Tips for Playing Quarterback

[NoleFan]

I'm not very good at playing QB in these games which is primarily why I converted to coach mode back with NCAA 04. I don't know how I used to do it back on the old Madden and college football games in Genesis days but I did. *shrugs*

If anyone has any tips to help a fellow gamer out please reply.

I feel pressure instantly even when it's not there. I try to read the defense but I'm thinking more about the sack which leads to excessive interceptions thrown. My inability to play QB is what is causing my disdain for NCAA...not the game itself.

Again, any assistance would be appreciated.

~NoleFan

[Brock]

I am a pretty quick passer, it's not really that hard. When you snap, just look all around at your receivers, and play attention you your o-line. Pass to the receiver you feel is either open, able to catch it, and/or get's far enough where you won't him too. When your feel the rush of the D, run out of the pocket and throw it away, or just pass it to any receiver (what I do, alot) but be smart with it, or just run it and get a good couple of yards.

I remember playing with Hawaii against Georgia, I was pretty good with Colt Brenden, even though I got beat. It's not really that hard, just make smart passes, and if you have to (I also do this all the time) go crazy and make some crazy long passes.

[MassNole]

Don't be afraid to roll the pocket out if necessary.

[mgoblue678]

^^Except don't cheese it by rolling out on every play. I only roll out on designed roll outs. Really just hang in the pocket, have a primary and secondary receiver picked before the pla, read if the defense is a zone or man and then find the open guy and lead him.

But one thing not to do is to drop way back will lose alot of accuracy you may feel you need to do this to escape the rush but if you take a realistic drop, stay in the pocket and step into the throw you will see alot better results and more accurate passes. Don't be afraid to take a sack but still scramble out when the rush is coming.

[tc66tc]

After playing the game for a little while on Heisman I figured I could help
out with some Passing Game Tips. There is no better way to get good
at the passing game than to go into practice.

Starting Out:

Go in to practice and select any passing play you want to practice.
Then select a nickel defense of the following type.
*Cover 1 Man
*Cover 2 Man
*Cover 2 Zone
*Cover 3 Zone
*Cover 4 Zone

For this example we will start with Cover 1 Man. And our
offensive play as three receivers going out.

WR on a crossing pattern
TE on an out route
HB on a swing out of the backfield

What you will do is just throw to one receiver at a time to
figure out how each route works against the defense. So
first we concentrate just on the WR. Take 10-15 plays and just
throw it to him at various times in his route until you find the
sweet spot in the route when he gets open. Now the same for the TE
and HB.

Once you get it down, change to Cover 2 Man and repeat; do this
for the rest of the defenses as well. With enough practice you will be
able to shred any defense very with a lot lesser team.

It might seem like a long process to go through every passing play your
playbook doing this. Well you dont have to. The best thing to do is
pick plays in shotgun 5 wide. The game has around 10 passing routes
so just find a hand full of plays that covers these routes.

All the plays are pretty much the same; the routes and when to hit the receiver
is what really matters. That is the key to the passing game is knowing
when during your receivers routes that they will be able to catch the ball.

Lastly:

Select a pass play and select random nickel defenses. Learn to
read the defense. Use motion before the snap to tip off to possible
man or zone.

You know when your receivers are open against each defense. Now you have
to be able to read the defense to be able to know which route will work
the best against the defense. Again practice, practice, practice.

With thirty minutes of this you will see a huge improvement in your passing game.
With a few hours of this you will become deadly.



After doing this I went from sub 50% completion and a couple ints a game to 60% plus with a pick every couple days.

[Sportsbuck]

In your pre-snap reads, decide who you will throw to based on coverages or blitzes, and make sure to step up in the pocket when you throw deep balls.

[UnderRatedCoast]

My keys to passing would be these:

1) Decide on your read progression before snapping the ball. If you need 5 yards, look to the quick slants or hooks first, then you'll want to progress to the deeper players from there. If you have a 3rd and long, look at the mid range receivers first. Sometimes you'll want a left to right, or right to left approach. That will help you know where you are going to look in which order.

2) Don't throw many short out patterns. Until you have gotten used to reading when and where to throw them, you will often end up throwing a pick 6 when you think a guy is open.

3) Don't lob the ball unless you're throwing deep. It just allows more time for defenders to run to the spot and swat the ball or pick it off.

4) Know if the defense is in zone or man before the play starts. Certain patterns work better against man and worse against zone (drag patterns for instance), and certain patterns work better against zone than against man (hooks, deep slants). Also know which zone they are in. If they are in a 2 deep zone, look for a TE deep over the middle. If they are running a 3 deep zone, there may be more openings underneath. If they are playing man with no one deep, look for the player mismatches.

5) Know the personnel. If you are in a 4 wide set, and a slow SS or LB is on your faster slot receiver, look to run them in a pattern that will isolate them and allow them to run away from the slower defender.

6) Run a lot of crossing patterns. Especially if you are playing a human and they are running man defense. Since defensive assignments often change when players cross patterns, it often leads the human controlled player to often blow their coverage.

7) If you are scared of the pass rush, make sure you use the slide protection. I had a player using an 85 speed DE against me in an online dynasty before I discovered slide protection, and he racked up 5 sacks against my team due to my 45 speed RT. When I played him the next year using slide protect, he got zero sacks with the same player and I destroyed him.

[milmont77]

if you're playing online, forget about ethics. rolling out is the status quo. kill or be killed.

and so... know your routes before your snap. read the defense right after the snap. if there is a double CB blitz you better know it. if it's a heavy blitz your obviously looking to dump the ball quick and short. if there's no blitz, roll away from the d-line pressure and viola, read the field and anticipate any WR separation.