WFColonel's War Room

The Lost Art Of Smart Routing

2011-12-21T16:16:00.001-05:00

Today we will talk about the lost art of smart routing.

First of all we must discuss what smart routing is. Smart routing is the extending of your wide receivers pass routes to the first down marker. To find out how to execute this you can look in your madden/ncaa football manual.

It seems as if people just dont use this feature for its intended purpose. Now people only use smart routes to create weird routes. But they are doing themselves a great injustice.

But on a crucial 3rd down play a smart route could be your best friend. THE RECEIVER RUNS TO THE 1ST DOWN MARKER!!!! Take advantage of it.

Use that smart route to extend a curl route (very easy to execute vs man coverage)
Use that smart route to extend a deep in route or an deep out route

That smart route could be the difference between a punt or moving the chains...USE IT!!!!

and dont just use it to create weird routes ;)

Madden 12 Tip: Weak Twins- Read FB Flat

2011-12-19T02:57:00.001-05:00

Whats up guys WFCOlonel56 coming at you again with another great play.

I want to talk about the Weak Twins Read FB Flat play. A lot of players are using the Carolina Panthers Offensive Playbook in Madden 12 so thats the focus.

This play is a very good zone coverage beater

First things first you need to use the Dual HB package or the Dual Hb Swap package. You need two running backs in the game who can catch.

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A ZONE PLAY ONLY

Set up
-Put X (square) on a fade
- Streak B (circle if on the ps3)
- Put Y on a fade route (triangle if on ps3)
- optionally block A (X if on PS3) meaning its your choice....he isnt important

Reads
B- you want to see if you can hit the seam route. If so throw it, if not its not a big deal. Move onto the next read

Y- The seam route should pull the coverage back and the flat route should pull coverage to the left causing a void in the zone...If there is a void hit ya boy, if not move on

X-Peek at X and see if he is open.

LB/L1- he WILL be open if nothing else is open... There is no zone defense that you can play that will cover every route on the field

There u go guys a very good zone coverage beater!!!!

enjoy

Seven Deadly Sins For Madden Players

2011-12-14T05:26:00.000-05:00

I was watching a show on the Seven Deadly Sins last night and that really got me thinking. I started thinking about why people go wrong with their madden game. Soooo in regular WFColonel fashion I went and made a list about it.

enjoy

Hope
Do you get excited just thinking about being this awesome madden player?

well stop it!!!!

(well dont stop it....ahhhh it will make more sense later)

People get so wrapped up in the THINKING that they never really DO anything. As soon as you feel the urge to do something, just do it. Have a good play idea? Well as soon as you can get to your console put it in action and try it out.

A lot of people say "well next madden I will be good". But guess what, that never comes. Why is that?

Its because players just keep putting it off and never really put the work in to be good

Theres too much think and not enough do...I hope that makes sense lol

Envy
I know so many very good madden players but they do nothing but hate on others. The main difference between envy and jealousy is that when your envious you want to take away what the other person has.

You will see it every madden season. For some reason you randomly hear players come right out and tattle on the next mans scheme. It isnt so much the telling of the scheme because thats not illegal or THAT unethical. The thing thats wrong with it is that you can always read the context of why this person tattled.

It usually has to do with them being very bitter, usually about a loss.

Where does this envy get you? How does it help you? If it doesnt help you then why waste your time being envious and better yourself with that energy.

Its just sad to me every time I hop on a forum only to see people rip on others.....for no reason

Pride:
Do you go onto forums and talk about how awesome you are? Well you better suck it up when people bask you. It comes with the territory, if your going to do stuff like that than you get whats coming to you....eventually

Excuses:
I dont want to hear them.

Everybody who is good at the game has had to work (in some fashion) to get that way. Im not the greatest player in the world but I consider myself pretty good (now dont laugh all at once)

What makes me better than you? Nothing (I hope you said nothing)

I guess I achieved my no excuse mentality through playing football. Anyone who played at a high enough level can tell you that excuses do nothing for you. In fact they hinder you. Fight on and keep on trucking and with enough work and some guidance you can achieve what you want to.

Satisfaction:
Did you just find yourself a mean scheme or a super tuff madden play? Now you are killing it, 21-0 fools left and right.

Are you satisfied?

If so you better hold your horses my man. Dont go and hop on the Madden Nation Bus just yet. You better realize that next month that money play may be last months news. Even if you can keep the momentum going you will have to start back over next year.

Dont get fat and happy. Always continue to push forward and better your mind as well as your madden game!

Inconsistency (AKA lazziness):
I have friends (close friends) who want to be good at the game. They go hard for a day or so, maybe every other day. Then they will go and take two days off, a week off (weekends included, when they have the most time)...WTF, especially a wtf when they are still in the "development stages"

Yo my man, your competition is out there busting his ass. He isnt only perfecting your scheme before you do (he found it on his own) but he has two other mini schemes in his back pocket

Showoff:
Did you just find this super amazing blitz play, tell the world you did, and wont show it?

Did you make it to a final four in a tournament and thats what you start every other thread you make with (or somebody else thread)?

Did you just take Big Gene to hell and back in a game. And the for the next three weeks Big Genes name is all that comes from your mouth or fingers.

I think you get the point by now. Nobody likes a tease and a showoff. It rubs people the wrong way and rightfully so. You arent doing yourself any favors my accumulating "enemies"

Tips To Help Madden Rookies Take Down The Madden Pros: Pt1

2011-12-10T03:21:00.000-05:00

The hardest thing for new players to do is to beat the "pros". Of course that sounds pretty obvious to some but the reason they lose a good amount of the time isnt because the "pro" is that much better than the madden rookie. The madden rookie plays differently vs this madden pro and it is mostly in that players head. So these are just some tips to help the "rookies" take down the "pros".

