Madden tips just in time for the holidays - finch2005's Blog

finch2005's Blog

Madden tips just in time for the holidays

Posted on December 2, 2008 at 01:10 PM.

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Now with this year of Madden football strategy has become even more needed then in any years previous with this I am going to go over a few basic things to think about when you are playing the game these things even though basic tips are things you need to think about while playing the game.

On offense, always try to see what kind of defense the opponent is in. Try putting players and motion to see if your opponent is in zone or man, with that knowledge play calling becomes a lot easier. In Madden 09, the phrase �Be safe or be sorry� is one to live by in this game so always think check downs instead of going deep or going for the big play. When running the football, use the tools available to you like the slide protection and the lead blocker control. When using that you can keep the ball in your possession and keep the chains moving. Running the ball is a little tougher in this game as then years past when you could mostly pop everything to the outside but in this game it is actually smarter to run between the tackles especially with a powerful running back. When running the ball it is better to figure out which hole that you are going to run to then hit the sprint don�t just go all out sprint it will actually damage you and cause you to miss openings in the offensive line . Do not forget to use the stiff arm, cover ball and hurdle when needed, for some reason since the low hit-stick was introduced it seems to be the move of choice so just use the hurdle and watch as the stop using the low hit-stick all it usually takes is one user hurdle and then your opponent stops using that hit. to Some other key points on running tosses are to cut into the inside of your lead blocker, when you go inside of the blocker you can usually cut back to the other side of the field and have open field to work with when you have faster back. When using a powerful back inside zones and off tackles work well you cut to the inside and you usually become one on one with a corner or safety and as long that the corner isn�t a big hitter you should win that match up. The stretch run to me is the most effective of the running plays because it doesn�t matter what kind of running back you have you room to run as long as you have good tackles and a good blocking tight-end. Shotgun draws is a very effective play on third and less then eight. It is that way because most people play a safe zone and only rush 4 down line-man and your line leaves the middle of the field wide open this is a big plus on keeping the ball in your possession instead of punting or taking three.

When passing the ball, don�t forget about smart routes the reason they are there are for third downs it makes the receiver go to the first down marker so you do not end up 4th and 1 instead have a first down. A tip on smart routes if you do smart routes before the selected wide out gets to the line you can actually make the route go further then the yellow line. What I like to do is let the cpu drop back for you the cpu actually performs a quicker drop back then what you can do manually. In this game you do not need be in shotgun to pass the ball with success, all you need is a good tight-end this is the biggest advantage in this game if you use a team with a great pass catching tight-end you should have no problem moving the ball because a good tight-end on this game can beat the best linebacker. Say you don�t have a good tight-end a scat back is your next best option. Passing to your running backs and fullbacks is great alternate. The flats are usually open or a nice crossing route with both backs works well. When passing the ball to the wide-outs try to hit the wide-out before he finishes the second part of his route. For example, when your wide-out is running a post throw the ball before he even starts the post so the ball is thrown in stride with the best chance to make a play after the catch. This is something that you have to practice so it is not going to be an easy transition but these are little tips to think about and help your game out. In most playbooks in their shotgun choices they have a 2 back set and in that set they have a passing play called backs cross this is a very useful play. What this does is the running backs run a little bit past the line of scrimmage and head in opposite directions leading the linebacker to have to make a choice on who to follow and then whatever the linebacker chooses go with the opposite. The best way to take full advantage of this is to put to put two fast running backs in the backfield or if you don�t have to change your package to WR HB and then you have even more of an advantage. Also, in shotgun normal the WR screen pass but not in a way that you would be accustom to use that play, what you do is you hot route the Wide-out that is expecting the screen to block and send the running back out there on a hot route down on the right stick. The more blocking over there leads to the fact that you have more space to work with out there and then leaves you open to use the screen to your advantage and you opponent wont know what to look for. If you want to know some plays to use and set playbook let me know and I have some for you that you would never think about using.

Comments

# 1 rspencer86 @ Dec 2

Thanks for the info. My roommate and I just started up a two-team dynasty in Madden (my Chiefs and his Cowboys) where we will play each other every game (so we don't have to play against the CPU). These tips should help out quite a bit, especially since I haven't played Madden much since 2004.