Do you guys ever completely change the dynamic of your team during CCM?

[maltliquor84]

I moved Seattle from Power Run/4-3 to Spread/Base 3-4

Surprisingly the personal on the roster was pretty easy to switch over. Bruce Irvin make an excellent pass rushing ROLB for 3rd down situations and Allen Branch has NT written all over him w/ his 335lbs, 95 str and high 80s blk shrd and prst. The rest of the personal on defense don't need much changing outside of replacing guys like Jason Jones and Chris Clemons with bigger, stronger versions to play DE in the 3-4. Red Bryant on the other hand was almost born to play in that system.

For the most part after 1-2 years of good drafting and shrewd FA pickups you will have an excellent 3-4.

Offense was pretty easy since Wilson is lights out, Baldwin and Tate are perfect number 2 and 3 receivers and Zach Miller is a good receiving tight end. Big problems and Lynch and Rice.

Lynch isn't dynamic enough to run a good spread running game with, at least in my opinion. I traded him and a couple draft picks for CJ Spiller. I wanted the back who was a legit homerun hitter and could lineup at WR if I asked him too. And Robert Turbin is an excellent short yardage back and a better receiver than Lynch ever could have hoped to be.

In year 2 I released Sidney Rice and signed FA wideout Mike Wallace. With his ability to stretch the field I felt this was a pretty good offense.

[Drtro]

I run my style regardless of which team I choose.

Offense
I prefer a run favorable Offense but with a Spread/West Coast type passing game. I'll eat up the clock running HB Stretch runs and short pass plays out of the Shotgun and Spread formations utilizing drag-routes and screens. I'll also run a few hitch plays with a deep post on long-yardage situations.

My main priorities is a franchise HB to lead the team and a stellar slot/possession reciever with a good CIT rating. The QB I use really doesn't bother me much. I don't need a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers to run my type of offense. I prefer a Big Mauler OL but I'd like my Tackles to have decent pass block attributes as well. Having 2 great backs doesn't hurt either. A TE to compliment my slot reciever and a Red Zone Thread WR isnt bad to have either. But I'm not going to spend big money since my slot reciever gets 10+ catches a good game anyways.

Defense
I like to run a Zone Blitz scheme. 4-3, 3-4, it doesn't matter. I love to blitz my Safeties and Linebackers. Im not happy until I have at least 2 (prefer 3) Corners with 80+ in both Man & Zone Coverage with 90+ Speed. I'd like a star MLB and at least one good DE. I like youth and athleticism. I'd prefer 80+ Speed in every position.

I'd probably spend most of my time progressing my Corners and Linebackers because they do a lot of work. I need great corners who can play on their own with no assistance from a Safety and I need at least my OLBs to a bit of both run stopping and pass coverage. I look for Block Shed, Pursuit, and Tackle the most in my MLB and DL. I'm not too worried about my Safeties. They seem to have no affect in Madden playing zone or man so that's why I got into blitzing them. I'd assign them to man-man the slot reciever but I'd be better off with the LB covering and in zone, they'd never hold their zone.

[EaglesCountry]

Nope, regardless I run heavy with short pass plays and a lot of man and zone coverage.

[ajk49er]

wow ive never seen that opinion on safeties in madden before. I find mine to make or break my defense. sure, I run more nickel and 3 S sets than you probably do, but still, I just lost a super bowl because eric berry got hurt late in a game, and my third round rookie had to fill in on the final drive, and he got torched once to send the game to OT, then again in OT for the loss.

sure, my lb's and corners probably hold some sort of priority. but safety is what I user, and when I don't I still need top notch play from both the SS and the FS or the QB will eat you alive.

my issues with changing things completely has been with the sim eingine, its incredibly inconsistent, so the only time I am comfortable doing this is when I play it, and really when you play it, its incredibly easy to just switch to a multiple D playbook and have the players to run both.

[redlasers123]

I usually have a pass heavy offense that can that usually makes 10-15 yard plays and i need my rb to have decent pass blocking and at least 90 speed so i can run stretch plays. My main receiver has to be at least 6'2" and be able to go up and make a catch while my second should be blazingly fast. My defense is a 4-3 man with the safeties playing cover 2 unless im trying to stop them on 3rd and long. I also use a linebacker blitz once in a while. CBs are key in my defense and i always upgrade their awareness and man coverage

[RogueHominid]

I'm trying to do the same sort of thing with OAK. I want to feature McFadden in the running and passing game, get Reece the ball more, and accumulate receivers who can run routes and catch in traffic, not just guys who can run.

Given this roster, it's not easy to do.

I'm also trying to build a versatile defense capable of man and zone with awareness and play recognition being valued more than pure speed. That's also a tough project.

Finding the right offensive playbook has been tough.

[Pound the Rock]

As you can tell from my username, I like to run the ball. I need a workhorse type RB in my offense who carries the ball 20+ times a game. Stevan Ridley is that type of back at 5'11'' 220. When I use the Pats (my favorite team) I keep their playbook and use It similar to how they do in real life but with a little more running from under center.

Team building wise, it all starts up front for me, I build from the lines out. I'd much rather have a great Oline with sub par skill position players on offense.

Same for defense, give me 4 down lineman who can dominate a game with subpar back 7, although I like to have a game changer at S too. I only run the 4-3 defense

[ajb3313]

I do this probably 99% of the time.

I definitely think there's something to be said for taking over a bad team and better using the players they already have without changing the overall dynamic, but to me, that's really easy to do in Madden. The bigger challenge is to completely change the offensive and defensive system, because then you're also tasked with having to move players around and bring new players in to fit the new mold.

If you take a team from a 3-4 to a 4-3 (or vice versa), for example, you need almost completely different personnel. Or, at the very least, you need to move guys to different positions, i.e. outside linebackers to defensive ends and/or defensive ends to tackles. I tend to run a lot of man coverage with predominantly a four man rush from my line, which means my ends need to be fast and strong and my linebackers need to be good in coverage. Whenever I've taken over a 3-4 team, it usually takes a couple off-seasons before I have the kind of guys I want, because the inherited speed is always at linebacker and the defensive lineman are usually just strong, big bodied guys who can take up space but not really rush the passer.

Offensively, I tend to focus more on possession than big plays and speed. If you have a receiver with 98 or 99 speed, you can pretty much just run past guys, which to me is too easy (this kind of strategy has been proven to fail in the NFL; just take a look at the Raiders). I'd rather nickel and dime defenses with possession receivers, primarily out of the slots. As long as a guy can catch anything thrown his way, I couldn't really care less if he can outrun everyone on the field.

In the running game, I just look for guys who won't fumble and who complement one another. Sometimes that means different things. When I use the Dolphins, for instance, I split carries evenly between Reggie Bush and Lamar Miller even though they're a mirror image of one another. They complement each other in that I don't have to change my look regardless of who is in. They can both run the same style. But other times I like to have a big powerhouse running back that can scrap for tough yards inside and a smaller complementary speed back who can get the outside edge.