Play The Game Not The Name
This little phrase has been around as long as I can remember but it couldnt be any more true. I remember getting so nervous at the loading screen waiting for the game to begin. My palms sweating, knowing that if I make one mistake the game is over!!!!

As Mike Ditka would say "Stop It"

Just because you are playing _______ doesnt mean he is any better at the game than you are. It just means he is more known for playing a video game.

Just play your game, and let the chips fall where they may. Just try to stay as calm as possible. Try to enter in every game as if you are playing the compunter "Play the game and not the name"

Go In With A Game Plan
Enter the game with a set out plan for what you want to do. Players call it "having a scheme"
A scheme will keep you mentally focused with what you are seeing from them and what you need to do yourself.

What you dont want to do is enter into a game with no idea of what you want to do. That my friend is a quick way to ensure that the game will get out of hand quickly

Manage The Clock
Managing the clock is very important, there is nothing that you can overlook. Depending on the quarter time there are two or three possessions a quarter usually with the occasional four split between both players. Using that number you have to play the clock. Know when you need to speed up your offenses tempo or slow it down.

Managing the clock it hard to describe, the knowledge is gained through playing games. But I will do the best I can to let you know some key things.

-The offenses tempo could determine if you get another possession or not just remember that.

-Use your timeouts wisely

-Use the two minute warning to your advantage on offense

-Defensively judge the time on the clock and decide if its smarter to just go to the two minute warning or to call a time out before the two minute warning to save time.

-Sometimes its better to throw the ball away rather than completing a short pass and staying in bounds wasting precious clock.

All of these things go into managing the clock

Limit The Big Play
Most "pro players" have some plays that can get them down the field quickly. You have to understand the downfalls of your defense in defending the deep ball, if you do you can hide them.

Also you must tackle well and play solid user defense. Do not take your player out of the play because of bad user skills. A lot of big plays happen because of bad user defense.

The goal is to prevent scores, but if that doesnt happen you want them to earn the score by stringing together multiple good plays in a row. Dont make it easy on them. A reason why limiting the big play is important is because the more plays they have to run the better chance that they will make a mistake and throw an interception or you can catch a break and get a fumble. Also the more plays they run the more of their offense you get to see. My goal is to make them run at least 8 plays before they score. Eight plays may sound like an arbitrary number to some but eight plays is more than some drives take for "Pro madden players". And anything less than eight plays and you havent seen enough of their offense. So aim for eight

DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER
More games are lost than won and the turnover ratio is the biggest reason. Depending on how long the game is (could be 6 mins or 4 min quarters) that turnover could be magnified ten fold.

Now we all know that fumbles are kind of random in the EA Sports games but when you suspect that you could fumble you need to cover the ball up.

Interceptions are your worst enemy. Say it with me "Interceptions are no no's". Okay, now we are on the same page. Interceptions not only give them the ball, but it gives them a chance to gain yardage!
To avoid throwing interceptions you have to have a scheme and have good pass progressions.

Get Off The Field On 3rd Down
The same as in real life football you need to get your defense off of the field on 3rd down. I dont know how much more clearer I can make that so im going to leave it at that.

But also you have to understand that if the 4th down yardage is manageable for them THEY WILL GO FOR IT, so be prepared for it. And hey, if u stop them you get the ball in favorable field position!

Take The Points In The First 3 Quarters
Once you get in scoring position YOU MUST SCORE, it doesnt matter if its a field goal or a touchdown. Your score must increase. Remember you are playing against top competition so those points will matter late in the game. DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER (see above)

Now I also say "In the first 3 quarters". The reason I say that is because late in the game anything could happen. You dont know what the game may call for you to do but as long as you use your head you will be okay. Just think logically.

There you go guys, this is the stuff that can help you against a "madden pro". It is important to remember these things because lacking in one of them could be the thing that makes you lose the game. Stay Tuned for part two!!!

How To Create Another Day A Week Just For Madden

2011-12-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

When you start getting serious at playing madden competitively it seems that there is never enough time. You get phone calls that need to be picked up; the service guy for the dishwasher shows up; you must read that important mail. Schoolwork or your job gets in the way. It is not uncommon for an entire day to go by only to find out you didn’t complete any of the tasks you wanted to do for the day.

The Magic Button...

What if I told you there was a magic button you can press which will freeze time for you? Every surrounding noise will stop: no calls, no incoming urgent mails, no dishes to wash or laundry to do. It will be just you and the console. Everyone else will be frozen in time, allowing you to focus on your madden game. If you need something from someone, you just call their name and they will wake up for the exact amount of time you need them for an answer. I will grant you one magic button press a week.

Imagine a whole another day just for you and your madden game each week. How would you use it? Would you outline your next offensive scheme? Finally finish that long scheme that’s waiting in the queue? Brainstorm a your next hot defense? How would you make this time useful?

Finding the extra day

Of course there is no such thing as a magic button, but getting a day a week for your important work is actually not that hard.
All you have to do is spot the time of day when you are most prolific and productive. For some it is the afternoon, for some it is early morning. For me, it is the late night.

Now decide that you are going to dedicate this time to madden. Think of it as a one-hour meeting with yourself. Actually, don’t just decide it, put it into your calendar or your cell phone. With a reminder. For every day of the week.
This will gain you six hours of uninterrupted work. During that time, don’t answer phones (disconnect or turn them off, if you need to), don’t surf the madden forums, and dedicate yourself to the game.

Since this is your best time of day and since you will be uninterrupted, your potential for using this hour for something productive is very high.
But it takes commitment. It means that you must use the time for work. And it means that you cannot set this appointment aside.

You must stick with it every day. After a while, you’re likely to find that you need to expand that meeting. Go ahead and do that. And after a longer while, you may find that you don’t need this meeting at all.
Now, this is up to you. I’m offering the button only for the next ten minutes. Use those ten minutes to schedule your daily appointment.

One Way Motion Can Help You

2011-12-04T03:00:00.000-05:00

Motion is a way to gain an advantage of the defense. There are many ways that motion can effect the defense and I will break one down briefly.

Motion is a great tool to get a leverage advantage on the defense. Lets say that you come out in this formation

X------A-----00000-------Y--------B
-----------------Q----------------------
----------------LB

Now lets say that you motion the B WR to the left. (im not going to draw a new diagram so use your imagination lol) ....

Sometimes when the defense is in man coverage that man covering B will get hung up in the traffic (of his other defender friends).... realistically.. while trying to chase B across the formation....

When that happens the B WR is uncovered (very briefly) and you can hike and quick throw the ball to him.

You can use pretty much any route ( C routes, for those who dont know they are the corner routes that look like the letter C, may be a weird throw..idk, i just never tried it)...But I like curls the best and that also works out better because I use lots of curls lol

So really quickly that is a way that motion can help your offense, tell me what you think in the comments.

Madden 12 Tip: Gun Doubles On - Slot Post

2011-12-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

This play here is one of the simplest plays to run in Madden 12.

It delivers a quick pass option along with a high low zone passing concept.

You cant forget about the deep route check down route (or i guess it would be a check up route)

There are no adjustments you need to make to this offensive play. Enjoy it because it is one of few offensive plays in madden 12 that don't need any

Here is how you read the play
Tight End,Slot Receiver, Left outside receiver, Running back

You will want to focus on the tight end first. The tight end will sit down over the short middle of the field. If he is open feed him the ball.

Next you will look to the slot receiver if you cant get the ball to the tight end. His relationship to the tight end is critical. hose two routes together, the post and the sit down route, are very hard to guard together in a zone defense. The defender will have to pick who he wants to guard. So if the sit down route is covered than the post route more than likely is open.

Now I said that those two routes where hard to cover but not impossible. You can do some things defensively to guard them both but doing so will open up the left outside receivers comeback route. So if the post and the sit down route are covered than look to the comeback route. Throw it on time and it will be a very big gain for your offense

Next you will look at the flat route being run by the running back. His relation to the comeback is the same as the sit down routes relation to the post. it is a high low concept along side the comeback route. If everything else is covered there is a very high chance that the flat will be open.

That is how things work vs zone defense now lets talk about man coverage. The sit down route, post , and comeback route are all effective vs man coverage if thrown on time and correctly. Just go through your normal pass progression and you will be just fine against man coverage.

There you go guys, the Madden 12 Gun Doubles On Slot Post play. One of the easiest to run in madden 12. go score some points!!!

WFColonel56 OUT!!!

Madden 12 Tip: Strong Pro- WR Curls

2011-12-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

Strong Pro WR Curls is a very good quick passing play in Madden 12. It has two very devastating quick passes at your disposal. These quick passes could make your opponent change the defense that he wants to run.

To make this play most effective you need to use the Dual HB package or Twin HB package (depends on which team playbook you are in). What this does is it puts another running back on the field where the fullback was located at.

Play Adjustments

-You will motion your Fullback to the right of the formation

- You will put your outside right wide receiver on a streak route (B or circle wide receiver)

- You will put your left outside receiver on a drag route or a slant to the inside. Whichever one you feel most comfortable with

- You will block your running back to the left

Reads

Here is how your pass reads will go. You will read - fullback, tight end, left outside receiver, to tight end, to right outside receiver

To break it down further this is what you want to be focusing on.

1. If the defender over the motioned fullback goes outside with him dont throw him the ball. If he does not, than throw the ball.

2. If you cant throw the ball in #1 then you move your eyes to the tight end. Look to see if there is space to fit the ball in. If there is then throw it. If there is not any space, or you dont feel comfortable making the pass hold the ball. (remember the fullback and the tight end are QUICK THROWS)

3. If you dont throw the ball to the tight end than you can wait until the left outside receiver get s underneath the tight end and you should be able to make a throw to him. Hold the ball if it is covered

4. Next you will look back to the tight end. He may be open deeper. This is a maybe kind of route,what I mean by that is if he is open cool. If he is not open its no big deal

5. To end it off if all else fails and nothing is open you WILL have your right outside wide receiver in a one on one match up vs the corner back. Pass lead inside or outside depending on the receivers leverage. If you dont like this throw than throw the ball away.

So here is a loose breakdown to who should be thrown to with zone coverage
Cover 2- Fullback, Quick tight end, left outside receiver
Cover 3- Fullback if the Outside Linebacker is in a flat zone, Left inside receiver, right outside receiver

Against man coverage you are pretty much going to be throwing the ball to the tight end after he makes his break to the post. Or you will be throwing to the left outside receiver on a slant route. You can throw to the right outside receiver but that is only if the strong safety (safety on the right of the field) is not in a deep zone coverage moving toward him. If the safety is moving backwards toward the middle of the field you will be on on one with the corner back and that is what you want.

There you go guys, thats the Madden 12 Strong Pro - WR Curls play

WFColonel56 OUT!!!

How To Win With A Bad Quarterback

2011-11-26T17:05:00.000-05:00

There are a ton of teams that are left unused in Madden or Ncaa Football and after polling a sample of players one of the biggest reasons why is that they would have to play with a bad Quarterback.

Believe me guys I have been thereas well. My favorite team is the Atlanta Falcons, and there was no tougher year for me than the Madden 2008 season. Of course if you havent caught on by now that was the year that the entire dog fighting incedent went down.

After the EA Sports Madden Development Team took Michael Vick off of the roster I was left between Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, and Bryon Leftwitch. Not a group of studs is it? But I managed to get by with those guys, and I passed the ball effectivly doing it. Heres what you need to focus on to get you a win while using a bad quarterback

Know Your Quarterbacks Arm
Knowing what passes your Quarterback can and cannot throw is very important towards winning with a bad quarterback. You must get into practice mode and work on throwing every route. YES EVERY ROUTE!

