NCAA draft classes?

And I co-sign with Boregard's first post. Have the ability to shut off CPU relocation.

if you could simplify the way stats are presented, well not really simplify, but streamline it, and make it more 'readable'. It felt clumsy and it was difficult to differentiate some of the columns futher down the line.

I just wanna add to you for the stadium creation, you need to give more options, like if you want to create a stadium to have a retractible roof, you should be able to have something like Relliant Stadium, instead of having that thing looking like Texas Stadium with a hole in the roof. And you should have more options if you want to create an outdoor stadium, like not having something looking like Invesco Field, because that can get annoying, you should have the choice to have something intersting like the Linc, or even have options to create stadiums looking old school like the Vet or Three Rivers. And also for jersey things, you should have the jersey manager thing, were you can set what jersey your team will wear.

I'd like to see the option, on a retractable roof stadium, to choose wether to have the roof open or closed before each game. Of course, this option would be even better if you got a weather report before you decided to have the roof open or closed.

I'd also like to see an option to upload my music onto the PS3 and then select which songs play during pre-game, before each kick-off, half-time, after a TD, or big play.

2 years worth of draft picks available for trade!!!!!!!!!!!!

CPU offered trades that heavily favor the CPU, a good starting point would be the NFL draft trade points scale. I know a friend of mine has it, so if you need it, let me know and I'll figue out a way to get it to you.

Draft scouting that makes more sense. Teams don't scout 15 or 20 players, they scout everyone, they share info with other teams, they spend a ton of resources on making sure they have the best possible info of every single player in the draft. Each team should have a scouting dept. That dept should be rated, maybe a seperate rating for each college conference, the better the rating the more accurate the in-depth info your scouting dept will give you. Not 40 times, verticles, cone drills - rather stuff like QBs quick or slow release, potential to be a elusive back, stiff-arm BC, power RB, spectacular catch guy, hands guy, crushing blocker, pass block technician, or whatever.

I also like the idea of giving my scout dept minimum ratings for certain positions, the scout dept would then eliminate players who don't fit my system, at that point I could prioritize my positions of need (controlled by me not the CPU's suggestions) and then the scout team would create a draft board based on their "fix" on the players who fit my system, the players OVR, and my prioritization of my perceived needs.

are you gonna be able to create a player as a free agent in franchise this year ? ? ?

1 big thing u guys should bring back is coaching changes . . . are they gonna be included in owner mode; will you be able to fire a coach and hire another teams assistant or will ur teams coach be the same for all 30 years of your franchise like last year

u guys should try n make the cap more realistic, in any given off season you can sign every top player in free agency and still have room left over; it gets way to easy when u can do that

It would be nice if the producer that started the blog would occassionally answer some of these questions that we all post in response to the blog.  There are some really good legitimate questions that people ask on here, and we're basically just talking to ourselves because we get no answers.  My question is, I see that owner mode is getting a better revised draft system, is the regular franchise mode (not owner mode) getting the same draft system revisions?  I sure hope so.  It sounds good, getting more accurate descriptions of player's abilities based on how many weeks you scouted him.  It makes sense.  Hope the regular franchise mode gets that too!

Fully-custom playbooks, including custom formation shifts, custom formation audibles, custom packages, custom hot routes and the ability to use it online (I don't care if they are allowed for ranked games or not, my friends and I don't care about rankings they don't mean anything to us.)!!!

Looking great so far man!

If we have great dynamic control over building stadiums, I'm in heaven.

When a CPU controlled team relocates, you shold have to approve it.

It could say:

(NFL  Team) wants to relocate to (City).

Do you approve?

Yes

No

I'm very happy that Owner Mode is back :)

when creating uiniforms for teams,we should be allowed to use nfl logos and old school nfl team logos on the helments and jerseys and pants,that would be so much better!!!!

one thing that i would LOVE to see back in madden from so long ago, is the abulance and the stretcher.  nothing makes the game more exciting when playing ur friend than when u knock his guy out and they have to bring the ambulance out to hull him off the field, please do me this one thing and bring it back

Owner mode is the reason I returned my 360 version for the original xbox of Madden 07. That and being able to edit rosters.

