PASS RUSH AND PASS BLOCK TESTING
Surprising results: I ran same offensive play with 5 blockers against 4, 5, 6 man defensive pressure while I controlled QB with no movement and measured time until touched (not tackled) with stopwatch.
| 4 man rush | | | | | 5 man rush | | | |
| SETTING | Mean | Median | Missed block | | SETTING | Mean | Med | Blow by % |
| 10 | 3.81 | 3.45 | 10% | | 10 | 3.68 | 3.55 | 20% |
| 20 | 3.18 | 3.4 | 30% | | 20 | 3.49 | 3.5 | 40% |
| 30 | 3.36 | 3.25 | 20% | | 30 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 20% |
| 40 | 3.64 | 3.35 | 20% | | 40 | 3.49 | 3.45 | 20% |
| 50 | 3.58 | 3.4 | 30% | | 50 | 3.26 | 3.25 | 40% |
| 60 | 3.37 | 3.05 | 30% | | 60 | 3.68 | 3.75 | 20% |
| 70 | 3.84 | 3.7 | 20% | | 70 | 3.35 | 3.4 | 20% |
| 80 | 3.82 | 3.4 | 20% | | 80 | 3.45 | 3.45 | 30% |
| 90 | 3.39 | 3.45 | 20% | | 90 | 3.82 | 4.1 | 20% |
6 man rush always unblocked 2.3-2.4 seconds to contact
Findings: Player blocking slider seemed to have very little effect on anything but CPU defenders being knocked down (didn't record numbers but was noticeably different). I was very surprised by this as in past years there was a huge difference. I am not sure this slider is working at all. Of note I didn't test during play action...maybe it helps there.
I also tried to test CPU pass blocking to see if it could adjust CPU sacks. There is no good statistical data to provide. I ran 4 man and 5 man rush and 6 man rush against 5 man offensive blockers with and without playaction enough plays to equate to the passes in a typical NFL game (see NFL stat charts). There were no sacks when set above 60 but I couldn't tell a difference between 10-50 with all groups getting between 2-3 sacks per game. The main reason was fairly obvious though. In my 6man blitz player test time to hit the QB is 2.3-2.4 sec. The CPU quarterback throws the short route at around 2.4 seconds into the play. This means even against a 6 man front there will never be a sack unless the receiver gets jammed/covered. It appears sacks are more related to coverage than sliders though perhaps settings of 50 or less due increase the odds (though Player testing didn't support this).
Recommendation: No clue what to recommend if too few sacks try lowering CPU Pass block to <50 but suspect pass coverage adjustments are more effective. Of note make sure you don't run a lot of 4 man fronts sine they are highly unlikely to get sacks (no CPU pressure in time).
EUREKA:
Results: I figured out how EA porked pass block. I ran human control against the CPU with adjustment to CPU pass block slider. It has a significant effect on the outcome of the square or x button push to beat the OL when playing as a human. Unfortunately by linking the slider to that they porked its use to control sacks since it doesn't appear to effect AI vs AI OL interactions.
| Pass block | Beat block | No beat block |
| 100 | 6 | 9 |
| 0 | 10 | 5
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