Sweet 16: Improved Defensive Playbooks vs. More Slider Options

[cdj]

After voting, share your thoughts behind your vote and on each feature in this thread.
Vote early - all future rounds will be open just three days for voting.


Improved & Team Specific Defensive Playbooks

NCAA Football 11 focused on "120 Ways to Win" and improved offensive playbooks. Now, the community would like to see the same attention focused on defensive playbooks. Common requests include team specific defensive playbooks and plays, including using team specific terminology (IE: Nebraska's Peso Defense). Much like the offensive playbooks were revamped last year, this feature would take a look at each teams defenses to see what they do that stands out and makes their defenses unique, and then add the formations and plays within that team's playbook. Some of the most requested improvements to the defensive playbooks include: Adding the 3-4 Predator (as found in the Madden NFL franchise), 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 Defense adding 2 high safety look with their base defenses, updated coverages within the 4-2-5 such as split field coverages or Q/Q/H (quarter, quarter, half coverage), addition of proper stunts to the 4-2-5, 4-4 and Bear front defenses, etc. (Round 1 Discussion - Round 2 Discussion)


More Slider Options

Every member of the NCAA Football community plays the game differently and each have their own opinion on what tweaks are necessary to make the game even more enjoyable. One common theme among gamers is that they wished they had more sliders to help customize the game experience to their liking. Some of the most highly requested slider additions by the community: fumbles, game speed, injuries, fatigue, momentum, man & zone coverage, option play, PA pass blocking, etc. These options would also be available for customization in Online Dynasties. (Round 1 Discussion - Round 2 Discussion)

[CLW]

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!

My pick to "cut down the nets". Defense has been awful and neglected in next-gen and it has only gotten worse since "Wide Open Gameplay". EA needs to make calling/playing defense fun again.

[AustinWolv]

Absolutely the defense needs updating.

[Jayrah]

I want D-playbooks to win it as well. Boy wouldn't an update here be nice!

[JBHuskers]

No brainer....Defensive playbooks....

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

D playbooks... i would like for these developers and programmers to visit some of these school's coaching clinics they do for high school coaches... to learn some details on the styles of defenses out there that are "trademark" styles... just as we have different versions of spread... i would like to see several coaching styles of 3-4 and some of the 3-4/3-3/3-5 hybrid stuff... we need new blitz animations including looping delay blitzes from guys on the perimeter...

"E"

[Rudy]

Man, a couple of the other matchups I don't even feel very strongly about and two of the ones I really want go head to head! I voted sliders since they are very near and dear to my heart but getting formations like the predator and a much needed boost to the defensive playbooks is also high on my list.

[JeffHCross]

Absolutely the defense needs updating.

+1,000,000

[steelerfan]

I'm sure any of us were around when the Jets were champions (68 season), so....

[Rudy]

I personally get tired of "defense wins championships". Most Superbowl QBs the last 20 years have been pro bowlers or Hall of Famers other than Dilfer. The Rams won their Superbowl because of their offense. The game has changed and it's become more of a passing game and offensive game. Defense is certainly important but offense is no less valuable imo.

[Jayrah]

I personally get tired of "defense wins championships". Most Superbowl QBs the last 20 years have been pro bowlers or Hall of Famers other than Dilfer. The Rams won their Superbowl because of their offense. The game has changed and it's become more of a passing game and offensive game. Defense is certainly important but offense is no less valuable imo.

Offense wins games.

Defense wins championships (see also, Special Teams, starring Deion Sanders [Cowboys AND Falcons] and Devin Hester)

Rex Grossman and Shaun King are very un-hall of fame-esque. Heck, the Saints D won the Super Bowl all by their lonesome last season against the best qb of the decade. Yes the offense was good all year, but in the SB, the defense won the game. Pittsburg's D vaulted them to the top 3 times this decade. And St Louis' DEFENSE made 2 goal line stands to beat the Titans, in the same game you have referred too.

The anomaly really is when an Offense wins the championship. SEE: John Elways Broncos, Peyton Manning's Colts, Troy Aikmans Cowboys (though the defense was tops in the league as well year in and out).

REBUTTAL: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas (Buffalo), as well as the undefeated, offensive record setting Patriots, of a more recent time, as well as the San Diego Chargers since 2005.

[souljahbill]

Defense

[Rudy]

Offense wins games.

