Madden 17: Defensive formation personnel and alignments

[matt.j.olson]

After SpectreBugg prodded me to get off my keister with his offensive-personnel spreadsheet, I've put together a defensive version. You can find it here:

Madden 17 Defensive Formations

A few comments:

• I'm using the standard defensive-alignment notation for both players on the line and second-level defenders. This is noted by a number in parentheses next to the player's depth-chart position, so "WLB1(6)" would be your #1 Will linebacker (ROLB, which I felt was too many characters), playing at "6 technique" or aligned head-on with the tackle. Numbers go across the formation from (offensive) left to right.
• If there's nobody lined up at 0-tech -- head-on to the center -- I marked the spot of the ball with a bar "|"
• For the most part, I tried to select plays for the defense with two high safeties, to avoid confusion about whether the SS rotating down into the box was "really" part of the second level or part of the secondary. Some sets don't have two-high plays; I've marked those by shading the set name.
• I charted all of these sets against Singleback Jumbo, which is nice in that it has TEs on both sides of the ball, but also has a clear strong side for the defense to align against. That might've warped the Dollar and Quarter second-level lists, since you aren't really expected to call 6- or 7-DB subpackages against 13 personnel.

And now that I've charted which sets live in which playbooks, for your custom-playbook formation-substituting pleasure, any requests?

If you notice any mistakes, be sure to holler. (The second-level alignments are going to be a bit off, just because they're less fixed than the line-of-scrimmage alignments -- linebackers tend to fidget back and forth.) Also, if anyone has a clever idea for displaying the front-seven alignments, let me know -- as it stands, it's nearly impossible to just read a front off of the spreadsheet (unless you're drawing it out on paper as you go).

[SpectreBugg]

Quote: Originally Posted by matt.j.olson

After SpectreBugg prodded me to get off my keister with his offensive-personnel spreadsheet, I've put together a defensive version. You can find it here: Madden 17 Defensive Formations A few comments: I'm using the standard defensive-alignment notation for both players on the line and second-level defenders. This is noted by a number in parentheses next to the player's depth-chart position, so "WLB1(6)" would be your #1 Will linebacker (ROLB, which I felt was too many characters), playing at "6 technique" or aligned head-on with the tackle. Numbers go across the formation from (offensive) left to right. If there's nobody lined up at 0-tech -- head-on to the center -- I marked the spot of the ball with a bar "|" For the most part, I tried to select plays for the defense with two high safeties, to avoid confusion about whether the SS rotating down into the box was "really" part of the second level or part of the secondary. Some sets don't have two-high plays; I've marked those by shading the set name. I charted all of these sets against Singleback Jumbo, which is nice in that it has TEs on both sides of the ball, but also has a clear strong side for the defense to align against. That might've warped the Dollar and Quarter second-level lists, since you aren't really expected to call 6- or 7-DB subpackages against 13 personnel. And now that I've charted which sets live in which playbooks, for your custom-playbook formation-substituting pleasure, any requests? If you notice any mistakes, be sure to holler. (The second-level alignments are going to be a bit off, just because they're less fixed than the line-of-scrimmage alignments -- linebackers tend to fidget back and forth.) Also, if anyone has a clever idea for displaying the front-seven alignments, let me know -- as it stands, it's nearly impossible to just read a front off of the spreadsheet (unless you're drawing it out on paper as you go).

Awesome work! Seems easy to read, and the inclusion of the playbook list for formation subs(since you can't use custom books for that) was a great idea.

[matt.j.olson]

I got curious (and a little bored), so I went through the formations and marked any two-gapping defensive linemen in bold.

A few things:

• I'm surprised by how few formations actually had two-gap assignments, given that this is one of the features they added this year. I gather the NFL is moving away from two-gap defensive schemes in general, but still.
• I wouldn't be surprised if my results are skewed by (again) charting defensive fronts against Singleback Jumbo. You'd think that would lead to more two-gapping, not less (given that there are more gaps total), but still.
• Obviously gap assignments are going to change if you blitz. I'm charting all of this stuff out of a basic Cover 2 (or similar), which I'd expect to be representative of most normal defenses, but I'm less confident in this work than the rest.

I haven't tried it out, but I'd guess that your best two-gappers are going to be classic run-stuffer linemen -- big, strong guys with high block shed. This might be helpful if you're trying to add some 3-4ish fronts to your 4-3 (custom) playbook: you probably won't want to put someone like Geno Atkins or Aaron Donald in a two-gapping slot, because their game's all about penetrating the OL and wrecking **** in the backfield.

[Ueauvan]

tyvm for this much appreciated

[matt.j.olson]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ueauvan

tyvm for this much appreciated

Glad you're finding it helpful