Covering the tight end

[JustCallMeKing]

Im having a hell of a time covering the tight end. Especially on the four verts play. when is is covered however the running back seems open in the flat. how can i get good coverage on the tight end and the running back?

[blazman]

About the best thing I can do is run man with 2 safeties deep, but move the safety you are controlling about 8 yds from the line of scrimmage near the middle of the field. This will essentially double up the TE and and leave the CPU to take care of everything else.

I'll also over load blitz and station my safety in the middle of the field, hoping to scare away from the quick slant. It's tough though because TE seams are deadly effective and zone coverage is just awful in this game.

However, I will run a cover 2 or cover 2 buck if I suspect a screen or a dump to the RB.

[raiders81tim]

I just put Nnamdi on the TE. So I suggest putting your best corner on TE's. It seems slot WR's and TE's are much more deadly than outside receivers.

[PGaither84]

The middle of the field in general is often open in Madden. I know in real life different teams use different strategies, but cover 3 zone blitzes out of the base 3-4 and the nickle 3-3-5 work really well as a general pass defense. You will have a hook zone in the middle most of the time and someone playing the deep third. With a good pass rush from the blitz and the various looks a cover 3 zone blitz can give you, you really force the QB to know what he is doing and read the field quickly. There are weaknesses in every defense. With a cover 3 zone blitz, the two weak points are between the deep middle zone and the left or right of that, much like the middle of a cover two is, though the window is far more narrow, and the sidelines underneath the zone. When combined with a cover three zone under and a cover 3 man blitz, you can really mess with the head of human controlled QBs. Lastly, another reason why I like cover 3 so much is because most players online for years love to go over the top on you. the cover 3 is possibly the best overall defense against this, short of committing to the cover 4 which often gives up pressure all together.

If you take any team who runs the 3-4, go into the conventional play call screen, go to by play type and look at "cover three" and "zone blitzes." You will find most of the zone blitzes come from the cover three shell. Look these over and notice how different most of these are. You can effectively call the same play type all game long without calling the same play twice. Good luck!

[JustCallMeKing]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

The middle of the field in general is often open in Madden. I know in real life different teams use different strategies, but cover 3 zone blitzes out of the base 3-4 and the nickle 3-3-5 work really well as a general pass defense. You will have a hook zone in the middle most of the time and someone playing the deep third. With a good pass rush from the blitz and the various looks a cover 3 zone blitz can give you, you really force the QB to know what he is doing and read the field quickly. There are weaknesses in every defense. With a cover 3 zone blitz, the two weak points are between the deep middle zone and the left or right of that, much like the middle of a cover two is, though the window is far more narrow, and the sidelines underneath the zone. When combined with a cover three zone under and a cover 3 man blitz, you can really mess with the head of human controlled QBs. Lastly, another reason why I like cover 3 so much is because most players online for years love to go over the top on you. the cover 3 is possibly the best overall defense against this, short of committing to the cover 4 which often gives up pressure all together. If you take any team who runs the 3-4, go into the conventional play call screen, go to by play type and look at "cover three" and "zone blitzes." You will find most of the zone blitzes come from the cover three shell. Look these over and notice how different most of these are. You can effectively call the same play type all game long without calling the same play twice. Good luck!

I love cover three also. My only issue with it however is the user waits till the tight end is past my linebackers to make his throw. So what blitzs do you prefer out of the cover three, cuz to me is seems some are just useless because you get no pressure.

[PGaither84]

You can't really control how sucessful you blitzes are going to be unles you set up a nano or user blitz. I recommend you user control the player in the hook zone [yello zone] in the general area where the TE runs his post route [I am assuming you are having an issue with the post or the in route over he middle.] Often this will be your MLB or SS, though some times it will be your NT, DE or a OLB [rarely a FS.] Just user control this player and play the TE tight [pun intended.] Until you are good at user picks and are used to the new locomotion, don't even give him a throw. Once you are good at it, bait him in and take that ball away.

Again, it isn't about one play, but when you call them. Sure, some plays are better than others, but mixing it up, showing him one thing on one third down and then another thing next third down that looks like the first thing but it's really the second thing [god I sounded just like John Madden just then, did that make any sense?] So many times I force turnovers by pure deception. I can tell after the snap when the user starts to panic. They'll never admit to it, but you can tell they are by how they move and the choices they make with the football. You can tell when you really have them frustrated.

[JustCallMeKing]

Yeah my main problem is over the middle, but there is a route(dont actually know the specific name of this one) where he runs an out but a shallow on like a straight line to the right and he seems to be open even with a guy in the flats.

By the way, you did sound alot like john madden.

[PGaither84]

I wouldn't be too worried about that shallow out route. Defensively you have to sk yourself what you are willing to give up on a play. More often than not, I am willing to give up the short plays. Rarely does a player have the patience to call short plays all game. Also I to mix in plays to stop the short routes and I may even causea turn over or a crucial stop by doing so. Offensively, to keep it short, I try to read the defense and take what they give me. If it's an aggressive defense, I also have to be willing [to take the advice I was given years ago] to go out and TAKE things from the defense.

I am thinking of making a YouTube video serise of Madden/Football video gaming tips. Not how to be "teh bestest Madden baller, evar!!!111!!one" Instead, how I play, what I learned, etc.