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Man-to-Man Coverage The Key to Stopping the AI QB in NCAA 09

03:19 PM - August 5, 2008 by RaychelSnr

Are you one of the many thousands of NCAA gamers who can't seem to stop the AI offense no matter what the circumstances? Our very own Executive Editor Dave Branda might have discovered a way to possibly get a few stops against the AI offense. Check out his article, Man-to-Man Coverage The Key to Stopping the AI QB in NCAA 09.

Quote:


	"After doing some some reading in the Operation Sports and MaddenMania forums recently, I had a bit of an epiphany. Thanks in part to my revelation, my Michigan defense "clicked" into place and I absolutely demolished a computer controlled Wisconsin at The Big House, something which was not happening up until that time."

Game: NCAA Football 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 41 Jistic @ 08/05/08 05:49 PM

Even with the zone issues, it's still effective calling zone plays. I do it all the time. In fact you get more picks that way. I have never seen defense as being hard in this game though so I don't get the whole topic.

Blitzing is a huge factor too, pressure causes more havoc than usual. Unless you're going against Heisman Robo QB.

# 42 capp34 @ 08/05/08 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NE_Passat'n


	What do you look for in a man corner vs a zone quarter when it comes to recruiting?

man corners
B or higher for man coverage and awareness
b+ for speed, agility,acceration
c or higher press rating

And the most important size 5'10 185 pounds or bigger and taller. Only way I would recruit a smaller corner is if his attributes blow me away.

# 43 capp34 @ 08/05/08 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoncold32


	All I know is covering dig routes is not possible even if you double a WR with a CB and a Safety. They simply don't play close enough on the WR to stop the catch. Occasionally a LB will be in the right spot to jump up and knock it down, but thats your only hope

Take control of the defensive back while the ball is the air and either attempt a big hit or strip. I break up alot of plays this way.

# 44 NoleFan @ 08/05/08 06:40 PM

So I just finished a game...Kansas (me) @ Missouri

We won 17-16. I only called a zone play once the entire game. I mixed up Cover 0, Cover 1 and Cover 2 from the safeties with man underneath.

Chase Daniels went 18-31 for 202 YDS and 2 INT. I went 20-27 and tossed 2 TD and 2 INT. This was on default All-American. Mind you, I don't control anyone on defense and only make the throws for the QB on offense. Daniels' second pick was the best. They're down 17-16 on 4th & IN. I call a goalline blitz and he's passing out of the goalline set. My DB #16 gets the pick (his second of the game).

AWESOME!

# 45 capp34 @ 08/05/08 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoleFan


	So I just finished a game...Kansas (me) @ Missouri We won 17-16. I only called a zone play once the entire game. I mixed up Cover 0, Cover 1 and Cover 2 from the safeties with man underneath. Chase Daniels went 18-31 for 202 YDS and 2 INT. I went 20-27 and tossed 2 TD and 2 INT. This was on default All-American. Mind you, I don't control anyone on defense and only make the throws for the QB on offense. Daniels' second pick was the best. They're down 17-16 on 4th & IN. I call a goalline blitz and he's passing out of the goalline set. My DB #16 gets the pick (his second of the game). AWESOME!

So would you agree with article because I do.

# 46 NoleFan @ 08/05/08 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capp34


	So would you agree with article because I do.

I definitely agree with the article. I forgot to mention that we sacked Mr. Daniels 6 times. This is a Kansas team that is rated in the 80s while the Missouri team is rated in the 90s.

# 47 erich20012001 @ 08/05/08 08:11 PM

wow, I've been using alot of Zone Blitzes with Tennessee's D, and it seems I still keep the pressure up and QB % down.

# 48 RauBusinessND @ 08/05/08 10:51 PM

Out of everything that all of you have said, the one thing that is missing is simply this. When you have a player like Dorsey from LSU last year on your team, he doesn't dominate a game and get into the backfield like you see in reality. The whole goal of next gen is supposed to be reality. Now all I am saying is just look at he number of times you see a player give help from his blind-side in pass protection. In college, a player is well focused on just the player in front of him. Oh yes, and speed rushers should at least be able to put pressure on qb by themselves especially when going up against weaker players matching up. I am a person that likes to exploit match-ups and if the game doesn't promote that then what is the point in playing a alleged realistic game. I love NCAA Football, but this is not cool. What does it take to have a player at-least be a huge factor in a game from the defensive side. So, can any of you tell me why does the game allow under rated players to excel. Also, what happened to freshmen being discouraged at hostile environments? I thought that was an amazing feature that was simply unbelievable. Also, what happened to shading corners to play over or under based upon what you tell them to do?

# 49 ehh @ 08/05/08 11:14 PM

Hmm, maybe this is why I haven't see the Robo-QB like so many people have complained about. 80-90% of the time I run Cover-X man plays on defense. I started up my UConn dynasty yesterday and so far I'm 1-2, beating a fake 1-AA team, losing at Florida State 31-3 and at home to Michigan 23-17.

