Reading the Defense

[schneider1391]

What are some things you look for when reading the defense to tell what they are in during pre snap. Also what do you look for once you have snapped the ball?

[Shade Shadows]

If you motion and your motion man is followed by the same defender all the way, you know it's straight up man D. If one or both safties spread out wide, they're doubling a receiver. After the snap, the first thing to look at is the safeties. if they split apart, you're looking at a cover 2, meaning the middle is going to be open (post routes, fly routes up the middle, etc.) There's a lot more, but that's a good start.

[mmorg]

It's all about watching where the safeties go. Then I check for a CB blitz and then where the linebackers are.

[prd689]

Sometimes you can tell when a corner blitz is coming, because they will line up a corner (left or right) where you dont have a receiver... they dont suck up to the line they just stay there...now you know a blitz is coming... Also, if you see their Safeties exactly aligned to each other in their backfield you can pretty much guess its a cover 2... if their safeties shift forward and are not aligned to each other you can guess its man coverage... then you just have to adjust your audibles to take advantage...
Also, if you run a 3 wide set, computer runs a 4-3 or 3-4 if their in man, their LBs will line up to your slot receiver so you know you can hotroute that slot guy for a slant...

[TrevJo]

Pre-snap...

I don't do the motion thing although I probably should. However if I line up all my receivers on one side then you usually know if it's man (all corners on the WR side) or zone (corner stays back on the empty side).

I usually take my time and you can generally tell if a DB or LB is going to blitz based on whether or not they sneak up.

You can often tell if corners are going to play the deep ball because they will back off. This one is a little tricky because they do it a little later, and sometimes they will back off and come back.

Usually most of my reads are based on my opponent's tendency, and the formation they use. I tend to do better in the 2nd half of games because by then I generally know what to expect when I see a certain formation, regardless of individual defensive players showing blitz/man/zone/whatever.

Post-snap...

On a run play I am generally reading the defenders at the point of attack. Basically can I run the play as designed or do I need to cut inside or outside? If it's an option play the reads become more complicated and more important. If the play is blocked well I can usually run to the designed spot with the QB and then make one simple read for the pitch. If not, I may need to take a different angle with the QB at the start to avoid the first guy and set up another read for the pitch.

On a pass play I make a lot of my man/zone reads in the first second after the snap. Particularly I am looking at the defense where my my primary target is going (my primary target is usually but not necessarily the same as the play's primary target) to verify if he is being manned-up by the guy I expect, and if nearby LBs/DBs are moving into a zone in the way. Unless I make an immediate throw, I will also generally take a quick glance at my secondary target before deciding whether to throw to the primary target, in case he the primary gets taken away. Especially if the secondary target is running into that blind spot on the sideline, it usually requires watching the defenders at the start to see if they are moving in to cover the blind spot.
After that first second, generally I have thrown the ball to the primary target, or I have thrown the ball to the secondary target if I decided that the primary target is not going to get open, or I have decided to wait for the primary target or secondary target's route to develop, or I have decided to look at further progressions. If the ball hasn't been thrown at this point, I will take a quick glance at the pass rush while I wait on the route and/or before I make the 3rd/4th read. This way I can decide if I need to move within or out of the pocket, or if I need to get rid of the ball despite not having a wide-open read. Usually within 2 seconds I have read 2-3 routes and possibly moved a bit in the pocket and gotten rid of the ball. If I still have the ball at that point then I am probably half watching the coverage and half watching the rush, and improvising.

[LtClaybon]

Well, in Ncaa 2009 i look to see if the controller is in my hands.

If it is...i know the drag route is going to be open.

But in all seriousness i try to see where the corners are positioned in relation to my receivers....also i recognize if my back is going to be covered by a linebacker or a safety....if there is a safety then i know that i can send that side receiver aloft against man coverage because the flats will be cleared to have my back go up against that safety.

This applies of course on plays where the back is going out.

[Russell_Kiniry_EA]

A lot of good examples in here. We need to do a better job of hiding some of that stuff pre-snap.

I'd love to hear if you guys have anymore.

[sdid22]

Another read is the higher the defensive awareness for the AI you see more CB blitzes which is a guaranteed first down or touch down because you can tell every time that they are coming.

I also read the MLB also to see if I can get a post or a dig route in.

There's numerous plays where you can High/Low the MLB if he jumps the post in a deeper zone coverage the underneath stuff is there and if he jumps a crossing under neath route, those digs and posts are there that's just simple