I play in coach mode, so I wasn't thrilled to have to "play" to be able to get draft reports. I'd prefer something more analytical in scouting like film study or interviews.

please add all alternate uniforms not just throwbacks.give my Bears theyre orange jerseys!

it would be cool if in franchise mode you could just coach a game like in NFL HEAD COACH.

what a useless feature...

BRING BACK CO-OP. something i will actually use...

Please, please, please, EA bring back the sideline camera angal back.Or have (8) diffrent camera views in madden 08 (360) version. Of one being the sideline camera view. Thank you EA Sports.

Just let us play a created/custom team in franchise mod and ditto the sideline camera view!

Nice post! Thanks for the insight. So far, Madden 08 is looking like it's finally getting up to 2005 standards. I am happy about that. I must admit I am suprised at the level of information you have been releasing and I thank you for it.

When i upgrade my stadium it don't show or it dont work. Like if i buy something in franchise mode i dont see no affect.

use crowd meter like in ncaa football you when you make a play have the stadium roar with noise

It's pretty bad when I look at the current gen games and realize that you got the uniforms correct, but on the next gen they are horrbly wrong. Please fix the REDKSINS uniforms.  You already let me down with the Radio annoucer coming back.  If they are still incorrect I will look into buy Espn 2k5 for a 2008 game.  It is pretty sad.

i have an idea for franchise, though i dont know how feasible it may be now that launch is only a few months away, but how about in franchise mode if your about to break an alltime record (which everyone who plays the game will do) there should be some hoopla about it, not only when you do it, but leading up to the record breaking. Say it's week 6 and they expect you'll break the record in week 15, maybe a news paper article or something that leads up to the record breaking...you know, like Barry "Steriod Lying Face" Bonds...

Yeah I'd like some Q&A sessions maybe something live with the producer. We need a total revamp for desing and creating a custom -fictional team's uniform  total custmization of the create a uniform feature. If I want flames or stars going down the side of my team's pants, I should be able to do it, and use my own custom font style for the player number on my team's jersey. EA'Sports  Nascar racing games have paint a car options that allow complete customization for paint schemes and car number styling, we should have customization im Madden 08 that allow painting/creating our fictional - custom, or relocated teams uniforms. Also add a data base of fictional team names that AL Michaels can pronounce too,

Dear EA,Tiburon,& Mr.David Ortiz Please bring back the sideline camera view for madden 08 (360) version.Or a custom camera view where the gamer can fix it anyway he/she what's it. Thank you EA

come on now, i hope this is one of the two things u are holding back!!!!

Amen to that, online franchise would definately get me.

 What is the deal with sideline view/ camera? Is that a "coach mode" deal or what?

By the way, the camera view I want to see is where the sidelines are on the sides of the TV and the camera only moves North and South. That would eliminate blind throws to the flat which is just really annoying.

Bring back Madden's commentary, that is what makes madden Madden. The radio guy sucks. If not madden's commentary at least somebody from espn

I believe that EA is trying to move away from its association with John Madden. However, I think (all of this is a guess) that the ESPN integration is being delayed in anticipation of the Madden Franchise becoming, in name, an ESPN title.

I think this is a big mistake on EA's part. Not really the seperation from Madden, but the huge and annoying delay of the use of the ESPN brand and any presentation improvements that could result.

O no no Boregard, let them delay all they want, 2k is going to shut this *** down, i love EA dearly, but that sounds just fucked up enough that i actually think they'll do it. But that's ok, cause we don't need espn for tv style presentation...im jumping ship to 2k..My name is..and shall remain...2kOwnzEA

I can't believe how many whiny bitches there are complaning about there being no madden commentary.ALL OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!!!