You need to see if you can or cant throw a route, or if you have to make accommodations to make that throw work. See if he can throw decently while on the move. See how deep he can throw the ball. Go over everything diligently. Once you have don't this you can customize what you do passing wise around what your quarterback does well, and you can mask his weaknesses.

Protection
Your Quarterback cant complete passes off his backside can he?

No he cant.......I somehow have the feeling that one or two of you said that he could.

You must always make sure you have protection in place, not only because you cant throw a pass from your backside (although that is a very good reason). But because throwing while moving hurts your accuracy. You want to be as stationary as possible while attempting a pass. And as you would expect its pretty hard to be stationary when you are running for your life

Throw To Open Receivers
I know that "throw to open receivers" sounds like a no brainer. Trust me guys it is not a no brainer. People try to "throw the receivers open" instead of "throwing to open receivers"

Whats the difference?

Well its quite simple. Throwing to open receivers means that the throw you are making is going to a receiver who has open room to catch the ball. A receiver who has nothing that can impede the catch. A receiver who will not take an immedate hit once a reception is made.

Now throwing a wide receiver open is almost the opposite. Your throw is what will make the receiver open. Your throw leads the receiver to open space instead of him already being in open space and making the throw. Ususally the throw is a tight fit.

Why does this matter?

It matters because if you try top throw a wide receiver open with a bad quarterback the pass has a high chance of being a bad pass. And a bad pass around a crowd of defensive backs could be going the other way quickly. If the wide receiver is open already than an inaccurate pass wont hurt much.

Put Players Around Him That Can Catch What Is Thrown
Pretty simple concept guys. Since your quarterback cant throw amazingly well you need to put guys on the field who can catch the ball when it does get to the target.

I know that its "all the rage" to get as much speed on the field as you can. But guys you have to think about how that effects the balance of the offense.

Are those receivers too fast? Are they out running the quarterbacks arm? If so then they are not needed.

I remember back in Madden 2008 while using the Atlanta Falcons I had to choose between Chris Redman and Byron Leftwitch.

Chris Redman was a little bit more accurate than Byron was. But Byron Leftwitch's arm was out of this world. He had 98 throw power. He sounds like the obvious fit right? WRONG. The falcons fastest wide receiver that year was 94 speed. He couldnt really get down the field, so starting Leftwitch would be a waste. I started Chris Redman and gained two points of accuracy.

Also it would be a shame if your bum of a quarterback threw the perfect ball only to have your fast but no hands wide receiver drop the ball. Get guys on the field who can catch the ball. It will benefit your quarterback.

Have A Good Run Game
There is nothing more beneficial to a passing game than a good run game. What a good run game does is puts the defenses focus on stopping the run thus putting your not so great quarterback in the back of their mind. You benefit because the defense would be more set up to defend the run and less equip to defend the pass. You can gain that one step on the defensive back that allows a less than stellar pass to get to the target.

There you go guys, you now have the tools at your disposal to win with a bad quarterback. Now go out there and make Tim Tebow look like Tom Brady!!!

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WFColonel56 Out!!!

What You Need To Be Watching During A Football Game

2011-11-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

Since you are here on this blog I know for a fact that you guys at least like football (most love it). And many of you want to take your Madden NFL; NCAA Football games as far as it can go. But what most people do not realize is that by looking at football
Thursdays (High School Junior Varsity Football)
Fridays (High School Varsity Football)
Saturday (College Football)
Sunday (NFL Football)
You can analyze those games to better your own game and this is what you need to be looking at

Offense

Formations
You can use the previous knowledge of the opposing defense to get a good take on how the offense has decided to attack them. Formations are probably the most interesting thing to look at
Do the New England Patriots want to spread the Pittsburgh Steelers out to attack the coverage deficiencies of the safeties?
Do the Atlanta Falcons come out in big formations to get the Philadelphia Eagles out of their strength nickel formations?
You can learn some information that can assist you in the most crucial times in a game. If the defense is doing something you do not like you can think back to how_____________ handled it when _____________ did ____________. Formations are very interesting and helpful

Protections
Analyze what the offense does to protect the quarterback.
How many guys are in blocking in a normal play?
How do they handle 3rd downs?
Do they use Wide receiver or Halfback screens?
Do they use the tight end to chip the defensive end before running a route? (that is a blue delay route)

How Do They Handle The Box?
The box is the area from tight end to tight end about eight yards deep. Defenses look to stack the box with defenders to stop the offenses running game. Offenses have to find ways to get defenders out of the box.
Do they use the uncovered theory?
Do they use play action passes?
DO they use horizontal passing concepts?

Weird Personnel
Does a team come out in a 5 wide receiver formation using two tight ends and a running back? Do you think it looks cool? If yes USE IT YOURSELF!!!!!

You guys would be so surprised how many of my crazy ideas spur from seeing a football game or doing research

Defense

How The Defense Lines Up To Offensive Formations
This is by far the most important thing to look at as far as the defense . Alignment is the first step to playing defense, and leverage is key. If you can pick up anything in this regard it can help you achieve better leverage to your defensive formations.

Defensive Play Calls On Down And Distance
You should be paying attention to what coverage’s and formations the defense is calling on 1st down, 2nd down and 3rd down.
WHY?
You can learn a thing or two. If you know the Bears are normally pretty much a Tampa Two defense it can be interesting to see if they blitz from that coverage or go to another coverage. Are they going to a cover 4 to trick the offense?
Do they come out in heavy formations to match the offense’s formation or are they calling personnel by down and distance?
These are things that you can grab and plug into your madden nfl game with a little work.

