Speed is still everything

[aga11ah]

yeah it's all about speed. my slot WR on Miami is leading the heisman race cuz he's murdering teams on vertical routes.

[Johnny "Too Tall"]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

Disagree. I think Speed is much less important than it has been. To each their own.

Don't be afraid to back up your opinion with an explination as to why you feel that way...to each there own? This is not a matter of taste.

Anyways, I agree with what the OP said.

[PrettyT11]

I have used OU alot of times and have never had a problem getting Broyles open or getting him the ball. I'm not really seeing this problem you are talking about at all. Julio Jones is the slowest of the top 3 or 4 recievers on Bama's roster but I swear he gets open on every play and everytime me or my brothers play with Bama he dominates the passing game.

[Mtneer08]

I think acceleration is a bigger factor

[KG]

Online is just a different game because there are no sliders. When sliders are taken into account I can tell which WRs are possession and which are speed guys with suspect hands. I have 1 WR with AZ ST who can't catch a cold because his Catch and CIT ratings are low.

[WMWolverine]

I've watched replays of defenders in coverage and they make a cut before my receivers numerous times. Something really needs fixed.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by Johnny "Too Tall"

Don't be afraid to back up your opinion with an explination as to why you feel that way...to each there own? This is not a matter of taste. Anyways, I agree with what the OP said.

Matter of taste? If you say so. It's a matter of opinion. It certainly not cut and dry.

I am not afraid. I don't feel an obligation to explain my opinion nor do I care if people oppose my view on the subject. . My experience is different from the OP simple as that. . Of course, I dont' play online and I use sliders.

If you don't like my post, skip it, makes no difference to me..

[rhombic21]

Julio Jones is an example of the second type of receiver that I said was effective -- big and good at beating press coverage.

Here's the thing. Against non-press coverage then there are a couple of routes that work well. There are some slant routes that seem to get open, although it appears to be kind of random and tied to the actual playcall. For instance the receiver on the right side will get open on I Normal Quick slants, but only if you run the default route and not if you hot route him. You can test it out. If you switch both the CB and WR to the left side and run the play again, the WR never gets open even though it's the exact same matchup. But for the most part what works are drag routes and vertical (fly/go patterns). Vertical routes only work if there's no safety help over the top, and only if there's a significant speed differential (of if the WR is big enough to win a jump ball), and drag routes primarily work if there's a speed differential, or if there's some kind of rub/pick that causes the defender to get caught up.

Against press coverage then slants and crossing/dig patterns will work more consistently, but only if your receiver is big/strong enough to beat the jam.

Smaller guys (like Broyles) who are neither big/strong enough to beat press coverage, nor fast enough to just run away from guys in a flatline footrace, are not nearly as effective as their OVR ratings indicate that they should be. If you break it down, none of the things that work against man coverage take advantage of acceleration or agility. Mostly what it comes down to is either size/body position (bigger guys) or flatline speed. None of the quick sharp cut routes work, and those are the only routes where acceleration or agility really come into play.

My point in all this is to say that everybody knows that man coverage isn't right on the game. That's not news. But what people don't seem to be talking about is why exactly it's a problem. In terms of game balance, overpowered man to man coverage actually probably helps even things out, since the stock zone coverages are so faulty.

But what it does do is make it so that certain kinds of players are just not going to be very effective. Since zones are so messed up, then pretty much any receiver is good against zone coverage, so what it really comes down to is what happens against man to man (since most people online will primarily play man to man). Against man to man, you can be effective if you're fast and they either don't press, or if you find some way to avoid being pressed (like using motion or a formation alignment that prevents the WR from getting pressed), or you can be effective if they press and you're big and strong enough to defeat the jam and work possession routes like slants and digs. But you have to be one of those two things. There is no reason to build an offense around the prototypical slot receiver, because it just won't work like it should.