NCAA Football 14 News Post

NCAA Football 14 - A Deeper Look at Coach Skills

04:20 PM - May 30, 2013 by Steve_OS

Yesterday we learned about NCAA Football 14 Dynasty mode, today EA Sports has released an article focusing on Coach Skills. The next article will cover power recruiting.

Quote:


	Perform well in games to earn XP, and when you secure enough XP, you�ll level up and earn a skill point. Head coaches gain XP for accomplishing a variety of goals, both in-game and over the course of a season. Head coaches can also assign the skills of their CPU coordinators, so you�ll still have full control over how your program is run. For coordinators, the XP is tied to their unit�s on-field performance and recruiting. Offensive coordinators will earn points for gaining yards and scoring touchdowns, while defensive coordinators gain XP from shutting down the opposing offense and forcing turnovers. User-controlled coordinators will also be able to recruit, and can utilize their head coach�s recruiting bonuses for their benefit, and reap the XP benefit for signing prospects.

Source - Coach Skills Deep Dive (EA Sports)

Game: NCAA Football 14Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 54 - View All

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Member Comments

# 21 BenGerman @ 05/30/13 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseySuave4


	Trust me, i was going to go on about this one in particular but i'm holding my tongue so I don't have to see people complain about me complaining (the irony). But yes, when I read the blog and saw this one it just confirmed all my feelings I had about this whole "coach skills" thing. Even other things like the one that prevents Icing the Kicker from having as much of an impact (did it really have much of an impact before?), that's something the player himself controls, not a coach. A coach can't make a kicker be composed, that's up to the kicker himself.

I think everyone is aware of the reality. Most of these coach skills are things that can't literally be done in real life. But a lot of us, including me, are looking forward to the variation the skill trees are going to provide. Plus, unless I'm mistaken, the 25% play-recognition skill is going to take forever to reach anyway.

The way I look at it as is that we are finally getting something that will differentiate the good coaches from the bad ones. Adding variation can't hurt, especially when you can just as easily ignore the skill if you choose. I'm certainly not trying to invalidate your point, because it's a good one, but there are two sides of the coin here.

# 22 boxboy99 @ 05/30/13 06:47 PM

Yeah, I am hoping that it takes a while to level up. I also hope there is some kind of deterrent from running up the score.

# 23 Strategizer @ 05/30/13 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxboy99


	Yeah, I am hoping that it takes a while to level up. I also hope there is some kind of deterrent from running up the score.

Hopefully the slow progression setting for coach leveling truly is slow.

I believe you can get xp for kneeling in the 4th quarter, if I'm remembering a screen shot correctly.

# 24 boxboy99 @ 05/30/13 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseySuave4


	There isn't in real life which is why you see some teams that love to run up the score because they think it will help them in the eyes of the poll voters.

I agree, I just hope there is a limit to xp earned in a game. I played OD with 7 other friends and a couple love to run it up.

That would be sweet if you earn xp for kneeling.

# 25 FloridaGators11 @ 05/30/13 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxboy99


	I agree, I just hope there is a limit to xp earned in a game. I played OD with 7 other friends and a couple love to run it up. That would be sweet if you earn xp for kneeling.

You get 10 XP every time you kneel in the last minute of the 4th when up. There's a screen shot of that on the gaming tailgate website.

# 26 Strategizer @ 05/30/13 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BleedGreen710


	I hate how theres a coach skill that lets you know what play the opponent ran and gives a 25% chance of knowing what play they will run next.. That's part of being a coach, recognizing an offense and their tendencies, and being a good play caller. It seems EA has essentially conceded to the fact of stick skills being more important then football IQ to be good at this game. Instead of expecting you to recognize the offenses plays and tendencies the game tells you their play automatically. I cant believe how no one has brought this up yet.. its disgraceful that they would have a skill like that in my opinion. You used to be able to play Madden/NCAA and learn the game of football but now I fear its becoming more of an arcade style series where timing your jukes and pressing the right button is more important to winning then being able to read defenses and make smart calls. I fear a day when it will be impossible to 'out coach' your opponent.

I've never liked guess pitch/play mechanics in sports games. It is a risk/reward system that is already perfectly replicated by the user. This is the one skill I don't like on paper, although I wouldn't be that bothered by it if they at least reduced level 3 to 10-15% maximum. Hopefully they get some negative feedback and change that number by launch, at least with a tuner or something.

# 27 Timeetyo @ 05/30/13 07:23 PM

I'm curious how showing the called play will work with audibles. It could be quite interesting if you can audible within the formation and make this skill backfire.

# 28 TryHard_Nation @ 05/30/13 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timeetyo


	I'm curious how showing the called play will work with audibles. It could be quite interesting if you can audible within the formation and make this skill backfire.