None of the games really felt that cheap especially in terms of the CPU passing. Even against Michigan's new spread-type Rich Rodriguez offense their QB wasn't too crazy against me.

Right now the only real beef I have with this game is the pursuit angles, the pass rush (esp since you can't really zone blitz) and the CPU players randomly going out of bounds when catching a ball in the flat with a ton of room to run.

It's too bad most people will have put this game on the shelf by the time Patch 2 comes out.

# 50 likebuttababy11 @ 08/05/08 11:36 PM

2 Man under destroys the computer in this game.
I have been killing the computer on heisman and its just too damn easy since the computer QB never,ever goes deep,ok,what I do is pick the safety opposite where they have the TE positioned or if theyre in 3 wide sets,I'll pick the safety on the 1 WR side,then I'll B/R and as soon as they call hike,then beeline for the WR cutting across the field either on a drag or slant,its either a userpick or the QB will get sacked b/c he wont throw the ball,only time you have to watch is when the offense is close to a sideline,then you have to be the safety on the"open field side" b/c the RB will kill the LB guarding him.it seems the computer QB only throws to these patterns with an occasional rare pass to a curl(qb waits too long so its easy to stop)or a streak which I've seen maybe 1 time in every 4 games.Only time I have trouble with this defense is when the computer passes to the TE alot(wisconsin)still beat them good tho b/c the computer is too stupid to adapt.

# 51 The Chef @ 08/05/08 11:58 PM

I would do this but unfortunatly with Oregon our corners excel at zone and arent that great at man coverage so Im almost forced to run zone otherwise my corners are getting burned constantly. Im always mixing my zones, sending man, zone, zone blitzes, sending the house at times, running stunts, double teaming wide receivers and Im not having much success. I guess in the future I need to recruit corners that specialize in man to man.

# 52 The Chef @ 08/06/08 04:50 AM

Well I tried this, against my better judgement since my secondary isnt supposed to be any good at running man to man, and I actually had a lot more success which was nice to see. Now I did this against Washington, in season two, and they were missing their starting HB but I held them to 55% completion and I seemed to make a lot more plays on the ball instead of just getting lucky previously. The only thing that kinda concerns me, if my team isnt supposed to be good at man but plays light years better in man anyways, what the hell is the point of recruiting a specific style of player for your secondary? It doesnt seem to make a difference, not a single CB on my team is better at man then zone but their play on the field says otherwise. I will continue to do this since Im getting better results but it kinda takes away from the recruiting aspect on some ways.

# 53 BlyGilmore @ 08/06/08 10:51 AM

the problem pimping is IMO the zones are broken. you can have the greatest zone defender in the world but if he's out of position because the AI tells him he's supposed to stand out of position, it doesn't matter.

Also i'm not saying to never ever call a zone defense again. They work great in 3rd and Long situations. Having guys play zone behind man coverage is good. Robber zone defenses work very well. Zone blitzes are also a great tactic (since the DLs tend to occupy the quick pass lanes).

And if you augment some of the straight zone plays with the "QB Spy Zone" you'll have some success. For instance a Cover 2 is a lot more effective with the MLB spying in the middle.

# 54 DJ @ 08/06/08 11:31 AM

Really interesting article. I'm holding out for the release of the 2nd patch before I purchase this game, but this does give me a lot of hope that if EA does in fact fix the zone coverages that this will play a good game of football.

# 55 rhombic21 @ 08/06/08 01:35 PM

The fact that this is a viable strategy against the computer probably says more about how bad the CPU AI is than anything else. Nobody online plays man to man more than 25% of the time, particularly against teams like Florida or Missouri, because you'll get burned every single play.

# 56 shttymcgee @ 08/06/08 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haze56


	LMFAO. You know nothing about defense...So you're telling me a guy is going to stick with his man the whole game even though in spread offenses they crossing routes and slants? If you wanna make Texas Tech work for their TD's you play zone...Playing man is doing them a favor...It would be almost too easy..In a zone wr's can't pick cb's and it's harder for them to get open...Plus not every zone is the same...There's something called zone blitzes where defenders are coming from anywhere and defenders are dropping in coverage...You just never know...There's nothing complex about man to man at all...If you run a normal offense than man to man would be the best choice if you have the athletes...but playing man against a spread offense will lose you your job.

Texas Tech does not run a spread offense, they run air-raid. There is a big difference in the type of schemes that an air-raid team runs and a more conventional spread team uses. Plays like mesh and shallow cross are designed to attack man-to-man, but they rely heavily on 5 and 6 man protections, which are suceptible to the zone blitz.

Most college teams run ONE type of coverage 75% of the time and mix in some zone blitzes. USC is just one example, they run a version of under/eagle defense and play man free, with the ss free vs regular sets almost all the time, and when they don't, their zone blitzing. They still run other coverages, but rarely.

