Anyone having fun on defense?

[bsantos_5]

I've only been able to play a couple games with the demo but I'm wondering if anyone is having fun on defense? The last couple years to me is seems everything is geared towards offense and it is hard to make an impact even with the best players on D. Could be that I don't get to play as much as I used to and my skills are lacking.

[DorianDonP]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

Until they overhaul OL/DL interactions, make speed rushing mechanics (and not gimmicks) a real part of the game, and make size factor into physics, then I won't be able to truly "have fun" on defense. It's the most important part of football, but the battle in the trenches is pretty poorly represented in EA's football games.

[ncaa13]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

Nope but not because the cpu AI is cheating as much this year, they are just so darn smart. The qb know when to run, they option pitch well too, the all still "jerk run" so it's hard to line them up for a hit. If you meet a rb in a hole he'll cut to another one, the option game is going to be the only game this year we all can see and they run it soo well. Zone D doesn't do anything and if you run man they block so well it hard to stop them soo blitz...

[wolverinemaniac]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

I have just as much fun on defense as I do on offense.

[TomSellecksMustache]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

I've only been able to play a couple games with the demo but I'm wondering if anyone is having fun on defense? The last couple years to me is seems everything is geared towards offense and it is hard to make an impact even with the best players on D. Could be that I don't get to play as much as I used to and my skills are lacking.

Not yet, I am horrible. Of course I have been playing on Heisman

[cbc72]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

Nope but not because the cpu AI is cheating as much this year, they are just so darn smart. The qb know when to run, they option pitch well too, the all still "jerk run" so it's hard to line them up for a hit. If you meet a rb in a hole he'll cut to another one, the option game is going to be the only game this year we all can see and they run it soo well. Zone D doesn't do anything and if you run man they block so well it hard to stop them soo blitz...

I found a way to cheat the game mechanics/AI. Take the end that is supposed to break down on the runner and control him. Make a quick fake like you are going to break down, then stay home and crush the QB.

This was not 100%, but probably 80% effective in stopping the option.

[GameBreaker35]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

Defense is much more fun to play in my opinion. I just really like making interceptions and smashing helpless receivers while they aren't looking though. The latter is is even better on slow speeds.

[misterkrabz]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

No fun defense here..."ball hawk" feature doesn't work as advertised. The controls are simply too laggy. Meaning the player you're controlling doesn't perform a given move when you push the button giving you the feeling that you're not really controlling the action. Good luck shedding a block in the open field and like a magnet the blocker b-lines to the guy your controlling and the shuck block/swim moves don't work worth beans. IMO the problem plaguing defense has been the same for 10+ years and that is the defensive actions are linked to animations and not the buttons and they (ball hawk/swat/dive) are dictated by the action on the field, not user input. This year is no different. It strips the fun out of playing defense because you simply cannot manually control a player and compensate for a bad play call or bad AI. Last gen this was never an issue. It also frequently switches you to the "wrong" man when you change players on defense making matters even worse. Once again this was never an issue on last gen.

[catcher_0_3]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

I actually like it quite a bit because it's not easy. Everything I do doesn't work, nothing works 100% of the time, there is always a counter. I've used more defensive plays in the demo than I think I have ever used in any other football game. I've seen more bull rushes than in any other football game. All of this without getting to use all of the defensive playbooks which I'm very interested in trying out.

[Orange Krush]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

It also frequently switches you to the "wrong" man when you change players on defense making matters even worse. Once again this was never an issue on last gen.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves of playing defense. So often I'll try to switch to, say a corner trailing a receiver who just caught a slant to make the tackle from behind, only to be switched to the safety 10 yards up field so I can dive at nothing and give up a huge touchdown. I understand he might be in better position to make the tackle, but it still didn't switch me to the guy I was hoping to become. I thought I read somewhere that this was fixed, by creating like a second delay between switching players and taking control of them, but I didn't see that when I played the demo. I only played it once though, so maybe I just missed? I sure hope so.