We have a genius. I don't want to be in an OD with this guy screwing me over when I call a blitz and he audibles to a quick pass.

# 29 Strategizer @ 05/30/13 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timeetyo


	I'm curious how showing the called play will work with audibles. It could be quite interesting if you can audible within the formation and make this skill backfire.

Yeah I'm guessing it won't show the audibled play, which does limit its effectiveness some. And against the CPU, it would make QBs with high awareness who audible more often be even more important, so that could be interesting.

# 30 Grey_Osprey @ 05/30/13 08:17 PM

Little worried these skills upgrades could make the game "cheesy", if that's the appropriate term. The last thing I want to see is a team with subpar players playing well above their potential against better opposition simply because the coach has certain "signature skills" (say UMass vs Alabama).

I am encouraged by the two tidbits copied/pasted below from the last part of the article.

"...You can reallocate your points and focus on other areas once the offseason hits..."

"...When starting up your Dynasty you�re able to determine how many points coaches are given at the start (on a scale of 1-20), as well as how quickly you level up...."

# 31 Strategizer @ 05/30/13 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey_Osprey


	Little worried these skills upgrades could make the game "cheesy", if that's the appropriate term. The last thing I want to see is a team with subpar players playing well above their potential against better opposition simply because the coach has certain "signature skills" (say UMass vs Alabama). I am encouraged by the two tidbits copied/pasted below from the last part of the article. "...You can reallocate your points and focus on other areas once the offseason hits..." "...When starting up your Dynasty you�re able to determine how many points coaches are given at the start (on a scale of 1-20), as well as how quickly you level up...."

Well, the Bama coaches will presumably be at higher levels than the UMass coaches, so they could have all the same skills unlocked, if not more, thus negating any potential advantages.

# 32 TheBleedingRed21 @ 05/30/13 08:30 PM

I think people are over thinking these skills due to EA's track record.

This adds great depth.

# 33 sparkdawg777 @ 05/30/13 08:54 PM

I have mixed feelings about this as far as online play against a human but I don't really get into that much. I think if this is done right it could make offline dynasty a lot of fun. I just hope the computer A.I. uses this too. It would be cool facing off against Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. Coaches have a lot to do with why Alabama won a NC and Ohio St finished 12-0. Of course players are the majority but I feel that NCAA has never made coaching matter during a game. Seems pretty cool to me.

# 34 JoedicyMichael @ 05/30/13 09:15 PM

While I like these coach skills. Im deeply concered for a few reasons.

1) If you can just simply Max out all skills, this can be complete DUNK Master Flex all over the opposing team Online. I mean, If I can start off VERY HOT at the start of the game, gosh!

2) The "Anti-Freeze" Perks come with consistency in real life. Over time a kicker avoids being Frozen. I believe it should apply to Freshman Kickers, and kickers who have missed a field goal earlier in game, or have missed a string of FG's latly.

3) I love the "Prev Play" skill, but I feel like its too often. How about you get 2 reveals each quater instead.

# 35 davo1021 @ 05/30/13 09:23 PM

"Be forewarned though, the CPU coaches in your Dynasty will also be developing their skills, and they’ll change their tactics every time you start up a new Dynasty."

Will we be able to view CPU coach skills?

# 36 TDenverFan @ 05/30/13 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davo1021


	"Be forewarned though, the CPU coaches in your Dynasty will also be developing their skills, and they�ll change their tactics every time you start up a new Dynasty." Will we be able to view CPU coach skills?

I'm almost positive that you can

# 37 DerkontheOS @ 05/30/13 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDenverFan


	I'm almost positive that you can

It would be better if we couldn't.

# 38 BreaksoftheGame @ 05/30/13 11:11 PM

Wow! Great feature. I am really happy to see this added nuance to the game. Very promising.

# 39 4X49ER @ 05/31/13 01:50 AM

I would hope that these aren't too powerful of upgrades. I'd like it if I had one or more of these maxed out that playing as a smaller school like Western Michigan it'd give me a fighting chance against some bigger teams like Northwestern or Iowa, but I'd still have to play perfectly and have a slight bit of luck to beat an Oregon or Alabama.

# 40 ACardAttack @ 05/31/13 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4X49ER


	I would hope that these aren't too powerful of upgrades. I'd like it if I had one or more of these maxed out that playing as a smaller school like Western Michigan it'd give me a fighting chance against some bigger teams like Northwestern or Iowa, but I'd still have to play perfectly and have a slight bit of luck to beat an Oregon or Alabama.

Yeah, too powerful is what worries me...think how awful these could be against the computer on Heisman where the AI already seems to know exactly what play you're going to run

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