Running the Wide Zone in M22

[RogueHominid]

Hey y'all.

I'm trying to work on my wide zone run game and am having difficulty getting traction. I'm wondering if I can get some pointers from folks who run the scheme successfully.

I think I might need advice on both personnel and execution.

On personnel, I'm wondering if folks have opinions on what attribute thresholds for the OL and even the TE might be necessary to reasonably expect to build a successful wide zone scheme. I'm thinking here about RBF and AGI in particular, and maybe stuff like STR for the TE.

On execution, I feel like the idea is to press horizontally until there's a crease and then get vertical, but I also feel like I might have the wrong aiming point. On a stretch play, where should I be aiming my initial movement, and when should I be looking to make the cut (outside foot of the G, inside foot of the T, outside foot of the T?).

I'm curious to learn more about this run scheme as it is in real life and also how it works practically in Madden.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Steelers4190]

High school OC here......first I have to ask, are you wanting to run outside zone or wide zone? They may look similar but aiming point for the back is different

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Steelers4190

High school OC here......first I have to ask, are you wanting to run outside zone or wide zone? They may look similar but aiming point for the back is different

Hey man, thanks for engaging!

I'll show my ignorance here, but there are lots of plays that get lumped in the "outside zone" category in the play call screen because they basically look the same, but sometimes they have different names in Madden.

I guess HB Stretch is the play in Madden I'm thinking of. It's typically called that in single back and 2 back sets, but it's often called outside zone in shotgun sets.

If I wanted to build around stretch with something like split zone as the complement, how should I be approaching Stretch w/r/t personnel and execution?

Again, much obliged!

[Detroit Tigers]

Given your slew of threads and (excellent) questions the last few weeks I’m here to tell you that you care more about this game than most posters here and as such you’re exactly the type of person who should be answering these questions you have for the rest of the community instead of asking them.

There’s a fine line between caring enough to browse these forums and caring enough to start threads like this and you’ve crossed it. There’s no one here to answer these kinds of questions for you. You’re on the other side. Good luck. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

[catcher_0_3]

I just got the game this week and haven’t played madden in a few years, but I too have been trying to get the wide zone going. I’ll post a link at the bottom of the page of how wide zone is drawn up in actual football. From what I can tell initially the game does a pretty good job of replicating it. Here are my initial thoughts:

1) you’re aiming point is outside the TE until it’s not. I find myself cutting inside once I’m getting to the EMLOS and gaining 2-3 yards. Maybe 1/3 of the time it’s actually going outside.

2) the key to the play IMO is a TE who can block. Shocking I know. But if an end or linebacker can take you’re TE or even draw a double team then they’re going to have a numbers advantage on the play.

3) mobile guards can be handy if they can reach up and get a hat on a linebacker. This is where the cutback can come from but I’d look for guards with decent agility and Run block finesse grades.

https://weeklyspiral.com/2021/05/31/outside-zone/

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

How I do it:

Finesse blocking all across everyone who blocks

Watch the LBs and see if they over pursue or not

Fast RB with great acceleration and COD — very important, because the goal is to bait the defense and then explode as quickly as possible through the hole you create (or turn that corner super fast if you’re going outside). Don’t just ride the sprint button. Use it to get through that hole, or to escape an early penetrator.



.

I’m not some Madden expert but that’s how I do it, and I’m at least good enough at it to make it a functional part of my offense doing it like this.

[RogueHominid]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Tigers, I hear ya. I know there's not as much chalk talk on OS as there could be, but I also know that we have a handful of coaches and players here who will chime in and contribute something from time to time.

Catcher & Oblivion, these pointers are helpful. I made a switch at the HB position around mid-year and put in a practice-squad steal HB who had high ACC and COD, and I noticed a massive improvement in the performance of my run game when using those plays.

I'm also going to make sure TE2-3 are good blockers. My TE1 isn't, but that might be something I can train up over, and I can use some split zone stuff to complement the outside zone, given the TE 1 blocking issues.

The diagram is very helpful, too. Hopefully all this will net me some good returns!

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by RogueHominid

I'll show my ignorance here, but there are lots of plays that get lumped in the "outside zone" category in the play call screen because they basically look the same, but sometimes they have different names in Madden.

So I am loosely aware that the various outside zone runs in Madden are indeed blocked differently (ex. "Off Tackle", "Outside Zone", and "Stretch" all have different blocking schemes). I don't off the top of my head remember the specific nuances of each play, it's been a minute since I've sat down with Madden this year.

It might be helpful to sit down with each particular run call in practice and learn how they are blocked against particular defensive fronts. As Steelers4190 was saying, how to execute each play will depend on what you are calling.