Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

[Busforever]

I read Nighthowl's topic, I know passes deep downfield are quite rare in a game. But especially post patch, I feel that the CPU QB became too conservative. I like his completion % in my franchise with my sliders (from Armor in All Pro, with some tweaks based on the analysis I read on your threads). But in the end, CPU QB often ends up under 6 yards per attempt (only top QB are over). That's an issue to me.

And in some games I don't see any try to push downfield. If there is one or two, it's always underthrow with the DB breaking it while behind the WR. I'd like to toy my sliders to try to make him pass more deep, but I'm not sure which slider to push, so I wonder what do you think. I don't want the CPU to complete all his passes or more, I just wish he would try different throws, more to his WR1 or 2 downfield (and I am curious to know how you see how sliders work). Should I modify:

- CPU Pass accurracy? I'm at 35. I'm tempted to push up but not sure if it would make the CPU at 80. Does this slider makes the CPU throw more downfield or does it make him recognize faster the first open WR and then throw more short passes?

- CPU catch? I'm at 50 right now. I like the fact that you can see some drops here and there by the average/bad WR. I wonder if increasing this slider makes the WR downfield like "more attractive" for the CPU, but I'm affraid that it would make all the WR great. I want to feel the difference when there is a top WR on the field, and that a team with a WR1 at 80 rating at best should have issues at catching difficult throws.

- Human pass coverage? I'm at 80. CPU great QB's still have 65-75% completion but my team can still cover tightly and make some plays as it should, especially if I apply pressure, the cover guy can exploit it and is not 5 yards away from the receiver. Of course decrease this slider should offer more oportunities for WR downfield I guess, but I don't want that my defense (supposed to be strong, one of the 3 best in my franchise) to play like JV and let go ALL the passes (including shorts).

- CPU pass block? I'm at 58, and my very strong defense has an average of 2 or 3 sacks per game, top 10 in franchise (so on spot, not an aberration). I suppose increase pass block gives more time to the QB to look downfield but I'm afraid it could unbalance the pressure and that in the end, QB would still throw short with ease. Not sure it would affect the way CPU QB scans the field.

- Human Pass reaction? I'm at 100 because I hated to see those DB let the cpu WR cut without reaction. I'm not sure if it would affect the opportunities downfield and the chances of CPU QB to throw deep.

- DPI penalty? I'm at 95 and barely seeing any, especially since the first patch. I know that some "sliders guru" say that penalties have a huge influence, so I guessed if DPI was high, DB would be hesistant to cover tight and there should be more opportunities downfield. I don't really see that for now, but maybe I don't understand how it works.

- Others? Maybe other penalties like less false start by O Line would make the pass pro better and give more time to the QB to throw downfield? Not sure.

I know it's very hard to judge because there are so many layers here: my defense is supposed to be strong (Steelers D with elite pass rush, strong DL, the first 3 CB between 87 and 80 and Fitzpatrick at FS). I didn't test with other teams. I suppose also weekly gameplan has an impact, adjustment at halftime... But I'd like to read your point of view!

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

First thing to always check is the three percentages at halftime to see how much they’re throwing medium and deep passes. Sometimes it feels like less than it actually is.

Second thing, without touching sliders, would be to look at what defenses you are calling. Are you in a cover 3, cover 4, cover 6, etc with 3 or more deep blue and purple zones? Thats going to leave the CPU more opportunities to only attack underneath.
Or are you running multiple cover 2 zone looks, covering hard flats, pressing, running cover 0, cover 1, cover 2 man, etc. where there are more opportunities for the CPU to attack medium and deep parts of the field because the underneath and quick routes are covered tightly?

Third thing to monitor would be what teams your playing. What does their playbook look like? Is it the Bears, Commanders, Dolphins, etc that have a ton of short quick pass plays, tons of motion, RPOs, etc. in their situations where they just aren’t programmed to go deep very often?

Halftime stats against me this week: I’ll post some pics below of the teams I’ve played recently to show the breakdown of how all those things will affect your numbers.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

Trying to figure out how to upload more than one pic from my phone. If I can’t do it, I’ll just type out the percentages. Gimme a bit.

[Busforever]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

First thing to always check is the three percentages at halftime to see how much they’re throwing medium and deep passes. Sometimes it feels like less than it actually is.

Second thing, without touching sliders, would be to look at what defenses you are calling. Are you in a cover 3, cover 4, cover 6, etc with 3 or more deep blue and purple zones? Thats going to leave the CPU more opportunities to only attack underneath.
Or are you running multiple cover 2 zone looks, covering hard flats, pressing, running cover 0, cover 1, cover 2 man, etc. where there are more opportunities for the CPU to attack medium and deep parts of the field because the underneath and quick routes are covered tightly?

