Too Many Sacks
 

I was wondering if maybe I just suck at staying away from the defense but in my preseason games it seems like players are getting a lot of sacks. I've had a few games where a team got 7 sacks in a game. Anyway to drop this a little? Doesnt seem like its normal

Re: Too Many Sacks
 

I was getting killed by the pass rush until I started doing pre-snap blocking assignments to keep more guys in to block. For example, I was using the Eagles and the Cowboys were just killing McNabb. Most of this was through blitzes, it seemed. Anyway, I started keeping in Westbrook and (at times) Celek, too. That really opened things up. I usually had enough time to throw and, often when they blitzed, I smoked 'em with a couple huge plays. Unfortunately, the defense AI didn't really seem to adapt to this and kept bringing blitzes very often, which meant that I just kept torching the isolated DBs. It would make more sense if the defense AI scaled back the blitz after getting burned like that a few times. Maybe I have too small a sample, though, to judge the defensive playcalling AI.

On a related note, I'm finding it much easier (not easy, just easier) to run if I set my o-line to block aggressively. Pinching and sliding left or right just make things worse (especially if the D's backside guys are fast -- they'll run you down as you're getting to the line), but the Aggressive setting seems to really help the o-line guys stay focused on the guy in front of them, instead of floating out to the second level while the DLs and MLB just crack my RB right after he gets the ball. Again, this could be too small a sample size to base much on, though.

Re: Too Many Sacks
 

Yeah I'll have to try this, I just remember previous years when I was mad that a defense only had 1-2 sacks again but now I see 6-7 and kinda made me wonder if it was the game or just me.

Re: Too Many Sacks
 

It also depends on the ratings of your o-line. I've had a hard time getting good pocket time with the Bills, for instance, since their offensive line is the worst in the game. Ian actually demonstrated in a video that if you don't have a good o-line, problems with rushing or getting enough time in the pocket before a sack will be exacerbated.

Re: Too Many Sacks
 

I noticed that I'm getting quite a bit of pressure, too. I'm getting 3 or 4 sacks per game which isn't bad, but a lot of the time I'm getting pressure and hitting the QB as he throws.

The same can be said for the computer. I decided to play against the Ravens on All-Madden (I used Minnesota), and they murdered Favre. He threw 5 picks and was hit almost everytime he dropped back. I guess thats true to the Ravens defense though. I'll have to test it out more.