As far as stopping the pass goes, it depends on what kind of defense you normally play: man, zone, cover 2, cover 3, etc... you really should be mixing it up as far as those defenses go, and if you don't user an LB on defense, you should really learn how to. Playing good defense in the middle makes people hold on to the ball longer than they are used to, and that leads to sacks and forced throws into coverage.
Learning how zone defenses use reciever counts is a major part of being effective. Here's a link to how the zones work:
https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/...-zone-coverage
Towards the bottom, you'll find how to read offensive formations by reciever counts.
Here's a link to a video I found very useful when taking reciever counts into consideration with how the zones in madden 17 work:
https://youtu.be/Ez0rLybruck
I also suggest subscribing to that channel...
There's more to cover, but I hope this is a good start for you. If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask...