46 Defense

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dj_MyTime

It amazes me the convos that go on regarding some of the most worthless stuff in this game. If you want throwback stuff play APF.

Lol. One man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say. The good news is that if it's not your cup of tea, you can choose any other play book you want

I've been practicing for a little bit, and I found something cool. The default engage angle for the RDE is one that avoids the patty cake. It's not the true rush off the edge, but in Madden's world, the ability to engage immediately without the patty cake means you have a much better shot at dominating with a stud RDE.

[PGaither84]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

NOOOO!!! Say it ain't so! I just can't envision my childhood team being responsible for my least favorite part of today's game.

[RogueHominid]

Great clip, albeit a bit disenchanting for me. I wound up hating the Niners after they let Ronnie Lott go. He was my favorite player of all time. Now I just have one more reason to hate them, even though I don't want to.

They're a near ideal candidate for the 46 in Madden after review if you put Alson Smith at RDE and move Justin Smith to either DT or LDE. With Willis in the middle and Bowman on one outside position you'd be golden. The only real problems would be Whitner's ability in space (though that white SS #43 can cover) and the ability of Haralson or Brooks to run with a back or TE.

The Texans are definitely well-suited to the task.

I think the lynchpin, in terms of running the heaviest blitz packages is having one OLB who can flat run, and a SS who can cover their butts off.

I found a couple of ways to get at that.

One is to nab a guy like Mike Huff, who can cover extremely well and is a decent tackler, and put him at SS.

Another option, which I found by browsing the best coverage MLBs (which oddly enough have higher coverage ratings for man and zone than OLBs on average) and convert one of the 220-230 LB guys with 83+ speed to SS. I found a number of hidden low to medium rated gems who make the conversion well.

Those adjustments allow you to run the system versus base sets and three wide sets, though the latter is obviously riskier and dependent on the rush.

I'm going to start a test franchise with HOU to see if I can really make this a viable defense for offline franchise. I'll post results and observations here.

Thanks, PG for the knowledge and videos, and thanks to the T-Moar for the HOU setup!

[mjhyankees]

I will run the 46 when the offense comes out in a 2 TE, or other "tight" formations where they are likely to run the ball. Otherwise I play the 4-3 for the pro set, nickle for the 3wr set and the dime for 4 wr and a back. A 5 WR set gets the quarter package.

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by mjhyankees

I will run the 46 when the offense comes out in a 2 TE, or other "tight" formations where they are likely to run the ball. Otherwise I play the 4-3 for the pro set, nickle for the 3wr set and the dime for 4 wr and a back. A 5 WR set gets the quarter package.

I really like the GB playbook and formation subs for the 3+ wide packages, especially on long downs.

Depending on the depth of the CB position for me, I'd rather have more LBs on the field who can play some zone and smack the ballcarrier at the moment of the catch. I go more DB heavy if I have really physical corners, since I like to play zone in those situations.

I'm interested to see if the 46 zone packages are suited to defending basic 3 wide packages, since some teams will stay in base defense even in those sets until forced to do otherwise.

What particular plays and strategies do you use and find most effective in specific situations?

[BTownSlinger]

I love the 4-3 defence and use the 46 typically on the 3rd and shorts or even in the redzone.

In response to the post above, over the course of a game if my d-line is really dominating and my blitzes are always sucsessful I will call a cover three out of nickle (two outside DB's dropping back, inside DB in the flat with a safety coming down in the other flat) but I will call both linebacker's to blitz and put the DB's in bump and run. Move the other safety in to the middle of the field not so deep.

It ends up as a quick pass and there is a DB waiting for it in the flat. Almost always a pick 6. Got to be careful though, if your not dominating the trenches you can be beat huge over the middle. It is a risk vs. reward.

I love defenses though, it is my favorite part. Allows you to be more creative.

[PGaither84]

Ahmad Brooks isn't running with any TE.

There is a reason he has 90+ power moves and is often found with his hand in the dirt in the 2-4 nickle. He would be the book end DE to Aldon. Justin would be the DT, but Soap would keep his job at NT. I agree that Bowman would go back to LOLB like he played at Penn State.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

I think some repositioning of the Niners could work great except for Carlos Rogers, who I'd be scared to leave on an island versus top end speed guys. I suppose you don't need guys who can run all day with the good rush of the formation, but the instantaneous win/loss at the press moment means you're screwed if you miss and have a slower corner.

He has horrible man coverage rating, iirc. It's like 75 or something vs a 90-ish ZCV.

That said, I would just avoid using press coverage. Like you said, the whole "insta-fail" aspect of it is just not worth it. If you could have more partial success - like a half-step delay more often, then it would be worth it. As long as it's - hold them up seemingly forever or instant 2 steps behind, I'd avoid it.

All of this talk about the 4-6 makes me want to see if I can run it in my franchise.

46 and Nickle. That would be a pretty funky defense to run. I might have to even consider an athletic LB that has some cover skills as "SS" in the 46. I have one in mind with solid speed and AWR who might could handle it. If not, I'll just use my usual SS.