WR Screens are Useless

[thelasthurtknee]

man D kills them. they work great against zone if the db's are backed off or you have numbers which is much harder to get this year. HB screens are the same. in zone the lb doesnt slip out with hb, but on man hes on his hip unless he blitzes and SS or FS has to pick him up which gives you time to throw and hopefully a blocker out front. The screen that kills man is the FB screen outta Strong I normal. its nasty-nasty. also the PA TE screen outta Ace Slot is amazing. I Right Trigger the after snap to stop the PA and the TE slips out perfect with three blockers. Again, man can kill this or a cover 2 zone where the DE drops or OLB plays the hash to inside (normally the short cover two zone on play art that CB would run but LB takes place). I cant the middle screens to do anything. Ill get a big play every now and again but its normally luck as I have to throw into a mess of traffic.

just note that on the FB, TE and also HB screens the most success comes if you throw ball before he stops and turns to look back so he can catch on run.

[Mizzou24]

Wr mid screens work for a solid 5-10 yards a lot! Reg wr screens work for me u just have to make sure the defense is playing back in zone.. If they come up close on u Audible to a slant route pattern.

[bigjay302]

I have only had 1 WR screen or bubble work for me. Even handing off to a WR in motion is problematic for me.

[KCsFinest5]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mizzou24

Wr mid screens work for a solid 5-10 yards a lot! Reg wr screens work for me u just have to make sure the defense is playing back in zone.. If they come up close on u Audible to a slant route pattern.

This is true when I play the CPU, but playing skilled user opponents, the WR screens get blown up about 90% of the time.

[packersfan4eva]

I can use middle screens and just basic WR screens, but as soon as I try the bubble screen it's like WTF. I pretty much always either overthrow the receiver or get stuffed.

[touretteskid101]

Quote: Originally Posted by majesty95

Hmmm...I can get decent results with WR screens but almost always get blown up on HB screens. The thing you have to remember with WR screens is that they are constraint plays. They are meant to counter what the defense is doing and force them back into a relaxed, base defense. You will be more effective using screens if you run them vs Cover 3/4 zone or vs a heavy blitz. Running them vs man and Cover 2 is very risky (as in real life) Timing is also very important. On the Mid Screen, count to three and throw (you may have to manually run your QB back to create time). On the bubble/WR screens you can usually let the CPU auto drop, wait a split second to let your blockers start to get into position and then fire (maybe a count of one). You have to be willing to audible out of the playcall if you see the DBs on the LOS. Forcing any play is asking for disaster.

This has been my experience with the WR screens this year. Bubble screens are money for a decent gain under 2 conditions: it's a CB blitz so he isn't near the WR or the defense is playing back off the LOS near the WR who is running the screen. I'll also note that I'm not a huge fan of bubble screens that have other WRs as blockers. I prefer bubble screens that have the slot receiver do a bubble screen to the outside while the outside receiver runs a slant. This clears out any other DBs who might be in the area.

Regarding other types of screens: I've had almost no luck with them at all.

Playing against the CPU WR screens are also incredible ineffective I've noticed. However, it seems like the CPU ALWAYS knows when I'm blitzing the A and/or B Gaps and the CPU miraculously runs an HB screen... (I play on Heisman).

[twimstaxs]

So frustrating to read these forums sometimes. Maybe it is just the way I play the game and understand it. If the DB is playing man against a WR and is playing up close OBVIOUSLY the screen is not going to work. If I call a screen play and the coverage is close I audible. Just because you call the play does not mean it will work. Most of the WR screens I call are when the Defense is running some type of Zone Coverage ONLY. If I am getting blitzed HB screen. I have used multiple variations of the WR screen and I have a great success rate. I run them maybe 2-3 times a game and I have never had any issues with them. Go into practice mode and put the defense in a Zone Coverage and see if you can manage to get it right. GRANTED the CB will still try to cover the DB if he READS the play. The put them in Man and see the difference of coverages for the WR screen plays.

[ghettogeeksta]

This is what I do. I put a man in motion, if the D is in man-to-man I audible out a WR screen, because even if you have like 3-5 blockers, they can't seem to block one Cb. but if they are in zone, I throw the WR screen, I seen to have more success, on zone defenses.