Dear Mr. David Ortiz I have been playing madden since the PS1 days.And I have loved it!! I have always played madden from the TV style or (sideLine camera view) for many, many years. I even went to 2k4 & 2k5 b/c they had my sideline camera view. I know about (95%) of you guys play from the endzone camera view, and prefer that view, but not me. It was a leaning curve for me on madden 06 (xbox) version. I still love playing madden 07 (360) but I would like to see more camera options for 08. You had it in on "the PS1,PS2, & the Xbox" That would be Madden 96,97,98,99,2000,2001,2003, & 2004. Everyone on this form has a right to his/hers opinions. I have the same right. A custuom camera angal would be nice. Like I said in my earlier post, that way anybody could set the camera anyway they choose to. Mr.Ortiz I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job or anything b/c you guys do a outstanding job year in and year out. You guys do not get enough credit for the hard work you guys put in into making the "Madden Series" what it is today. And I for one would like to say "Thank You" and your staff for doing what you guys have always done for so many years, that is making Madden the best it can be.Thanks again, Carl E. Medley  

I can`t belive that there is just one post about music in this. For years I wait for a mode that allows me to put my music in the game, every team has there music they played when things happen, TDs INTs Big Runs, Big Passes.... That would make homegames much more exiting !  And for the futer it would be nice if the NFLE would take   part in the preseason. There are  many Madden Fans over here in Europe, and i thing the NFLE is importend for the NFL to test players.

first time in 10 years since i wont be getting it the first day.  in the next gen era too.  what a shame.  you should have listened to us EA.  1) RADIO GUY (again) 2) ESPN implementation.

why did you buy the NFL license?  

will the 360 have gang tackling feature on 08 like on the P3! Please add gang tackling.

First off, I want to echo CM's Thank You to EA.

Secondly, get it right!!! If you are pissed about the exclusive rights deal you need to direct your anger at the NFL. The NFL sought out an exclusive rights situation, EA just stepped up to plate and took advantage of the oppurtunity that the NFL was giving. I don't like the Exclusive rights deal either, but stop putin' it on EA.

 As for the commentary, I don't care if they put Madden back as the commentator, but they definately need to have something that sounds very professional because the EA Sports Radio thing is terrible and so is the "Radio Guy's" commentary.

The music thing just speaks to the fact that EA hasn't come to the realization YET, that personalization is going to be the major key to their future success with the Madden Franchise.

Guys want to customize their home stadium feel, they want customizable rules for franchise/owner mode that can be locked at the beginning of the franchise, they want fully custom playbooks (cuz the ones in the game rarely reflect the actual systems that NFL teams run),they want both old school and the new controller layout, they want custom menu music, custom in game music, a more in-depth pre-game & half-time & post game.

 We as a community do not always agree, but I think we can all agree that by now we should already have most if not all of the above options.

 We also need to be able to play franchise games on-line against out of state friends while using our custom playbooks, rules, and old school contoller options.

i think there should be an option in madden 08 to start a expansion team by creating a stadium and uniforms expansion draft and and maybe create your draft picks

Sounds and looks good. I only have one thing to add tho wat about jersey customization? When u relocate can u change it so u can still use the teams official logo. And also instead of having to relocate a team to create ur own team, wat about  an expansion team or mode or sumtn? Good job so far tho do ya thang

Ice hit that sh!t right on the head. Wanna know ANOTHER thing 2k did better than EA in....Stadium music. I thought it was cool as hell when i went to my friends house and had his own uploaded music playing after a sack, and a first down, and blah blah blah. EA should def. consider adding this feature, because everyone i think can agree that it is cool as hell. Plus, 2k did this years ago on an inferior system. In my mind, Madden is still winning the race with 2k (even though it cheated), but not for long if people can keep piling up reasons for why 2k is better than madden, cause one day, that list will have more things on it than EA does...

They should have the option to import draft classes from Ncaa Football because I hate it when it's just made up players and not the real stars because i want to be able to have Mario Manningham or Darren McFadden on my team after the season is over

I think you should have the option in owner mode to add more seats to your stadium like if your stadium only holds 70 thousand you could add 5 thousand more seats with the money you made from that season

if you want to bring back the 'madden feel' then bring back madden's voice

Dear Mr. Big Papi,

Thanks for the weekly posts of features on the new Madden.  I agree with the people who were talking about the total uniform customization, (being able to use logos from whatever team ever made).  Also, i'd love to see better scouting in madden, with vids maybe, and like madden 05 and 06 with comments on the player's qualities.  And finally, i'd like to be able to take an athlete from college, like a paul hornung and deion sanders, i'd want them to be an athlete and switch them to any position i'd like.  That's all i got for now.