Blitz ratio
I know that you probably won’t be sitting there with a pen and a pad writing down Blitz…coverage…coverage…blitz
I’m not expecting you to do so because god only knows that I do not. But you do need to get a loose estament of how much they blitz if you want to replicate that type of defense. Not only that, it could be any team on television. But you can see how the Colts play against the Packers (just a quick example)

Blitzes In General
Are the defense doing anything specific to get the pressure on the quarterback? If you see so write it down and try it out in the video game.

Personnel
What is the defensive personnel in regards to the offensive personnel?

DO the New Your Jets stay in their base 3-4 defense vs the Baltimore Ravens spread personnel? Does it work? If so find out why it is working, and if you can try to replicate it in video games if you can.

Conclusion

There it is guys, What You Need To Be Watching During A Football Game. There is a lot to be learned by just paying attention to what you see on your TV screen, do not watch but PAY ATTENTION!!!!.
I know that it has assisted me a ton and spurred quite a bit of my crazy thoughts.

If you like this article could you tweet it out your your Bros on twitter (also follow me on twitter @WFColonel56), could you stumble it, and if you have a digg account could you digg it.

Also Subscribe to my Youtube Channel. To do so just search xWFColonel56x and you will see it

Thanks for reading guys WFColonel56 OUT!!!

The Passing Route Combo Database

2011-11-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

The Passing Route Combo Database is the first database that holds every route combo that can be used in Madden NFL Football, Ncaa Football, as well as in real life. This database is not complete as is, it probably will never be complete. It will be updated regularly to account for more route combos.

This database is a tool for madden players to use to get the most out of their offensive formations

Enjoy

Check Back Regularly For More Route Combos

Follow me on twitter to get updates @WFColonel56

Mesh

Quick Outs

Post - Corner Route Combo (Fork)

Post - Wheel Route Combo

Slant - Flat Route Combo

Smash Route Combo

Spacing Route Combo

Seam Curl Route Combo

Seam - Deep Out Route Combo

Drive Route Combo

Follow Route Combo

Curl Flats Route Combo

Four Verticals Route Combo

Madden 12 Tips: Near Pro Man or Zone Read

2011-11-20T23:31:00.004-05:00

Near Pro is a pretty good formation to run. It is a very balanced formation, decent passing with a great run game.

But the reason why you are here (hopefully) is to see how to read man or zone without motioning your outside Wide receivers in madden 12.

For this example I am using the near pro formation inside of the west coast playbook.

What you will be doing is motioning your fullback to the right. You will be looking at the linebackers movement. If zone coverage the linebackers will not move at all or it will be a calm/un rushed sliding motion. If man coverage the linebackers will move abruptly to the right. It will be very noticeable.

So that is how you can read man or zone coverage without motioning your outside wide receivers.

How you can use it
You can call a play and do the fullback motion. After you read man or zone you can hot route your players to attack that coverage

Now I used this out of the west coast playbook and the formations that it can be used from are near pro and split backs pro. I am sure that you can use it from other formations. Just play around with fullback,running back, tight end, slot receiver motions out of every formation in your playbook and you will find them

JUST WATCH HOW THE LINEBACKERS REACT TO THE MOTION!!!!

WFColonel56 OUT

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @WFColonel56

The Only 133 Words You Need To Read Today

2011-11-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

Finding success is all about taking action.

You can read all you want, but nothing will happen until you execute.

That is why today, I’m cutting this post short. Instead of reading my content, I want you to do something instead – right now. Do something for your madden game that will get you moving forward and help you reach your goals.

All I ask is that you see how much you can get done today.

Sound good?

I Will start now just like you should. I will dig back into a new playbook and see what I want my audibles to be. I also will plot out the outlines to my scheme as well as start picking out my personnel for my offensive formations.

This is what i will be doing today. Push yourself to be better and success will follow you eventually!

Madden 12: Modern Warfare Camping

2011-11-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

In ode to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Great game by the way, you should pick it up.

Lets discuss how to CAMP in madden

Before I discuss that I must describe what Camping is in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Camping is in short playing it safe. Finding a good spot it hide or "camp out".

Now the equivalent to that in madden is having a "play it safe play". A play that you feel safe using, a pass that you KNOW you can complete. A Run that you KNOW will get you yards more than not.

Of course it isnt a fool proof play just like camping in call of duty modern warfare 3 doesnt mean you wont die. But it increases your chances of living

You need to find that play in madden for you.

Some people use strong close counter, Gun empty falcon/eagle pass plays with blue routes. You can get really creative and use Goal line runs if that floats your boat. You just need that play you can rely on.

In Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 players camp early on in matches or they camp late when they are struggling or they will camp when they have the game won. Same can be done in madden

Everyone needs a camping play in madden. Mine is Singleback Ace HB Stretch. Witht hat play I know that I can read the defense and see if its a good play or if I should audible to HB Dive. Its safe for getting yards and IT CAN break for large chunks of yards.

You must find that play (or multiple plays) for yourself. And that is how you can camp in madden

What Makes A Good Base Play: Offense

2011-11-06T03:42:00.001-05:00

There is always a ton of talk about what makes a good base play in Madden NFL Football as well as in NCAA Football. There is no one answer for this because there are a few different ways to look at it and that is what I am doing, breaking down different types of base plays.

Well lets hold up for a second before we get into it lets make sure we are on the same page here. There are a couple of ways to describe a base play but for this write up lets say a base play is a play that you break the huddle with that you feel comfortable using

Protection
A lot of people go the protection route. These plays will have a running back or tight end on a "blue route" (a delay route where the player looks to block first)

Some will have one or two blue routes. These are good because you get the best of both worlds, protection as well as a receiving route.

