Effectively Using the 34

[karlpalisoc]

I know Everyone who uses struggle in this game because for some reason the 43 is way better. But i recently started to test out some playbooks, and i must say the best 34 defense in the game is rex ryan 46 i know a lot of people are gonna hate me by saying lebeau zone blitz is way better but when i run some plays on it it seems that if you go zone and then blitz now only is it horrible if you have bad players in your team on the pass but also on the run. It seems that if you send a guy on zone and a HB runs into him he will either be late to make the tackle or just stand there if he doesnt have a good awareness so my suggestion is if your going to use that defense then you need to get guys with good awareness and zone coverage. But if you cant then just go with my suggestion and take the ryan 46 and put your Dl to run stop and your LB to nothing but 34 pass rush, if you use that and you get guys like terrell suggs (trust me i got him like 100 times but he doesnt seem to get any sacks). But if you put it to other Philosophy then you will allow your Players to do other things like defending the pass , everytime i use the pass rush philosophy for my Olb it seems to never work idk why only in sim games but when you get in game they barely get any sacks, and the problem im having when i use that in pass d it is horrible. So if you set it to balanced then maybe they can pass rush a bit but also help in the run. For Nt i suggest you get guys with 90+ tackle strength power moves etc. and make sure this guy is the heaviest guy in your team . For DE"s i suggest you get a good LE with 80+ strength power moves and tackle and make sure this is the second biggest guy in your Dline , for RE"s they have to be 280-290 pounds with 70+ strength you could go 80 strength power moves and tackle but ill go 70+ anytime. For Mlb you have to have 1 guy with 90+ pursuit and tackle and 85 awr for your other mlb he has to have 85 pursuit and tackle and 80 awr. And also i see a lot of people converting undersized De"s to Olb, cmon man i tried that so many times and i am telling you it does not work go ahead and put someone like elvis dumervil and see if he gets any sack he will most likely get pancake because he doesnt have enough high strength. So my suggestion is get a lolb with 80+ strength or 90 preferrably with 80+ pass rush moves and average cover abilities for Rolb get a guy with 80+ strength wih 80 + pass rush moves and a good cove skills. Now for the Db"s if you are gonna base your team onto sone blitz you could leave now cause i already said which guys to get in zone blitz scheme. But for this one im gonna do one for man which is really good at defensding the run if you set your cb philosophy to prototype with this your players are not gonna just look for the pass but also with the run, if you choose run support cb then there not gonna be good with the pass sonset it to balanced or protoype for Ss ill go with Big hitter wih good man to man cover and for fs probably a balanced with good man and zone skills. If you follow these tips you"re gonna have one of the best run D in the league and you will also get a lot of turnovers have fun and tell me what you think.

[twl221]

I think all of this advice is relative. The thing about this game is that you never can predict what you can do with players and schemes. And from what I understand, philosophy does not affect how players play, rather how your coaches rate them, but I could be wrong.

Just a bit of advice; try to separate your thoughts with paragraphs and try to improve the grammar. Bunching words makes it a difficult read.

[Aurabolt127]

But the 3 -4 and 46 are two different things. A 3-4 has 3 DL and 4 LB safeties back ----- whereas a 46 has 4 DL and 3 LB, and a SS playing at the line.

The 3-4 is just as good as the 4-3 if use have the players for it - a 3-4 DE is different than a 4-3 DE in this game just as in the pros.

If you are just talking about switching philosophies to give guys higher potential, you can just draft guys that fit what the 4-6 philosophy uses. As TWL221 said, their rating is based on how they fit your philosophy - it won't change how well they play in the game. A back with 96 speed is still going to run as fast as a "speed back" as he will set to "power back" for example.

[Byron Yatch]

I think the one thing being missed here is how philosophy will change how plays are called and how they run said plays.

True, a back that has 95+ speed will always be fast. But if you put him on power back philosophy, the coach will call more inside and counter runs, compared to outside and pitches.

There are exceptions to this rule, as in if you have no pitches or outside runs in your BASE PLAYBOOK(not added or created plays), you cant expect the coach to call any. Also, game situations will change the playcall type(if you let the cpu call it on offense, but on defense not so much).

Ive also seen a de(doki somanu) change completely against similar schemes and talent at rt, under different philosophies(from balanced to 3-4/versatile). Same with lbs(angelo craig under anything but prototype and he was terrible pretty much(maybe topped off at 80). You have to understand that changing a players philosophy changes their priorities and jobs. How they go about doing them.

Some players NEED the philosophy to be prototypical to even be decent at all ratings and play wise(prototypical just means size athletic should be +90). In otherwords they dont have the skills yet but they are physically overwhelming, size and athletically. Thats why you get (90+) strength size and ath for size strengh maulers on the oline. Same goes for Qb strong arm tools, just sub in throw power for strength.

It is all relative(to the player's attributes and the coaching staffs developing/special skills), but its more than meets the eye in my opinion... After enough careers and slider adjustments, Ive learned anything can be done with any team. All it really takes is a good playbook and a decent enough coaching staff, players can be trained most of the time.

[Aurabolt127]

Quote: Originally Posted by Byron Yatch

True, a back that has 95+ speed will always be fast. But if you put him on power back philosophy, the coach will call more inside and counter runs, compared to outside and pitches.

True, but again, if that was your starting running back, and I mean a scatback with 90+ speed and acc but like 40 trucking, you shouldn't have it set to power back in the first place.

I just meant that like almost every team out there, I keep a speed back and a power back. If you have it set to speed, the power guy's pot is lower, and vice versa. However, I play all the games, not sim them - me and the OC tend to split playcalling. When my philo is set to power back and my speed guy is a 56 pot...he still busts off long td runs, makes great catches in the field, etc. I know that as a power back, my 170 pound speedster isn't ever going to be able to have a high potential, but it doesn't change his effectiveness. My playbook has lots of power runs, but again, the back won't be in the game much as my 3rd back, so even if the OC wants to call HB dive all day, it won't affect things. If I want my scatback to carry the ball, I'll step in and call a pitch or a screen or something. And the philosophy section has a spot for power running, west coast, blitz heavy, etc that affects playcalling - not the players philosophy.

I can see what you're saying if you just sim all the games, I just never have done it.

And to echo Yatch's comment, you can pretty much do anything if you have the right coaches and gameplan and stick to it.

The key is find a system you want to use, find the players to fit that system, develop and stick to your system. Enjoy Championships.

[Shaka23]

I've had no problem using the 3-4 in favor of the Cover 2 to create a little more difficulty and replay value.

Coaching is a chess match. You have to be able to anticpate what is coming next, line up appropriately and have the talent at the positions that require that specific skill trait.

If you just pick a Base Cover 1 50% of the time you are going to get killed. If you pick your blitzes wisely, line up via the strong side and know your key strength and coverage plays you are solid.

It's no different than the 4-3 when simplified and undestood. It's man on man, coverage with coverage and gap responsibility.