Improve Defensive Gameplay without Nanos

[Militant X 1]

how can we improve our defensive gameplay in M12 and even M13 WITHOUT the use of nanos and stacking defenders all over the place? i want to just call the "right" defense and break the huddle in the "right" play without manipulating the AI. how do we improve?

~Mili

[moveitsjosh]

No play is ever correct, that is why they call the MLBs the Qbs on he D side of the ball. They call audibles, they tell people where to be, where to attack etc. Finding a good formation may help though. Like for me, I use 416 so I can either a. use my Lbs for a potential run or b. use the Speed package and have 6 dbs on the field.

[todd112387]

Because the pass rush is broken in this game you have to use nanos

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[DirkJesusNowitzki]

I wouldn't mind some pointers here either. I only play in legit leagues online so I don't want to use any funny business cheese, but does anyone have some stock plays that generate pressure? Needs to be in a 3-4 book. I struggle at pressuring the QB.

[Shogun613]

There is no stock D that will be the "end all, be all" against any offense. In real life, reads and adjustments are made on D just like they are on offense. That's where defensive adjustments and individual hot routes come into play. Unless you are playing a casual player or someone who doesn't fully understand how offenses are run, you should be making adjustments before every play. I read all over the net about how the defense in this game is broken, but I'm my opinion, people need to pay attention to and understand the defensive side of the game as well as the offensive side. Doing your due diligence with defense will stop a lot of offensive track meets from happening.

[PGaither84]

NOTE: I will be updating this post. I am also probably going to eventually turn this into a blog and link it in my signature later.

I too like to play as realistic as possible. I also accept that Madden has it's flaws. I use custom sliders and settings along with a custom playbook in Madden 12. I also made a some key ratings changes to improve game play in my roster file.

PART I
Settings

100 fatigue, 3 Injury, and custom coaching substitutions. This makes a huge difference in how the game plays. Having players with high or low stamina matters. The same with a high or low injury rating, even with only 3 injury.

I set every player to sub out at 1 and back in at 2 with the following exceptions: D-Line subs and line backers sub in at 4 [yes, those 2 points matter] and HBs sub out at 75 and back in at 85. You will see the #3 HB come in for about 4 or 5 plays a game with 12min quarters and accelerated clock.

Trust me, this is game changing in a very positive way. It makes ALL the ratings matter. As players get more and more exhausted they will play worse, which makes stars play at a higher level longer and stand out more [which we all want.]

Next, I use 100 speed threshold. This makes NFL speed matter more. I used to play with 0 speed threshold, but it felt more like High School Football. You only needed like 90 speed to out run linebackers who normally have around 86 speed. You can get to the corner very easily and break off plenty of huge runs. With 100 speed threshold, that 4 point difference is marginalized. Instead, you need 95+ speed [10+ point difference] to do the same thing. This also makes Line Backers Patrick Willis, Manny Lawson, Thomas Howard, and others who have 88-91 speed that much better at hunting down backs sideline to sideline.

Combined with my fatigue settings, having a #2 HB come in with fresh legs after wearing down a defense can have a big impact late in a game. Trust me, these two changes impact game play in a sim fashion more than maybe any other changes I have ever made.

Finally, I use custom slider, and the most important of them all is 95 user Pass rush against 0 AI pass blocking. Anything less and the D-Line just plays patty cake with the O-line all day and will rarely use their moves. I reduced to 95 from 100 because 100 was actually over powering. 90 didn't have any pressure at all. 95 is the sweet spot for me. If you don't have good pass rushers, they will be ineffective [as they should] but good pass rushers DO make a difference.

Part II
Madden's problems and working around them

Basically, pass blocking is tied to the defensive play call. You are NEVER going to fool the offensive line without using a nano. I am not suggesting you use a nano, but acknowledge that a stunt or cross fire blitz simply won't "work" like it is supposed to.

Also, in real football, it can be a very good tactic to drop a defensive lineman into coverage and replace him with a pass rusher from somewhere else. This can confuse the blocking of the O-Line and the QB's reads. He sees a blitzing backer and doesn't notice the D-Lineman dropping into coverage. This can lead to picks and swats, or a moment of hesitation which can buy time for the pass rush. In Madden, none of this happens. All you do is drop someone with slow speed and low zone coverage skills while where you would rather have a linebacker or DB.

Let's take a look at two functionally identical plays from the 4-3 Stack in Madden 13, Weak Slant 3 and Sam Fire 3:





Both plays are cover 3, send 5 pass rushers with pressure coming off of the offensive right side and are a cover 3 shells with three hook zones over the middle. The difference is that Weak Slant 3 drops the RE into coverage and replaces him with a blitzing mike and the Will rolls over while Sam 3 Fire simply send all 4 linemen and the Sam. It's all about using your players to the best of their abilities.

Part III
The Plays

Along with never dropping defensive linemen into coverage, I also don't like sending less than 4 pass rushers at the QB on any given play. Just like in real life [if not worse] that gives the opposing QB all day as 5 linemen are asked to only block 3. You see, in real life, the O-line doesn't know where or if the blitzes are coming from. Even if you only send 3 in real life, you can bluff the bltiz, set up one-on-one with a good pass rusher and still get pressure. In Madden, the AI knows before the snap who is coming and where they are coming from. They know it's only 3 and us all 5 blockers to shut them down.

So, these two simple rules cut down how many plays I add to my custom book, but they make me a LOT more confident in what I call. To review: 1.) never drop a Defensive lineman into coverage. 2) Never send less than 4 pass rushers.

