Playbooks and Playcalling

[servo75]

Just curious, where'd you find this graphic? I wonder if they have diagrams for other formations.

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

I think that is enough of a short novel tonight though lol. Let me know if you have a more specific question.

[ggsimmonds]

Quote: Originally Posted by servo75

Just curious, where'd you find this graphic? I wonder if they have diagrams for other formations.

Random google image search.

I wish the formations in the custom playbooks screen did something like this to show you the actual personnel. Many formations move guys around and you will not know your #1 WR is in the slot until you call a play in game.

[VTWiseGuy]

Very deep and informative!


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[prey2god]

Quote: Originally Posted by zkiesel

Excellent information already in this thread, but I'll add a few things. Route Combinations Like others have said, pay little attention to the names of the plays in Madden. Pay attention to concepts. Here is an excellent resource on the various route combinations you'll see in the NFL every Sunday. Of course, after learning these concepts you'll typically want to learn what to look for from the defense when you call them. For example, if you call a Drive or Shallow Cross, you'll be reading the inside linebackers. If they cover the drag, the dig will be open. And if they cover the dig, the drag will be open. And if they're in man, wait until your man has beaten his defender and fire it in there. Once you learn those progressions, you'll be getting rid of the ball in 2-3 seconds max. Defensive Coverages You also asked about defensive coverages, and the difference between them. As mentioned before, Cover 1 and Cover 3 are your single-high safety looks. That brings your other safety into the box. Cover 2 and Cover 4 are your two-high safety looks. Other than blitzes, here are the primary differences between the various coverages. Cover 1 Cover 1 has two base coverages: Robber and Hole. The differences between these are very simple. While Cover 1 is a man defense, you'll typically have 2 players in zone if you're in a base coverage (i.e. no blitz). One of those players is your free safety. In Cover 1 Robber, the other zone player is your strong safety. That means both of your linebackers are in man. In Cover 1 Hole, the other zone player is your inside linebacker. That means your strong safety is in man. Cover 1 is a more aggressive man defense, since you have only one man deep. If you're not too worried about a deep pass, and want to be aggressive over the middle in man, Cover 1 is a good defense to call. Cover 3 Cover 3 is the zone equivalent of Cover 1. Your free safety covers the deep middle of the field, while your outside cornerbacks cover the deep zones alongside him. Cover 3 has 3 base coverages: Sky, Buzz, and Cloud. These names simply refer to which player is covering the flat. Cover 3 is the best run defense you can call, since you're bringing an extra man into the box and all of your players are looking into the backfield in zone coverage. Cover 3 Sky is the most common, and features your strong safety covering the flat while both of your linebackers cover the middle of the field and your outside linebacker covers the flat opposite from your safety. Cover 3 Buzz features your inside linebacker covering the flat while your strong safety covers the middle of the field. Cover 3 Cloud features one of your outside cornerbacks covering the flat, meaning that both safeties play deep, with your other outside cornerback covering the 3rd deep zone. So, Sky = Safety, Buzz = Linebacker, and Cloud = Cornerback. As for advantages between the 3, Sky will be your base Cover 3. It adds a safety in the box, but keeps your linebackers in a comfortable spot covering the middle of the field. Buzz is good if your inside linebacker is good in pass coverage, or you want your safety playing the middle of the field. Cloud is good as a changeup, as your opponent may think you're in Cover 2 when he sees your cornerback jamming the line and both safeties playing deep. Cover 2 Cover 2 obviously refers to your two-high safety coverage. Next to Cover 4, it's the most conservative coverage. You'll typically have 2 types of base Cover 2 zone coverages: Base (or what Madden calls "Hard Flat") and Sink. And then you'll obviously have Cover 2 Man. The difference between Cover 2 Base and Sink are what your outside cornerbacks do. In Base, they're more aggressive in the flats (hence, the "Hard Flat" name). In Sink, they play more even with the linebackers. Base will be your base coverage, but Sink is good in 3rd-and-long situations when you want to guard the sticks, or if you want to call something between a Cover 2 Base and a Cover 4. Cover 2 Man is pretty self-explanatory. It's a great pass defense if you have defenders who can cover in man. Cover 4 Cover 4 is pretty much the most conservative coverage you can call. It's the best thing to call towards the end of halves/games when you couldn't care less if the offense completes passes underneath. It's also good in 3rd-and-long. Cover 6 Cover 6 is a confusing coverage. It's a hybrid of Cover 2 and Cover 4. One side of the field plays Cover 2, and the other plays Cover 4. It's VERY similar to Cover 3 cloud, the main difference is that, instead of your 3 deep zone players covering equal parts of the field, your safety and cornerback play quarters and your other safety plays a half. It's a great defense to confuse opposing quarterbacks, and I like to use it on 3rd-down.

