Do you Only Run 1 Defense?

[BadAssHskr]

Just curious, are you running exclusively a 4-3, 3-4, Nickel, etc, etc...?

I tend to have a variety in my playbook, and find myself mixing it up depending on the situation or if i want to show something different.

Just curious how many pick 1 Defense and stick to it come hell or high water.

[JimmyK]

I do personally. I've been operating out of Dollar 99% of the time for the last however many Maddens minus a few goal lines and that's for a few reasons. I've always enjoyed playing with the Nickel CB when I play user games, and that formation gives me the most exotic plays that I can audible out of manually to confuse people. It's fine that after every play it says I ran cover 2, or the same cover 2 blitz, because I'm manually changing at least 4 of my secondary players coverages up.

Most people pass a lot, so the secondary out there helps, if they run a lot I pinch the D line and blitz DBs, and if it's an online franchise I go a step further and put jumbo SSs at LB who can cover just for this formation. I hate Quarters, hate Nickel 2-4-5, but Dollar is my cup of tea.

[MizzouRah]

I have always been a 4-3 person.

[Funkycorm]

I will run multiple formations out of one playbook.

My base personnel for the last 3 years has been 4-3 and I match nickel or dime out of that base playbook to what the other teams personnel is for that play.

Before that I ran a 3-4. I rotate every few years. I am thinking of making the change back to 3-4 this year.

I will audible on a regular basis on defense but I rarely if ever adjust coverage of individual players. I will preset pass if it is a passing situation and will adjust things like covering the first down line, etc. I also rarely ever shade as it never works out for me.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

I prefer Nickel with two athletic LBs, but I pick something random from the suggested plays to keep myself from running the same thing over and over.

[Jagsfan24]

I like running Nickel where I have a good fast slot corner with also a fast linebacker being the cpu loves throwing to TEs so I want a fast linebacker to keep up

[Hooe]

I focus less on 4-3 / 3-4 and more on making sure I have all the base defensive fronts I want in my playbook.

I need to at least have Over and Under fronts (can be 3-4 or 4-3, depends on who I have on the roster), an Even Wide 9 front for obvious passing downs, and a double-mug front (Double A Gap) to show obvious pressure and try to dictate to the offense. This year I’ve added Bear fronts into the mix to muck up run blocking assignments on short yardage downs.

I don’t really mess with Odd fronts unless I have a really stout nose tackle who can really compete against a double team block (emphasis on Strength and weight) and subsequently stuff the run (emphasis on Tackling, Block Shedding, Awareness, and Play Recognition). Abilities like Inside Stuff, Run Stopper, Instant Rebate, or Reach Elite are a big plus here.

On the backend, most of the time I stick to Cover 3, Cover 4, and Cover 6. On obvious pass downs I’ll play 2 Man or 1 Robber. I’ve historically not blitzed much, but I have been playing around with more zone blitzes early this year.

The thing I’m most mindful of when calling my defense is how to defend Trips. Madden doesn’t offer many good options against Trips sets; there are no Trips checks for Cover 3 Match (it reverts to spot-drop) and every 4 DL Nickel formation aligns to an Over front by default. So I am admittedly a bit predictable here and I almost always dial up a Cover 4 match coverage call (Quarters for Solo check, Palms for Special check, or Cover 6). Against Bunch I always call Cover 4 for Box check. Against formations such as Gun Trips TE I also tend to automatically shift my defensive line to an Under front to try to slow down weakside Inside Zone.

I have no idea what to call against Quads sets (4x1 empty or 3x1 strong). No coverage pattern matches against Quads and man coverage sounds like a bad idea lol. Any specific advice here would be greatly appreciated.

[Richie71]

Not sure how you can be successful with just one d?


If I have a base, it's 4-2 nickel, with the "big nickel" sub package. That swaps the nickel CB for a SS. So you are 2 DTs, 2 DEs, 2 LBs, 2 SS, 2 CB and 1 FS.
I also use 4-3. Some 4-4 vs 1 WR sets, base nickel, Nickel with 4 DE sub package for long yardage. Dime with 4 DE sub package in 3rd and very long.
It's a combination of getting the best 11 on the field, and matching personnel and fitting the play situation.