FS of choice for H2H

[crowhop]

For those running CBs out of position, have you noticed much difference with their lack of Awareness?

For a long time I ran 93 ovr Elite Mo Claiborne at both SS and FS since I had two of them. While his coverage was pretty good, I'd often give up plays that seemed odd. I didn't pay too much attention to it as it was fairly rare and could mostly be explained. One oddity I noticed was in some formation sets in man coverage, the FS and SS would cross and man up to WRs/RBs/TEs on the opposite sides of the field, so they're assignments would cross, creating about 3 seconds of a completely uncovered WR. This couldn't be fixed by aligning the coverage pre-snap. The only way to correct it was to manually move them in front of the man they were to cover.

But I got Roy Williams and my pass Defense became much more stable. I still had Claiborne at FS and found I'd give up plays on his side of the field. So, I started using Gold Eric Berry and it sured up as well. I've since upgraded to Gold Ed Reed at FS and have had no issues of blown coverages or weird assignments.

I've used many combos of CBs at my Safety spots (Gold Pat Peterson, Elite Claiborne, Pacman Jones, Vontae Davis) and found that Awareness does in fact make a difference for me. Anyone experience similar results?

[UMich97]

Quote: Originally Posted by crowhop

For those running CBs out of position, have you noticed much difference with their lack of Awareness?

I haven't had one of the Elite FS or SS's, so can't compare running the CB's to them, but I can say Law runs significantly better than Gold Berry did for me. Gold Berry was always quiet for me. No big hits, no picks, etc. can't say I really remember him getting beat a lot, but doesn't make the impact that Law does either. However, I do feel like Pacman gets beat more than he should at SS for a 96, so that could be his AWR. He still makes the occasional big hit, but I still feel like I'd like to find a better SS. Heck, I might try sliding Law over there and tossing someone like Cason or Revis at FS.

[crowhop]

Quote: Originally Posted by UMich97

I haven't had one of the Elite FS or SS's, so can't compare running the CB's to them, but I can say Law runs significantly better than Gold Berry did for me. Gold Berry was always quiet for me. No big hits, no picks, etc. can't say I really remember him getting beat a lot, but doesn't make the impact that Law does either. However, I do feel like Pacman gets beat more than he should at SS for a 96, so that could be his AWR. He still makes the occasional big hit, but I still feel like I'd like to find a better SS. Heck, I might try sliding Law over there and tossing someone like Cason or Revis at FS.

The 93 ovr Mo Claiborne was a 96 ovr FS and SS. His AWR is in the 40s at FS and in the 60s at SS.
Obviously the corner routes give everyone trouble to the point of cheese if you use it more than two or three times a game, but getting a SS to cover the TE on the Stick Route or the slot on any deep out was near impossible. None of the guys I used prior to Roy Williams did it with any consistency. Not saying Roy completely shuts it down, but at least he is covering them whereas Claiborne would be 5 to 10 yards out of position almost every time. And it was the same on the opposite side with the FS as well.

The SS covering the LEFT side slot and the FS covering the RIGHT side slot/TE was the worst though. And that hasn't happened since I've been playing guys at their natural position.

Reed makes more "plays" than Gold Berry did for me, but neither gives up plays very often either. Roy Williams makes plays. I have the upgraded Barron and I imagine he's pretty good as well.

[UMich97]

Good to know. I'll watch Law closer on those routes. I haven't had a problem thus far, but that might be because the people I've played haven't used those routes a lot. I mix up my D enough, that I can usually get a pick on every other drive if my opponent passes a lot. Maybe Law is a good mid point between the Elites at those spots and the Golds...and the price point fits in between as well. I also user Law fairly often, so that addresses the AWR as well.

With all of that said, a stellar D Line makes all of the DB's better, if the QB has less time to throw.

[LoyleFan55]

I roll with Gold Ed Reed at FS and Elite Roy Williams at SS. I have had tons of success with these two in all of the games I play. Reed is a solid tackler and plays the ball well and gets me some INTs. Roy is my enforcer in the back end of the secondary. I usually control him so I pick up a lot of TFLs and sacks with him and using a lot of DL and LB drop backs and LB and S blitzes.

