How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

[Essex Blue]

I'm Commissioner of a 14-team CFM. We're in our third year and are ok at Madden - one or two of the guys are really good, the rest of us are mediocre/average really, a couple of guys are new to the game.

We play All-Pro level, default sliders with just some tweaks to penalties.

What we're starting to see in our second season of our franchise is that the games against the CPU are increasingly one-sided with guys with stud receivers and good quarterbacks able to throw 70-80 yard TDs at will. On my Giants team, Odell Beckham just beats the AI constantly with his high release and acceleration and it is the same with other guys. Yesterday it came to a head when the guy controlling the Bills had Tyrod Taylor throw for 7 TDs and 708 yards (576 and all 7 TDs to Marquise Goodwin) and the Texans had Brock throw in his game for 893 yards. We only play 8 minute quarters with a 20 second clock run-down so the logistics of those numbers blow my mind.

Obviously with different levels of abilities we're not going to be able to be massively balanced and the PvP games are often close but I'd like to see what, if any, changes the users here would suggest we could implement to make those plays less easy to pull off which don't make completing any sort of passing impossible for the less good players in the League.

Last year the crazy one-handed catches in triple coverage were horrible but they managed to tone that down but this year from day one high release, high speed WRs have seemed way over-powered although it doesn't seem to get a huge amount of attention on here from what I can see.

[hammer27mba]

Re: How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

In our league we adjusted the speed threshold, we were having the same issue and things are much better.

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[timhere1970]

Re: How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

It is definately over powered. I don't play against other people but against the cpu I always hot route one of my receivers to a shorter route, usually a hook, in or out. This gives the cpu a chance.

[Mattanite]

Re: How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

Implement some sim-style rules maybe? Like if you go up by 4TDs you have to run the ball for example. Or 4 verts/ plays with 2 or more go/post routes only allowed in the 4 minute offense?


Speed slider should help slightly. The killer against AI and deep routes is the Cover1 press. When I see that formation adjustment by the AI it's a TD for me but for immersion I wont always call the route audible.

[mtmetcalfe]

Re: How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

In our league we adjusted the speed threshold, we were having the same issue and things are much better.

Sent from my LGLS775 using Operation Sports mobile app

This is the approach we took. I was hesitant to raise it because I was worried it would water down the differentiating speed between players but that has not been the case. It has made the passing game a bit more difficult but not to levels I would hope. Im still able to throw over the top in certain situations.
There are people on this board that insist you cannot move sliders around without breaking the game but not finding this to be the case either. Try 60 threshold and go from there. You could also wait a few more days and see what the update brings.

[Splice]

Re: How can my CFM tone down the effects of long plays/Four Verts?

Most of it has to do with the animations of route running.

Any time you beat press coverage, the animation leaves you wide open, when in reality when you beat press, the corner back is still right beside you running down the field pushing you towards the sideline, or he's right on your heels at least. In reality, most of the time you have somebody wide open on a go route is when the CB in zone lets the receiver go thinking the deep safety has him when he doesn't, or the receiver will pull some quick stutter or cut on the corner. Receivers don't get wide open on go routes beating press. The safety would be watching them specifically in press and would be right over top of them.

The same issue consists in in/out route. The animation of the defender getting "fooled" on the cut is just way too much. You will see 75 speed 60 route running TEs get 5+ yards separation off 90+ speed 80+ coverage corners or safeties.

Increasing coverage or reaction time doesn't really solve these animation issues, nor does increasing speed threshold. But if you have 100 speed threshold and 100 reaction time, then it would help the defender close in on the ball more quickly after it's thrown. But you will still have wide open receivers regardless, which means as a human player, you can still get cheesy plays by passing the ball just before the receiver makes the move, so that he catches the ball right when he makes that huge unrealistic separation. I will lob the ball up just as soon as I see the cheesy beat press animation start and he will catch it with the CB 10 yards behind him. Same with corner routes.