The game always spot-drops into zones, where in reality, most teams run more of a match-up concept, with defenders responsible for receivers in specific areas, not to oversimplify. Now days, only pro teams exclusively spot drop, because their athletes can cover the necessary ground and they can run more coverages. But even in the pros, spot dropping is going by the wayside.

Because the game just spot drops into zones that are related to the defenders alignment, this further complicates the defense. The whole idea about zone coverage is to cover certain zones on the field, not the defender dropping back x amount of steps etc. A hook/curl zone is a specific part of the field, and if a defender has that assignment vs the pass, it shouldn't matter where he aligns, that is his zone in a spot dropping scheme.

One more thing and then I'll shut up. Some of the coverage schemes in the game just aren't coordinated with the fronts and when the offense gets into non-regular type sets, with the weird spot-dropping zones, it leaves large gaps of green, leading to easy completions. A good defensive structure is designed back-to front, coverage first, because the zone scheme determines what kind of front you can align in and still be fundamentally sound vs the run and pass.

# 57 GatorFan1963 @ 08/06/08 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shttymcgee


	Texas Tech does not run a spread offense, they run air-raid. There is a big difference in the type of schemes that an air-raid team runs and a more conventional spread team uses. Plays like mesh and shallow cross are designed to attack man-to-man, but they rely heavily on 5 and 6 man protections, which are suceptible to the zone blitz. Most college teams run ONE type of coverage 75% of the time and mix in some zone blitzes. USC is just one example, they run a version of under/eagle defense and play man free, with the ss free vs regular sets almost all the time, and when they don't, their zone blitzing. They still run other coverages, but rarely. The game always spot-drops into zones, where in reality, most teams run more of a match-up concept, with defenders responsible for receivers in specific areas, not to oversimplify. Now days, only pro teams exclusively spot drop, because their athletes can cover the necessary ground and they can run more coverages. But even in the pros, spot dropping is going by the wayside. Because the game just spot drops into zones that are related to the defenders alignment, this further complicates the defense. The whole idea about zone coverage is to cover certain zones on the field, not the defender dropping back x amount of steps etc. A hook/curl zone is a specific part of the field, and if a defender has that assignment vs the pass, it shouldn't matter where he aligns, that is his zone in a spot dropping scheme. One more thing and then I'll shut up. Some of the coverage schemes in the game just aren't coordinated with the fronts and when the offense gets into non-regular type sets, with the weird spot-dropping zones, it leaves large gaps of green, leading to easy completions. A good defensive structure is designed back-to front, coverage first, because the zone scheme determines what kind of front you can align in and still be fundamentally sound vs the run and pass.

Dude, I think you just explained this perfectly. But if I can add one more point...my main gripe is essentially how the defenders react to the play when they are in zone. What I mean is that when a pass is thrown to a receiver that is clearly in their zone (or right in front of his face) the defender doesn't react until it's way too late. I was playing a dynasty game last night and literally watched the defender just stand there with the WR coming dead at him and the ball was thrown to a spot where the defender should have made a play. The WR of course caught the pass, but it was a TD and my defender tries to tackle him in the end zone. I'm like WTF? Why are you tackling a guy in the endzone when you should have made a play for the ball.

# 58 The Chef @ 08/06/08 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatorFan1963


	Dude, I think you just explained this perfectly. But if I can add one more point...my main gripe is essentially how the defenders react to the play when they are in zone. What I mean is that when a pass is thrown to a receiver that is clearly in their zone (or right in front of his face) the defender doesn't react until it's way too late. I was playing a dynasty game last night and literally watched the defender just stand there with the WR coming dead at him and the ball was thrown to a spot where the defender should have made a play. The WR of course caught the pass, but it was a TD and my defender tries to tackle him in the end zone. I'm like WTF? Why are you tackling a guy in the endzone when you should have made a play for the ball.

Ive seen that as well, it seems in zone the defenders wait for the ball carrier to come to them instead of attacking the ball carrier, or in your example the ball itself. Its irritating when they run a pitch, Im in Cover 2 and the corner is right there but wont attack the runner until he gets to him.

# 59 NoleFan @ 08/06/08 08:15 PM

It's also frustrating to see your guys watch the QB CLEARLY cross the LOS and not attack him allowing him to scramble for a crucial 1st down.

# 60 mgoblue678 @ 08/07/08 07:59 PM

I am going to disagree for a couple of reasons. One being that when playing bump and run slants are easy money for the cpu and comeback routes against man are essentially broken. Watch the replay, unless your manually controlling the cb or playing bump and run the cb will literally stand behind the receiver a good five yards and not react at all until the ball is in the wr's hands.

Two being rushing 4 and not blitzing in the this game unless manually controlling a d-linemen is a recipy for disaster. The only way to get pressure is to blitz either in man or zone but the problem is the coverage normally breaks down by the time the pressure is applied. Basically as the developers have already said coverage will be patched because it doesn't work right.

Controlling the safety I can only do so much.

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