Help--football newb

[Morikal]

Hi all, So I don't really know much about football, and I'm trying to play this game. I have a ton of questions, and it seems all the places I've looked for answers assume you have knowledge of football. I've been able to glean what the positions are, and what zone vs man coverage is, and obviously run vs pass, and even what most of the WR routes look like. I know that having a FB to block makes it easier to get a hole to run into, etc. What I can't find answers to are things like the following: When setting up recruiting, it asks what type of offense. What is the actual difference between West Coast, Balanced, Spread, etc? Which of the base defenses is best for what? I've read a bit about that (like 4-3 is better at stopping runs up the middle, 3-4 is probably better for outside runs and short passes, etc). I know what nickel & dime and quarter do in terms of what positions are out, and so I can figure out sort of when it is best to use what. But, when to use zone vs man coverage? Is zone better for short/mid pass defense, and man only for deeper pass defense? It seems things like the quick slants plays destroy man coverage... Is there any guide that explains the strategy behind all of the different formations, offense types (west coast, balanced, spread, option, run-heavy, etc? Some are really easy to figure out what it means, but others I have no idea), when to use zone vs man or a mix, when to blitz, and all that stuff? What kind of plays are best if I think they are going to run? Just any play from a formation with more linebackers? Is blitzing good to stop a run play, or not so good?

[Morikal]

Also, how come I can't get my post to break up into different paragraphs? Seriously, I put in some linebreaks, and it just mushed it all together...

[b mill]

West Coast - Short passing attack, look up Bill Walsh if you wanna get in depth about out.

Spread - offense generally in the shotgun that generally uses 3 or 4 wide receivers and a TE

Balanced - pro style, much like you'd see in the NFL

Defensively its all about personnel, if you have multiple DTs that are worth playing than maybe a 4-3, if you have more good linebackers and less D lineman that a 3-4 would be a good choice. If you have athletic linebackers and d lineman that a 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 would be a good choice to use because more speed makes things easier defending the spread offense, which is what a lot of teams run.

Man vs Zone: Once again this is about personal preference and personnel. If you have fast athletic corners than man is a good choice because it allows you to do more things underneath with your linebackers. If you don't have much athleticism and have smart players than zone is a good choice.

Blitzing can be effective against the run but if you blitz the wrong spot than you could give up a big play, I personally blitz against the run because I feel that if I don't I have more trouble stopping the run.

Hope some of that helped you out, if you have any more questions I'd be glad to help you out.

[alcoholicstepfather]

Quote: Originally Posted by b mill

West Coast - Short passing attack, look up Bill Walsh if you wanna get in depth about out. Spread - offense generally in the shotgun that generally uses 3 or 4 wide receivers and a TE Balanced - pro style, much like you'd see in the NFL Defensively its all about personnel, if you have multiple DTs that are worth playing than maybe a 4-3, if you have more good linebackers and less D lineman that a 3-4 would be a good choice. If you have athletic linebackers and d lineman that a 3-3-5 or 4-2-6 would be a good choice to use because more speed makes things easier defending the spread offense, which is what a lot of teams run. Man vs Zone: Once again this is about personal preference and personnel. If you have fast athletic corners than man is a good choice because it allows you to do more things underneath with your linebackers. If you don't have much athleticism and have smart players than zone is a good choice. Blitzing can be effective against the run but if you blitz the wrong spot than you could give up a big play, I personally blitz against the run because I feel that if I don't I have more trouble stopping the run. Hope some of that helped you out, if you have any more questions I'd be glad to help you out.

How many players do you use on defense? 4+2+6>11

[Morikal]

Thanks, that did help.

Is there an explanation of all the player ratings? I.e., Elusiveness (is that dodging tackles? Something else?), Ball Carrier Vision (is this how aware they are while carrying the ball? How well they can spot where the ball carrier is going while on defense?) I am curious about most of the ratings... what does awareness do for instance? (I.e., its actual in-game effect. I can guess that it means a player is more aware of what is going on, but what does this translate to when the AI controls the player? They just react quicker?) Catch in traffic rating? (Is that catching while under heavy coverage?)

Trucking rating? How is it different from break tackle rating?

So in terms of zone vs man, how do I determine if my corners are smart? Is that their awareness rating? Some other rating?
At what point are they considered "athletic"? Speed, Acceleration, & Agility all over 90? Over 85? Some other rating too?

Oh, and what are pancake blocks? I see that in the blocking stats of players... is that where they knock someone down on impact?


Also, is there a way, other than manually checking each player, of seeing what a given package does? I.e., in Nickel, what does "Big Nickel" mean? (Not just that one specifically, but is there somewhere which lists what gets swapped for what in all the packages? I don't really want to have to see what numbers get swapped in, pause, go into depth chart, see what position got swapped in, and repeat for all packages...)

Whats the difference between QB spy and QB contain? Are they both to use against scramblers? Or is there some other use too?

What is the use of buzz zone vs hook zone vs flat zone? I understand they have different shapes, but when would one be preferable over the other?

Thanks for all the help!

[b mill]

Quote: Originally Posted by alcoholicstepfather;2040246223

How many players do you use on defense? 4+2+6>11

Sorry thats a typo.

In terms of zones a buzz zone(red/purple) is good against deeper routes towards the sidelines like a deep out or a corner route. Flat zones(light blue) cover outside of the field close to the line of scrimmage. Hook zones(yellow) are used by linebackers and sometimes safeties to cover the middle of the field. Deep zones(dark blue) are used by safeties to cover the deep parts of the field.

For a player to be considered athletic I like speed and acceleration to be around 90 but I prefer closer to 92, also for corner backs I also factor their man coverage rating into their athletic ability, the same goes for the so called "smart players" I look at awareness and zone coverage ratings.

Break tackle is a general rating and the elusiveness(making defenders miss) and trucking(running over defenders) ratings make things more specific. If a player has a high break tackle than they generally either have a high elusiveness or a high trucking or sometimes both. Hope that makes sense.

Pancakes are when an offensive linemen knocks a defender down.

QB Contain is used to keep the QB in the pocket formed by the blocking offensive lineman, the defensive ends loop out to prevent the QB from getting outside. A QB spy is used to have a player track the QB at all times. Generally a linebacker is spying but in some defense like the 4-2-5 the safeties can spy the QB. When a player is spying the QB that player will follow the quarterback where ever he goes. Very effective to prevent QB scrambles.

I did a quick look and couldn't find anything that explains the rating but if you look hard enough you could probably find something.

Once again I hope this helped and feel free to keep asking questions.

[Morikal]

Thanks again for the reply.

What are press & release ratings in a players ratings?

If a play is partially setup (i.e., displays something like "36% Setup"), do you get any setup benefit? That is, do you get 36% or whatever of the benefit from setting it up? Or will running that play be like running it completely not set up, and just reset your setting it up with no benefit? (I hope that made sense, sorry if it didn't)

[stlstudios189]

These are all good tips I hope that you are starting to enjoy the game. What made you start playing w/o much knowledge of the sport?