I got my first one yesterday playing as Boise St. against Va. Tech. On opening kickoff too.
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DBs jump it EVERYTIME.
Man coverage is so unrealistic on the default settings that are used online that it completely ruins the experience. Zones, meanwhile, are completely useless for the most part, so if they ever fix man to man, then passing will be ridiculously easy (like it was on the demo), and defense will become impossible thanks to the improved run blocking (and horrible run defensive reaction).
I had a similar experience the other night for the first time. I have definitely lost before but this one is different. I imagine there is some mechanism to represent a "bad" game that is part of football and I can imagine it would be difficult for it NOT to seem cheeseball. It can be infuriating but thankfully it is much better than before.
I've been running zone coverage for the most part since getting the game. It worked at first. I got pressure user controlling the LDE and they would throw early and into a zone and I would get picks. Then I started getting raped through the passing game so I started doing more man coverages and less zone. I would always switch to one cornerback and hot route him to man coverage his guy even if I did a cover 3 as well. That worked okay but today I tried TCU and thus I discovered the 4-2-5. I think I'm going to run this for three reasons.
- Lots of Man Coverage (again it's pretty common knowledge now that Man works best)
- You still got the front 4 but with better blitzes plays to overload the O-Line
- 5 defensive backs. I line up in Nickel (3 defensive backs) most the time anyways
I only play Online Dynasty though so don't worry I'm not using this to get an edge over someone on ranked matches. I just want a dominant D and a playbook that I can dial up pressure when I need to.
Remember to check your DB's ratings for man and zone coverage. If they are better in one, expect them to play better in that coverage. For example, my top two CBs are both higher in man coverage, and they do a much better job of sticking with WRs than when I play them in zone.....they seem retarded when receivers are in their zone (zone assignments in the game notwithstanding).
I've been running with aggressive zone game planning the last two games and I think zone coverage is a lot better this way. Less short completions for easy first downs although it is a little riskier on corner routes which I like.
I think they work fine as long as you get pressure on the QB, take away at least one flat area, and don't give them wide open seams. Granted, I don't play online so I'm sure that's a different story.
Idk I've used it in my Illinois O.D. and my Michigan O.D. I won both games, actually held NIU to under 50 yards total offense. I think I got more pressure and just having the nickel package with better blitzes is what I like. I would normally choose Nickel or Dime and only blitz the front four now I can change that second SS via formation subs to my third corner and run a 4-2-5 whatever and blitz one of the two linebackers/safeties or both to get that overload added pressure. I'de say I like it better and I still got Nickel, Dime, and 4-4... just not the 4-3 stuff I never liked.
I've used 4-2-5 on NCAA 09 and NCAA 10 and gotten decent pressure. Not necessarily "more" than the other formations, but good pressure.
It seems like the CPU-controlled players have superpowers, particularly on defense in RTG mode. I played a couple games today with my QB at New Mexico, and every pass I threw over the middle was batted down by a DE, and LB's have a higher vertical than LeBron James, pulling off crazy one-handed INTs and jumping out of the stadium to swat balls away.
I have human pass coverage at 35. Locker was 19-23 against me in the one game but overall I can get stops and he's an elite college QB. I still mix up zone. Playing solely against the cpu I still see breakdowns in man to man coverage quite often. On third and short plays a Cover 2 zone with aggressive zone game planning works just as good or better than man to man imo. Maybe it's just me but I'm not noticing the massive difference between man vs zone effectiveness when playing the cpu. And since I suck at throwing against zones it seems pretty balanced when I play on offense as well.
Originally Posted by ram29jackson
{{{if this because theres something I dont understand about football formation logic in real life, forgive me for being stupid
I called -pro formation- curl flats- I put the back on the right side in motion to the left.
expect him to be a 3rd receiver. but instead, he stops right behind the tight end on the left.. and stays there..?
i'm sorry- its split normal - curl flats }}}
was this not interesting to anyone? Is it suppose to happen this way and its something about football that I dont get ?
There's nothing about that formation that would prevent him from being a 3rd receiver. Sometimes the formations are just programmed that way.
I did not know you could break out of a Gang Tackle completely. I now discovered this.
On defense.
I don't like the way the no huddle offense is right now. When you are on defense, your playcalling screen blocks the field so you cannot tell what formation they audibled into. IRL, coaches can see what formation they are lining up into, and relay the play accordingly.
Sorry Husker fans but the unranked Wolverines went in to Lincoln to face the #7 Huskers (new members of the Big 10 - Indiana was booted) and Michigan wins 17-14 in OT! #1 Greatest Game Score!
The cpu game management was terrible at the end of this game. This logic needs to be patched. I had scored with two minutes left and got the 2 point conversion to tie it at 14. They went down and were inside my 10 yard line with little time left. All they had to do was run the ball, kick the chip shot and they won. Instead they no huddled with 10 seconds left and tried to throw a TD pass. They had at least one timeout. One of my DBs picked the ball off in the end zone and it went to OT where I won. I really had no business winning this game.