Or you could just have a play that normally without any adjustments have all five eligible receivers going out in their routes but two of the routes you feel comfortable blocking. This would leave three receivers in routes. This is what I used as a base play last year. I had a regular play where I liked my receivers routes and felt comfortable blocking my running backs if needed. This will give you a ton of flexibility for your offense

Quick Hike
The quick hike base play was all the rage in madden 11 (gun or single back snugs: stick....yes i still cant sleep from that play)

The thought process behind this is that as soon as you break the huddle you rush to the line as fast as you can and hike the ball. (there will be seven seconds MINIMUM for the defense to set up)

With doing this you will have a route or two that are difficult to guard. Thus forcing the defense to scramble to set up a defense to guard the play. You also could play games with the defense from here by audibling (or calling a different play, same formation, in the huddle and still rushing to the line of scrimmage like how you normally would)......If you dont like what you see the defense doing you can slow it down and adjust your play further or audible out to another play or formation completely.

Also you can quick hike a run base play. Formations like single back bunch are ones that the defense will have to adjust their alignment to. So if you could reel off a run where they are weak before they can adjust their defense you have an advantage

Also quick hiking in general is a pretty good way to attack a defense that does a lot of pre snap adjustments/movement...You cant get hit with a blitz if they cant set it up

Get Your Attention Base Play
This type of base play involves no form of quick hiking (just have to say it so we are clear)

But it is a play that forces your opponent to specifically watch something you are doing. It could be a difficult route to guard or a specific motion

If they guard it, look elsewhere. If they dont, attack it until they do. Also with this type of base play you can work running plays into the mix with using the same motions. Just concern yourself with doing SOMETHING that they have to really pay attention to and build from there.

Also understand what needs to be dont to counter that route or motion so you can counter their counter to you

So there you go guys. A couple of ways that you could go about having a base play.

Cover 2 Defense: Safeties

2011-11-05T06:23:00.001-04:00

The cover 2 defense has a couple of nuances that are specific to only it. And the safety position is one of those nuances. There are two ways that you can go with it

If you havent read yet: Cover 2 Defense: Cornerbacks

Speed Defensive Back
Speed defensive backs at the safety position would be defensive backs that have very good speed. They could be true safeties or corners, it doesn't matter.

The idea is that you will have better personnel to protect the deep ball. Also usually these players will be better in coverage.

DO NOT SACRIFICE ZONE COVERAGE RATING FOR SPEED!!!!

But you will have reliable deep ball protection. (they wont cover 4 deep routes at the same time OBVIOUSLY...they can only cover 1 man each) and they will have better deep ball range.

A negative would be their effectiveness in run support. But at the same time these guys are last to the fight anyway so you could get away with it

Run Support Help
The run support safety is pretty much what you have already. The thinking behind having these guys is that since they are the last guys to interact in run support that the better they are at it the more of an asset they are to you.

Now that is not bad thinking at all. In fact you could pair it up with your "Safety- Corner Backs" and have a pretty aggressive run defense personnel.

Now a downside to having these "safeties" on the field is that you could be at risk to getting beat deep. But you will have more aggressive run support, your choice.

Gamer Saloon vs Virgin Gaming Which Is Better

2011-11-05T00:29:00.003-04:00

Okay, okay guys yes I am doing this. The questions about is ______ better than _______ have sort of forced me to do so LMAO.

So in case you didnt notice the two pictures above (and the title of the post) I am comparing gamer saloon and virgin gaming while playing Madden NFL Football. What I will be doing is I will list categories and talk about them so you can understand the two sites better. Then you could use what I say to help you make the decision on which one you want to user. Or hell you could use both

Player Skill Level

Gamer Saloon
Gamer Saloon is the more "PRO" gaming website. Once you sign up you better be ready to face the biggest and baddest Madden players on the planet. Of course there are good players as well as bad players on the gaming website but the ratio for good to bad is something crazy like 5 good players for every 1 bad player. Hell it might even be more lopsided

Virgin Gaming
Virgin Gaming has a ton of good players on their gaming website......But at the same time they have an overwhelming amount if bad players on the gaming website. Just look at the ratio above (GS-5:1) and just flip it. Yes there probably are 5 bad players for every 1 good player. Also Virgin Gaming warms the user up a little bit. They assign you a level and you play in events that fit your level.

Amount of Players

Gamer Saloon
Gamer Saloon possibly could have 100 players online at any time. It may spike in the afternoon and dip in the late night. It is kind of random

Virgin Gaming
Virgin Gaming possibly has about 1000 players for a series tourney but just like on Gamer saloon the times they are on is random. But what they do that is nice is they seek out opponents for you to play. You dont have to really do any work, just click a button and it will search. Just wait a little and if they find a person you play. If they do not than you can get off of the site (and go to gamer saloon if you want) or just enter another series tourney.

Earning Potential

Gaming Saloon
The earning potential is kind of two fold. On one hand you could play one game (they also have tournaments as well) and get cash then and there. So theoretically you could play a $12 game, a $18 game, and a $50 game in a three game span. But at the same time your putting all of your cash up for every game. If you can ball out it could be a really good day or a really bad one.

Now on the other hand there are less games available in my opinion. There is potential to face a dry spell where you cant get games. Also if you are in such a dry spell and you finally find a game the other user could just decline your challenges and you are back to square one.

Virgin Gaming
Now with virgin gaming it is just one fold...YOU CAN EARN A TON IF YOU CAN BALL OUT!!!
Let me break that down more. Virgin gaming has a series style tournament play. Meaning that you play in series tournaments and you have to win 3 games in a row and you get cash. Also if you win 2 games and lose the third one you get the starting fee of the tournament back.

There is less of a risk for the user because in one series tournament you could put up $10. Win 3 games and make $50 (also there is $5 entry: $30 prize). But also it is more of a hassle because you need to win 3 games to get your money and it inst instantly gratifying like Gamer Saloon.

Also you dont have to play all of your games at the same time. You could play one today and another one 3 days from now.

