Is it possible to have a running game?

[timhere1970]

Great info. This year and last year the not blocking the backside defender has been a problem in madden. Not just on zone runs but any runs. Edge rushers often get to the back even when he is running to the opposite side right after the handoff. The faster they are the quicker they get there. Often they are the lead tacklers for the other team when playing the cpu. It gets frustrating as edge rushers stop the run with tackles for loss better than run stopping d linemen. To me this is the biggest issue with the run game along with li emen just going out for a jog and never touching anybody. Anyway, I enjoyed your info on zone blocking so thanks.

[SolidSquid]

Try running without hitting the sprint button and feather the LS lightly instead of tilting it all the way. This allows you to let blocks set up so you can cut off your guys and into space. Then you can hit sprint in the open field

[Kid OS]

Go into practice mode. Pick a run play. Have the defense do random plays. You'll soon realize that running has a lot to do with what the defense does. You'll probably avg about 5 yards per carry after 50 plays. This will change the way you look at the difficulty of running the ball.

[Nunyerbiz]

The real answer here is that Madden AI and random dice roll animation outcomes have always been astonishingly inconsistent. Just go back to the slider threads on this very forum over the last decade. You'll see literally tens of thousands of posts/replies over that time without anybody coming to consensus or understanding on how this game performs under the hood. It never, ever happens... nobody on this green Earth, including the devs themselves I'd guess, have any real idea of what's actually happening from play to play or game to game.

That said, I played two games with the Lions... a team with an average / below average OL and RBs.... and I didn't have a problem running on vanilla All-Pro. Now I wasn't setting the world on fire.. but for every insta-block shed where I'd lose 3 yards, I would have a few runs that made the first guy miss and gain 6 or 7. My initial impressions is that sheds happen a little quicker, but so do missed tackles if you time the moves properly... which is an improvement overall. But like I said above, consistent results have never been the strong suit of this game. I wouldn't be surprised if a horrible defense held me in check one game while the best defense in the league got shredded the next game.

[xCoachDx]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

I do not have current generation Madden, but every video I have seen over the years, and even a quick search on YouTube before replying to this video confirms that the zone run scheme is just as powerful as ever. It seems that the animations and lateral movement are even better in the last three years (Madden 18, 19, and 20) than on the Xbox 360 like I play on, and even in Madden 12 and 25, zone running is so powerful and easy that I use 0 run blocking sliders and dominate. You can learn all about zone blocking by doing some research, but here is a great place to start: Alex Gibbs, the godfather of the modern zone blocking scheme The core concept is simple. We want to create double teams up front, and one way that is done is by not blocking the backside defender. Your job is to take the hand off, make your first and possibly secondread quickly based on leverage and hit the hole. The beauty of the zone run is how it can attack 8 men in the box and has more explosive plays when the defense blitzes, because there is no second level of the defense once you hit your hole and you are lose into the secondary. Zone run is not unstoppable. Great defensive linemen are taught how to hold onto, disrupt and split double teams. Against a blitz, there are fewer or even no double teams which leaves an elite defensive lineman one on one and can also dominate his man at the point of attack to blow up a play as well. I also coach the zone run scheme in real life, as well as play offensive line with my team of adults in our amateur league and we lead that league in rushing. It takes a patient and tough set of backs who are willing to grind out 5 yards up the gut most of the game and not try to bounce everything outside. When it is there, it is there, but there are as many big plays to be had by being patient, letting the defense stretch and over contain and pound it north/south as there are big plays from bouncing it to the sidelines. I grew up with the power run scheme as a kid and in high school, but the zone run scheme won me over as an adult. it is a thing of beauty to watch and to execute. Madden is not a perfect representation of real football, but the more you know about real football, the more you can bring to your madden game play. If you want to improve at running the ball, then it helps to learn about how offensive linemen play, which will help you with your reads, as you will understand the blocks better. Here is an amazing video about how the College Rutgers trained their linemen: @19:13 - They teach the one on one reach block. @22:34 - They teach double team work I hope this helps.

EA tries to replicate this to an extent, but they struggle tremendously. I’ve seen so many times a lineman attempt to double team someone a full gap over when they had a linebacker lined up straight ahead of them. I’ve even playside linemen ignoring a playside backer and scraping to pickup a weakside backer instead.

The other day I went and watched a replay of every run play to see how they blocked it. Rarely were plays blocked in a way that made any sense at all. Which is pretty mind blowing considering NCAA 11 went overboard to ensure blocking schemes were implemented realistically. I really wonder if EA just can’t quite get it right or if they legitimately don’t know/don’t care enough to do so.


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[PGaither84]

Quote: Originally Posted by xCoachDx

EA tries to replicate this to an extent, but they struggle tremendously. I’ve seen so many times a lineman attempt to double team someone a full gap over when they had a linebacker lined up straight ahead of them. I’ve even playside linemen ignoring a playside backer and scraping to pickup a weakside backer instead. The other day I went and watched a replay of every run play to see how they blocked it. Rarely were plays blocked in a way that made any sense at all. Which is pretty mind blowing considering NCAA 11 went overboard to ensure blocking schemes were implemented realistically. I really wonder if EA just can’t quite get it right or if they legitimately don’t know/don’t care enough to do so. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I won't disagree, but the zone run has worked a lot better than power and pitch plays.


Far too often do I see pulling linemen not know what to do or who to pick up.


The 01 Trap on Xbox 360 era Madden was really powerful. Like in real life, you wouldn't run it against a 0 technique, but against a 1 or 2, you were good to go.


Madden 12's counter traps also worked reasonably well, though the sliders made a huge difference between those runs being trash or over powered.

EricRayweather has a video about running in Madden 18 where he tries his best to poorly explain running in PS4 era Madden:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yr8dchQIXM


Apparently the game goes so far s to count the box for you in this game and will even show you in green to which side you have a numerical advantage, or red when you do not, so you can flip the play if needed.


The bigger point is that running in Madden is not inherently difficult, especially against the computer.


Running against human opponent will be more difficult as players can scheme up against the run better than the AI ever can.


Understanding how to stop the run with only 7 in the box, is an art all its own and for another thread.

[FullSail]

Quote: Originally Posted by SolidSquid

Try running without hitting the sprint button and feather the LS lightly instead of tilting it all the way. This allows you to let blocks set up so you can cut off your guys and into space. Then you can hit sprint in the open field

This!

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[DSonTL]

I'm getting a lot of rushing yard with my Smashmouth Spread scheme based around Gap Running and a Mobile QB. I was concerned how McCaffery was going to fit being that hes a scatback but hes really nice and he really feels like a gamechanger this year. A running game is possible. Possibly scheme around your running style a bit more...direct focus