Zone or Man?!

[ChicagoSparty]

Quote: Originally Posted by Survivor

I usually ignore awareness when recruiting so when I make the mistake of running zone I get burnt like toast.

I recruit AWR first for many positions, safety and linebacker in particular. My safeties are almost always in zone coverage.

I go for AWR and SPD. Get enough guys in position and someone will make the tackle.

[redskinrussell]

I usually play man with the corners and LB's and cover 2 with the safeties. Really works if you have ball hawking safeties.

[ChicagoSparty]

Quote: Originally Posted by redskinrussell

I usually play man with the corners and LB's and cover 2 with the safeties. Really works if you have ball hawking safeties.

I mix this in quite a bit as well. My FS is a stud and my SS, while only rated 69, has great AWR and picks off many passes.

[arichzona]

when you are recruiting try this......

there is a rating for MAN coverage, and a rating for ZONE coverage. Get your players on the same page and go for guys that will work together and compliment each other. If you are sigining guys with a "C" in MAN and an "A" in ZONE....you should probably not be playing in man too often...and of course - vice/versa.

[bullcats]

I think it really depends on the skill level of your players. I use Florida State so I can run either very effectively. I choose to blitz a lot so I prefer zone blitzing because the QB is more likely to make a bad throw quickly into an area on the field being covered instead of throwing up deep if man coverage gets beat.

[TrevJo]

When playing against the CPU, I think generally speaking man coverage is much more effective against zone coverage. I say this with experience from All American level, haven't played the other levels because I don't want to screw myself up for online games. Anyway as for the CPU, it just seems like the logic in the game is that if a guy has a man on him, the QB doesn't make good decisions as to whether he can get the ball there or not, or he'll throw to a guy who has a step, but throw the wrong type of pass and give the defender a chance to make the play. Whereas in zone if you leave any big hole the CPU QB is going to find it for a completion.

When playing against others online, it's a whole different story. Mixing up your defenses and throwing in surprises on a regular basis is vital against a good offensive player. I play about half and half, and a lot of times I make the decision based on what is going on in the run game. A running QB may dictate man with a spy, or zone so that I can prevent a long QB run without wasting a guy on the spy assignment. A lot of passes to the flat may dictate a short zone, throwing these in at key times is often a great way to get pick-sixes against human opponents who think they have figured out a way to get easy yardage. On the other hand, man to man can be useful because LBs assigned to a RB might blitz if the RB stays into block, often overtaking the RB and making the play. Also if the opposing QB likes to take advantage of a particular receiver or route, moreso than an area on the field, it can be most effective to go man and then manually cheat to the spot where the coverage man needs help.