Player progression is the key to franchise mode.  Maybe have progression every week be more significant, like players get on a hot streak, for a while.  This could be tied to the 'potential' meter as a player with high pot. could sustain high rated progressions longer.  I would basically reverse your current system of players going up after they achieved various goals, and make them randomly go up (based on potential/scouting/etc) so then they can perform better.

Seriously people need to stop yelling about the Madden commentary because you guys are the ones that yelled all the time about how bad you thought madden was in the first place now i agree they should use this ESPN license they have and get some one good from there or even madden or just make the radio guy more believable make him more attached to each team and state some facts and just an overall view of how the game is going

Draft picks should progess depending on the coaches you have if you have horrible coaches then its going to be harder for the rookie to progress or if he never gets any playing time like in preseason or blowouts and doesnt do anything for the whole season justs sit on the bench and for the commentry get the guys from Monday Night Football because those would be better then some annoying voice at least in the old maddens it was people i actually knew

With Create-a-team mode please have enough sense to allow the team to be an expansion team instead of replacing a current NFL team.  Having a new custom team in a league is ruined by having to taken on the entire roster and identity of an existing team or by having to remove all that team's players from the league as a whole by using a customized/created-players team.

you have a contract with espn so ude it have an espn comentary crew for have time to analyze the game and a post game show. alkso how about sports center to watch highlights of games and get news around the league

I'm really glad you guys are upgrading the city relocation and stadium building in owner mode, I love to move my favorite team to my city since we don't have a team. Madden is the greatest sports game ever, I just wish NBA live would get on the boat and advance their franchise mode.

I think Madden is great and you guys make it better every year, but I would like to see you guys make it where create-a-team is an expansion team too, I don't like having to replace one of the other team, but you guys out due every other sports game every year, keep up the great work

Fix the cap and how contracts work. I've had 20 guys rated 99 on my team before, with plenty of cap room. Now to keep it interesting, I just give the players what they ask for without negotiation, but after the first couple of years I still do fine with cap room. Every year NFL teams struggle with the cap, I just want to see more of that to make it more challanging.

yes,WE NEED TO HAVE CUSTOM MENU MUSIC AND IN GAME MUSIC,WHENEVER I GO TO A 49ER GAME,THEY MAKE A BIG PLAY, I ALWAYS HEAR MUSIC TO GO WITH THE PLAY,LET US CUSTOMIZE THE MUSIC!!!IT'S ALL ABOUT PERSONALIZATION!!!!!!

object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="www.youtube.com/.../2D--4p0msag"></param><param">www.youtube.com/.../param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="www.youtube.com/.../2D--4p0msag" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

better presentation, sportscenter, top 10 plays, better coverage for super bowl $ MNF get rid of the crappy ass radio guy

yeah!!!!!!

I think it would be GREAT to be able to hire retired players as coached as in previous Maddens...I remember I once had Favre as my OC (eventually HC) and Seau as my DC...that would be GREAT to have back...Other than that, I hope ALL of these options are available in ALL consoles and not just certain features in certain systems...CAN'T WAIT THOUGH- ALREADY PRE-ORDERED!!!

I agree with Dan, that would be AWESOME. I hope that on NG, you guys switch back to the CG play calling system so on 2p your opponent can't see you pick your play. Even though the fake play screen was added, it would be useless if they could watch you pick it.

Owner mode on Madden 360 is going to make me orgasm.

carl is right!!! for gods sake can we please get a sideline view. im a 5 percent'er (those who love to play with the sideline view) and it kills me that theres no sideline view or at least a REAL custom camera view. if ea doesnt want to dedicate a sideline angle at least give the gamer the option to create one on his or her own like in 2004.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Big O for saying that. EA/Mr.Ortiz are you reading this. I'm not alone in this!!!

There's no excuse for EA *** around this way. Online leagues are a must. They should be ashamed of themselves not including them with the game. But then again....this is EA...they don't know the meaning of shame. Half-@$$ is their middle name...

