Downfield blocking

[silkysmooth]

I've been messing around with some different spread playbooks to find one to use. Of course picking a random play I get some pass plays mixed in with run plays. Something I've noticed after running a ton of plays this week is the downfield blocking by skill players after a catch or after your ball carrier gets past the defensive line is seriously shocking.

I'd say your CPU controlled teammate makes a decent block on ANYONE about 20% of the time. Of that 20%, I'd say at least half are blocks thrown on guys who are not involved in where the play is going. I've caught a ball on a hitch with a slot guy and literally seen the outside guy sprint back towards the ball carrier like he was a 12th defender. I've been run into by my own guy numerous times, like he was running through me to throw a block on backside pursuit while the safety and CB covering me just leveled me.

And that's when they actually do something! Most of the time they just run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Things that were supposed to be fixed are just broken in a different way. This extends to pulling lineman or guys on the load option as well. If I had a great way to record myself in practice, I definitely would because at a certain point the things your CPU controlled teammates do is hilarious. Pulling guards that straight up stop in the hole and blow the play up in the backfield. Load option guys that stop and do a complete 180 and run straight into you to block backside pursuit on a play where the backside pursuit really isn't an issue but the 250 lb MLB right in front of you is. WRs and TEs sprinting back to you and either running into you or failing to get any sort of block on plays that go outside.

For comparison, I played Madden 09 as the Colts and just went into Singleback with two TE and two WR and just ran the basic stretch play to Addai. On 09 guys finished blocks. Even when Addai wouldn't even make it to the last level of the defense, Reggie Wayne or Gonzalez would at least get a good shot in on the CB to run block. I'm not sure if maybe they toned down the blocking on the outside, but they really need to look at it. When guys are running into the ball carrier to get back and block a guy who doesn't need to be blocked, it's broken. I don't care if they say they fixed it because they obviously didn't. Pulling guards don't stop in the hole, they go through the hole and lay out the first poor sap they find there. I watched a high school team tonight with pulling lineman and not once did they stop in the hole and stand there. Same with load option plays. I call a load option to get another guy out in front of me, not so I can have a guy kill all my momentum by tearing every knee ligament in both knees simultaneously to pull a surprise 180 to get back and block a LB that is 15 yards away from the ball carrier. This isn't awareness either. It's plain bad programming. I'd love it if guys on my team would see the guy in front of them and block them, instead of taking themselves completely out of the play to block a guy who won't factor in to the play even if he doesn't get blocked.