[jmik58]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

A lot of guys forget to choose the "pass commit" option prior to the snap in obvious passing downs. It's a heck of an awareness boost that mirrors how real-life players think/react in obvious passing downs. On PS3 hold down L2 and UP on the Right Stick pre-snap.

Related thread: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ommit-ps3.html

[Swamp Swagger]

A lot of guys forget to choose the "pass commit" option prior to the snap in obvious passing downs. It's a heck of an awareness boost that mirrors how real-life players think/react in obvious passing downs. On PS3 hold down L2 and UP on the Right Stick pre-snap.

Related thread: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ommit-ps3.html

This

I've been doing it nearly every year since they put it in the game. Even if its a pass you don't get burned like you do if you chose run commit

[Swamp Swagger]

Also zone defense is pretty dang worthless against the CPU as they are just to smart and get pick it apart all game.

Now against a human players zone can be a very good option especially if you can get pressure on the Qb

[misterkrabz]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

A lot of guys forget to choose the "pass commit" option prior to the snap in obvious passing downs. It's a heck of an awareness boost that mirrors how real-life players think/react in obvious passing downs. On PS3 hold down L2 and UP on the Right Stick pre-snap.

Related thread: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ommit-ps3.html

I hear ya but that's a solution that doesn't address the real problem. It does help I agree, but the real problem is the overall sense of lack of user control on defense. Imagine for second if on offense if you pressed a button to pass and the QB didn't pass the ball when you pressed the button but passed it at the most opportune time hence taking that level of control away from you. It would be pretty stupid yet that essentially what you have on defense while manually controlling a guy. Or maybe even a better example would if you pressed the "triangle" when attempting to throw to that receiver and it actually threw the ball to the "square" guy. That would be an exercise in frustration and it would be pointless to even control your QB. At that point, why would you even play the game? You wouldn't. But that is essentially the level of control you have on defense making playing defense an exercise in frustration. You see what has to be done, you push the corresponding buttons to perform that act and nothing happens or what happens is not what you're expecting (which is true most of the time). It's very disappointing. EA can put in all the bells and whistles they want and it doesn't matter one bit until that problem is fixed on defense. I've already seen enough from the demo to convince me to bypass this years NCAA game again hold out hope for Madden. And I'm not holding my breath there because Madden has the exact same problem and chances are it's not going to be fixed...might have to wait another 10 years before it even hits home with EA that it's a problem.

[jmik58]

Re: Anyone having fun on defense?

I hear ya but that's a solution that doesn't address the real problem. It does help I agree, but the real problem is the overall sense of lack of user control on defense. Imagine for second if on offense if you pressed a button to pass and the QB didn't pass the ball when you pressed the button but passed it at the most opportune time hence taking that level of control away from you. It would be pretty stupid yet that essentially what you have on defense while manually controlling a guy. Or maybe even a better example would if you pressed the "triangle" when attempting to throw to that receiver and it actually threw the ball to the "square" guy. That would be an exercise in frustration and it would be pointless to even control your QB. At that point, why would you even play the game? You wouldn't. But that is essentially the level of control you have on defense making playing defense an exercise in frustration. You see what has to be done, you push the corresponding buttons to perform that act and nothing happens or what happens is not what you're expecting (which is true most of the time). It's very disappointing. EA can put in all the bells and whistles they want and it doesn't matter one bit until that problem is fixed on defense. I've already seen enough from the demo to convince me to bypass this years NCAA game again hold out hope for Madden. And I'm not holding my breath there because Madden has the exact same problem and chances are it's not going to be fixed...might have to wait another 10 years before it even hits home with EA that it's a problem.

For the record, my input about the run/pass commmit wasn't a response to any problem. I think using it makes the game more real and more fun. I honestly don't know what problem you're bringing up because I wasn't aware of any such problem.

When I press buttons on defense the game responds correctly. Are you talking about switching players? That's not something that's always going to be perfect, but one thing to try is to wait and see who you control before pushing the left stick. The CPU will control your player until you override his movement.

I personally love playing defense as the MLB. I have a coaching background and I'm impressed with how 'reading keys' on the offensive line actually works in the game similar to real life.