Third thing to monitor would be what teams your playing. What does their playbook look like? Is it the Bears, Commanders, Dolphins, etc that have a ton of short quick pass plays, tons of motion, RPOs, etc. in their situations where they just aren’t programmed to go deep very often?

Halftime stats against me this week: I’ll post some pics below of the teams I’ve played recently to show the breakdown of how all those things will affect your numbers.

It's true, multiple things are at stake in a game so it can be hard to judge. And like I said, my defense is supposed to be very strong (elite pass rush and solid DB squad so hard to throw deep, often and get positive results).
And yes, I often use cover 3/4/6... I should try in my next (preseason) game to call only man and cover 2 to see how the cpu react.

I played multiple games against the Ravens and it's always dink and dunk by Lamar Jackson with +/- 5.5 ypa. Might be the playbook. I modify it to better balance the run/pass ratio but I don't redistribute the stars for the passing plays (and I don't change the play pre-selected because I don't want to make the game crash on my PC).

It also looked like a dink and dunk game against the Bills on my last game, but Josh Allen threw and completed 2 passes of 27 and 30 yards in the air in second half so ypa was better. But other than that he managed with short passes, like Lamar. We are talking about 2 of the best rated QB in Madden, so I'm a little bit affraid of what it will be with less talented QB.
It's a little bit frustrating because it seems to me that QB were more balanced in their choice pre-patch.

I haven't been in Madden since 2021, but I'm pretty sure that fixing the "robo QB" issue has been one of the main tasks of the "sliders gurus" here As I enter offseason in my franchise, I have a little time before my next game, so I wanted to take the time to hear what you guys know that can influence frequency and success of deep throws by the CPU.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

Lamar passing
Deep 9%
Medium 22.7%
Short 68.1%

T Law passing
Deep 10.5%
Medium 26.3%
Short 63.1%

Tua passing
Deep 0%
Medium 11.1%
Short 88.8%

Stroud passing
Deep 10.5%
Medium 26.3%
Short 63.1%

Sorry. I couldn’t figure out how to do it from my phone

[Busforever]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

Do you know what Madden counts as "deep passes"? 30+ in the air? Is it just yard gained (so a short pass with good yac could be counted as a deep pass).

I understand we should rarely see more than 2-3 long throws (more than 30 yards in the air). But I feel that I don't see them in the game.

I try to force it by rising a little bit the stars in the playbook for vertical passes or those kind of plays (but I don't want the game to become crazy so it's one more star here and there, trying to get 2, 3, maybe 4 tries in a game).

I played a preseason game and I must say that CPU completed one deep pass when I played cover 2 man.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

Do you know what Madden counts as "deep passes"? 30+ in the air? Is it just yard gained (so a short pass with good yac could be counted as a deep pass).

I understand we should rarely see more than 2-3 long throws (more than 30 yards in the air). But I feel that I don't see them in the game.

I try to force it by rising a little bit the stars in the playbook for vertical passes or those kind of plays (but I don't want the game to become crazy so it's one more star here and there, trying to get 2, 3, maybe 4 tries in a game).

I played a preseason game and I must say that CPU completed one deep pass when I played cover 2 man.

It’s air yards attempted that is calculated. It’s part of the old “nextgen stats” that used to be more prominent in the game that they removed so it only cares about attempted air yards.

Cover 2 man is still a really good defense to stop an NFL deep pass attack. Any two deep safety look is going to provide essential help over the top. If you want cover 2 man to be your test play, I suggest pressing or showing blitz or even disguising it as a cover 3 shell which should bring one of them down closer to the box and sort of leaving you one high safety until one has time to retreat.
Otherwise, try some cover 1, cover 0, and even some blitzes out of those and showing blitz or pressing to try and take away everything quick and underneath. That should force them to have to wait for the deeper route to develop if guys aren’t open underneath so quickly.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

I should’ve been more specific in my first post. Apologies for that. But when I brought up cover 2 zones, there’s generally a good amount of space for corner routes if it’s hard flat zones for CBs. And deep middle of the field if that LB isn’t very fast or good. And cover 2 man can be susceptible to medium passing if everyone’s pressed because those safeties first move is to drop back. So if someone gets beat off the line quickly, the QB will take that one on one quick throw all day. Whether it’s a quick out or a slot seam, they’ll throw it quick for five and RAC or 15 and safety is late coming back down to help.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

But, this is also why I play with my pass coverage sliders on 100 and my speed threshold slider on 100. Way more sim football when the defense is tighter and the speed disparity isnt arcade.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

Need to correct a mistake I made. The halftime adjustment shows deep passes as 20+ yards. Not 30+. Medium is 10-20 so that makes sense. Idk what made me think it said 30+. Sorry about that. Just added stats to my comment with the percentages for Stroud.

