Your passing mechanics/procedure...

[Bullet Sponge]

I'm curious what others do when they pass the ball in terms of where your eyes are at a given time.

Do you start pulling back the QB while scanning the field immediately? Do you watch your QB for a second or two to get him into a nice protective pocket then look downfield? Do you try and watch the whole field or quickly switch between receivers? Check back and forth between QB/receivers?

[Phin]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I trust my o-line and watch the receivers. I'll get sacked a few time but I also keep a low int total this way. If I haven't got the ball off in a couple seconds I start paying attention to the pressure on my blockers more.

[KingV2k3]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I don't manually drop the QB back, that way there's a much better chance that his feet are set for the throw...

1) Pre snap read...probably motion one WR to determine Man or Zone, get a feel for what side the blitz may or may not be coming from...

2) Based on step 1, choose a side of the field to focus on and the D player the is my "read" for the play as a result...

3) After the snap take a nano second to determine if the LBs are blitzing or dropping back into coverage as well as the DBs...

4) If it's an obvious blitz, throw to the receiver who is likely to be left uncovered by the vacancy of that area by the blitzing defender...

5) If they drop into coverage, look at the side of the field I chose in my presnap read, deepest route first, intermediate second, checkdown in the flat last...

6) Throw to the first guy in that progression that is wide open, "winning" his route or is about to gain a step on his defender or is about to make a break or cut that the coverage looks unlikely to mirror...

7) Light tap to float one, medium tap for most, hard tap to gun it, depending on the above...

8) Complete steps 3 through 7 in under 2.5 to 3 seconds...

9) Hope for the best...



I hope this helps, I'm no trained IRL QB, but have decent knowledge of football and a lot of football gaming experience...this is the first time I actually thought this much about how / why I do it how I do, but it works quite well and realistically...

Just like the IRL guys, you have to "feel" the rush...don't waste a half second or more actually looking...

Have fun and good luck!

[BlastX21]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I just snap it and look at the receivers 100% of the time. If I notice an open running lane with side vision I'll take it, but it has to be pretty big for me to notice it. Imo watching the receivers is most effective because you get a high completion % and get the ball out quickly, so sacks aren't an issue.

I dont use hardly any pre snap reads, just look from receiver to receiver in the order that they most often get open on the play.

[Pride1]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I generally will look at the safeties first to see if/how they drop into coverage. Then I go through my progression from deep to short. If my first 2 reads are mirrored by the DBs in their routes, I'll usually look down at the line for a hole to scramble through as, if the first 2 guys aren't open, then it's probably a good bet that nobody is or I won't have time to find them if they are.

I love the pocket/pass rush in this year's game. It's the first time I can ever remember having that "internal clock" feel as the QB where panic will begin to set in if you hold onto the ball for more than 3 seconds. Stepping up into the pocket to complete a pass feels so rewarding.

[Bullet Sponge]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I don't manually drop the QB back, that way there's a much better chance that his feet are set for the throw...

1) Pre snap read...probably motion one WR to determine Man or Zone, get a feel for what side the blitz may or may not be coming from...

2) Based on step 1, choose a side of the field to focus on and the D player the is my "read" for the play as a result...

3) After the snap take a nano second to determine if the LBs are blitzing or dropping back into coverage as well as the DBs...

4) If it's an obvious blitz, throw to the receiver who is likely to be left uncovered by the vacancy of that area by the blitzing defender...

5) If they drop into coverage, look at the side of the field I chose in my presnap read, deepest route first, intermediate second, checkdown in the flat last...

6) Throw to the first guy in that progression that is wide open, "winning" his route or is about to gain a step on his defender or is about to make a break or cut that the coverage looks unlikely to mirror...

7) Light tap to float one, medium tap for most, hard tap to gun it, depending on the above...

8) Complete steps 3 through 7 in under 2.5 to 3 seconds...

Just like the IRL guys, you have to "feel" the rush...don't waste a half second or more actually looking...

This is a really nice mini-guide, man. Thanks. Regarding not manually dropping him back, do you find the CPU will suddenly make that pass for you if you don't grab control of the QB right away? Is there a setting to make the CPU NOT try to throw the ball for you if you're not controlling him directly?

[KingV2k3]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

This is a really nice mini-guide, man. Thanks. Regarding not manually dropping him back, do you find the CPU will suddenly make that pass for you if you don't grab control of the QB right away? Is there a setting to make the CPU NOT try to throw the ball for you if you're not controlling him directly?

If you go to:

Game Controls / Customizable Controls / Helpers and toggle Auto Passing to OFF, the AI will not throw for you...

Glad you got something from the "guide" I was able to come up with...