EA GET WITH THE TIMES PLEASE

we WANNA PLAY SEASONS/LEAGUES ONLINE or at least make it where we can tranfer the files easily EA  LOCKER or somethin

c'mon

Keep up the good work devs

who cares, wheres all the online stuff??

************I know that it probably will never happen on a EA game (Madden), but it would be really cool if the players could introduce themselves during a Monday Night football game the way they do in real life. Like Clinton Portis saying his name and school, THE U, like they do before the games. I also hope they include the 75th anniversay jerseys some of the teams will be wearing this year. I also think there should be more focus on getting awards during the season, like the rushing crown or MVP canidates. They could mention it during games or during the week. I know I'm just wishful thinking, but maybe 2k sports will pick up on some of these ideas , since the Madden producers can't even respond to our comments. One more thing... KILL THE RADIO GUY AND BRING BACK JOHN MADDEN.****************

I can't post my real name because I signed a form with 2k sports saying that I would disclose any info about AFP, but let me tell you that All Pro Football 2k8 is the football game we've all been waiting for. They're giving us everything we're asking for in a football game. I know the reviews will be coming soon, but all I can say is that this game is amazing.

I would like to say that we need to bring madden back or some other television commentary. As much as  Ididn't like some of the comments madden would make, it kind of grew on me. It made madden what it was. The radio guy takes away much of that feel. Please get rid of radio guy and bring back some television-like commentary

I am so glad you all are bringing back Owner Mode. That is without a doubt the best thing to ever happen with the Madden franchise and I was so disappointed with 06 & 07 because they didn't have Owner Mode. I was seriously not even going to fool with buying Madden this year until I heard Owner Mode was coming back!

Please bring back formation specific depth charts for offline and online and let us save them.  I know I speak for 95% of the hardcore community when I say this.  This is a feature we really miss from current gen and it should be on the 360 and PS3.  Also with the new fatigue system this makes that feature that much more important.  The Ravens and Patriots move players all over the place I want to do the same in Madden/NCAA.  Also what about those 3rd down edge rushers who only see the field on passing downs how else are bears fans supposed to get M.Anderson on the field.  He doesn't start but he does get his snaps on passing downs.  If this feature has already been added thx.

Been thinking about it, and here's my wish-list for Madden08 (some have already been included):

Retired players as coaches

Fantasy Draft

Edit players

More in-depth draft coverage

John Madden commentary

Formation-specific subs

Bottom line/ticker

Fully customizable teams (unis, cities, stadiums, costs, etc.)

Old School controller layout option, fully custom playbooks with form shifts & form audibles & custom packages & custom hot routes, and CUSTOM SCHEDULES- where we can move all human opponent games to the end of the season.

ONLINE FRANCHISE/OWNER MODE - where we can "host" an open sign up 'chise or a private one where several games could be going on at the same time. Let's say you have 6 players. Player 1 and 2 have a game against each other, so they're playing, and then 2 other guys are playing the CPU, and maybe the last 2 guys play their game later in the day, then it all gets fed back into the franchise and the week advances.  You have a system that is capable, let's hit the next gen already!!!

I think All Pro Football is going to be the worst football game out this summer...NG/CG combined! yeah you'll be able to customize everything on the uniform but it looks like a sim version of the arcade Blitz. we all know why the nfl chose EA for the exclusive rights...you can really tell who the true maddenites are! and just to make my off the wall suggestion...can i get the sideline view back so i can never use it ever...this is madden not tecmo bowl!

I love the new additions to the game but i have some ideas that can make it the ultimate football game.Please have an option to custimize a players face during nfl superstar.Also when you create a team let there please be varitie of jersey designs.

I would like to see a hall of fame room for the alreadys and the gonna bees this is not michael irvin

Buddy, you just spoke to everything that is wrong with the Madden community. I have never used the sideline view myself, and really don't understand how you would play the game in that fashion, but at the same time if others in the community want that feature in there then I am all for it.

