Spydr's Sim Madden Guide: Madden 10 Edition

[DSpydr84]

Wow Dspdr you have some excellent strategic prowess. Are you a former quarterback or defensive coordinator?

I did play a little QB in high school, but nothing too major. I just love following the game, I love the strategy behind it. I've been studying football for a long time.


By the way, I'm glad you guys are liking the thread so far. I'll have another update up hopefully tomorrow about containing a scrambling quarterback. I know it's the offenses turn for the next update (if you noticed I was going back and forth) but I think with all the Vick users hopping online it's time to put a stop to them now! Stay tuned.

[Chadman]

i find the best way to contain a scrambling qb is to blitz from from all angles....corner blitzes are ftw against the cheese.

[goDawgs1433]

i find the best way to contain a scrambling qb is to blitz from from all angles....corner blitzes are ftw against the cheese.

Meh, but if someone is patient and has a good O-Line and knows how to set his backs and tight ends to block, he can dance around you and you'll have nobody on the 2nd level.

Gotta use QB spies, IMO. Have one of your fast linebackers watching that quarterback on every play.

[DSpydr84]

Being Aggressive to Stop a Scrambling Quarterback

With players like Michael Vick and Vince Young taking the online world by storm, every player this year will need a defensive gameplan for shutting down a scrambling quarterback. When going against a scrambling QB, you can expect to see one of these four types of players:


1) The Lost Cause

This player has no idea what he's doing. He probably only plays Madden a few times a week and wanted to try out a running quarterback. There's nothing wrong with this kind of player (Life > Madden), I'm just saying you probably don't need my help to slow him down.


2) The Track Star

The only reason this player is using a scrambling quarterback is to run wild. They don't plan on using that new invention, the forward pass. Expect them to set up blocks and try to use clearout patterns to get a big run.


3) The Decoy

This player has a scrambling quarterback, but rarely runs with him. He may be a fan of the team, or he's using the running QB as a way of getting you to play a particular defense against him. He'll run if he absolutely has to, but he's mostly looking to use the QB as a passer and hope that you respect him as a runner.


4) The Stud

These are the guys you really have to look out for. They'll scramble with the QB as much as they'll drop back and sling it. There's no one way to slow them down, you'll have to be as creative as they are and keep them on their toes from beginning to end by mixing up your coverage and creating looks they're unfamiliar with.


And that is where we'll begin.

The goal of the defense is to confuse the quarterback by using multiple formations and plays, create the illusion that you have more players on defense than you really do, and control the direction of the quarterback by understanding where the 'backdoor' (or escape route) of your defense is.. potentially trapping the quarterback in the process.


Play with 11 guys, not 9

A lot of guys like to use 'contain' rushes against scrambling quarterbacks, but I find that to be useless. You're essentially taking 2 players off your defense to keep the QB in the pocket. Come on man.. use your head! There are plenty of ways to keep the QB in the pocket without having two guys standing around waiting for something to happen.

It's not a bad idea to use a contain play here and there, but don't make it your base defense. It's not hard for the other player to pick up on that and sit pretty in the pocket with all day to throw the ball. That's not what we want defensively; we want to pressure the quarterback and try to force him into making mistakes. At the very least, we want to get in his face.


The Defense Always Uses a Spy..... Or Do They?

When I play a scrambling quarterback, I almost always control the middle linebacker. My job 90% of the time is to either legitimately spy the quarterback, or just make him think I'm spying him. That's what I like to call "shadowing" the QB; I'm not all over him, but he knows if he starts running, I'm chasing after him.

You can shadow with Man or Zone coverage. If you're in a Cover 2 zone, you can sway slightly from your middle responsibility to make sure the quarterback isn't going anywhere. If he starts moving around, check your zone to see if he's trying to move you out of a throwing lane, then give chase. You don't necessarily have to make the play, you just have to make sure he knows you're watching him.

The same principle would apply in a Cover 1. You control the player in the hook zone, and take care of business like usual. Just keep an eye on the QB if he wants to get out of there or if the play is taking a while to develop and you think he might look for a running lane.

There are plenty of coverages that let you get away with shadowing. Obviously you don't want to pick a zone that has only one player in the middle (like some Cover 4's, or the Cover 3 from Nickel 3-3-5), because if you start running after the quarterback, you'll leave a huge throwing lane right up the center. Try to keep a 3-hook rule; if the play has 3 hook defenders (the yellow zones), you can probably shadow on that play and not get hurt too much in the throwing game.


Break the Front Door and Sneak Through the Back

Try to be in the quarterback's shoes for a second. If you see the entire defense line crash to the left side, you're probably going to roll to your right... right?

So as a defense, why not try crashing the defensive line left, with a cornerback blitz from the right? The quarterback doesn't have anywhere to go; if he wants to go left, he'll run into your RE, and if he goes right, he'll get hit by the blitzing corner. Up the middle is washed out because the line is crashing.

Or maybe you can try a play from dime that has both the dime and nickel DB's blitzing, and a DT in a spy. There's a play in 3-2-6 that works well for this called "Strike 2 Spy". You're creating a lot of pressure off the edge with the corner blitzes, and the quarterback only has one way to go: up the middle. With your DT in a spy right up the gut, he really has nowhere to go. Even if the blitz gets picked up, you still have a shell Cover 2 coverage with no missing defenders. That's better than a contain rush as far as I'm concerned.

The point is you're trying to create the illusion that you have players everywhere. You're creating pressure while still having 6-7 guys in coverage. You want the quarterback to hesitate and pay attention to your rush because the more time he's watching the defensive line, the less time he's watching the secondary and trying to find a passing lane. You don't even have to blitz once you get to a certain point.. you could Shadow the quarterback the entire second half and still do fine if you shell-shocked him enough in the first half (of course, it's a lot more fun to keep bringing the heat ).


Do Nothing

There's no fancy play on words there. Sometimes it's best to literally do nothing against a scrambling quarterback; just play your regular defense. A play like 2 Man Under isn't the best idea, but most all other plays are at least average against a running threat. What's the worst that could happen? If they're down a couple scores, let the guy run. He's probably not gonna score, it'd basically be a good running play. Nothing to get worried about.



Hopefully using these techniques, you can slow down a running threat without doing too much to hurt the back end of your defense. Like I said before, the ideal situation is to create pressure on the quarterback (whether it be legitimate pressure or false pressure) while still having plenty of players in pass coverage to defend the throw. Find out what your opponent likes to do with his QB and know when to attack.

[DSpydr84]

DE contain works pretty well with a qb spy. Blitzing can be more effective on scramblers because they usually arent looking down the field first, giving you extra time to get to him. I like to overload one side and DE contain the other

That's exactly what I mean by "break the front door and sneak through the back". You're creating a lot of obvious pressure on one side, and when the QB tries to escape, he's met with somebody else. I bet this is a pretty effective technique when you mix it in.

[AllOutBlitz]

Impossible for your RB to check both outside blitzers...

Half slide protect...LT/LG/C--take both DL on left and outside LB

RB=double reads Mike to SAM

Line man protects on the right