Impossible To Call Good Defense

[CuseGirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by PowerofRed25

My advice would be recruit your players to play 1 position down. My best defenses come when I recruited to slide everyone down. Meaning, I would recruit about 5-6 safeties a year. The B speed guys with high tackle and block shed ratings all slide to linebacker, speed at LB is where you win football games. The faster, better cover safeties I leave at safety, but keep in mind I run a 3-3-5 so even my SS are more linebacker than DB. Then I recruit B- to B speed LB's with high block shed, power/finesse move, tackle ratings and move them ALL to defensive end. I just came off a record setting sack season by moving two LB to DE, where they eventually both ended up as 90 overall, 90 speed at DE. I absolutely dominated everyone, CPU or User. DE recruits in the game all suck. They are slow, undersized, understrength so I almost never recruit them. Everyone I have is a former LB. At DT, just go strength/block shed. The bottom line is that you need speed on defense, without it, you'll get run over by everyone. In terms of on the field play, spy almost never works. They just don't react. Use contain, which is more aggressive and then user control the MLB and roam to protect against any scramble or crossing route.

interesting......I'm a terrible creature of habit. I've been controlling the DE's since Carson Palmer was on the cover....but I've found that I get stuck in that bull rush animation and somehow, when I beat the tackle, the guards are able to rotate backwards and suck my DE's back before I get to the QB.....smh....linebackers at DE, safeties at linebacker :nods:

I'm just tired of basically playing Battleship with my defense, you kno? Eh, I'll go zone, eh, I'll blitz now....

[PowerofRed25]

Quote: Originally Posted by CuseGirl

interesting......I'm a terrible creature of habit. I've been controlling the DE's since Carson Palmer was on the cover....but I've found that I get stuck in that bull rush animation and somehow, when I beat the tackle, the guards are able to rotate backwards and suck my DE's back before I get to the QB.....smh....linebackers at DE, safeties at linebacker :nods: I'm just tired of basically playing Battleship with my defense, you kno? Eh, I'll go zone, eh, I'll blitz now....

Yeah, there really is never a rhyme or reason to defense in this game. Against the CPU, they are too random to have any sort of patterns. I call about 5 different coverage/blitzes against the CPU and that is it. Against humans, a majority of the defensive plays simply don't work because they are too easy to read of the zone is whacked out or the blitz takes guys out of the play.

I am generally pretty good on defense against users because of my offense. I am going to score points and if I can get one or two stops, I force users to get out of their comfort zone and then I get takeaways. The majority of my wins against users come just like that. It is tight early, I learn what they are doing, stop it once or twice, score points, get a lead, get them to panic and then take the ball away and it snowballs.

I will say this, against users, stop the run. 9 out of 10 users I've ever encountered rely on the run because they are too scared to lean heavily on a passing game. Get them one dimensional. The most talented offensive players in this game are those that pass competently and use the pass to set up the run.

[novadolla]

Quote: Originally Posted by CuseGirl

I really don't get it. I have recruited a top notch defense and they look like their running in mud. Everytime the CPU drops back to pass he has 15 seconds to throw, my D-line is thrown to the ground, then as their getting up, he can run around the whole pocket or he finds a reciever. And linebackers that I select to spy don't react to the QB scramble. When the ball is thrown, literally the reciever is pulling away from my defender. But if I'm on offense, there are no holes to throw into. I like to throw the ball. It's how I've played for years. But my only offense now is the I-form dive and draw. Maybe I can throw in a slant route. But I'm sorry, if I have a freakish athlete at the reciever position who is the fastest guy on the field, he should be able to run by someone, anyone! I'm just not getting it.

Practice, Practice,Practice the passing game is really fun once you get your timing down. In years pass zone defense being broken made it too easy to pass, now you have to try and actually throw against zone that actually plays like it should.

I remember last years game calling cover 2 would get you lit up for atleast 15 yards, and also 4 verts being wayyyy too effective, even though it is hard to defend in real life.