Props on that writeup!

[servo75]

Quote: Originally Posted by zkiesel

Excellent information already in this thread, but I'll add a few things. Route Combinations Like others have said, pay little attention to the names of the plays in Madden. Pay attention to concepts. Here is an excellent resource on the various route combinations you'll see in the NFL every Sunday. Of course, after learning these concepts you'll typically want to learn what to look for from the defense when you call them. For example, if you call a Drive or Shallow Cross, you'll be reading the inside linebackers. If they cover the drag, the dig will be open. And if they cover the dig, the drag will be open. And if they're in man, wait until your man has beaten his defender and fire it in there. Once you learn those progressions, you'll be getting rid of the ball in 2-3 seconds max. Defensive Coverages You also asked about defensive coverages, and the difference between them. As mentioned before, Cover 1 and Cover 3 are your single-high safety looks. That brings your other safety into the box. Cover 2 and Cover 4 are your two-high safety looks. Other than blitzes, here are the primary differences between the various coverages. Cover 1 Cover 1 has two base coverages: Robber and Hole. The differences between these are very simple. While Cover 1 is a man defense, you'll typically have 2 players in zone if you're in a base coverage (i.e. no blitz). One of those players is your free safety. In Cover 1 Robber, the other zone player is your strong safety. That means both of your linebackers are in man. In Cover 1 Hole, the other zone player is your inside linebacker. That means your strong safety is in man. Cover 1 is a more aggressive man defense, since you have only one man deep. If you're not too worried about a deep pass, and want to be aggressive over the middle in man, Cover 1 is a good defense to call. Cover 3 Cover 3 is the zone equivalent of Cover 1. Your free safety covers the deep middle of the field, while your outside cornerbacks cover the deep zones alongside him. Cover 3 has 3 base coverages: Sky, Buzz, and Cloud. These names simply refer to which player is covering the flat. Cover 3 is the best run defense you can call, since you're bringing an extra man into the box and all of your players are looking into the backfield in zone coverage. Cover 3 Sky is the most common, and features your strong safety covering the flat while both of your linebackers cover the middle of the field and your outside linebacker covers the flat opposite from your safety. Cover 3 Buzz features your inside linebacker covering the flat while your strong safety covers the middle of the field. Cover 3 Cloud features one of your outside cornerbacks covering the flat, meaning that both safeties play deep, with your other outside cornerback covering the 3rd deep zone. So, Sky = Safety, Buzz = Linebacker, and Cloud = Cornerback. As for advantages between the 3, Sky will be your base Cover 3. It adds a safety in the box, but keeps your linebackers in a comfortable spot covering the middle of the field. Buzz is good if your inside linebacker is good in pass coverage, or you want your safety playing the middle of the field. Cloud is good as a changeup, as your opponent may think you're in Cover 2 when he sees your cornerback jamming the line and both safeties playing deep. Cover 2 Cover 2 obviously refers to your two-high safety coverage. Next to Cover 4, it's the most conservative coverage. You'll typically have 2 types of base Cover 2 zone coverages: Base (or what Madden calls "Hard Flat") and Sink. And then you'll obviously have Cover 2 Man. The difference between Cover 2 Base and Sink are what your outside cornerbacks do. In Base, they're more aggressive in the flats (hence, the "Hard Flat" name). In Sink, they play more even with the linebackers. Base will be your base coverage, but Sink is good in 3rd-and-long situations when you want to guard the sticks, or if you want to call something between a Cover 2 Base and a Cover 4. Cover 2 Man is pretty self-explanatory. It's a great pass defense if you have defenders who can cover in man. Cover 4 Cover 4 is pretty much the most conservative coverage you can call. It's the best thing to call towards the end of halves/games when you couldn't care less if the offense completes passes underneath. It's also good in 3rd-and-long. Cover 6 Cover 6 is a confusing coverage. It's a hybrid of Cover 2 and Cover 4. One side of the field plays Cover 2, and the other plays Cover 4. It's VERY similar to Cover 3 cloud, the main difference is that, instead of your 3 deep zone players covering equal parts of the field, your safety and cornerback play quarters and your other safety plays a half. It's a great defense to confuse opposing quarterbacks, and I like to use it on 3rd-down.