 Just cuz you think it it is useless doesn't make it unimportant. I think that the mini-games for progression is really terrible (screams arcade in my opinion), but my suggestion is not to remove it. I think EA should also include a stat/performance based progression that factors in; added attributes (desire/motivation and inteligence, which could be hidden for all I care) and coach ratings for the head coach, coordinators, position coaches (if they are added, and the strength and conditioning coach. Finally you would have hidden progression bumps at certain points in a players career- almost as if to say the player has turned the corner in his transition from college to the pros, and then the age factor for the end of careers.

 All of which would be an alternative setting for progression in the franchise/owner mode - not a total elimination of something that I find silly, but other fans of the game really enjoy.

Do you see my point, Buddy?

I think it is you, Playmaker. You are entitled to that wish and I hope it comes true.

 By the way, could you send me an autograph for my son. He doesn't know it yet, but he is a HUGE Cowboy fan. He watches Cowboy DVDs with me all the time (he is 9 months old)? Please?

I would love to be able to create a team to use in owner mode as an expansion franchise.  I like the sound of the new stadium feature.  I'd like to be able to build new stadiums from the ground up, and add unique features instead of having only one template where you have limited options.

Yes, include the music.  But every person that is a madden fan and a true football player will agree with me that their needs to be more work done with BLOCKING.  More schemes and better AI.  Show some love please Tiburon/EA sports.

Also, you should be able to export your Superstar so that you can use him in a franchise or exhibition.  I love Superstar mode.  Give it some variety.

(Last Comment)  When are we gonna have Rookie Mini-Camps in the franchise mode?  I hate having to take a horrible risk in signing a draft pick right after the draft and he doesn't produce on the field.  They need to make it where the training camp has draftees, and undraftees, and you can sign from there.

Good call, David. I have been saying for years now that they need to "disconnect" the blockers from the ball. The blockers should independently "seek out" defenders to block based on the play.

 And for the love of something, anything please fix the situation where the O-lineman is within arms reach of a blitzing defender and simply watches him kill the QB. The OL guy should, at the very least, push the defender off cousre slightly or even miss on that attempt. The lack of an attempt is maybe the most annoying sight in all of Madden, well that and on special teams where the players show absolutely no situational AWR what-so-ever. Like punts, in NCAA the players will actually attempt to keep the ball out of the endzone, sometimes even successfully without human input to the controller. The other annoying thing in Madden is the lack of an attempt by any players other than the one human controlled player to block a FG attempt or PAT. Yet, again the NCAA game at least gives the illusion that your CPU players on your team are trying by having them jump to attempt to get their hands up to block the kick. In the PS3 Madden 07, I have blocked one FG and one PAT. In both cases, the player that made the block was not the player I was controlling. I love that. It was random, and I could not replicate either event in practice mode. That made it even more satisfying cuz I won both those games by the missing points that resulted from the blocks.

we should be able to import coaches from ncaa football and edit all coaches just like players.please!

Mr. Boregard, I know you will never understand why I or people like me play from the sideline view,And I don't exspect you to understand either. now if (and that's a big if) puts my sideline view back into the game, that would be great however, if they do not, oh well maybe next year.IMAHO, some of the things that you guys on this form are asking for are are kinda silly. This is not "Sega or V.C., this EASports.EA will do what they can fullfill some of our request, alot of you will be disapointed. 75% of you guys will be mad as hell b/c EA did not and what you wanted in madden 08. 25% will be happy as hell that they did the best that they could do for this years madden 08. I will be one who will be happy with or without my sideline view okay. Thank you.

I think You guys are doing agood job the people who are leaving bad comments are the 5% you cant make happy no matter what so dont worry about them But i agree with alot of the comments people are saying but i would like to add alittle of my own.

I would like to see:

* More coaches Like aqb coach rb coach and stuff like that.

* Bring back the retired player tobe coaches I would love for Payton Manning tobe my qb coach one day.

* Talking players out of retirement even if its just for one year Like a tiki barber.

*And i would love maybe if not this year maybe next year a combination/or partnership with ncaa where you can sign coach's into the nfl.

But i love madden and i buy it every year even if i dont like some parts of the game i still love it keep up the good work.

