why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

[CJ10]

every time I throw a screen pass I see blockers and open field in front of me, yet as soon as the wr makes the catch, he does some stupid side cut before turning to run up the field which always results in getting tackled right where he caught the ball. whats up with this.

[skundy]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

What game speed are you playing on? Anything other than normal generates some funkiness with screens, sweeps, tosses and what not.

[CJ10]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

Im on normal, I switched after I found out about the stuck in the mud glitch on tosses and swings. What my wr are doing when they catch it is cutting sideways or backwards before turning up field, which of course allows the D time to run right over and tackle them. Ive tried holding the stick every direction, using every directional passing option and nothing is working.

[jello1717]

why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

Is this NCAA '14?

What kind of screens (smoke, mid, bubble)?

In my spread option offense I run a lot of all 3 types of screens and haven't seen your issue before. I don't use any directional passing on screens.

There's a 4th type of screen where the WR runs towards the QB and behind the LOS but I almost never call those, but that's because I don't like him running back behind the LOS at the start of the play.

[skundy]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

Is this NCAA '14?

What kind of screens (smoke, mid, bubble)?

In my spread option offense I run a lot of all 3 types of screens and haven't seen your issue before. I don't use any directional passing on screens.

There's a 4th type of screen where the WR runs towards the QB and behind the LOS but I almost never call those, but that's because I don't like him running back behind the LOS at the start of the play.

I too run a lot of screens and haven't seen this. It almost sounds like a hard cut is being made as soon as the ball is caught.

[CJ10]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I too run a lot of screens and haven't seen this. It almost sounds like a hard cut is being made as soon as the ball is caught.

That's what it feels like to me as well. where I see it the most is the normal wr screen or the pa wr screen, it goes to the wr nearest the sideline while the other wr and ol block for you. the bubble screen and the screen where the wr runs behind the los I don't get many issues with cause they are already in motion and catching the ball in stride. Its only the ones where they catch the ball from a dead stop that I get this with.

[Leftcoastrider]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

That's what it feels like to me as well. where I see it the most is the normal wr screen or the pa wr screen, it goes to the wr nearest the sideline while the other wr and ol block for you. the bubble screen and the screen where the wr runs behind the los I don't get many issues with cause they are already in motion and catching the ball in stride. Its only the ones where they catch the ball from a dead stop that I get this with.

I have the same issues at times. I still haven't quite figured out why EXACTLY it happens, but if i allow my player to fully catch the ball before i try to make a football move, it happens less, but it still happens. I wish I understood why this happens. It would really help to open up my playbook, because as of now I rarely run screens and such, mainly because of this issue.

[skundy]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

Are you using directional passing on these plays? I usually don't and can have success with these plays. I will try today and use some directional passing and see if it affects the play.

[Peacefrog]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I've had this issue as well, and have done a couple things to alleviate the problem:

1) Make sure the QB is planted and not throwing off his back foot, which can be tricky on a screen, especially if your linemen are letting defenders through to get downfield for a block. If the QB is backpedaling when he throws, the throw is more likely to be off target, and the receiver will have to adjust (this is easy stuff that you probably know already, but hey, maybe you don't).

2) Upon catching the ball, let the CPU control the receiver for a second or two (hold X on PS3, I'm assuming A on 360). Could be the AI was planning to cut inside after the catch, and had started making adjustments to do so. Then, when you user-control him upon catch, you decide to take him outside instead. So you end up with an awkward juke that kills your speed and momentum, and leaves you facing in a bad direction. Letting the CPU take that first step or two seems to help, though this is still an EA game, so it's far from a guarantee.

3) This is the most successful way I've found to fix this bug. Don't run bubble or comeback screens. The only WR screen I run anymore is the Mid, where the linemen will go downfield and your WR catches the ball in stride behind them, past the line of scrimmage. I've had way too many issues with the other WR screens being faulty, but due to poor programming of how the play works, and not because the play got busted by the defense.

[firesloth]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

It may depend on your QB accuracy, I suppose. One other thought: do you have your catching strategy set to conservative? It could be you're getting hung up because of that.

[dlk90514]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I was having this problem as well, but as of late not so much.... I don't pull the acceleration burst until my player turns up field this has helped me dramatically!

[CJ10]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

It may depend on your QB accuracy, I suppose. One other thought: do you have your catching strategy set to conservative? It could be you're getting hung up because of that.

Where do I find catching strategy at?

[EricFreakingBerry]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I ran about 50 different screens in practice in a row and either I just stink at them, or the CPU is just awful at the setup and execution of screens this year on the blocking.

I had about 20 wrapped up for a loss.
I had about 20 for no gain or no more than a yard.
I had about 6-7 that gained 2-5 yards.
I had about 3-4 that gained 5+ yards. Only one went for a gain of 10.

I remember NCAA '12 seemed like the year of the screen pass to me. I had a lot of success with it.

[jajajajim]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I ran about 50 different screens in practice in a row and either I just stink at them, or the CPU is just awful at the setup and execution of screens this year on the blocking.

I had about 20 wrapped up for a loss.
I had about 20 for no gain or no more than a yard.
I had about 6-7 that gained 2-5 yards.
I had about 3-4 that gained 5+ yards. Only one went for a gain of 10.

I remember NCAA '12 seemed like the year of the screen pass to me. I had a lot of success with it.

I believe you. The WR screens definitely seem underpowered this year. The key to utilizing them is the pre-snap read. I think I would have the same results you had if I just ran them straight in practice mode. You should always be prepared to audible out of your called screen. My personal experience with WR screens this year:

- Haven't been able to figure out the pre-snap read for the middle screen, so I don't run it often. Can't really comment.

- For the outside screen (the long hand-off kind), there are two situations in which I don't audible out of it: a) the CB is playing soft, b) the main blocker (usually slot guy) is covered by a safety and the CB on the wideout is not pressing. I usually get 4-5 yrds in this scenario.

- For the bubble screen, I audible out if the DB on the slot man is playing press. If the slot is covered by a safety or LB, I'm happy. I get 6-8 yrds on this with the proper read, and it's become a part of my inside their 10 offense. Unfortunately I throw a pick six every 15 or so attempts :-\

[mjavon]

Re: why do my wr's not turn up field after catching a screen pass?

I think this happens because the play develops more slowly than it should. That is, you're running a screen play expecting to snap and throw right away (because that's how screens are run in real life, and that's how they SHOULD work), but if you do that, the receiver hasn't finished his screen "route" and is still moving when your QB releases the ball, so he leads the moving receiver instead of putting it right on him.