[Busforever]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

But when I brought up cover 2 zones, there’s generally a good amount of space for corner routes if it’s hard flat zones for CBs. And deep middle of the field if that LB isn’t very fast or good.

As I recently experimented

I changed the way I call the D, now I'm starting from "concept" (instead of starting from suggestions) and chose from cover 1, cover 2, cover 3, man blitz, etc. This thread and your answers encouraged me to do that, and I enjoy the game ever more. Every coverage has his pros and cons, I try to be wise and adapt to the other team.

I saw you were playing with pass cov at 100. I must say that while I'm at 80 (but playing in all-pro, not all-madden), I'm thinking about increasing it to maybe 85, as I have been torched by Anthony Richardson (65%, 312 yards) and his replacement when injured (4/4, 52 yards, including a 30 yards TD). This offseason I lost Cam Heyward on DL, my 81 SS has been replaced by a young 77 SS, and I was missing my CB2 in that game (rated 81, injured in practice).
I feel that the Colts could have run more so I need to custom the playbook a little bit. But the flow of the game made them pass often (I lead early, they played from behind... and they won). But it remains that they dominated me in the passing game. My D lost some pieces, I felt that, but from a purely rating standpoint, they are still elite (88 on madden team rating). I'll see by testing more if it's unbalanced and if increasing pass coverage is relevant.

I feel that the "issue" was not really a big one: my D roster last year was probably REALLY deserving to be that dominant on the field (89 in madden team rating for that D, top of the franchise). Might need a little adjustment from sliders and from my playcalling. Heck, I called more diverse plays and it didn't pay dividends at all .

Getting more balls in the hands of WR1 and WR2 lays between "all passes throwns to checkdowns" and "being torched every game". It's a fine line to find.

[NightOwl]

Re: Which slider to push to make CPU QB throw more downfield?

As I recently experimented

I changed the way I call the D, now I'm starting from "concept" (instead of starting from suggestions) and chose from cover 1, cover 2, cover 3, man blitz, etc. This thread and your answers encouraged me to do that, and I enjoy the game ever more. Every coverage has his pros and cons, I try to be wise and adapt to the other team.

I saw you were playing with pass cov at 100. I must say that while I'm at 80 (but playing in all-pro, not all-madden), I'm thinking about increasing it to maybe 85, as I have been torched by Anthony Richardson (65%, 312 yards) and his replacement when injured (4/4, 52 yards, including a 30 yards TD). This offseason I lost Cam Heyward on DL, my 81 SS has been replaced by a young 77 SS, and I was missing my CB2 in that game (rated 81, injured in practice).
I feel that the Colts could have run more so I need to custom the playbook a little bit. But the flow of the game made them pass often (I lead early, they played from behind... and they won). But it remains that they dominated me in the passing game. My D lost some pieces, I felt that, but from a purely rating standpoint, they are still elite (88 on madden team rating). I'll see by testing more if it's unbalanced and if increasing pass coverage is relevant.

I feel that the "issue" was not really a big one: my D roster last year was probably REALLY deserving to be that dominant on the field (89 in madden team rating for that D, top of the franchise). Might need a little adjustment from sliders and from my playcalling. Heck, I called more diverse plays and it didn't pay dividends at all .

Getting more balls in the hands of WR1 and WR2 lays between "all passes throwns to checkdowns" and "being torched every game". It's a fine line to find.

The concept way of playcalling is something that can definitely be useful in making sure you have the right personnel and the right playcall for situational matchups. I'm eagerly awaiting the CPU playcalling update so we can see a better blend of run vs pass. As it stands right now, Cover 4 is pretty useless because it leaves so much of the middle of the field open for just one LB to cover. The benefits it provides with the safeties being in run fits doesn't help much when the CPU won't run lol. I've been calling a lot of Cover 6, Cover 9, Cover 2 man, and Cover 1. Outside of that, I'll blitz mostly from Cover 3 looks to protect myself deep or cover 0 or 1 looks hoping for a quick pass I can break up or not give up many yards to. Cover 2 zone blitzes seemingly get torched every attempt right now as there's just not enough coverage out there if the pass rush doesn't get home fast enough.

Found a really good article about deep passing from the start of last season as well. Talks about a 9-10% average amount of passes in the NFL being in the "deep" variety. That 20+ yards we talked about. So I'm even happier with the 9-11% I'm seeing at halftime now.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38378450/nfl-death-long-passing-deep-ball-aerial-yards-negative-trend