Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

I have been getting torched by users against the pass. My defense is not good, talent-wise. I'm not looking for money schemes/coverages (are there any? I don't think there is), but better principles that will allow an undertalented unit to hold its own.

I run a "heavy nickel" scheme. It's a lot of 2 CB, 3 S looks with alternating numbers of DL/LB as situations go. 3-3-5 is my base but I do alternate with the 4-2-5 in some situations if I think it is working better. YAC is a major problem. My safeties are good, my LBs are excellent, and my DL is sub-standard. The top 2 CBs are OK but the nickel and dime corners are projects, to say the least

3-3-5, 4-2-5, nickel (3-3-5, 3-3-5 sam, Strong and normal) are my base formations.

I've tried zone, I've tried man, I've tried blitz-heavy schemes. I've tried conservative/aggressive adjustments. Nothing has worked. Am I SOL or are there some hidden aces I have yet to find?

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

Anyone that I've ever known that ran a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5, including myself, struggles against pass defense. Some of it is the game itself, those defense don't fare too well.

Have you tried doing any coverage audibles? Whether it's shifting the zones over to a heavy side of the field, or covering more of the sidelines? Also, using LB (Xbox,) doing the conservative/aggressiveness edits during the game? Something like conservative, when in zone, can at least give you numbers to possibly minimize the YAC.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

Cover-2 Man out of the 3-3-5 Sam has been my go-to in passing situations. The corners press which can give your d-line a little extra time to get the qb and the 2 deep safeties should help you keep from getting beat over the top. The weakness of the defense though can be your nickle back 1-on-1 against their slot receiver and a linebacker against their TE. If your nickle and linebackers are decent in man coverage, this can be a good option.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

I have had success against the CPU using a 4-2-5 but I use formation subs to get better talent on the field. I sub a LB in at RE to get pass rush, much like many real life coaches will do. I put a CB in the "star" or nickel spot since the SS on this game suck in coverage. I make sure my 2 LB spots have cover guys in and not a guy with lower speed and coverage abilities. Once you get the proper guys on the field things improve for me.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

I generally do not like man since I seem to get beat an awful lot when I press and the opponent I'm prepping for had 3 guys go over 120 yards on me. His QB went 24 for 29 and 562 yards....I am so pissed and embarrassed by that. Those are just STUPID numbers to allow. Maybe on 60 attempts but not 29. He wasn't able to run, which is nice.


As for my opponent, he doesn't have a TE. He is running an Air Raid-type scheme and has about 6 WRs over 80 overall. The slot guys killed me in this game. I did get 3 picks and would have won had I held onto the ball but giving up over 300+ yards a game repeatedly is getting old. I have no worries with my LBs in coverage. They can hold their own quite well.



I'm not really at a point where I feel confident in my depth to be able to do formation subs. My DL has improved over the course of the year, my LBs are probably the best part of the defense (paired with my 2 SS that are also decent). The tricky issue is using my nickelback as opposed to my #2 SS, who has a better OVR- he's as fast as my corner but his MCV rating is a few ticks shorter.


TL;DR: SS is better overall than the CB but the CB has better cover skills but is weaker every other way.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

Don't put to much value in a players overall or you will miss out on some good players. I put my best coverage LB in the 2 LB slots no matter what their overall is. At RDE I put my best pass rusher, most of the time it is a LB; I only care about his speed. At the star/nickel slot I put my 3rd best coverage guy. I only look at their speed and coverage ratings. If I run a lot of zone then the speed ratings want matter as much but since I run both I like guys that can run with most slot guys while having coverage skills. In the game the overall rating has no meaning only the skill ratings so let that decide who plays.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

Against formations with three receivers on one side try to run Cover 3's. If they're in a bunch, try and jam the middle receiver, though it is tough sometimes to audible this. Occasionally run Cover 1 man blitzes against these formations too if you're seeing a lot of them. Against balanced formations or ones with only a slot receiver plus TE's or backs, run Cover 2's or 4's.

Re: Stopping the pass with inferior talent
 

The only thing I can suggest is mixing up your coverages. The best defense in this game is making your opponent look at their 2nd and 3rd options. So against the pass I like nickel, Dime and Quarters. I'll run man and zones out of all of these and try to disguise looks. Show blitz but don't blitz and instead be in a cover 3, press my corners in a cover 4, etc. While I do this I try to take note of patterns in my opponent and then adjust.