Great info! What are "Tampa 2" (just another word for Cover 2) and "Cover 3 Mable"? I guess what I still have to do is learn how to recognize them and know what to audible to. I've done the coverage drills in Trainer but I find them a bit vague, and all they do is give you some glowing zones and just tell you exactly who to throw to. On top of that since it's a "Cover 3" drill I know they'll be in... well, Cover 3 so no reading defense is really required.

[beastmode_21]

Quote: Originally Posted by sbattisti

One suggestion I would add to ggsimmond's detailed one: One thing I did was to create a custom playbook. I like to use the Patriots' playbook (even though I play the Eagles), but it has close to 500 plays. So, I took the Pats' playbook and whittled it down to just three formations: I, Singleback, and Shotgun. Then I whittled the sets within each formation down to about two sets for each formation, which ended up being around 150 plays. I also went through and erased plays that were confusing to me, or that were duplicates. (Man, I wish you could choose to sort or manually reorder plays in the custom playbook!) Then, I would play a game like this. If I felt like I had a solid grasp on the offense and the plays at my disposal, I would go back and edit the playbook again in the next week and either add some more plays to the existing formations, or add an entirely new set or something. Usually adding no more than 10 plays in any given week. Then I would do a bit of free practice to familiarize myself with the new plays. This worked especially well for me from an immersion standpoint because I happened to have a rookie QB, so it made sense that they would have simplified the offense a bit, and would gradually work to add more.

Do you have your playbook on PS4? Also, any pointers on how you assigned stars to the plays?


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[zkiesel]

Quote: Originally Posted by servo75

Great info! What are "Tampa 2" (just another word for Cover 2) and "Cover 3 Mable"? I guess what I still have to do is learn how to recognize them and know what to audible to. I've done the coverage drills in Trainer but I find them a bit vague, and all they do is give you some glowing zones and just tell you exactly who to throw to. On top of that since it's a "Cover 3" drill I know they'll be in... well, Cover 3 so no reading defense is really required.

Great questions! Tampa 2 is just like Cover 2 Hard Flat, but features your middle linebacker dropping deeper than usual, into the seam between your two safeties. Tony Dungy made this defense famous, along with Monte Kiffin, his defensive coordinator. It's gone by the wayside a bit in favor of more single-high coverages, but many teams like to use it in the red zone.

I haven't really found anyone who truly understands Cover 3 Mable (or Match). I think it might have something to do with playing man on one side if the offense comes out in trips, but I'm not sure. I remove it from all my custom defensive playbooks.

[ggsimmonds]

Quote: Originally Posted by zkiesel

Great questions! Tampa 2 is just like Cover 2 Hard Flat, but features your middle linebacker dropping deeper than usual, into the seam between your two safeties. Tony Dungy made this defense famous, along with Monte Kiffin, his defensive coordinator. It's gone by the wayside a bit in favor of more single-high coverages, but many teams like to use it in the red zone. I haven't really found anyone who truly understands Cover 3 Mable (or Match). I think it might have something to do with playing man on one side if the offense comes out in trips, but I'm not sure. I remove it from all my custom defensive playbooks.

Cover 3 Mable doesn't work well this year. It was excellent last year, but something went wrong.

It is designed to be used against a 3x1 set. The cornerback against the isolated WR plays man defense against him.

The underneath coverage is all shifted to the playside/trips side. They are supposed to then pattern match the receivers, but I think this is what is wrong with Mable this year, they don't match.

http://brophyfootball.blogspot.com/2...daptation.html