[BlackBetty15]

Quote: Originally Posted by CuseGirl

I really don't get it. I have recruited a top notch defense and they look like their running in mud. Everytime the CPU drops back to pass he has 15 seconds to throw, my D-line is thrown to the ground, then as their getting up, he can run around the whole pocket or he finds a reciever. And linebackers that I select to spy don't react to the QB scramble. When the ball is thrown, literally the reciever is pulling away from my defender. But if I'm on offense, there are no holes to throw into. I like to throw the ball. It's how I've played for years. But my only offense now is the I-form dive and draw. Maybe I can throw in a slant route. But I'm sorry, if I have a freakish athlete at the reciever position who is the fastest guy on the field, he should be able to run by someone, anyone! I'm just not getting it.

It might be your sliders, also coach edits have a tone to do with how the CPU play vs you...I also have some pretty good roster edits. Calling defense is kind of a dance. You have to kinda work with what the offense gives you. Even through certain issues with the game itself I get a great challenge with the sliders/settings/rosters I use.

[CuseGirl]

Blackbetty, u get my PM about the cutscene?

It's like i didn't see a bunch of these issues the first couple of hours I played the game:

1. What's with the recievers not attempting to catch the ball even when they're open and the pass is accurate?

2. It seems like the game is PROGRAMMED to have the CPU discard your o-linemen at the exact moment the ball is handed off. It's like "handoff, ok, no more blocking". And no, i'm not hitting the sprint button which allegedly makes the defense clamp down on you.

3. Blockers stopping in the hole or even turning AROUND to go back and hit people? Smh....

#2 is the one that pisses me off the most right now

[BlackBetty15]

Quote: Originally Posted by CuseGirl

Blackbetty, u get my PM about the cutscene? It's like i didn't see a bunch of these issues the first couple of hours I played the game: What's with the recievers not attempting to catch the ball even when they're open and the pass is accurate?

LOL...yea I did thanks...wished it were integrated for more teams at like half time in dynasty if you created a coach. But I guess its a UVA scene only which is kinda of a bummer.

The game this year is weird...its like (and I am REALLY hoping it is like this based of the RTG blog prior to 12 release) the dev team kinda put out a busted game with the intent of really setitng the tone for 13. Makes sense given the cycles that one year would HAVE to tank to really change the game. I mean take a look at ncaa 2006...my ALL TIME fav ncaa. I STILL play it, 2004 was good but 2005 was very mediocre and stale which in turn set up 2006 which was a game changer. I am optimistic which is weird.

If you want a game out of this years mess, your going to have to use rosters and sliders and settings to accomadate the short coming. If you have a 360 you can use mine.

[CuseGirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by PowerofRed25

My advice would be recruit your players to play 1 position down. My best defenses come when I recruited to slide everyone down. Meaning, I would recruit about 5-6 safeties a year. The B speed guys with high tackle and block shed ratings all slide to linebacker, speed at LB is where you win football games. The faster, better cover safeties I leave at safety, but keep in mind I run a 3-3-5 so even my SS are more linebacker than DB. Then I recruit B- to B speed LB's with high block shed, power/finesse move, tackle ratings and move them ALL to defensive end. I just came off a record setting sack season by moving two LB to DE, where they eventually both ended up as 90 overall, 90 speed at DE. I absolutely dominated everyone, CPU or User. DE recruits in the game all suck. They are slow, undersized, understrength so I almost never recruit them. Everyone I have is a former LB. At DT, just go strength/block shed. The bottom line is that you need speed on defense, without it, you'll get run over by everyone. In terms of on the field play, spy almost never works. They just don't react. Use contain, which is more aggressive and then user control the MLB and roam to protect against any scramble or crossing route.

I just moved two of my OLbs down to DE, its like a joke now on defense....why did they nerf the DEs like that

[PowerofRed25]

Quote: Originally Posted by CuseGirl

I just moved two of my OLbs down to DE, its like a joke now on defense....why did they nerf the DEs like that

I mean it is a fairly realistic move for those in between guys, but it is ridiculous that just about any OLB with decent power move/block shed ratings is going to be a monster, even at 200 lbs.

I hate having to do it like that, but every class there are maybe 5 serviceable defensive end recruits, otherwise the game is loaded with C and D speed DE's which are pretty well useless in the game, no matter how high their corresponding ratings. Speed is the silver bullet in this game and in order to get speed at these positions, you just have to drop guys down one spot. That won't be fixed until recruit generation is fixed.