Getting Better at Madden

[jerG123]

stiff arm is my main weapon in the open field, it doesn't always work but it can be very effective. for example, you get to the outside and are running down the sideline, a defender is closing in from the behind/the side - a spin will not really be effective cuz it will probably just take you out of bounds ,power burst and you might have the defender bounce off you but more than likely he will just push you out but a well timed stiff arm and you can lay the defender out and you just keep running.

imo, the juke is less important than the stiff arm but it is still great for getting past a defender when he's coming straight at you.

[ThaHero]

Be careful with the stiff arm, especially in traffic. It can cause fumbles if you do it with a tired back, or with a smaller back vs. a lineman or linebacker.

With good backs like LT you really can just use speed burst. He just breaks so many tackles with that alone.

Juke, IME, works best against humans. You have to hit it perfect to fake the CPU or have an elusive back. Spin works great but there is kind of a trick to it where you pause slightly before you hit it. I can't really explain it but from my experience it works best against hit stick happy opponents.

[ThaHero]

I'm not sure if there's still interest in this or not so I won't make this too long, but here's a few tips on reading defenses so you can(hopefully) complete a pass.

Pre-snap- Find out if it's man or zone. I like using Bunch sets like Shotgun Tight and Trips Bunch. You pretty much find out immediately if they're in man or not. The DBs will pinch all the way in and line up over the WRs. In zone the DBs and LBs won't immediately line up over them. If you're having trouble figuring it out, send someone in motion. Once you know it's man or zone, and you don't read a blitz, you're good to go.

Side Note: I make a lot of adjustments presnap with hot routes too and motion depending on what my opponent is in but I'll leave this out for now.

At the snap: If it's man, I give a glance to the safeties to know if they're in cover 1 or cover 2. In Cover 1 there would be one safety dropping back over the middle. Cover 2 they both drop back sorta diagonally away. Then you gotta make sure noone is blitzing. Good ways to counter blitzes are to dump it off to the flats or to throw it to the area of the field the guy blitzed from.

There are 2 primary zones, Cover 2 and Cover 3. There is Cover 4 but I only ever see it in deep passing situations or against players who always throw deep and neglect the middle and flats. If it's Cover 2, the safeties drop back and diagonally. You can attack the deep middle and also the deep corners(towards the sidelines). Cover 3, the safeties do a corkscrew animation. One comes down and the other goes over the deep middle. The best area to attack for a quick gain is the seams.

Of course things are more difficult than this. There's zone blitzes, man blitzes, zone and man converage in the same play, etc. Just like in everything else though, the more you practice/play while being observant, the better you'll get.

I know I said this would be quick, but I couldn't help myself I guess. Oh well hopefully it helps someone.

[Lord_Strife]

Great post btw

[nation]

thahero,

that was a great post man. if you got any more tips i'd appreciate you giving them.

all,

rambling posts are perfectly fine. this is a very broad topic and all the different bits are slowly coming together.

[cobrakai111]

I'll throw another question out there on the defensive end because most of these posts have been about offense.

Can someone give a few basic hints on who you select and best methods? My main team I've been playing with lately has been SD, whenever I try to play with Merriman on D I'm always leaving someone wide open I feel and get picked apart.

[blackize]

When you select a player on defense you have to be aware of what his assignment is. If you're selecting Merriman and rushing the passer when he is assigned to play coverage then yeah you're leaving someone open.

I try not to control anyone who has a man coverage assignment. I'd much rather control a blitzer or someone in zone.

[vulturesrow]

I think linebackers are tough to play in general. I prefer playing a pass rushing end and then switch as necessary. Sometimes playing a linebacker is good when you are playing someone whose tendencies you have a good grasp on as you can preemptively hit certain gaps, etc. But generally I think LBs are tough to control. But Im not a Madden god by any stretch of the imagination.

[prohornblower]

I generally agree with this.

Sometimes, if it's the 3rd quarter and I've noticed they aren't throwing over the middle for short gains, I'll start blitzing with my MLB. (When I normally control my DE's). My DE's are both superstars, so I figure if I can let the Comp. control them that gets us 3 pass-rushers.

I'll spread the front 4 wide, and tighten up my OLB's (so less of a hole over the middle), and upon the snap, I'll wait ever so slightly to see where the hole in the line opens up (like a RB reading a hole..same thing), then once I find the hole, speed burst at the QB.

Unfortunately I haven't been very successful with it in terms of Sacks. I rarely get burned on it though, and it does cause the QB to get rid of it quickly. I think with this play I may try more jumping at the last second to deflect the pass, rather than going for the sack.

But then again, a deflected pass is just 2nd and 10, when a sack is 2nd and 16, or, even better, a rushed, errand pass is an INT and maybe a pick - 6 (since they usually get rid of it to the side because the rush is up the middle.)

OK now I'm rambling. Football strategy is ridiculously complex.