If you play simulation Madden Franchises, and you take the preseason even remotely seriously, then you've probably noticed that EA hasn't changed preseason substitutions logic since the NFL shortened the preseason to 3 games instead of 4. This means that the third preseason game is still treated as the old "dress rehearsal", with the starters playing through the 3rd quarter. This is not how NFL teams play the 3rd game anymore. Now, the starters maybe play through the first quarter -- if at all. Instead, coaches now use the 3rd (and final) preseason game to field test their rookies and deep reserves before the final cut days.
But in every Madden since, the CPU leaves its starters in through the 3rd quarter. If you want to sub in your backups, you put yourself at a huge disadvantage, and their relative poor play can even result in loss of morale that can hurt their overall ratings.
Because I do take the preseason seriously as a team-development tool, the 3rd preseason game might very well be the single most infuriating thing about Madden for me. I hate it. Not only is it horribly unfair due to the talent level imbalance, if I try to sub deep reserves in early, but I swear the CPU also goes into robo / turbo mode and throws downfield every play.
Worse yet, being that I play Da Bears, I keep getting my 3rd preseason game scheduled against the Bills. Even though the Bills actually have one of the highest run percentages in the NFL, the Bills in Madden are allergic to running the ball. Now, granted, quite a few of those real-life runs are probably un-scripted scrambles by Josh Allen, but still... In any case, in my Madden preseason games, Josh Allen puts up 400 yards passing and 5 TDs in 3 quarters, and its so fucking annoying, and it makes me want to stop playing Madden altogether.
EA has provided no settings or options to change the CPU's behavior, nor mechanics for making the CPU intelligently substitute its reserves for evaluation or development, and we cant change CPU depth charts (even for "meaningless" preseason games).
As such, it always comes down to us in the community to to fix the things EA refuses to fix. Whether that be custom slider sets, disabling broken features (when possible), updating rosters to fix player ratings, or providing house rules for running Franchises. In this video, I want to share a method for forcing CPU substitutions early in the 3rd preseason game with minimal cheating.
See this technique/strategy in action!
Take partial control over the CPU team
Basically, what we're going to be doing is using a second controller to take partial control over the CPU teams. Ideally, we would be able to start the match with the CPU controlling the team, then pause the game at specific points in the match to switch to user control, make the depth chart subs, then switch control back to the CPU. Madden used to let us do this. But since redesigning Franchise Mode to be an "online" mode, the ability to re-assign controllers mid-match is gone -- even in solo offline Franchises. So we have to keep control of the CPU team on the 2nd controller for the whole match.
But I dont have 4 hands, so how do I play both my team and the CPU team?
Well, luckily, we dont have to. The key is a little-used accessibility setting called "Auto Pass". This setting causes the CPU to control the QB after the snap, if the user does not make any inputs after snapping the football. As soon as the match begins, simply pause the game with the 2nd controller, go to Settings, and turn Auto Pass ON for the 2nd controller.
If you're an experienced Madden player, then I don't blame you at all for having no idea that this setting is in the game.
Use a 2nd controller with "Auto-Pass" enabled to gain partial control over the CPU team.
With this setting enabled, all you have to do is use the 2nd controller to select a play for the CPU team, and then press the button for them to snap the ball. You can do all of this while maintaining control of your team.
If you dont want to know what plays the CPU is running, you can keep the CPU play-selection menu on "Coach Suggestions". Close your eyes, wiggle the stick up amd down a few times, and then press a random face button. Then pick your play, wait for the teams to line up, and press the button on the 2nd controller for the CPU to snap the ball. BAM! You'll now be playing against a mostly CPU-controlled opponent, with little-to-no foreknowledge of what plays they'll be calling.
When its time to pull the starters, you can now pause the game with the 2nd controller and adjust the CPU depth chart to your heart's content. Sadly, there isn't a "Mass Subs" button in Madden , like there is in College Football, so you'll have to go through the tedious process of subbing backups into every CPU position. But hey, at least your 3rd stringers won't be always getting torched by the CPU's elite starters!
Not the ideal solution...
Now, there are a few limitations and problems with this method. The most apparent is that you'll have to kick for the CPU teams too. As far as I know, kicking cannot be automated. You can maybe change the Kick meter settings for the 2nd co troller to be easier, if you want.
Another problem is that the CPU teams won't do any pre-play audibles, hot routes, manual motion, or other strategic adjustments, unless YOU manually do it for them. But it is preseason, and most teams tend to keep preseason gameplans simple. So the lack of advanced pre-play adjustments might actually be more realistic?
Lastly the CPU runner might occasionally just stop running due to lack of user input. This tends to happen if the CPU runner breaks a tackle, and sometimes receivers will stop running after catching a pass. This is the most potentially game-breaking issue. But in my experience, it hasn't been a huge deal. You can always try picking up the 2nd controller when this happens and take control of the CPU teams yourself, if you want.
Despite these limitations, the CPU can still remain competitive, and might even surprise you with a big play here and there. And even if the CPU isn't competitive, then hey, whatever, it was just the 3rd preseason game, after all! The whole point was to pull the starters out early (maybe even after the first drive) and get some experience with your backups and deep reserves. And when your 3rd and 4th stringers and rookies are playing in the 4th quarter, they will actually be evenly-matched with the CPU's 3rd and 4th stringers -- instead of still seeing X-Factors lining up against you.
Heck, I wouldn't blame you if you used this method in all preseason games, in order to ensure that the CPU subs deeper into its depth chart than just the 2nd string. It's your game! As long as you're playing in good faith and having a good time, who am I to judge? Now, if you start doing this in playoff games, then you're cheating. But again, if you're playing offline single-player, who am I to judge?
See my original video in which I proposed a new mechanic for evaluating player talent.
It would be nice if EA would actually implement mechanics for CPU teams to intelligently play their deeper reserves in preseason games, so that we users don't have to rely on cheating to make the video game look like actual NFL football. In fact, years ago, I proposed an idea for a new progression and evaluation mechanic to accomplish just that. Sadly, no football video game has attempted anything like it yet. Maybe someday...
This entire preseason match against the Bills that was highlighted in this video is actually available to Patrons on my sister Let's Play channel, MegaBearsFan_Plays. If you're curious to see it, along with other early or exclusive content, please consider becoming a Patron for just a buck or 2 a month. My channel is not monetized due to all the copywritten content that I use under Fair Use, nor do I have any corporate sponsors, so every Patrons makes a big difference, and I truly appreciate all my Patrons, past, present, and future.