Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

[sologamer69]

O-lineman seem to pretty useless in this year's madden. I run the ball and the O-lineman will let D-lineman just pass right by him and go get the CB that is 10 yards out of the play, or I will break off a small run and all they have to do get the safety and it's a 30 yard gain but they'll spin around in circles and watch the safety rock me.

When it comes to pass blocking I have to get rid of the ball in 2-3 seconds or it's a done deal and I have to scramble for my life or get sacked. And I call o-line audibles and everything and it doesn't help. I play offline franchise mostly(all-madden) and online here and there though not much lately since I lag pretty bad. I have O-lineman all of them 85 plus with above average awareness yet they act like they don't know how to use their arms. My running back is constantly having to break 2-3 tackles for a simple 10 yard run.

EDIT: Almost forgot, I also hate how your running the ball and the AI decides that's enough and all of their D-lineman or whoever is getting blocked sheds off at the exact same times and stuff your face into the ground.

I guess what I'm asking is there anyway besides sliders to remedy this. I know everyone has experienced this one time at another. O-lineman literally just not doing anything and being more than dummy's on the field.

[MarshawnLynch]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

totally agree this years Oline sucks a$$ i see what your saying i got another problem with the runs everytime i run a HB draw from shotgun or a simple toss the CB or SS FS always blitzes its very annoying.

and the other day i was playing my LT is the best i got on my team hes 88ovr and he garbage he never blocks the DE.

[sologamer69]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

I can't stand throwing screens and watching the O-lineman go out to block then letting the safety or linebacker brush past them and bury my RB. They are in perfect position to block and spring my RB for a big gain but will literally do nothing/

[PantherBeast_OS]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Yep that is one of the reasons I stop playing Madden12 and went back to madden11. The olineman blocking in 12 sucks pretty much. Mainly because the AI front four is way to overpower for one main reason. That is why I hope the balance it out this year on both sides of the ball for madden13.

[TNT713]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

@OP... You make a few points here. Some can be remedied with minor user adjustments. Others require a change in your overall habits.

O-lineman seem to pretty useless in this year's madden. I run the ball and the O-lineman will let D-lineman just pass right by him and go get the CB that is 10 yards out of the play, or I will break off a small run and all they have to do get the safety and it's a 30 yard gain but they'll spin around in circles and watch the safety rock me.

Typically, this happens when you're running an ISO or HB Dive with no double-team up front and you're hitting the sprint button while you're in the backfield. Try to stay off the sprint button until you get to the line of scrimmage...

Even so, you will still see the O-line miss blocks. If it becomes too bad to handle, run from a formation with a fullback to give yourself one extra protector. Stay on his butt until he engages - then cut away from the defender's exposed shoulder.

When it comes to pass blocking I have to get rid of the ball in 2-3 seconds or it's a done deal and I have to scramble for my life or get sacked. And I call o-line audibles and everything and it doesn't help. I play offline franchise mostly(all-madden) and online here and there though not much lately since I lag pretty bad. I have O-lineman all of them 85 plus with above average awareness yet they act like they don't know how to use their arms. My running back is constantly having to break 2-3 tackles for a simple 10 yard run.

Common misconception... 2-3 seconds is an eternity in a football game. If you're standing there that long, you're probably also staring down a specific receiver and missing open men that break open before that...

I recommend you reset your internal clock so you measure in steps - not seconds. If your QB has time to take a 3-step drop from under center, you can run a Hall-of-Fame worthy offense (See West Coast).

To reset your clock, go into practice mode with OFFENSE ONLY. Call a pass play with a receiver running a hook route. When you snap the ball, don't throw it. Just COUNT. Look at your QB's feet and count his steps - preferably out loud. Make it a point to know how deep you are on your 3rd, 5th, and 7th steps (5, 7, and 9 yards respectively). As you plant your back foot on your drop, you should have your receiver picked out and be ready to throw so that your next step is toward your intended receiver... Timing is EVERYTHING.

Once your timing is right, you can sync up your routes and you'll have a good idea of when to be ready to run, scramble, or eat the ball.

If you're having trouble running the ball, you may not be reading the defensive front. Don't be quick to slide protect. Instead, do a count and run toward the side with the fewest defenders. Be sure to test the secondary and audible from runs/passes as the front dictates.

EDIT: Almost forgot, I also hate how your running the ball and the AI decides that's enough and all of their D-lineman or whoever is getting blocked sheds off at the exact same times and stuff your face into the ground.

This happens when you press SPRINT. When you sprint, the defenders sprint. Any defender that is engaged doesn't SPRINT, they PUSH to disengage. When you see the defensive linemen break blocks at the same time, it's 99.9% because you have pressed SPRINT while still in the backfield.

Don't sprint til you get to daylight - but be warned - this is one of the toughest habits to break.

I guess what I'm asking is there anyway besides sliders to remedy this. I know everyone has experienced this one time at another. O-lineman literally just not doing anything and being more than dummy's on the field.

As you become more in-tune with Madden, you will begin to notice and anticipate which blockers are in jeopardy of missing their assignment before the snap.

Think of it this way - you're the offensive line coach - so you should know how your line will block a variety of fronts. Otherwise, you won't know if/when/how to adjust your blocking to account for what they might miss. Once you learn how they block (or don't) you'll know whether you need a FB, extra TE, or simply get into shotgun to buy the time you need.

Hope this helps,

Later

[gjneff]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

It needs work, but with the right sliders I have actually seen some beautiful blocking. Had a game recently on custom all-madden sliders with 8 pancakes in the stats. More than that in the game. I have done a lot lately with managing a cpu only team and when you watch the game without playing you see things that you don't really notice when playing.