I hope madden 08 will have training camp features for offensive linemen - protecting the QB, have better speciality roster position like the long snapper - Justin Snow of the Colts isn't there, downloadable updates for draft picks for the '09 Draft.  Have actual college players on your scouting list.  How about on the old team roster listing the Colts as the Indianapolis Colts, instead of being in Baltimore?  Or perhaps both?  I like modifying the all colts roster for my favorite Colt player both Baltimore and Indianapolis.  I like being able to trade for Gino Marchetti (89), so trade for him in the AFC Hall of Fame team.  Because you cannot make Marchetti have 89 under modern NFL number rules.

I would like to see the limit of games that can be taken out of a franchise and played online removed. What was once thought to be merge game error is actually a limit built into the number of games that can be played and merged. Remove this limit and at least a form of online franchise play can be achieved.

Hey Madden community, I have a question for you guys. I'm a big Madden gamer, but I've never played NCAA on XBox 360. Can anyone tell me if this game is any good? I know that Madden has been a disappointment, but I want to know if NCAA is the same.

amen carl!!! i'll be the first to say that if theres no sideline view this year or at the very least a REAL custom cam feature like in the last good madden 2004 then i will once again resume praying that ill be alive when this insipid agreemnet with the nfl and ea ends.

i know most cats play the up down way which is cool. nothing wrong with that. but im an old school player from the joe montana sega genesis era. so ive always played with the sideline view. thats how i like playing, thats what im used to and thats how i like my football. plus it flat out looks like it would if i were watching the game on tv.

im simply saying that ea needs to give us the option of using that view if we want. why in the hell would we want 3 or 4 views that are basicly the same damn thing. madden view madden classic view madden long view..

i mean come

on if ncaa can throw in a side view then why cant madden. not to much to ask in this next generation console era.

oh and get rid of the whole scouting process. i dont want to spend all night throwing footballs through rings just to get a guys 40 time. bring it back to the way it used to be. put in some hours and you get the guys numbers.

Yo, Albert.  Last years NCAA 07 on 360 wasn't great, but the sophmore game (NCAA 08) on 360 will be much better.  The only warning is that this game is usually most fun on Campus Legend (NCAA Superstar).  If you want to do a Dynasty (NCAA franchise) this will not be the most fun game, but still decent.

Everything sounds awesome, but I doubt that much will go onto PSP. Can you tell us how much of what is going to go into each gaming system?

I don't know if PSP is considered a part of next-gen.  But I don't think it's possible to incorporate all of the features into the PSP.

And UPDATE, FOR ALL YOU 2K8 FOOTBALL LOVERS.  Go ahead and throw your money, because 2K8 will NOT have a franchise mode.  MADDEN is the best sports franchise and always will be.

So instead of spending time fixing bugs, you are wasting time adding city coordinates to a map. Typical EA. No wonder you had to buy out your competition.

Hey!  Speaking of NCAA 08.  When is the release date?  I'm tryin' to cop that first day it's available!

i'm glad to see all this new stuff for this year's madden and im sure it'll be awesome just like all the other ones but i think one thing you guys need to ad back in is a pitch button so in 4th quarter situations where you need a td to win you can pitch it if your bout to get tackle instead of having to throw the hail mary everytime n never get it.. if i remember correctly the last madden that had a pitch button was madden 2000 or 2001..

no use of espn license = no deposit.  no online challenges = no buy.

my 60 is going to apfb2k8 this year.

Yo i hear ya Boregard, but like he even said its not a need, it's a want. a lot of you guys are saying what ya'll want and not what the game needs. basically the games needs to be a great multiplayer and a great single player, that equals gameplay improvements and an owner/superstar mode. all the other stuff is nice but, i, personally don't NEED it.

I'd like some easier menus to navigate through, last year's menus were slow and graphic heavy.

Also some more random things to happen in franchise mode would be nice i.e. people getting suspended, players getting hurt in practice

I think that players awareness should increase as they get older, even if they don't play.  Especially quarterbacks - also along with continuity with coaches, for example: if a quarterback has played with an offensive coordinator for a few years, then the team looses the coordinator, the quarterback should loose some awareness as he is brought into a new system.