(also look above to the Player Skill and Amount of players the help you understand and break this down better)

Player Support

Before I start I must say that you WILL need to provide proof for both support teams. Video proof is always the best. Nobody can refute video proof, but photos are a decent way as well. But make sure you can prove that you played your opponent and that he did what you say he did. Or you can prove that you didnt do what he said you did. I just hook a cheep webcam up to my laptop and let it run. I will be going over the specifics in another post be so on the look out for it

Gamer Saloon
Gamer Saloon has very good support but in my opinion they are slow at times. Some disputes can take quite some tome to get taken care of. But if you do what you need to do as far as proof you will win your disputes

On another note less people dispute on the site because the support usually does a good job

Virgin Gaming
In my experiences with Virgin Gaming they are very fast. I have disputes settled within 30 minutes. An email here an email there and wait a little, and then tada..Problem solved

I love the support of the site because of speed and quality (and common sense) but I hate that disputes happen soo often. literally 1/3 games I have played there have been a dispute.

But in the end it comes down to the fact that they dont have any set rules for game play. Gamer saloon usually follows close to real life tournament gameplay rules but Virgin gaming does not. But in saying that Virgin Gaming is very competent in noticing fishy stuff when you send it in to them. And the majority of the time Virgin Gaming does the right thing.

So there it is guys. I broke down the two sites, now you can use what I have said to help you in your decision making. If you liked this write up tweet this out, stumble it, google+ me.

WFColonel56 OUT!!!

Cover 2 Defense: Cornerbacks

2011-11-03T06:19:00.000-04:00

The cover 2 defense is an entirely different beast of a defense. There are certain defensive changes that only wmake sense in its scheme and nothing else. And I had gotten many qustions about the corner back position so thats as good as a place to start. There are two different routes that you could go with your cover 2 corners.

Bump and Run Corner Backs
Bump and Run corner backs is just what it sounds like. In the cover 2 defense you really do rely on a good Bump and Run.

Why?

The corners bump and run slows down the quarterbacks progression reads. Also the bump helps your safeties out by re routing the wide receivers. So the better the bump and run rating the more successful the bump is therefore the more successful the red and blue actions above are.

So who do I put there?
In short you put your best Bump and Run Defensive Backs at the Corner Back position.

"Safety-Corner Backs"
Safety- Corner backs is a term that I use loosely but it refers to any defensive back who has good tackling and block shedding.

Why does that matter and how does it help?

It matters because the corner back position in a cover 2 defense is the FORCE defender. Meaning that they are responsible for outside run contain and their job is to force the ball carrier back inside.

the main idea behind this is that the "corner backs" are heavy players in the run game and your "safeties" are the last players who interact with the run game in cover 2. So wouldn't it make more sense to have better run stuffers the positions where it actually will matter? I think so

Having better block shed "Corners" will greatly improve the chances of them getting to the ball carrier. They will sometimes come in clean on outside runs. Sometimes they will have to fight off of a block from a Wide Receiver (that is where the block shed comes in)

Having better tackling "Corners" will ensure that when they do get to the ball carrier that HE WILL GO DOWN

And if they do have good hit power, when they do come in clean and make a play on a running back that there could be a chance of fumble.

Learning Defensive Coverage for QBs

2011-11-02T03:18:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of people who are confused in how to read defensive coverage's. Real life football is always a very good tool to madden or ncaa football players because there are tons of similarities between them, and the games will just keep getting more real life. This is a very good video to help players read defensive coverage.

Purple Zone Semi Fix vs Bunch

2011-10-28T00:27:00.002-04:00

Quick note: I wrote this up really quick lol

Purple Zone Semi Fix VS Bunch from the 4-3

Backstory

Well over the past week or two I have gotten hit up a lot about defending this particular play. I guess they hit me up cuz they know I play a ton of zone lol. But a lot of guys wanted help vs this 1 play/formation

This is a pretty decent fix for the purple zone problem against the bunch. And I actually do use this when guys try to throw this a lot. Now if they do a LOT of different things from the bunch I will do some other things but lets get to it

Offensive play

Z spot

-streak the B wide receiver

This will take advantage of the broken purple zones by sucking them into the flats

And I will use the 4-3 stack formation to defend it

Cover 3

*What needs to happen*

-step 1- Shade Zones to the bunch or up

-step 2-Put SS in a purple zone

-step 3- Man a player up on the flat route wide receiver or put a flat zone relatively close

The key is that without that flat route WR being covered by the flat zone or man coverage the purple zone will get sucked down!!!

You shouldn’t have to do it but whatever, it’s the game we have. Its kind of ironic that we have to trick the AI to get it to play correctly

The reason you shade the coverage to the bunch side or up is that without it your opponent could just through the corner deep behind the somewhat fixed purple zone. Now its more like braket coverage. It will have to be a very well thrown ball to get through the window. Either your purple zone or your CB Will have a chance at the ball

The only repercussion to shading your coverage to the bunch is that the seam route could burn you. BUT YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE AT IT. Click on and make a play

Some Variations You Can Use (actual position names)

FLIP THE FORMATION IF THE BUNCH IS ON THE LEFT!!!!!!!

AND THE PLAYER POSITIONS WOULD BE IN REVERSE

--------------------------------

Shade zones

SS in purple

Put LDE in man coverage (or a flat zone) on flat route WR

Put DT1 in a QB contain

Do whatever with ROLB

-------------------------------------------------------

Shade zones

Put SS in purple

Put LOLB in a flat zone (putting him in man cov on flat WR can work but not as well)

I like putting the ROLB in a yellow zone but u can do anything

User MLB
----------------------------------

This can work for guys who want a tad quicker set up

Shade zones

Put LOLB in a purple

Shift LBs to the bunch

Put MLB in a yellow (yes…re do it)

User ROLB

---------------------------------

Some people may wonder why I don’t spotlight the corner route. Well that’s because this is an all zone coverage play and it will effect every one of my defenders in coverage.