I'm really starting to get disenchanted with this game. Between all the EA server issues, my annoyance with my shitty internet connection preventing me from doing any ODs against other people, and how annoyingly predictable the CPU is I'm really starting to lose interest in this game.
And I feel really bad about saying that because I wanted to enjoy this game, but it's leaving a lot to be desired.
For a game with as much reliance as they put into Online this year, the frequency of server issues are truly inexcusable. Season Showdown failing from Day One is particularly bad.
Yet another list of reasons why I am 100% offline. I even decided NOT to do a teambuilder this year because the online issue drove me nuts last year. When I want to play I want to play, not when the servers will let me. With regards to the cpu predictability and poor decision making at times, yes I totally agree with you there. Play calling in close games with 2-3 mins to go drives me nuts. Stop running the ball when you have no time outs, are on your side of the field, and need a TD to win!!!! Grrrrr....
Note: Game has issues yes, but I am still loving it. I'm well into season three now and recruiting is getting a lot easier. The downside though is that I am slider tweaking again because my run game is way too good. My starting rb has a 12.3 ypc average right now and that's with the cpu rush D at 70. Since I won't be getting non-franchise improved Madden this year I will probably end up playing this game as much as I did NCAA 06 (10+ SEASONS).
Pretty cool to see the Walter Camp Award and Nagurski Award added. Biletnikoff is finally named, though the recipient is "Receiver of the Year" rather than Biletnikoff Award Winner. I want to say that the Outland is named for the first time this year as well (recipient is "Offensive Lineman of the Year"). Just need the Lambert award to replace Best LB and make up a name for Best Returner ...
It's hard to judge the human running game on AA this year jaymo. I've got cpu run defense at 80 and at times I think it's really good and other times I still think my running game is too good. A lot of that is because I think I'm able to break longer runs too often. I'm starting to think I should drop human RBA to 45 to help fix this but I don't want to boost my fumble numbers either. At the same time I have a tendency to tweak sliders until the game gets too hard and frustrating for me. Right now I'm having fun breaking some long runs and many are runs up the middle, just following my blockers.
The other thing I notice is that progressive fatigue really seems to tire out the cpu defense in the second half. Many times my first half numbers aren't that great but I'm able to pound on the cpu in the second half pretty good. I like this aspect but it can lead to some gaudy rush numbers at times.
Yeah, the long runs really hurt the stats. You get stuffed three times and then break one for sixty. As to the progressive fatigue, I finally noticed it vs Washington St last night. I had all my sliders at 89/90 (expect cpu and offensive line). WSU ran no huddle most of the game and so did I (it was a shootout 63-34). By then of the game ALL RB'S, WR's and LB's were gone from both teams. Needless to say, auto subs have now been lowered substantially.
Yeah, 90 sub in might be too high for this. I think I'm going to have to lower it to make sure this doesn't happen.
Is anyone else having a hard time getting a consistent run game going from the spread? Any suggestions?
Which part of your run game are you struggling with, ebin? Every time I've tried to run from spread, it would be an understatement to say it was easy.
It's definitely not easy, especially against the CPU cause it seems like it knows where you're running the ball and when.
Only thing I can recommend is, depending on the team you're using, Read Option can most definitely be your friend or your enemy. If you're team is decent at run blocking, Read Option is killer if they don't overload the read side (if you see an extra man line up on that side and show blitz, you might as well forget trying to run the Read Option play) and you have a decent running QB.
Otherwise, stretch plays, sweeps, and speed option work well when timed correctly, with proper blocking, and they aren't overloading the side you're running on.
It can certainly seem like if you have even decent success at running the ball early, the CPU is basically keying in on it the whole time, which GREATLY opens up the passing game (as long as you can handle the blitzing pressure).
Maybe my timing is off then, because I'm not having any luck with stretch plays and sweeps and such. Using the Oregon playbook, I do fine when I've got a lead blocker and/or am running inside, and I've had some success with the read option (definitely moreso with Thomas than Costa at QB), but pretty much every run I've tried to the outside has either been blown up in the backfield, or stopped for a 1/2 yard gain. Of course, I haven't played nearly as much as I'd like, so maybe I just need to get some reps in.
Weird thing happened last night. I lost TWO straight games in dynasty. However, they weren't just losses, they were blowouts. As Arizona St. I was ranked #1 (don't laugh...) and went to Stanford and LOST 42-14. Okay, that score was flattering to me.... I completed 6 passes all game. Then next week I'm at home to USC.... and.... 51-17 loss. I was stunned. That has NEVER happened to me before and up to that point I had dominated all teams in my games. I'm glad to see I lost BUT it was just strange to be blown out two staright. I'm now ranked 18th.
Note: other weird observations: pre-season polls: Ohio St. #44, USC #46, Flordia #51, Geogria #63
Boise went from the national championship game to a team with C offense and D defense the next season
Georgia Tech's QB is leading the nation is passing.... ???? ...???