[PGaither84]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

I forgot to turn auto-sprint off... you have to remember to turn auto-sprint off. TNT is right.

[sin18]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Im going to have to agree with TNT 100% here...

i will say that it looks like me and him both play with the panthers, who have a solid o-line, their line-up looks like(depending on how you start them) 91, 80, 92, 85, 85....soit is a pretty well rounded O-line

2-3 seconds in pass protection is an eternity! Unless a defender comes untouched or a DT wins on his first move, i rarely get sacked. You need to have mutliple reads on pass plays. The target reciever, the option(man/zone coverage), and the hot read against a heavy blitz. I personally think that Ends don't get enough pressure and if you have a weak d-line you better have a damn good blitz scheme

the pursuit and blocking angels are rough in madde, but that is to be expected in the most complicated sports game to program by far. You need to learn how to use your blockers to get them in between you and the defender.

screen plays are sooo strongly about timing, you may be getting the ball to the reciever/rb to late or to early. each and every screen(bubble, WR, slot, TE, HB, HB slip, FB)all have sliiiighlty different timing and catching the blockers running in stride is the most import thing, followed by hitting the screen man IN STRIDE. Screens need to be run over and over, possibly labbed, to develop quality execution against a good defence.

While it is difficult to get a consistant run game going in madden 2012, i think the o-line is pretty damn good all things considered

[sologamer69]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Don't use auto sprint it stay's off. Also don't think I'm bad at running the ball or anything I usually get over 100 yards and around 150 or so but when it comes to seeing stuff like that I almost go off the handles. And truthfully I'll handle the run it's the fact that with a 85+ overall o-line I can't get more than about 2-3 secs in the pockets with a 3 man pass rush.

[ANDROMADA 1]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Its perspective. Dont put so much stock in overalls but instead look at individual ratings (pass block strength/footwork) and matchups. Your best pass blocker should be @RG imo. This is done to combat the overdone DTs. It works. Its what I do. My LT plays RG. As far as being sacked after 2-3 seconds. just use quick passing/3 step drops until you get the personnel that you want. Also it helps to know all your hot reads and protections. From my experience this years O line play is solid. I only play online and Online franchise but same principles apply.

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

..Typically, this happens when you're running an ISO or HB Dive with no double-team up front and you're hitting the sprint button while you're in the backfield. Try to stay off the sprint button until you get to the line of scrimmage...

Even so, you will still see the O-line miss blocks. If it becomes too bad to handle, run from a formation with a fullback to give yourself one extra protector. Stay on his butt until he engages - then cut away from the defender's exposed shoulder....




This happens when you press SPRINT. When you sprint, the defenders sprint. Any defender that is engaged doesn't SPRINT, they PUSH to disengage. When you see the defensive linemen break blocks at the same time, it's 99.9% because you have pressed SPRINT while still in the backfield.

Don't sprint til you get to daylight - but be warned - this is one of the toughest habits to break....

Hopefully somebody from CD can answer this but did this get discussed at CD by anyone and do you personally have an issue with how this works?

[TNT713]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Hopefully somebody from CD can answer this but did this get discussed at CD by anyone and do you personally have an issue with how this works?

I didn't talk about it, but it was a big room with people all over - someone might have. I only have access to my own notes, so I can't be sure. I might have asked if not for the other 151 pages worth of other stuff I was trying to get to. LOL

Personally, I don't have an issue with the premise of having defenders sprint when the ball carrier sprints, nor with the sprint being a push for engaged defenders. The connection between ball carrier and defender could be more organic - but I do understand the link.

Later

[GiantBlue76]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

I didn't talk about it, but it was a big room with people all over - someone might have. I only have access to my own notes, so I can't be sure. I might have asked if not for the other 151 pages worth of other stuff I was trying to get to. LOL

Personally, I don't have an issue with the premise of having defenders sprint when the ball carrier sprints, nor with the sprint being a push for engaged defenders. The connection between ball carrier and defender could be more organic - but I do understand the link.

Later

Does this happen with auto sprint on?

[TNT713]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

Does this happen with auto sprint on?

No idea. I've never intentionally played a game with Auto-Sprint ON. If you make me guess - I'd say probably. But it would only be a guess.

Later

[JosephyW]

Re: Why Do O-lineman Suck So Bad?

TNT is right. The way Madden works is that defenders react automatically to button presses to simulate awareness. If you hit the sprint button, defenders will automatically come off their blocks and come get you, and when you are in the semi-open field (i.e., when you are one or two blocks away from daylight), it seems like your blockers react to it as well, tending to spin around and run behind you instead of blocking ahead once the sprint button is enabled. You almost always have to save it until you are running to daylight if you don't want exceptionally wonky CPU behavior to manifest.

I've found success in runs between the tackles by waiting for the blocks to set up, and then angling toward my o-lineman's outside shoulder without hitting the speed burst. He'll inevitably let the defender beat the block as soon as you are about to run by, but the CPU defender will beat the block to the side away from the hole, letting you oftentimes cut back in without running right into a disengaged defender. If you're running an ISO, this is especially effective, because your FB should pick up the LB playing the gap, and unless the defense is running a double-A gap blitz or some sort of pinch technique, you should get a fair amount of yards.

Similarly, has anybody noticed that the protect ball button, or the angled "lean" with the RS often seems to have the opposite effect, making your RB invisible to defenders?

I think with auto-sprint on, the CPU is rather conservative with when it engages the auto-sprint, so if you use it, these problems should be minimized.

Madden AI players reacting to button presses and not to any kind of procedural vision and awareness is something that mars a lot of facets of the game. I really hope this can be quelled within a development cycle or two (but that's a rehash of a million other threads).