Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

[Landonio]

1. What's generally considered better in NCAA 14, zone or man? I've heard that zone isn't that great in this game, but I've also heard that Cover 3 is really good? So dk. Historically I've always been a zone guy in NCAA games. Like 80% of the time, at least. After NCAA 2003 (when zone was literally unusable), EA buffed it and it became pretty dominant if you knew what you were doing. But this was in the pre-360/PS3 era. I have very little experience with the more modern NCAAs, so I'm not sure how good (or bad) it is.

2. What is generally considered the best overall base set? I know many times in EA games that 3-man fronts leave much to be desired, and tend to be inferior defenses overall. But I've heard that the 3-3-5 and even the 3-4 are pretty good in this game. Is that true? Also what said would you say is the worst or that I may want to generally avoid?

3. What's a good "money" play or set on defense to consistently stop the run? And what are some general tips for run defense?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[doctorhay53]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

These are my opinions...

2 man under is the best defense in the game by far. You will not see many interceptions unless you play man. Athleticism is the most important attribute for defenders. Zone defense simply gives up many more yards after catch. I have had to implement house rules to force me to play any zone at all.

I don't see much difference between 3 and 4 man fronts, but IMO the key to stopping the run is 3 LBs on the field. What I am really saying here is that the difference between a 4-down nickel and 3-down nickel in stopping the run is due to the LBs. Essentially in NCAA 14 the OL is overpowered. It's very hard for DL to stop the run on any heisman set that provides a challenge. The key is athletic linebackers who simply run around the blocks and just clog things up.

Most offenses in ncaa 14 will spread you out. Once you get enough athleticism you can basically match up DB for WR and then just play 2 man under and it's practically impossible to lose. But as above, for dime I like the 326 formations for the extra linebacker.

edit: and I will agree that of the zone plays, cover-3 is the least bad. In cover 2 the safeties don't defend the boundary well enough and you'll give up a lot of long passes in the window between the corner and safety. Cover 4 is just too soft and the underneath zones are terrible.

[Landonio]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

These are my opinions...

2 man under is the best defense in the game by far. You will not see many interceptions unless you play man. Athleticism is the most important attribute for defenders. Zone defense simply gives up many more yards after catch. I have had to implement house rules to force me to play any zone at all.

I don't see much difference between 3 and 4 man fronts, but IMO the key to stopping the run is 3 LBs on the field. What I am really saying here is that the difference between a 4-down nickel and 3-down nickel in stopping the run is due to the LBs. Essentially in NCAA 14 the OL is overpowered. It's very hard for DL to stop the run on any heisman set that provides a challenge. The key is athletic linebackers who simply run around the blocks and just clog things up.

Most offenses in ncaa 14 will spread you out. Once you get enough athleticism you can basically match up DB for WR and then just play 2 man under and it's practically impossible to lose. But as above, for dime I like the 326 formations for the extra linebacker.

edit: and I will agree that of the zone plays, cover-3 is the least bad. In cover 2 the safeties don't defend the boundary well enough and you'll give up a lot of long passes in the window between the corner and safety. Cover 4 is just too soft and the underneath zones are terrible.

Appreciate the response. I'll try out running a mix of 2-Man Under and Cover 3 Zone.

Follow-up question though. You said man coverage doesn't tend to yield very many interceptions. What would you say are the best ways to get picks in this game, if any?

Also, have a few more questions, if you don't mind.

-Any tips for special teams? As far as blocking and/or returning punts/kicks.
-What are some of the best consistent run plays/running formations?
-How's the 5-2? Worth using? Saw a few people say that it was the best defensive formation in the game.

Thanks.

[sherrane]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

These are my opinions...

2 man under is the best defense in the game by far. You will not see many interceptions unless you play man. Athleticism is the most important attribute for defenders. Zone defense simply gives up many more yards after catch. I have had to implement house rules to force me to play any zone at all.

I don't see much difference between 3 and 4 man fronts, but IMO the key to stopping the run is 3 LBs on the field. What I am really saying here is that the difference between a 4-down nickel and 3-down nickel in stopping the run is due to the LBs. Essentially in NCAA 14 the OL is overpowered. It's very hard for DL to stop the run on any heisman set that provides a challenge. The key is athletic linebackers who simply run around the blocks and just clog things up.

