Importing Plays In Madden from Head Coach
by 
The integration between NFL Head Coach 09 and Madden 09 is limited to the exporting of plays from Head Coach to Madden. I wanted to try this out in an effort to see how easily it can be done and how well it works. What I found is that it’s relatively easy but doesn’t work exactly as expected.
I’ve put together a video going through the entire process, from the creation and exporting of a play in Head Coach to the importing and usage of a play in Madden. Continue on to watch it as well as read my thoughts on the feature.
The first thing to do is to either create plays or just download ones that others have created. Once that is done head into “Export Created Plays” section of My Coach-Playbooks and choose which ones you want to export. When you save that it’ll create the file that is drawn from in Madden.
Now when you start up a Play Now, Practice, or Franchise game in Madden it’ll automatically load the Head Coach file. Regardless of what team is being used those plays will now be available. When flipping through the formations there will now be a Head Coach one that includes the custom plays.
Here are the problems that arose though…
- The passing icons are mixed up. You’ll see Deion Branch on the right assigned to A for example, when that position has traditionally received the B. Instead B went to the tight end. Engram in the slot has X instead of the Y that would be expected. I wondered if this might be based on progression, but I don’t see how that would be the case here.
- Motion doesn’t carry over. You’ll see Branch doesn’t motion before the snap even though I had set him to in the play.
- The players involved are mixed up. Nate Burleson was in the slot in my created play but here it is Bobby Engram. This is probably what happens if the depth charts on the two games are different. So Madden is taking the play and putting the particular players in those positions based on the depth charts and not the players. I can understand why this would be needed so that the play could apply to all teams or player movement, it just wasn’t what I had expected to happen. Also Justin Forsett is replaced with TJ Duckett which is another depth chart move given that Madden doesn’t have Forsett on the roster.
I’ve removed much of the loading time from the video below, as I go from start to finish to demonstrate how the procedure is done.
So in the end I would have difficulty using a created play because of the passing icons being out of whack, but losing motion from them also detracts from the effectiveness of the feature. Keep in mind to design the plays with the depth chart in Madden in mind if you are planning on utilizing specific players in certain spots. Hopefully in the future they allow created plays to be used in unranked online games as well. The integration between the two titles is a great idea but just doesn’t appear very useful for this year based on my observations.
August 17, 2008 at 4:55 pm
thats pretty cool…… nice feature
August 17, 2008 at 5:04 pm
cool feature
August 17, 2008 at 5:30 pm
The fact that motion doesn’t translate is a little confusing, but I totally understand the depth chart thing. That just makes sense so that the play can be used by any team.
August 17, 2008 at 10:37 pm
At first I was disappointed you can only export 30 plays but then it takes so long to make a play I didn’t even care 3 hours later
August 17, 2008 at 11:04 pm
The depth chart issue could be fixed using formation subs, right?
August 18, 2008 at 7:03 am
mixing up the icons pretty much ruins this for me.
August 18, 2008 at 8:58 am
I am sooo disappointed how they pulled this off. Mostly for leaving out the option to export an entire playbook from head coach. It has a nice custom playbook feature, that madden, for some reason has none. (another cg feature that for some crazy reason hasn’t made its way to ng). If they let you do custom plays, why not giv us the option to make our own playbook….AND be able to use it everywhere, online, franchise, whatever.
PLEASE PLEASE GIVE US THIS OPTION! This was the only reason I got head coach, because I thought the developers said it would be possible. SO UPSET!
Pasta, please give EA sum input on this, you may be one of the few they listen to.
EA has dropped the ball so many times with the madden franchise, I have never seen a company let down its customers as much as EA. I remember when Madden used to be a finalist for game of the year, they can’t sniff the award now…
August 18, 2008 at 9:04 am
…and please EA make 2010 the year of FRANCHISE!!!!! development, including correct progression. U got realistic stats for players, now let them progress correctly.
Here’s an idea, take the game exactly as is, don’t try to make it prettier, or add more gimmicks, just IMPROVE on the game you have, This revamping the engine every year just puts the franchise back another year!!!
Don’t get fancy, just give us what we want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FRANCHISE!!!!!!!
…we want to control the season, AND play the games, so bring head coach and franchise together for the ultimate franchise mode. …and for the loser’s out there, let them set the price of their damn hot dogs.
