The Essential Change That Will Take This Game Where It Needs To Go
 

I made this post in the Special Teams Thread, but it is what needs to happen for this game to take the next step. Please read this and try to visualize these things in your head and you will understand why this will make the game automatically feel fresh. I put great thought into this post and I feel it makes total sense, let me know what you think.

*Pay most attention to the last paragraph if you do not want to read about special teams.*




"One big problem they had is gone now with the coverage team staying in their lanes finally. However there are more problems that are needed to be adjusted until I am satisfied:

1. Patty cake line play - watch a video of a punt return and you will see once the ball is kicked the whole line sprints back. Right now all we have is MAYBE 3 people on coverage and MAYBE 2 people helping block (if you called a return play). ***And heres another thing..to the guy a few posts above me saying he calls a punt block return so the cpu automatically has less people coming downfield so you can get a return TD, that isnt gonna cut it in my book. To me that is cheating the system, and all I want is to call a return play like normal and read the blocks to run to daylight.***

2. The cut on dime system needs to go. I dont care if they re-impliment the ps2 running system they had, do fifas foot planting system, physics system, IDC as long as this goes. This also leads me into my final complaint with the return game,

3. Psychic Coverage Teams. What I mean here is I catch the ball on a return, I take 2 steps to the left and IMMEDIATELY AS I DO THIS, every single person on the coverage team that is not engaged in a block (pattycake line play) MIRRORS MY STEPS. This REALLY is the biggest problem with the game IMO. You think returners would ever break off returns if this happened in real life? Returns are all about attacking and using angles to your advantage. If I take 2 steps to the left as a returner and cut towards the middle, I should have the guys to my left still moving to the left as I cut up the middle, they should NOT immediately cut back with me and tackle me.

This is a big problem with the running game also. There is a reason why in real life you see guys knifing through defense while defenders are still in the process of recovering after over-chasing someone. FOR EXAMPLE, LaMichael James takes a handoff from the shotgun moving from left to right on a sweep play from the left hashmark. He runs parallel to the line until he sees an opening and cuts up the middle through two blockers just past the right hashmark. There are defenders (linebackers, db's) who will be running with him parallel to the line, and once he cuts up the middle they will fly right past him because they did not and could not ANTICIPATE the quick cut up the middle. This is why defenses in real life stress that you have to be in the right position to make a play. Fill the gaps and hope someone is in the right spot to make a tackle. You cannot just magically break off a block, turn 180 degrees and tackle someone flying by you all in a matter of seconds."

Re: The Essential Change That Will Take This Game Where It Needs To Go
 

YES! I agree fully. The kick return system reminds me of 10 Yard Fight for the NES. It's been a joke forever.

This is the first year that I am not buying a football game(Redbox is 2 blocks away!) until I have visual proof that the game has significantly changed.

Re: The Essential Change That Will Take This Game Where It Needs To Go
 

Definitely. The way I feel is that the game is too robotic. I understand that this is probably one of, if not THE, hardest kind of game to make feel "natural" (talking about player movement) since the action of running, cutting, slowing down and giving a burst of speed, etc is all very hard to put into a video game. However for the game to feel less robotic, I feel that what I posted above is what needs to be focused on.