Madden NFL 15 is just a few weeks away from release, and football fans everywhere are gearing up for another round of pigskin madness. As they should, because this edition of the popular football game will come with the deepest Connected Franchise mode to date. EA Tiburon recently broke down some of the new additions coming to the popular mode.

First up is Game Prep and Confidence, which takes over for practice and hot/cold streaks from previous editions. This allows you to help prepare players for working alongside their team every week. In addition, you'll also earn valuable XP for utilizing back-ups, and training young players.

As for confidence, you'll be able to see a player's confidence, which gauges from 1 to 99. It changes from week-to-week, depending on the team's performance, but doesn't quite indicate how the player behaves in real life. Still, the higher you can keep this number, the better off you'll be. Individual changes are actually shown via a tracking system, so you know exactly which areas you need to work on.

Game Prep will help you develop your team on a weekly basis, with various changes that you can make to mold them into a better squad. With bye weeks and Monday night games, you'll have a little more time to develop, just like in the real NFL set-up, and take part in activities, such as studying film defense so you can prepare for the next team accordingly. Each activity takes hours, but also rewards you with more confidence when you need it the most. You'll also earn extra XP as well, which will help your team in full.

In-game skill drills are also available, so you can clean up any inaccuracies made during games and help a player master what they do best again. It never hurts to get your training in, especially on the team's official practice fields. Just don't screw up, because you really don't want fans booing you.

The game will also feature Relocation Uniforms, so that they're authentic for every team, along with redesigned Buy Packages, Financial Model Changes to owner's mode and redesigned weekly goals. You'll also be able to employ multiple commissioners and be able to switch to autopilot, should you be away from the game or on vacation. Just because you get time off doesn't necessarily mean your team does.

And did we mention you can fire and hire new staff over the course of a season? Hey, sometimes you just need to dump a head coach.

Madden NFL 15 releases on August 26th for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.