Is running a pure spread offense in madden cheese?

[TheDude22s]

Thats why you play zone so that they don't get burnt. Plus, most teams have 80+ speed LB's which are more than athletic enough. Here is the Seahawks doing it against the Broncos in the Super Bowl:

[BigTone1970]

Just because it works in real life doesn't mean it works in Madden. That's why people exploit stuff in the video game. Thanks for the picture/diagram though.

[josefrees]

Everything is cheese if you are playing jabronis who blame the opponent for their own weakness

[novadolla]

Quote: Originally Posted by howboutdat

well it depends on other factors, however i personally cant think of 1 nfl team where ALL of their runs come from shotgun sets. Nor do i really know any that run shot gun 100% of the game. so on that front , could seem alittle cheesy(unsim because it dont happen in real life on sundays , thus they call it cheesy). Because most likely the opponent (if they have any sense when they see your offensive set) is picking dime, nickel, dollar , or quarters ( not 4-3) to combat the amount of receivers you have on the field. so that makes running alot easier when you only have 1 lb to contend with , maybe 2 tops if they call nickel. you have 5 linemen at all times, if they run dime d or quarters or even dollar, your runs will work very well as you have enough or more than enough blockers to get u an easy 5 yards everytime unless they have cbs who have really high block shed. Personally i wouldnt run shotgun spread all game, for the fact i dont know of 1 NFL team that does that for 100% of their plays, yes some run it alot , but not all game long. so i think that is why your being called out for it , i am assuming your in a SIM league , not a lobby ball league since they are calling your playstyle cheese. Again SIM leagues require you to play as you see it on sundays. and again i state no NFL team i know runs shotgun spreads all for 100% of their offense.

umm are you not an eagles fan? ever heard of chip kelly?

[jimaveli]

It basically comes down to how the screen and the counter are being used. If the screen is being used as a counter-attack/punishment for certain blitzes, defensive alignments, or artificial defensive 'strategies' (moving linemen out wide, blitzing guys who are supposed to be in coverage to try to glitch the AI, etc), it doesn't bother me much. I think so because, if we're being honest, folks are generally far more repetitive on defense than offense on Madden.

If it is a more masterbatory 'hey...it is 3rd and 8, so let me run my magical $ screen play to see if I can get some cheap yards', then that is different. Or 'hey...I need 15 yards...corner outs for everybody!'. And the thing is...people know *cuss word* well what the difference is between counter-attacking a defense and just running a $ play/milking a concept over and over again in a video game environment.

Problem with that is self-policing policy...some folks are so cheap/cheesy and have been for so long that they've talked themselves into believing that being dependent on $ plays and $ concepts every year on Madden or 2k isn't cheap. They think it is 'strategy'. Haha.

Don't start me on read option. Too much manual effort goes into stopping it (aka the CPU is basically no help in certain defenses against people who repeated run read option with *insert fast QB here*...the run blocking on the edges is just about artificially good with certain teams...)

[Trick13]

The game play is flawed, period. We all know that Madden heavily favors offense in terms of its base game play - even heavily modified sliders leave you with a game, especially, in CFM that is tilted in favor of offense. The fact that defenders have more relevant attributes and traits coupled with the nerfed DL and LB play plus the OL is so overly easy to develop and once you get a ways into CFM offenses (especially user teams) are way overpowered.


The problem with the option is you don't have the real world solution that smart teams employ - the read player goes and hits the QB every time and the rest of the team attacks the RB. See Ravens vs 49ers SB...


Until EA tells off the crybaby witches in the tourney crowd and implements "adaptive AI" we will continue to be stuck with garbage game play that rewards repeating play calls and constant concept abuse.


Zone coverage players have zero awareness of routes being run in their area, man coverage has serious issues as well and so you get crap like the "douche bag defense" where you drop 10 players into coverage. And there are still routes where the receiver gets a free release automatically even against the best rated press cover guys. You can not press cover TEs, despite the fact that NFL teams do it every game, (never mind when they have DE/OLBs "balance check" them as they go to rush the QB).


In answer to the original question, yes. The current state of Madden game play means that running the spread offense all game is cheese. Yes this can be defeated, but the methodology for stopping it means the defender has to go outside anything resembling real football strategy. There are a lot of us who do not enjoy the counter cheese with cheese crap that is required.


What it really comes down to, at this sad sad juncture in Madden gaming, is you have to find a league that fits your style. You want to cheese it up, find a "no holes barred" league. You want a sim style league, find or start one. If you join a league, and they have "house rules" you need to respect those rules because that league is letting you in expecting that you want to follow the rules they have set, otherwise you should not be joining it...

[Kaiser Wilhelm]

Seven halfback screens a game isn't cheese, that's just Chan Gailey's 2012 offense.

In a more serious response Madden does make HB Screens a bit overpowered so I can see why they are considered cheese. I wish they were more balanced because they really are a great weapon for a team like Buffalo where the two best weapons are the runningback. You try get them as many looks as possible, and screens are great for CJ Spiller seeing as he can't run downhill.

[Godgers12]

Sounds like everyone in my franchise. Literally 85% of the starting QB's have 80-85+ spd. I'm usually only in my base 34 set about 3-5 times per game. Have to have some really good CB's. And I have PP, Sherman, and Revis at CB. So, no, I wouldn't call it cheese, unless they're running Shotgun Trey Open Buck Sweep every other play, or something along those lines. Anyways, all my playbook is, is a bunch of shotgun and pistol formations, with a select few singleback sets, and the ever trustworthy Strong Close.