Offense - Where do you guys look

[reerdo]

Before I begin I hold my hands up, I am rubbish at Madden, I love it but I am rubbish at it and always have been but I want to try and improve myself.

One of the things I struggle with is the amount going on that I need to keep track of so . . .

When you guys are controlling plays as offense where do you dedicate most of your attention to? Do you focus on your hot route? Do you scan across all receivers? Do you focus on the QB?

I am really struggling to take it all in and feel that I am making things worse for myself by having to much to look at and feel like I need to do it all rather than focus on whats important.

[Ueauvan]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

im rubbish with the sticks so i play coach mode

[SpectreBugg]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

A few suggestions that might help you simplify offense.

1. Pre snap reads: Try to Determine the coverage before you start the play. Are you seeing man coverage? cover 2, cover 3, cover 4, etc?

2. Once you have decided what you are looking at, pick 2 routes that could be open based on the coverage. These are your read 1 and read 2.

3. Know where your dump off is. This is normally a back or TE, or maybe even a receiver on a drag or hitch.

4. Once the ball is snapped, make your reads and get the ball out as quickly as possible. Basically you look at read 1 and throw if open. if not move to read 2 and throw if open. If not then move to dump off. If none of them are open, it's time to get what you can on the ground and slide.

This is the same technique that is used by real teams with young QB's or QB's who are new or struggling with the system. You can even drop it to a 1 read and dump if you need to. And don't forget to run the ball. A good running game, or even the threat of a good running game, can make the passing game 10x easier on you.

Outside of all that, there are plenty of things to work on that can help. Those presnap reads are a big deal. recognizing blitzes, keeping a 3rd eye on the pocket, route timing, etc. All things you can add as you get more comfortable with the system.

[xSABOx]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Presnap - Look at safeties and cornerbacks alignment to see to get a feel for the coverage...

My suggestion isn’t “looking at a spot” it’s to study pass concepts and how ur supposed to read the progressions on them... my favorites are Stick, Mesh, Shallow Cross, Drive and Four Verts. Learn those first and the rest will start to make sense.

[reerdo]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Thanks for the replies and tips. I think I need to pull myself back in and accept that I can't do it all and look to build myself up how you suggested SpectreBugg and minimise my reads before I accept dumping it off or scrambling.

As I have come into watching the NFL more recently I am learning the details of the sport and the game at the same time so I will definitely need to start working on my reading of how defences set up against me.

I guess I need to stop looking at this from the point of view of a game and think what would be done in real life like you stated.

[Aestis]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Along with the pre-snap stuff, once you know which are your first 1-2 routes... this is hard to get used to but a big deal:

Pick preferably 1 or at most 2 key defenders and watch them after you snap the ball, NOT your receivers. Depending on what this key defender does, you should know who's about to be open.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Depends on the coverage and how the D is aligned for sure, but I find that i naturally look to the left more often then not. I find that I will only throw to the right if I see something in the D before the snap or if there is a route that I am planning to hit over there, otherwise I am only looking left. No clue why this is haha.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

The safeties are the key both presnap and postsnap. 9 times out of ten after the snap I know exactly what the coverage is based on how the two safeties move, regardless of presnap alignment.

If they come out in a 2-high look, they are showing cover 2 or cover 4, but it could be a robber coverage, cover 6, anything. Watch what they do immediately after the snap (unless you have a screen pass or one read call). If they split up evenly, it’s most likely cover 2, which means the middle of the field deep is going to be vulnerable, and sideline concepts like the smash will be useful. If they drop straight back and are split, you could be looking at cover 4. Usually a dump off in the middle will be open, as well as deep outs if you have a match up advantage vs the corner. Also, usually cover for leaves the flats open for a few yards. Cover 4 will usually handle deep passes, but on the edges you’ll usually have a similar scenario to a cover three: one deep cb and one lb in the flat.

Finally, if one safety goes to the deep middle and the other goes toward the line of scrimmage, you are most likely looking at cover 1 or cover 3. This is called a “closed” middle, and deep posts down the middle are not usually good ideas here. If it’s man, it will come down to matchups, but stay aware of both the lurking safety underneath and the one over top.

I’m not going to go into much more detail since it’s been done here many times, but learn to recognize coverage at least 60% of the time, and learn where the holes are in each. If you do that and two more things, you will be very good on offense.

The additional things:

1: Throw with anticipation. That means, throw before the wr makes his break, and throw to a place that is away from coverage.

2: Build a team with quick and fast wrs. This will help mitigate your struggles with reading a defense. I don’t want to advocate cheese play, but this is one way people who can’t read a defense and have a little success. With speed you can miss a window to throw but still get the ball even if you throw late, because you can either wait for another window or the defender is beaten bad enough that your mistake is minimalized.