3-4 Cover 2

Spoiler

Base Plays

A cover 2 hard OLB Blitz. You can flip it to send the ROLB instead. I would shift and crash the line to the side of the OLB you are rushing with.



Cover 2 hard MLB blitz. Spread the line out and crash them inside. Flip to send the other Mike if you wish.



A cover 2 Soft OLB blitz. Again, feel free to flip it to send the other OLB instead. Again, shift and crash crash the D-Line to the side of the LB.



Cover 2 Soft MLB blitz. Spread the line out and crash them inside. flip to send the other MLB instead.

Blitzes

A cover 2 soft blitzing both OLBs. Shift and crash the line to one side or the other to overload.

Cover 2 hard Double OLB blitz. Great to call inside the 17 yard line of the red zone with your back to the wall. The Cover 2 hard has big holes on the sidelines, but inside the 17 yard line, those Zones are compressed. This play has likely led to more sacks and interceptions than any other one play I have ever called online. People love to roll out with QBs, and the OLBS help contain/attack that. The zones are also realy tight across the field. It's not perfect and unbeatable, but it takes a really good read and throw. It helps to user as a MLB because the AI can be unreliable covering them middle of the field.



Another variation on the above play. A good play to mix in the NEXT TIME your back is against the wall. A good play to flip too.



You can also come back to this play and tell the LOLB [or ROLB if you flipped the play] to create a new version of the above two blitzes.



You can also come back to this play and send the other MLB as a middle fire blitz not found in Madden.



you can come back to this play and send either MLB [and/or flip the play] to create more simple cover 2 soft blitz not found in the game.



One of my favorite run blitzes in the game when you need a stop in short yardage... or great in 3rd and 10 yard situations. Back up the coverage and send the heat. user the middle of the field and let the pressure get there before the offense has time to get someone open past the first down marker. Feel free to flip this play just to change it up. Crashing the line left helps [or right if you flipped the play] I like this play a LOT more than nay of those terrible engage 8 plays:



I hate this paly with a passion. It's easy to beat in the passing game, over commits in the run game and the AI used this paly WAYtoo much in madden 09, 10, and 11. I don't see it much in Madden 12, but just the memory alone makes me shudder every time I see it coming.

3-4 Cover 3

Spoiler

Base Plays

Show blitz to bring the SS down into the box. Possibly crash your D-line right to help the pass rush from the ROLB. Good play for 1st downs to protect from a deep shot or a dump off to the flats. Gives up mid range sideline throws.

Also, feel free to change the flats zone coverages to purple buzz zones. Another coverage option not in the game, but used in real life. It would be a 3-4 version of this 2-4-5 Nickle play, the Sugar cover 3 bluff.



This isn't just a flip of the same play. The difference, if you don't see it at first, is that it has the FS play the hook zone while it has the ILB cover the flat. Again, remember that you can change the flats into purple buzz zones for more variety that you won't find in-game.



The name is cover 6, but it's still just a cover 3 shell. This is a good call when the offense is on the left hash mark, or the flip when they are on the right hash mark, as that condenses the gap between the flat zone and the deep third on that side.

Like the above plays, feel free to change the flat coverage to a purple buzz zone or a yellow hook zone for more variety. Also, Madden doesn't have blitz variations out of this cover 3 variation that uses two safeties and one CB. Feel free to make more changes, like sending the any one of the other three LBs on a blitz along with dropping the flat zone defender into a hook or purple buzz zone. Madden has a lot of nice plays, but it also is missing a lot of other good "sim style" plays, so you have to create them yourself. All of these created plays just require two or three quick button presses. Not the super complicated free style cheese you see from others.

Blitzes

I prefer this over:



... because of how the O-Line blocks. They are pretty much the same play, except in the 2nd one the LE slants inside [not shown] instead of just rushing head on. The first one also stops the run better in my opinion. I suggest crashing the line right. This helps free up the ROLB.



Similar to the last two plays, but it uses the purple buzz zone instead of three hook zones. This play is better when the offense is on the right hash mark.



Again, I prefer this one over:

'

... simply because of the angles the ILB and DE rush the passer. This time crash the D-line left which helps free up the LOLB.



Another fun blitz, this time I just leave everything alone. No crashing the line left or right. It's already set up.



I don't really like the cross fire lays because in Madden the two MLBs run into each other and look like fools most of the time. I tend to re-blitz them and crash the line left or right [your choice.] I don't see this as a nano, just cleaning the play up. A nice real life blitz that just doesn't work in Madden, but still a good way to mix it up.

Basically, I tend to call Cover 3 on 1st downs, and mix in blitzes to keep the Offense honest to protect against deeper shots teams are willing to take on these "free downs" I try to force them to keep the play at short or mid range. I tend to go with Cover 2 looks on 2nd or 3rd and medium, again mixing blitzes in to keep the Offense honest and on it's toes. On 3rd and short I tend to go back to use plays with flats coverage or send the heat on a run blitz like Sting Pinch Zone.

The idea stays the same in nickle and dime looks, just the personnel changes.

[PGaither84]

So, I started a blog and my first 4 entries are on this subject. Link below in my signature.

[jpinard]

Wow, you did a fantastic job outlining this all.

I have a problem when sending more than 4 guys to rush the passer on-line. Often the player or computer will recognize the blitz and throw a pass up the middle. I then get burned badly. I'd say the they get a 20-yard completion about 50% of the time.

Can you provide some tips on how to cover their receivers when it's so easy to complete passes in Madden 13?

Thanks so much!!