Calling The Right Defense???

[claystone]

For those of you that call your own defensive plays, how do you call the right formations? This was a sticking point for me regarding this game. I never knew what my opponent's formation was going to be. I know it states it on the playcalling screen, but most of the time it's wrong.

ie: my opponent was suppose to come out with 2-back set and 2WR, but intsead came out with 4wr and 1-back.

How are you guys finding a way around this?

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Having good nickel type packages help me, because that way you really aren't screwed. Against teams the Patriots, even if it says I-Form, I don't believe it. (They rarely do)

[rdnk]

I usually blitz every play. Usually I can tell by the formation whether they will run or pass, but sometimes they trick me and pass more.

Thus, I'll pick blitzes that are good against the run, or against the pass depending on the situation.

[cutter73]

What the game tells you about the offensive formations is just what it thinks the offense is most likely to do. There is no way to know for sure before the offense lines up what it's formation is going to be. It's supposed to be based on probability, but it doesn't seem to take things like time left and all that into the equation. All I know for sure is that it's very often wrong.

Call your play according to the situation and the team you're playing. If it's first and ten in the first quarter, calling a base defense will generally be ok. If it's first and ten in the last few minutes of the game or the half, assume the offense is going to be passing.

Teams like the Pats, Colts and so on will probably pass more on you. The Steelers will probably run a bit more during a game. If the offense is passing the ball a lot in their first possesion or two, adjust your defensive playcalling to nickle or dime packages more than usual. Teams leading in the late 4th quarter will generally run the ball a lot more even if they've passed most of the game.

Just ignore what the game tells you, and ask yourself what you think the offense is going to do based on the team, score and game situation, and how they've been calling plays. You will get caught a few times a game regardless, but you'll do a lot better by just using you're own judgment in what the offense is gonna do.

[Glorious Arc]

Quote: Originally Posted by claystone

For those of you that call your own defensive plays, how do you call the right formations? This was a sticking point for me regarding this game. I never knew what my opponent's formation was going to be. I know it states it on the playcalling screen, but most of the time it's wrong. ie: my opponent was suppose to come out with 2-back set and 2WR, but intsead came out with 4wr and 1-back. How are you guys finding a way around this?

I completely understand your situation as I put down HC for a couple of months after doing sim careers because of this flaw. I have found a small work around that can help.

Before every single game they give you a game report of what the other team does in 1st and long, 1st and 5, 2nd and long, 2nd and medium(something like that, 2nd and short, ect ect ect. If you look at a teams tendencies per down you can almost crack what type of play it is going to be for some teams

The next step is to look at their formations to see if on passing downs how many WRs they come out in to determine if it is best to come out in 4-3, nickel, dime, ect ect.

After that, you can take note of what type and what direction their run plays will be used and you can attempt to try and stack your defense to attack their running plays. Each type of run is countered by a different type of defensive call so before going into each game think what would be your best plays to call.

Also, keep track of the situation of the game. If it is the past the 2 min mark most teams come out in WR heavy formations so stick to dime or nickel coverage. I have still not figured out the "exact" time a team decides "O snap we are down 3 TDs we need to start passing" but it almost comes to common sense to watch out for the change in the 4th quarter. If you are unsure I would say take it into nickel or dime coverage anyways because a pass play can burn you for a 20+ yards or a TD most of the time where a big run would only cost you a first down.

Finally, I give you the most extreme measure. Take a look at every single other offensive playbook and write notes about them. I would think about doing this myself but I admit I am to lazy. I will say I have learned the ravens defense, steelers offense, and the Pats offense/defense well enough to know what plays to call to counter almost anything they can call. Although this really only helps in the first few years it can help in other times if you pick up on what other teams are using later on in the career.

In the end...It is still not a perfect work around but it does help even the playing field quite a bit.

[slacker2]

whoa i've won two superbowls in two years as the bears i do not remember a time when the computer was wrong. If it told me they were going to have four wrs on the field the team always had four wrs. Sometimes when i played the patriots it would say they were using four wrs and then they come out in an i formation but upon closer inspection the two backs behind the line were the patriots 3rd and fourth wr. The play turned out to be a pass. I could be wrong and just not noticing the diffrence but the computer coaches come out with some inventive formations. For example one time the green bay coach (hammerhill) put the third and fourth wr on the line of scrimmage posing as tes but upon closer inspection they were indeed wrs and not tes.

[kcarr]

Not sure but I think the accuracy is linked to the playcall rating of whoever is set to call you defensive plays (HC or DC)