How To Control D-line. Safest Play?

[Collegefbfan]

I always try to control a defensive lineman. I don't want to mess up the defense when the CPU is on offense. Is there a strategy to controlling a DT or DE? I can't seem to ever make any progress. I mean I do rarely. Do you sprint right away? Which button lets you swim or rip past the O-line or which button works best. Should you let the CPU control the first couple of steps then you take over? Is playing a D lineman the sweat play?

Thanks.

[Collegefbfan]

Hope I can bump this. Just a quick reply on strategy will do.

Thanks

[Hellisan]

I'm not the best at this, but I suppose some reply is better than nothing. And maybe a D-line maestro will be able to chip in with some good advice too.

There are a couple of keys. I'd start with understanding what the design of the play is. When you select the play, make sure you know what you're supposed to be doing and a general idea of the gap scheme. Most of the time, you'll be looking at some kind of gap control. It's o.k. to stand up the blockers and look for the path to the ball carrier through them - or through their shoulder - working off of them rather than defeating the block right away, if you're playing the run. This is more sound than trying to make the play yourself every time. You shouldn't necessarily be looking to rip and even if you power rush successfully you might go right past the runner. You can call some plays where there are D-line games like crossing the DT or DE/DT to try and get you on a secondary blocker, RB/FB or even come free once or twice a season potentially. Know what the design is and do your best to make the correct moves, giving your guy and the CPU a chance.

As a pass rusher: Depending upon the depth of your team, you might be more interested in keeping the best player on the field all game or just going high energy and using the backups a lot. My teams rarely have the kind of depth I'd like so when I play, I'm looking to conserve energy somewhat. That means working to the QB and picking my spots to make the power moves.

Know what kind of ratings your lineman has (PMV, FMV, BSH) and this will give you an idea what some of their best moves are. These moves are accomplished using the right stick. If your lineman has phenomenal block shedding, you might just want to occasionally try and shed the block (moving away from where the guy is taking you with the left stick) as a pass rush move.

Down on the right stick when playing from a normal view is a power move. Your player will bull rush and attempt to push through

Right or left is on the right stick is a finesse move. I like to watch where the offensive lineman is going as I'm coming up on them from the end or DT position. If the tackle seems to be stepping out wide, an inside move (hitting the stick to the inside just before making contact) often times gets you right past the guy and you'll have a free and very quick path to the QB. Going wide is more consistently successful for me since they usually step straight to your chest. However, it's a longer path to the QB.

I think the moves are accentuated if you hit turbo while doing them, but I never do that because I'm trying to conserve energy, and am usually still able to get pressure.

Last move is if you hit up on the right stick when you make contact. I've never figured out exactly what this is, maybe some kind of a rip technique but I've gotten a couple sacks with it.

So the best advice I can give you aside from these general ideas is to try and be sound, play the position as it's supposed to be played and don't worry if you're getting constant sacks.

When you do get by the blocker quickly and have a run at the QB, don't panic like I do. (LOL). They WILL notice the user pressure much faster than they would notice the cpu and they will panic, sometimes moving in weird ways. It can be difficult to get the sack even if you're free rushing. Once you get used to hitting them square without panic, start to use the hit sticks and maybe the ball rip (LB button on Xbox 360) to make impact plays on the QB. I wouldn't try that right away though. Get used to hitting the QB or ball carrier square in space before trying it.

If you're not getting a ton of sacks right away keep working at it, sacks tend to come in bunches, often from good coverage being applied. But good coverage can be spotty even with a good roster so you have to be patient. Sometimes the QB will be in don't-take-a-sack mode, this can be frustrating but if you continue getting pressure, leads to INTs.

Good luck and I hope this helps you somehow.

[Deegeezy]

Based on my rules, I play with defensive lineman for one quarter of each game. For the most part, I do a combination of speed rushing with defensive ends and also user-stunts that aren't necessarily in the playbook. I find there aren't enough stunt plays, so I do my own. Can't say they work that well though. LOL