Most offenses in ncaa 14 will spread you out. Once you get enough athleticism you can basically match up DB for WR and then just play 2 man under and it's practically impossible to lose. But as above, for dime I like the 326 formations for the extra linebacker.

edit: and I will agree that of the zone plays, cover-3 is the least bad. In cover 2 the safeties don't defend the boundary well enough and you'll give up a lot of long passes in the window between the corner and safety. Cover 4 is just too soft and the underneath zones are terrible.

The zone is either poorly implemented or I've never been able to recruit zone defenders. Even playing man with two deep safeties, the safeties are often slow to react. I just took over Buffalo in my current dynasty (I was DC at Temple and took the head coaching job for 0-12 Buffalo) and the safety play is maddening. One play had the two outside receiver running GO routes and the safeties stayed on the hash marks despite no deep threat in the middle of the field, allowing both wideouts to get wide open deep.



I like the 4-2-5 defense, but you have to attack the LOS. I held USF (in my final season as the Temple DC) to 34 yards rushing on 22 attempts and their top RB to 28 yards on 16 carries. Two concepts that compliment each other are Bullets Dbl A and Smokes. Bullets Dbl A will blitz both LBs up the middle. If you spread the DL wide and pinch the LBs, you can usually get a LB in unblocked or picked up by a back. It is a good concept to stuff an inside run. Smokes blitzes both Strong Safeties from the outside. You can shift the DBs up and both SS will line up on the LOS. As with the Bullets Dbl A, you usually have one coming in untouched or picked up by a back. There are also two COP coverage concepts (Mob 0 COP and Thunder COP). Use these sparingly. COP coverage means the DE will have man coverage on the TE, but this game will also assign the DE to cover a RB or slot WR. Running this defense when you know they are going to run gives you 7 players (including the coverage DE) attacking the LOS.



The Cover 3 (zone) is about the only thing that seemingly has a chance to defend the corner routes. With 2 deep, the safeties will never get to the boundary and I have rare success defending it with man. Most of the times I "stop" the corner route is because the QB made a rare bad throw or the WR dropped the ball.

[OBinKC]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

I agree with method of ‘recruit the talent and man up’ being most effective. BUT, until you have that talent, you’ve got to be able to blitz effectively.

One of the things I learned about defense in NCAA ‘14 was that stunt angles can be very effective. For example, if you’ve got two players, say a D-lineman and a linebacker stunted to shoot the same B gap, and another defender blitzing straight down on the 5 technique (on the outside shoulder of the Tackle) with no TE blocking, one of those guys is getting in. This method can be used on different gaps. You should go into practice mode with two controllers and mess around with different blitz angles and see what you’d like. I found 3-4 Over, Under, and Solid works well. Nickel Normal and 4-2-5 work for me as well.

Slide protection can stop this, but that’s where you have to mix up blitzes, which makes it fun too.

[tessl]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

These are my opinions...

2 man under is the best defense in the game by far. You will not see many interceptions unless you play man. Athleticism is the most important attribute for defenders. Zone defense simply gives up many more yards after catch. I have had to implement house rules to force me to play any zone at all.

I don't see much difference between 3 and 4 man fronts, but IMO the key to stopping the run is 3 LBs on the field. What I am really saying here is that the difference between a 4-down nickel and 3-down nickel in stopping the run is due to the LBs. Essentially in NCAA 14 the OL is overpowered. It's very hard for DL to stop the run on any heisman set that provides a challenge. The key is athletic linebackers who simply run around the blocks and just clog things up.

Most offenses in ncaa 14 will spread you out. Once you get enough athleticism you can basically match up DB for WR and then just play 2 man under and it's practically impossible to lose. But as above, for dime I like the 326 formations for the extra linebacker.

edit: and I will agree that of the zone plays, cover-3 is the least bad. In cover 2 the safeties don't defend the boundary well enough and you'll give up a lot of long passes in the window between the corner and safety. Cover 4 is just too soft and the underneath zones are terrible.

I agree with 2 man under. I tend to use 4-3 unless a team is running on me and I switch to a 4-4 or 4-6. Personnel also makes a difference regardless of which scheme you use. Speed is a game changer and ability for DL to shed blocks.

[Landonio]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

I appreciate the feedback.

Is it not possible to have 6th-year seniors/medical redshirts without using the dynasty tool/editor thingy?

