Help with INTs and running PA

[Madwolf]

Been a life long Madden guy, and generally I've been pretty good at tossing the ball, although running has always been my bread and butter.

I didn't pick up Madden and start playing until last week this year, just been busy, and man it feels like I'm throwing picks due to more than just rust. We're running All-Pro Franchise and did a Fantasy draft. I've got Teddy Bridgewater, whose ratings are decent, but I feel like everything gets tossed behind the WR.

Out routes are killing me bad especially. Anytime I throw the ball on an out route the WR cuts, (and my WRs are good), seem pretty open, with the DB trailing. I throw the ball to the outside of the WR, in order to give the WR a better chance to catch it AND make the "worst case scenario" throwing it out of bounds. Yet time and time again the ball doesn't hit the WR in stride, and/or the DB makes an INT or breaks up the pass.

In the past it felt like there was no way to defend some of these, so I'm glad that's changed a bit, but I don't understand why my passes aren't hitting the WR in stride, and even going behind him allowing the INT.

Also, I still haven't gotten the hang of PA since 17. It seems like the defense never bites, and it's a sure fire sack most times. A defender always seems to blitz and get through when I call them. I pride myself on quick reads and dumping the ball off to the check down when my reads are covered, but the defenders seem to smash me untouched. It doesn't seem to matter how well I run the ball or anything, just get smashed immediately. Does your run game and down and distance no longer affect the PA biting for the defense? This is ridiculous.

[Nunyerbiz]

I'm not sure when exactly you are timing your throws, but at least for out cuts I throw the instant be begins his change of direction animation, or at the latest during the animation, not after the cut has been completed.

As far as play action... calling it against a blitz is the oldest recipe for a sack in the Madden cookbook. Only exception are the shotgun / option styled PA plays where all the QB does is a quick handoff bluff. Even then, if I have even the tiniest inkling that the opponent is sending a blitz, I audible out. All that said, PA appears to be largely useless against everybody but the dumbest of LBs.. at least when playing on All-Pro or above difficulty. I never see anybody bite... and about the only thing I use PA for are plays where I want the designed QB roll out.

[OhMrHanky]

Yeah, I stopped throwing outs early on in M18. Lol. And, I only play offline vs cpu, btw. But, I was doing exactly what you’re doing, and/or seeing, your wr looks pretty open, the DB is behind him (or backpedaling downfield), and u throw on the cut, and yeah, instead of the football being thrown as far outside as possible, it’s a little underthrown and u get picked. I think as nunyerbiz mentions, u can complete more if u throw on the cut or even just before the cut. But, overall, I would actually say what’s more important is the D called. I do believe they’ve programmed a few things in the game over the last few years that affect the out routes pretty heavily. I’m not 100% positive, but I want to say that going against Man D with this play can be the issue. They allow the DB to really play this well. And, again, if thrown too late, they absolutely let the DB break on the ball perfectly and they tend to have your qb throw a little behind. Those things are all sort of thrown together on any given play. Like, if u have a wr open deep with faster speed than all DBs, but when u throw it, he’s around 3 DBs (meaning, in general vicinity, I don’t mean all 3 are on top of the guy, of course), I really think there’s the old programmed calculation that happens. And, instead of simply factoring in the qb ability (deep acc or med acc, whatever) and wr placement on the field, they also throw in ‘3 DBs currently in vicinity’, and basically roll an outcome of ‘INT,’ so your qb underthrows and 1 of the 3 DBs is able to INT. Or, 1 of the DBs hits u, jars the ball in the air, and another gets the INT.

So, what I’m trying to say here is that in M18 and recent maddens, in general, u actually do have to watch out for specific D vs specific plays and manage your timing windows differently I’d say. And, overall, some of this actually does come off as more realistic, imo. But, some of it misses the mark a little.

And, PA? Yeah, PA has been off for the past few years, imo. I do think something is missing in the programming on this one, and I’ve been sacked plenty of times by the cpu when I felt a PA was perfect. And, the release of the football is also a little late in M18. They did this on purpose, I believe to shrink the pocket timing. This mostly takes practice and you’ll get faster at getting rid of the ball. But, sometimes, as u say, u run a PA, roll out and immediately try to throw and u can’t believe a guy is sacking u already!!! Lol. So, yeah, it’s not just u, btw. But, I have seen a few PAs work late in the game or late in a long drive (10+ plays). It could be a stamina related thing or something. And, I think that the run commit vs pass commit affects this as well.


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[JoshC1977]

Do you pinch your line on PA passes? I find it helps a bit..


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[reyes the roof]

Go to practice mode and run out routes vs random defenses until you get the timing down and you get a feel for when a WR is truly open and you'll be able to complete a pass. I was an INT machine until I started doing this

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

A good quarterback throws BEFORE the wr makes the cut. Thank God Madden finally added this piece of realism. For those struggling, stop being like Colin Kaepernick. He has to see it before he throws it, which is why he regressed so hard. Throw with ANTICIPATION and your troubles will be gone.

Also, don’t throw an out route into cover two zone.



As for play action, my PA game is lethal so I don’t know why you are struggling. Vs CPU I do well with it, but against users I absolutely kill then with it. Maybe it is your timing? Maybe it is how you mix up your play calling? To be honest, I run play action anywhere from 25-35% of my passes and I only get sacked on heavy blitzes. Are you watching the linebackers as you drop back? Maybe you aren’t seeing the blitz in time to quickly dump the ball off?