Defense this Year

[DTownsFinest]

What's everyone's feelings on the defensive play this year. I've felt the last few years have been plagued with you not being able to get any pressure on the QB and the AI to have all day long to get a fluke play or find a hole in your D and it's killing me. I seem to run into the same problem this year. I'm playing as Auburn on AA difficulty using SN's sliders against MSU on Dynasty and I'm trying to re acclimate myself to playing, but nothing I seem to be doing is working. No pressure and I'm getting picked apart by the no huddle.

Any suggestions on getting the D to improve?

[blazman]

Quote: Originally Posted by DTownsFinest

What's everyone's feelings on the defensive play this year. I've felt the last few years have been plagued with you not being able to get any pressure on the QB and the AI to have all day long to get a fluke play or find a hole in your D and it's killing me. I seem to run into the same problem this year. I'm playing as Auburn on AA difficulty using SN's sliders against MSU on Dynasty and I'm trying to re acclimate myself to playing, but nothing I seem to be doing is working. No pressure and I'm getting picked apart by the no huddle. Any suggestions on getting the D to improve?

For me it seems like there is sometimes nothing you can do. That the outcome of a drive is pre-determined. But, I do try and limit the damage.

Man coverage with one or two safeties deep seems to work well (at least better on average than a cover 2 or cover 3 zone). I very rarely blitz more than 2 people although playing a 3-3-5 it's really blitzing 1 person if you think about it. I never use just a 3 man rush because the QB will have all day. Using a 3-3-5 you can get that 4th rusher coming from a multitude of locations.

I use the FS so most of the completions come on underneath routes. Which I'd rather have than getting beat deep I suppose. I just don't think zone coverage works well in this game because the defenders will not move their feet if someone is squatting in their area. For example, if the formation is a trips left and only 1 WR runs a slant to the right, all those defenders on the right side won't move to cover him eventhough there is nobody else coming close to their zone so it's an easy catch.

At least in man the defenders will stay pretty close to the receivers but then you get faced with matchup issues where like a RB is being covered by a MLB and he won't get there in time.

[wepr3]

Quote: Originally Posted by DTownsFinest

What's everyone's feelings on the defensive play this year. I've felt the last few years have been plagued with you not being able to get any pressure on the QB and the AI to have all day long to get a fluke play or find a hole in your D and it's killing me. I seem to run into the same problem this year. I'm playing as Auburn on AA difficulty using SN's sliders against MSU on Dynasty and I'm trying to re acclimate myself to playing, but nothing I seem to be doing is working. No pressure and I'm getting picked apart by the no huddle. Any suggestions on getting the D to improve?

First of all, I've played with SN's sliders, and they were too difficult for me. I'm currently using a variation of Jistic's sliders which are more my speed (slow - lol).

Anyway, do you use player lock? Last year, even with player lock I thought defense was boring and tedious. But this year I feel like I can generate a pass rush.

On 3rd downs, I control a defensive back or linebacker and use zone coverage to roam the 3rd down line. Other than that, it's just a wing and a prayer.

My only real complaint about defense is player switching. I hate thinking I'm switching to the player who is about to make the tackle, only to take control of a safety 3 yards back who's eating grass and watching the RB go dashing by.

[Pogo27]

I play as a DT. I have one job: create penetration. Sometimes that means I get through. Sometimes that means I'm keeping one or two offensive linemen busy while my teammates get through. I just completed my first season of online dynasty using SN's sliders and 5 of my front 7 players made all-conference. It may have been all 7 but my MLB and LE missed 4+ weeks due to injury. My RE, both OLBs and both DTs made all-conference and the DT I control most made 2nd team All-American (I'm playing as Syracuse).

The most important aspect to playing good defense, especially when it comes to stopping the run and putting pressure on the quarterback, is fill your role. If the play calls for you to go through the gap between the RG and C, but you're lined up between the LG and LT...well don't just ignore the play art and shoot through the LG/LT gap. Get to the gap your player is assigned.

This helps to prevent holes for the run game--it doesn't much help you to be through the wrong gap if the running back is already 5+ yards up field because he went through the hole where you should have been.

And on blitzes, by going to your gap, you're keeping offensive linemen busy. The gaps are designed to make the three interior linemen choose. For instance, if you're a DT lined up over the RG and your LE is lined up over the RT, your LE is designed to fill the hole between RG and RT, now you go to the hole between the RG and C. In a blitz, you also may have a LB coming down in on this side of the line.

The LE and DT are making the RG make a choice--he can help the RT, he can help the C, or he may recognize the blitz and pick up the LB. If he doesn't recognize the blitz, it will be a quick sack every time, particularly on play-action, but I've even seen the QB get tackled on run plays trying to hand it off.

If the RG does recognize the blitz, he'll pick up the LB. Now, if you went to your proper gap you got three separate 1-vs-1 battles between the LE/RT, LB/RG, and DT/C (plus stuff on the other side of the line). Unless the offensive linemen is significantly superior, the defensive player will eventually get through (usually a d-line, not LB) and force the QB to throw.

The better d-linemen get through quickly and get the sack. Good d-linemen will still get through quick enough to at least force a bad throw and potentially cause an interception.

Ultimately, the point is...stick to your assignments.

I can also help to check out the opponents' depth chart on the offensive line. Look for weak and/or low awareness linemen. If one side is weaker than the other (for instance, their LT and LG are in the 70s, their RG and RT are in the 90s), blitz the weaker side fairly consistently.

[pdiehm]

I can't generate any pressure...either with a human controlled DT, or a CPU controlled DE...I blitz, my LB's instantly fall to the ground...my DT's instantly are on the ground it seems.

I played Texas Tech last night...56 times they threw. I got 2 sacks...which isn't unrealistic given their style...but I got 2 QB pressures.

I've given up trying to get pressure on the QB because it's impossible to do so...and if you supersim the defense, the sim ends up with an offensive score anyhows.

Played 3 practice games on the settings I have in my dynasty. there were 36 total possessions that I simmed. 32 TD's...of those 32 TD's, 30 were under 1 minute of TOP...of those 30, 18 were 1 play.

[Dax(FlowLyfe)]

ive had to play on heisman with sliders turned up to actually allow the CPU to drive on me.

Mostly because i try to read plays and shut them down, such as a fullback to the right and HB to the left, obviously its a run the the right to follow the fullback so I overload the right side and blow up the play.

[bnoe1023]

There is such an imbalance between rush defense and pass defense. As mentioned above, it is nearly impossible to rush the QB and stop the passing game. All you can really do is contain it and hope for a turnover or a bad play call.

On the flip side, it is too easy to stop the CPU running game. Through my first two Dynasty games on AA level, I think the two starting RB's I faced had a combined 80 or 90 yards and one TD between them. Even with tweaked sliders they still get stuffed at the line the majority of the time.

[Mdwills3521]

I've actually had too many sacks. My first year my guy got 18 the next 20 and then i stopped counting. Just practice and you'll get better. Try rolling the stick with the d-line, for defense pick a couple of plays and keep those, you can make them more effective with hot routes. I recently tried the 4-2-5 and I was pretty dominant. I pretty much sucked last year but Arkansas has better players this game. If you're being burned by a player select a defender (make sure he's not already covering) press A Left Stick <-- and the button of the player.