[crowhop]

Quote: Originally Posted by LoyleFan55

I roll with Gold Ed Reed at FS and Elite Roy Williams at SS. I have had tons of success with these two in all of the games I play. Reed is a solid tackler and plays the ball well and gets me some INTs. Roy is my enforcer in the back end of the secondary. I usually control him so I pick up a lot of TFLs and sacks with him and using a lot of DL and LB drop backs and LB and S blitzes.

Those are my two as well.

I play Nickel against everything but 5 WRs and use Over Storm Brave Man almost every play. This puts the Safeties into man coverage. Sounds generic and simple to beat, but the complexity often comes on what I do with those two blitzing LBs. I'll drop them in coverage, stick one of them in man coverage doubling a one of the receivers, blitz one and zone the other and vice versa. Rarely are they in the same spot twice in a row. And then when the other guy is peppering the corner routes (as that is about the only way to consistently find an open man against man coverage) I'll go with a 2-man look and play zone or use the Over Storm Brave Zones that I have available.

I rarely run into a player who forces me into even trying the zones on the back end or forces me into Dime or a base 43. Typically the pressure is quick as I've learned to shift the DL and LBs in order to cause at least one guy to go unblocked half the time. Showing blitz just before the snap also gets the guys walking toward the line and gets them to full speed faster. Really, any movement I can create from the LBs just before the snap gets their momentum going in the right direction just that much quicker. Slanting, shifting, bunching and spreading the DL in conjunction with slanting, shifting, bunching and spreading the LBs works wonders in creating pressure. I've found that bunching the DL and Spreading the LBs works great in run situations and spreading the DL and bunching the LBs is better against the pass. And a lot of combos in between depending on their formation.

I rarely "user" a player. I get much more satisfaction from out-scheming the other player and using my players to my advantage.

[LoyleFan55]

Quote: Originally Posted by crowhop

Those are my two as well. I play Nickel against everything but 5 WRs and use Over Storm Brave Man almost every play. This puts the Safeties into man coverage. Sounds generic and simple to beat, but the complexity often comes on what I do with those two blitzing LBs. I'll drop them in coverage, stick one of them in man coverage doubling a one of the receivers, blitz one and zone the other and vice versa. Rarely are they in the same spot twice in a row. And then when the other guy is peppering the corner routes (as that is about the only way to consistently find an open man against man coverage) I'll go with a 2-man look and play zone or use the Over Storm Brave Zones that I have available. I rarely run into a player who forces me into even trying the zones on the back end or forces me into Dime or a base 43. Typically the pressure is quick as I've learned to shift the DL and LBs in order to cause at least one guy to go unblocked half the time. Showing blitz just before the snap also gets the guys walking toward the line and gets them to full speed faster. Really, any movement I can create from the LBs just before the snap gets their momentum going in the right direction just that much quicker. Slanting, shifting, bunching and spreading the DL in conjunction with slanting, shifting, bunching and spreading the LBs works wonders in creating pressure. I've found that bunching the DL and Spreading the LBs works great in run situations and spreading the DL and bunching the LBs is better against the pass. And a lot of combos in between depending on their formation. I rarely "user" a player. I get much more satisfaction from out-scheming the other player and using my players to my advantage.

I run Nickel quite a bit as well. If someone wants to focus on running the ball, I usually audible into one safety high and control Roy Williams. He's essentially another LB down near the L.O.S. When I do go dime, I will user blitz my MLB if their HB stays in to block in a 4 WR set. I also will do that same with Roy. When I user blitz in man-to-man with Roy I rarely get burned deep because I back off my coverage right before the snap. I can't even count the number of times someone will just throw it to my right side immediately after the snap when they see me coming down to blitz with Roy. I've had Revis, Peterson & Sanders all have field days because of QB pressure.

[jaybird13]

I had Elite Taylor/Williams as a my safety combo for the longest time.

I switched to Rookie Peterson/GOTW Claiborne this past week and haven't looked back. They're both 98s at safety.