scouting your opponent

[falcor1234]

i was just wondering if I am the only one that scouts my opponent? if you do I am interested in how you scout. especially on the defense. I'm not sure what to look for in the opponents defense.

[whughes]

If I'm playing against the CPU sometimes I'll check their defensive playbook and then practice against it. Specially if there are formations in the playbook that I've never seen/don't see a lot of.

If you're playing against a human and you've never played them before there isn't really a way to practice against them, because you don't know what they're going to run. Just because they use the 3-4 base playbook doesn't mean they'll run the 3-4 at all. Same goes for is they have a custom of pb, because then you'll have zero idea what they're going to run against you

[jello1717]

Here's some stuff I look for when I'm scouting my opponent.

Type of QB (this is always the most important thing to scout). If he's a scrambler I'll have to play a LOT of QB spy. If he's balanced I'll have to play my fair share of spy. If he's a pocket passer, I won't need a spy.

General talent level @ every position.

Speed of the slot WR. I will almost always play 1 personnel less than the offense (IE. 3-4 against 3 WR, nickle against 4 WR, dollar or quarters against 5 WR). If the slot WR is a burner, then I may have to match personnel (but even then I usually don't).

PBK of the entire OL. If they have a weak spot I'll call most of my pass blitzes at that guy and when I slant the line (not often) it'll probably be at him.

Depth/talent of the LBs and CBs. I run a no huddle spread option attack. If a team is shallow @ CBs, then I'll call more 10, 01, and, 00 personnel than normal to wear out their CBs so that I get some safeties out there covering my WRs. This is no problem for me as I always go 10 deep @ WR and I like my chances with my #8 WR going up against your backup safety.
If they're shallow @ LB then I'll run a lot more 12, 21, 11, and even 22 personnel to wear out their LBs and then pound the rock up the gut.

Speed of the CBs. If 1 of the starters is slow, then if a play has an outside streak on 1 side, but not the other, I'll usually run the streak at the slow poke. The same goes for drag routes as it's easier to lose the slow CB over the middle.

Press rating of the starting CBs. If one of them sucks at press coverage, then you better believe the streaks are going to his side as well.

[jello1717]

Oh yeah. And I always look @ the WR depth chart. Often enough there's a TE in the #4 or 5 spot (and with injuries, even #3). If this isn't the starter (IE. TE #40 is the starting TE and #80 is the #4 WR) then I make a mental not of this. Then when I'm calling my play and I see they have 11 personnel, but the TE is #80 I know that it's not really 11 personnel, but 10 personnel instead with TE #80 lined up as a WR.

Also, everything I wrote is based on playing a CPU opponent. I also check out their playbooks before the game as well so that I know what based D and type of offense I'm going to face as well as their pass/run tendency. That way, when I'm going up against a Wisconsin/Stanford/Auburn type team that runs the ball most of the time and they come out with 10 personnel, I know that they're probably still going to run the ball, 4 WRs be damned.

[falcor1234]

that's some good info. I never thought of checking for a TE at WR before. what about dline? what do you look for in your opponents dline?

[Tha_Mac]

I need to know the scheme the team is running option, spread option, air raid, pro style, 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5 etc. I'll know the type of personnel that will be on the field based on this. Then I go to the depth chart and look through their roster basically just checking the ovr, spd, agi, acc, str, and awr of all their players.

I believe this will tell me the type of player they are. The main check points I look for on my opponents offensive side of the ball is the QB. Is he fast which will tell me if I need to spy him. RB's really don't concern me that much because I'm usually good at stopping the run regardless. WR's I also make note of if I see 94+ spd and acc then I know that I need to keep my FS & SS over the to to help my CBs out.

TE's I try to determine if they are blockers or receivers based on their spd and str. If they have an elite TE as I like to play Man 2 Under I know that me playing as the FS have to help my LB's out in coverage. For the OL I just look for olinemen that are not athletic and know that I can send the blitz their way preferably with a CB, S or my fastest LB.

For their defense I check the D-line and see which way I can run the ball based on the DL. I want to run to my right but if my OL is the way I want it I can adjust based on the defense. I look at their LB's to see if they have spd or highly rated players there. Most teams do and for this I immediately think spread and thread. Which means that I will stay in 3, 4 or even 5 WR sets to take those LB's off the field.

For their secondary I look for CB's that aren't fast or aren't athletic. In my dynasty this is rare so I counter that by recruiting elite route runners for my pro style offense that's ran out of the shotgun and pistol. It can be mistaken for a spread offense but it is a pro style just from the shotgun and pistol ala Manning's Colts/Broncos and Brady's Patriots.

If I see their FS or SS with either a low ovr or lacking spd/agi/acc then I know that I might be able to hit seam routes or deep posts and slot post routes. With the knowledge of their defense I usually script the first 3-4 plays I'll run. They're most likely 2 runs and a pass pending the down and distance as I like to get in a rhythm running the ball before I unleash my passing attack which also sets up play action.

This is basically how I scout from week to week and game to game it works for me and I have been very successful. Of course adjustments always have to be made in game depending on a multitude of things.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tha_Mac

Then I go to the depth chart and look through their roster basically just checking the ovr, spd, agi, acc, str, and awr of all their players. I believe this will tell me the type of player they are. The main check points I look for on my opponents offensive side of the ball is the QB. Is he fast which will tell me if I need to spy him.

For QBs you need to know what type of player they are (pocket passer, balanced, or scrambler) to know if they need a spy. Scramblers need a spy on pretty much every pass play. Balanced need spies fairly often. Pocket passers don't need spies at all.

While SPD is definitely an indicator for what type the QB will be, there are actually quite a few ratings that go into this determination. I've seen 76 SPD scramblers and I've had 2 separate 80 SPD pocket passers. That 76 SPD guy will tuck and run at the drop of a hat, while that 80 SPD guy will never take off and you'd be wasting a defender if you spied him.

You can see their type in the stats screen. I usually just check in game and after his 1st pass or run, I'll check the in game stats to see if he's a scrambler or not.

[Tha_Mac]

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

For QBs you need to know what type of player they are (pocket passer, balanced, or scrambler) to know if they need a spy. Scramblers need a spy on pretty much every pass play. Balanced need spies fairly often. Pocket passers don't need spies at all. While SPD is definitely an indicator for what type the QB will be, there are actually quite a few ratings that go into this determination. I've seen 76 SPD scramblers and I've had 2 separate 80 SPD pocket passers. That 76 SPD guy will tuck and run at the drop of a hat, while that 80 SPD guy will never take off and you'd be wasting a defender if you spied him. You can see their type in the stats screen. I usually just check in game and after his 1st pass or run, I'll check the in game stats to see if he's a scrambler or not.

I usually don't check the player tendencies but if a QB is between 75-79 spd I'll wait until he tucks and runs before I spy. Any QB 80 spd and above I'm spying. I'd rather be safe than sorry. And it's nothing I hate more than on an 3rd & 7 me having great coverage and the QB running for 8 or 9 to pick up the 1st down.