[sherrane]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

I appreciate the feedback.

Is it not possible to have 6th-year seniors/medical redshirts without using the dynasty tool/editor thingy?

No. The game does not allow a 6th year. Also, the new redshirt rule where a player can play up to 4 games and redshirt is not allowed. You can do both in the dynasty editor. However, you cannot see the detail of the player's statistics in the game. The player's season participation is hard-coded as a 4-element array. While you can PLAY with these extra (statistical) year players, the game will crash when you examine the player's year by year stats because you have overflowed the data structure.

[AUsouthpaw2013]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

If you've got the horses man coverage is the best. I am in year two of an Auburn dynasty using the J-KITS Heisman sliders and Cover 3 seems to be the best zone scheme. The CPU can't figure out how to fill the gap between the safety and corner in a Cover 2 so I only use it in special down and distances or if it's a play where you drop 8 into coverage. I've found Cover 6 is good for defending third and longs.

[Landonio]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

Why does the clock keep running when I run out of bounds sometimes? I don't get it.

[mercalnd]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

Why does the clock keep running when I run out of bounds sometimes? I don't get it.

It's a common misconception that the clock stops and doesn't restart whenever a player goes out of bounds. Here's the actual rule:

Anytime a player in possession of the ball goes out of bounds, the play clock stops. The clock is restarted once the officials spot the ball at the appropriate yard line on the field, except during the last two minutes of the first half or the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.

I couldn't tell you if the game actually does it right though.

[conception]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

Even with good teams I've never had much luck playing zone. The exception is if the opponent is running a lot of WR screens. Run that cover 2 every few plays and you'll likely run into a pick or two.


I fully agree with the poster above who said LBs are key. I've basically never run a base 4 defense. Always 3/4. And my Nickel packages don't feature 3 down lineman (in fact, if you've got the LBs the 1-5-5 is pretty cool). Really good defensive linemen just don't do enough in this game. LBs who have the speed to play to the sidelines or get in the backfield, they are boss.


Like many other football games speed is overpowered, probably to an extreme. A DB with good skills but who doesn't have mid 90s speed isn't gonna be much good versus good opponents. A WR who is blazing fast but whose skills suck will stick get open...often deep.

[Landonio]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

It's a common misconception that the clock stops and doesn't restart whenever a player goes out of bounds. Here's the actual rule:



I couldn't tell you if the game actually does it right though.

Damn. I've been living a lie. Thanks. Is it basically the same at all levels, or just college?

Even with good teams I've never had much luck playing zone. The exception is if the opponent is running a lot of WR screens. Run that cover 2 every few plays and you'll likely run into a pick or two.


I fully agree with the poster above who said LBs are key. I've basically never run a base 4 defense. Always 3/4. And my Nickel packages don't feature 3 down lineman (in fact, if you've got the LBs the 1-5-5 is pretty cool). Really good defensive linemen just don't do enough in this game. LBs who have the speed to play to the sidelines or get in the backfield, they are boss.


Like many other football games speed is overpowered, probably to an extreme. A DB with good skills but who doesn't have mid 90s speed isn't gonna be much good versus good opponents. A WR who is blazing fast but whose skills suck will stick get open...often deep.

Yeah, defense is kinda tricky in this game. CPU offensives can also be really weird sometimes. Running literally the same plays out of the same formations for the entire game, yet somehow they're really hard to stop. Something I've noticed is that it's really volatile, no matter how good or bad the team your playing is. Even trash teams can bust a huge play on a good team, because your players just seem to be inexplicably out of position a lot of times. Standing still, not attacking the ball, getting sucked into blocks and not pulling off them and letting dudes just run right by them, running into the ball carrier and not actually tackling them, etc. It can be incredibly frustrating. Not to mention Robo QB. It seems to always be enabled at some point during the game. Usually in the second half I've noticed. And when that happens you might as well just put your controller down because they're gonna score no matter what. QB makes the literal perfect play every time. And I'm not even playing on Heisman (aka Cheatsman). Really makes me miss the old 6th gen NCAAs where defense was actually consistent and bad teams played to their level. And playing on All-American was totally fair and you never felt cheated, even when you lost.

[Landonio]

Re: Fairly New to NCAA 14, Couple of Quick Questions Regarding Defense

Is there really no way to view per-game team stats outside of pressing triangle on individual games?