Defense wins championships (see also, Special Teams, starring Deion Sanders [Cowboys AND Falcons] and Devin Hester)

Rex Grossman and Shaun King are very un-hall of fame-esque. Heck, the Saints D won the Super Bowl all by their lonesome last season against the best qb of the decade. Yes the offense was good all year, but in the SB, the defense won the game. Pittsburg's D vaulted them to the top 3 times this decade. And St Louis' DEFENSE made 2 goal line stands to beat the Titans, in the same game you have referred too.

The anomaly really is when an Offense wins the championship. SEE: John Elways Broncos, Peyton Manning's Colts, Troy Aikmans Cowboys (though the defense was tops in the league as well year in and out).

REBUTTAL: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas (Buffalo), as well as the undefeated, offensive record setting Patriots, of a more recent time, as well as the San Diego Chargers since 2005.

Rex Grossman and Shaun King didn't win championships. And Pittsburgh's Defense didn't vault them to the top all by themselves. Big Ben is a great QB and they have always had good RBs not to mention a Hall of Fame WR in Hines Ward and other good players like Plaxico. Their offense wasn't garbage.

A lot of NFL coaches just love to use this line to defend having horrible offenses. For some reason losing a game 13-10 is a lot more respectable than losing 33-30. For most NFL coaches they would rather have a bad offense and good defense simply for job security. They craft conservative gameplans and are afraid of trying anything really different. I remember one coach saying on the radio that he didn't think two a days were necessary but he was afraid to get rid of them for fear that if they lost it would be used as an excuse to be fired.

Thankfully it's not like that in college. College coaches are much more aggressive and are willing to try new schemes and systems just to get an edge. Auburn and Oregon are built on offense and run a unique system. Bobby Bowden has said in the past that he would rather have the ball and be trailing by 1 with under two minutes than be in the opposite scenario and have to rely on your defense. When Urban Meyer was asked why the NFL doesn't even try to run the spread he replied that he didn't think they did everything in their power to win. Football is so different now. The formula for success has changed.

[JeffHCross]

I'm sure any of us were around when the Jets were champions (68 season), so....

I don't know what's up with my Google image search, but when I searched it, that was the only football picture to come up within the first like 4 pages. Most of them were Lacrosse shirts ...

[JeffHCross]

The Rams won their Superbowl because of their offense.

'Cause this is how I remember the game ending ...

[Rudy]

Well it's something we'll all have an opinion on. I just get tired of hearing the old cliches when the game has changed so much.

[JeffHCross]

I just get tired of hearing the old cliches when the game has changed so much.

I'll agree that it's changed. But not enough that I think that cliche is wrong.

You can win a championship without a good offense. The Trent Dilfer-led Ravens and, honestly, the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes are very good examples of this. But both of those teams had superior defenses.

If your defense is a sieve (see Texas Tech during the Leach era, most of the Big 12, and, well ... Michigan right now ...), you're not going to win championships, no matter how impressive your offense is.

[Rudy]

Calling Michigan's defense a sieve is being too kind. They're awful. And Chris Spielman was absolutely correct when he said he didn't care if they were using 6 freshman. He asked a much better question that Rich Rod tends to avoid - why were you in this position in the first place? He said you are Michigan and much like OSU, USC and other big programs you just replace one great player with another if someone goes down. The truth is Rich Rod completely ignored defensive recruiting and is now paying a huge price.

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

im an offensive guru and have played at all levels, as a QB... now coaching on the OC side of high school ball, and i will be the first to tell you... you may out-gun 99% of your opponents, but theres always that one team that has more weapons than you, and defense wins that game... so yes... offense wins games... defense wins championships... dont write that off as "cliche" as it hasnt BECOME cliche... it still works... its still true... and even as an OREGON DIE HARD FREAK OF NATURE FANATIC RIDICULOUS TO THE POINT THAT MY WIFE IS JEALOUS FAN... who is known for offense, the biggest thing i focus on every year is allioti's approach to getting our defense where it needs to be...

your point is made well and i agree that a loaded offense will intimidate a team, especially if they stay strong and consistent (a la Oregon in the second half this year minus the Cal game obviously) and i agree with you, but lets not write off a solid true statement and motto to live by as cliche because it hasnt lost its meaning at all...

"E"

[cdj]

More sliders (and increasing effects of current sliders) would be welcome, but I'm going with defensive playbooks. More of a personality and fleshing them out would be great and welcome two years after Wide Open Gameplay and last year's 120 Ways to Win which stressed offensive play styles.