You are most welcome!

There's also a lot of really cool videos on YouTube about the intracacies of the pre and post snap QB reads, if you'd like to go that route as well...

For instance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_GifKM9DAk

Enjoy...

[sleepyeagle]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I Analyze the defense pre-snap. Then I take care of any problems I see. If it looks like press coverage, I'll put a man in motion to counter that. If it looks like a blitz, I'll hot route a receiver to make sure I can throw it hot. If they're playing single coverage, I'll send an outside receiver on a fly and try to beat them deep.

I always watch the LBs during the beginning of the snap to see if any of them are blitzing, but then immediately concentrate on coverage (zone/man). My reads depend on down/distance and what I see pre-snap. Sometimes I'll go long to short, sometimes the other way around.

The key is to be flexible and limit mistakes. "And for the love of god, don't try to force it down field." - High school coach.

[Bullet Sponge]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

The key is to be flexible and limit mistakes. "And for the love of god, don't try to force it down field." - High school coach.

This is probably one of my biggest problems. It's really hard to take a sack or throw it away. Your instinct is to force it in somewhere and hope for the big play but indeed it's always better to fight another day.

[shane79013]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I usually look to see what coverage the defense is in pre-snap. Then I look for anybody showing blitz. Make my blocking/hot route adjustments if needed. Then I snap it and make my progressions by order of which route should be open based off of the coverage. I always have a RB as a last resort on a passing play though unless its an empty set.

Knowing how to read the coverage before the ball is even snapped, and then knowing what routes beat what coverages has helped me a ton. I used to get sacked quite a bit, and have about 4 or 5 more TD's than INT in a season. Now in a season I usually get sacked less than 10 times a year. Complete around 70-75% of my passes, and usually only throw about 6-7 picks.

[DonkeyJote]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

This is probably one of my biggest problems. It's really hard to take a sack or throw it away. Your instinct is to force it in somewhere and hope for the big play but indeed it's always better to fight another day.

I just try and dink and dunk it down the field, and I only take a shot if the guy is wide open. If I'm ever flushed out, and there's no room to run, I just throw it out of bounds. I use Oregon a lot, and their passing game is all about short stuff and stretching the defense horizontially and taking shots when they're available. When I tried using Mississippi St's playbook (which has a lot more downfield stuff), I struggled a lot more. I just dink and dunk and wait for that right coverage where a guy is down field wide open. TE's are your friends - it's harder to make mistakes to them.

[reyes the roof]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

I usually just read the coverage and go from there, the only time I pay as much attention to the blocking is if I go playaction because quite often I end up getting hit as soon as I fake the handoff

[stoncold32]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

good thread. This is something I've never realy thought about. I've been playing these games so long, I just do what I do without thinking.

I guess typically I look out for the safeties first. I'm always looking for the biggest play when I'm passing. Maybe that's bad, but that's what I've always done. Then if the long ball is not there I look closer to me. Oh, and presnap, if I can tell a blitz is coming I'll hot route my RB to block for me.

One thing I dont like about this game from time to time is that the CPU d-lineman just sometimes run right around your blockers like nothing.

One thing I do like is that you have to make your reads and get rid of it. Nothing good happens when you wait too long. Once your wrs routes are run, you're in trouble if you dont get the ball out in time

[blakty]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

1) Look for mismatches right off the bat (ex. slot reveivers>linebackers, tight ends>cornerbacks)

2) Depending on the offensive style, use trips or motion to get a good idea of the coverage. (ex. the defense will sometimes shift when you motion)

3) If there's a chance of a blitz, always have a hot read ready because there'll be no time to set up complex patterns.

4) After the snap, NEVER look at your own offensive players. Eyes should always be on the defenders. It's your job to remember your patterns and trust your receivers will be there on time.

5) Throw to a spot with anticipation. When facing zone coverage, timing is everything. It's very satifying spoting a receiver sitting in the sweet spot of an ill prepared zone defense.

6) Change your protection. If you spot blitzing defenders pre-snap, make adjustments by either sliding your protection or checking out of play action. You'd be suprised by how much time you buy.

7) Try not to throw on the run. Setting up properly gives your quarterback maximum accuracy and throw power.

I'm no expert, but I can complete any pass 95% of the time on any difficulty against any team...except Bama of course.

[Bullet Sponge]

Re: Your passing mechanics/procedure...

4) After the snap, NEVER look at your own offensive players. Eyes should always be on the defenders. It's your job to remember your patterns and trust your receivers will be there on time.

Another fascinating bit of advice I never considered. I'm always watching my receivers as opposed to where the route will end up and who is defending that area etc. Nice tip.