[prey2god]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Before I begin I hold my hands up, I am rubbish at Madden, I love it but I am rubbish at it and always have been but I want to try and improve myself.

One of the things I struggle with is the amount going on that I need to keep track of so . . .

When you guys are controlling plays as offense where do you dedicate most of your attention to? Do you focus on your hot route? Do you scan across all receivers? Do you focus on the QB?

I am really struggling to take it all in and feel that I am making things worse for myself by having to much to look at and feel like I need to do it all rather than focus on whats important.

Rubbish? I have a feeling you're not American

[reerdo]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

Rubbish? I have a feeling you're not American

You are right, I’m from England (would ‘I’m crap’ be a better fit lol) which is one of the things I think hinders me as I was ‘brought’ up on NFL and only came to it in my late 20’s so what a lot of you guys see as basic reads aren’t for me but the advice I have had here has been brilliant.

Firstly I have gone down from All-Pro to Pro and realised I need to learn in a more forgiving environment, plus I have printed out a lot of the tips and they are in my ‘Madden Handbook’ for me to refer to as I play.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[ehh]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

In addition to the previous tips, if you are struggling I suggest cutting the field in half each play. Meaning pick one side of the field and keep your eyes on that half the entire play. Only look to your left or your right, don't worry about making cross-field reads in your progressions.

Make your presnap read and find the guy you think will be open. Focus on his side of the field. If he's not open, try to find another guy on that side of the field. If no one is open on that half, take off with your QB.

I always do this when I get in a funk. It simplifies things and takes the pressure off you a bit. You're only worried about two reads (maybe three if there's a dump down), half the field and you have a clock in your head to scramble. Once you start carving up defenses you can work on reading the whole field.

My other suggestion is simple - do not force things downfield. Look for short routes, safety valves, and check-downs. Madden isn't a great representation of the real NFL in this regard; teams don't take 20 shots downfield every game. There are a ton of short passes. I don't know if you mostly play the CPU or HUM but the CPU can get very cautious in its defensive play calling; they'll sit in deep zones all game and make you dink and dunk to beat them. Don't force passes in into the teeth of a zone like that, take or your short routes or focus on running the ball.

[stinkubus]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

To expand on ehh's post and give a concrete example...



This play gives you a corner/flat combo to the left sideline, plus a drive concept over the middle of the field. You also have a hot read to your RB if you get pressure from the right side of the formation.

This lets you make your reads left to right which is more natural since it's how we read. You've got two distinct zone beating concepts, each of which has routes which can beat man coverage.

Rather than cutting the field in half I prefer to think in terms of thirds. From each sideline to the numbers, and then the space between the numbers in the middle. I generally find it easier to make my reads when I have a concept on one of the outside thirds of the field and another one over the middle. I only have my patterns working both sidelines if I'm in a game situation where getting OOB is paramount.

Using these principles on offense usually results in your opponent having resources on defense which are guarding a part of the field where no one is running a route. This is a win for you.

[Matrix_2k]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

It's all about pre snap reads in my opinion. Check out what set the defense is in and think about if you have a good advantage on the play. Making on the fly adjustments is what football is all about. Get better at x's and o's and your game will improve.

[Qcsports4]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

It also depends on where you are on the field. If you are inside the 10 yard line,there isn't a big window of an area that is open. Avoid out patterns,the LB,CB can undercut the WR and run back 90 yrs for a td. Maybe a curl pattern or a pass to a receiver running a flat,inside route within 4 yards of the offensive line. Will say,sometimes the CPU cheats and the free safety will make some inhuman interception. I was within 6 yards of the end zone. I correctly guessed the right LB was blitzing and sent my TE straight into the open seam. Threw it as soon as I saw the LB blitzing. The free safety,who was just to the left of deep center in the end zone made it to where my TE was heading and somehow made the interception. The A.I. safety,on a snowy field,made an unrealistic fast reaction in a situation that is a td catch by the TE in real life(this was in Madden 17,it's even a td in Madden 16!) So just a warning that the A.I. at times does things wouldn't ever be done in real life.

[reyes the roof]

Re: Offense - Where do you guys look

One thing I like to do is use two TE sets so that I can keep two extra guys in to block out of my RB and TEs. Now you only have two guys and a checkdown to choose from. I used to go to the line with a good plan but then as soon as things go wrong I panic and have a meltdown. Reducing my numbers of guys running routes helps with that.


The thing that has helped me the most is practice mode. Pick a pass play and run it against random defense over and over. Give it 10-15 reps per play and you should have a really good feel for where to throw in all scenarios and be able to run it efficiently in a game