August 18, 2008 at 9:20 am
I never understood the option. what plays are you trying to create? what would make your plays stand out from the ones the NFL uses right now? now that the process is faulty, its looks more and more like a feature bullet on the back of the game case, nice feature, doesn’t work. Like the video showcase in Madden. I didn’t understand why Head Coach uses different plays than Madden, but Madden has plays used by NFL teams…
BTW on madden online, whats with EVERYBODY using just the Pats, SD, PIT, DAL,Jags,and VIKES? I didn’t know it was a 6 team league. how does it prove YOU are good when you only use the best teams.
August 18, 2008 at 12:57 pm
To put the man in motion in Madden select him normally by switching with B, then move him in the direction you have him in motion from head coach, i watched my play several times and when he didn’t automatically do it i went back over and over then figured out that you yourself have to put him in motion, oh and don’t have the motion end up anywhere behind the line of scrimmage cuz he won’t go out on his route.
August 18, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Pasta your the only person I know that tried to adjust to depth chart in Head Coach and expect that to carry over to Madden but didn’t you think that if you use you plays with other teams or if in Madden you make any changes prior to exporting play it would be problems?? I just made up plays any team can run with out touching the depth chart because use soon as I sub a player Im screwed why you didn’t think of this??
August 18, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I hadn’t adjusted the depth chart in Head Coach. I had in Madden though.
August 18, 2008 at 6:45 pm
There is one major problem I create some options plays and the QB does the motion but he never latteral the ball.
August 18, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Pasta. Ive never played HC so can you answer this. If you create a play, will you have to run it alot in practice so your players can execute it better. Like I use to play football and our WRs would have to practice pass plays alot because we never got it right on the 1st try. Does this stuff happen in HC?
August 26, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I can’t find my created plays in the Franchis mode of Madden 09 and it’s driving me crazy! When I enter a match, it says it is load ing the export file, but where is it??? I don’t see Head Coach formations. Any ideas anyone? Thanks!
August 28, 2008 at 4:14 am
I have the same problem as sniffymcbutt.
I saved and exported my plays, but cannot find them anywhere. Not in franchise, playnow or anything!
Help pasta?
NB. i have australian pal system ps3
August 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Sorry to hear you are having the same problems Kent, but glad that I am not alone. Pasta- I have an XBOX 360 and am unable to find my exported plays in any mode as well. I am in a rivaly match right now and it’s killing me to not be able to use the plays I created. Back to the game… Thanks for any help you can offer!
September 22, 2008 at 10:34 am
To what extent can you create plays in head coach? For example can you line another player up in the quarterback position to take a snap like Alabama did with McFadden or Miami did with Brown? Run reverses? etc.?
September 28, 2008 at 9:07 pm
can you delete a created play?
October 7, 2008 at 11:57 am
I think you can only use the created plays in the “Play Now” option of Madden. I’m not positive about that, but pretty sure that’s what I read somewhere else. If that’s not the case, then I’m having issues too because I never saw any of my plays in “Franchise” mode.
October 9, 2008 at 1:42 pm
in francise mode during the game when looking through formation look 4 headcoach,it is usally between goal line and sp.teams.
i am also verry dissapointed in the game,i think carreer mode sucks a$$,also the fact that u cant export an entire playbook.i bought the sp.edition for the reason of exporting my ply.bk.
November 3, 2008 at 1:16 am
Help! I can’t find my imported plays on PS3 either. I’ve looked in play now, franchise, everywhere, but cannot find the plays. Maybe its a PS3 issue?
January 1, 2009 at 8:52 am
Not a PS3 issue I am having a problem with the created plays as well.
I see the file loading (HCEXPORT) and when I go in to Practice Mode/Play Now Mode there is NO Headcoach formation. I have no idea what is wrong with it.
January 1, 2009 at 8:54 am
sorry I was using the 360.
From another Board:
I figured out how to do it, I will post it just in case someone has the same problem. It appears you can't correctly export and use the plays made in your career on Madden, you can only do it from the main menu.
What you have to do is upload your plays from your career by going to playbook and manage plays (your limit is 6 at a time), then quit the career and then download "my plays" and then you can properly export these plays to Madden. If you have a lot of plays to export you have to delete the downloaded plays from the server and repeat these steps until all your plays are moved to the main menu. Don't forget to save your profile as well.
January 14, 2009 at 3:11 am
Do these playus work online in Madden?
February 23, 2009 at 2:34 am
can you create playaction plays in HeadCoach?? i've had this game since it first came out and I can't find the playaction icon in the Qb setting, i saw it in the PrimaGuide as an opition for the QB. Please help , Also what is you with the roll out option?? My Qb just jogs very slowly to the roll out point and throws in the run all the time.