*cough* seam route *cough*

Yes….that really happened before……in game…….for the win…..I cried lol

But if you follow the *what needs to happen * above than you should be able to use any formation or zone coverage to defend this particular play.

Also you can work in your own blitz plays if they fit with the overall coverage

Old Virgin Gaming Game

2011-10-26T19:15:00.001-04:00

guys I was just sitting on this video for a while (actually forgot about it) and I decided to post it up

its a really quick game ,what u will see
-him having really bad protection
-my blitzes
-my blitzes getting to him lol
- him quitting

I was filming this game just in case some funny stuff went down. If it did I had video proof to send to virgin gaming. And yes i did have to send it in. But the virgin gaming support staff is top notch. Better than gamersaloon in my opinion

so enjoy the short game. and also could you subscribe to my youtube channel

How To Cause Turnovers In Madden

2011-10-26T03:47:00.000-04:00

Causing turnovers in Madden 12 is a big part of winning games. The person who wins the turnover battle is more prone to win the game and if you get behind in the turnover battle its a hard hill to climb back from.

But the real question is HOW DO I CAUSE TURNOVERS?

Interceptions

Interceptions are probably the easiest way to get a turnover in John Madden Football. There are ways to go about doing so

Confusion
Now confusion is my favorite way to get interceptions. Players are used to their normal passing reads and confusion is all about interrupting them in unique ways. Just think about your favorite passing play

I will give you a second....................times up

Just imagine your reads for that play if your expecting a cover 3 defense. BUT instead you see the Middle linebacker head to the flats the Right outside linebacker heads into the deep third zone and the free safety rolls down and plays where the Middle linebacker was.

Yes I know thats hard to picture but you get the point. You will be thrown off. You could get a regular cover 3 or a crazy version of a cover 3 like the above. Or it could just be as simple as having them expect a cover 3 and giving them a cover 2 defense

Implementing confusion tactics usually come into play during the 2nd or 3rd quarter once you have become familiar with what plays the offense is running

You need to practice these exotic set ups (if you want to use them successfully in game) in practice mode

You can literally do anything you want to but just make sure that the players DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO!!!

Most of the time players hike and throw without actually seeing what is going on. They are just going off of mussel memory and BAM there is the interception. Or they will not be able to diagnose what the coverage actually is and you COULD get a coverage sack

there isnt really a significant downside to this defense because you still have players playing the areas they need to. But they may get to the area later than they otherwise would have. This does not apply to showing one coverage and playing another (cover 3 to cover 2)

Aggression
Now aggression is just what it sounds like YOU SEND THE HEAT and force them into passing mistakes

Get in practice mode and find some good blitzes. The goal is to get the most heat while sending as few players as possible

They will see (and hopefully feel) the heat and have that impulse to get rid of the ball. Most average players will fall to the temptation and send you an early Christmas gift over the internet in the form of an interception

Its a pretty simple concept but be warned you MAY be open to getting gashed in the passing game depending on your play...You have been warned

Waiting game
This again is exactly what it sounds like.....YOU WAIT

This is built around playing great coverage and eventually you will be able to make a play on defense. People doubt this works but I can fully say that it does because I played this way 80% of madden 11.

You will need to make adjustment after adjustment, paying close attention to the offense. Wrap yourself around the offense like a snake on its prey. Squeeze and keep squeezing them until they bust.

Nobody plays mistake free madden. You will rarely see ANYBODY play a perfect game where there is no bad read, no under throw, no protection miscalculation. Just think of the last game you did everything perfectly

Just reverse it and capitalize on the mistakes on defense..They will come and if done correctly you will be there

The best thing is that there is 0 risk in this defense

Fumbles

Fumbles are a different animal entirely for a few reasons

1- There are always chances
2-You can get them without even trying...Yes even accidentally
3- The computer players on defense are pulling their weight, finally

There are always chances to get them because on any play there is a tackle, there is a chance to get a fumble. Hitsticks, Strip Button and even running into the ball carrier can cause them. I myself am fond of the strip button this year in madden 12. But it does vary year to year, sometimes the hitstick is most effective but for madden 12 the strip button is where its at guys.

Be warned though guys using the strip button has risks to it
-it sows you down
-could cause a facemask penalty. Not as relevant in madden 12 but other years it shows up a good amount
-the runner could break your strip tackle

But the hitstick also has a downside of wiffing. And when you wiff, you wiff believe me. But some years there could be more of a suction animation to it. It just depends on how that years Madden plays

As I said you can get them without even trying to....yes it does happen, and you get pretty excited when they do.

And as of Madden 12 the other computer defenders are also causing bone shattering hitsticks or strip tackle animations. It is great guys

There is nothing scarier than playing the Baltimore Ravens or Pittsburgh Steelers and running into hitstick after hitstick every other play. I would also imagine that the reverse side would be pretty hype about it when it happens (often)

So in closing about fumbles I myself avoid doing hitsicks or strip tackles when im the only defender left back or if the other players around me are slow and im facing a much faster player on offense

So there it is guys.

How To Cause Turnovers In Madden

If you liked reading this tweet it out, like it on facebook, if you have a stumble account stumble it, google plus, link to it on other sites (say where it came from of course) just spread the word guys

WFColonel56 OUT!!!!!

Have An Entire Offensive Game Not Just A Run Game

2011-10-26T01:28:00.001-04:00

I played an online game of madden 12 today and something came to my mind.

There are way too many people who can only run the ball. And I have to sit back and ask myself ,why? Why does this happen to players?

Here is what happens
- 1st drive the player may (MAY) be able to get a great run game going

-2nd drive the defense starts to figure the offense out. And may limit the run game to some short gains

-3rd drive the defense figures it out. NOW the offense is left out to dry. You see a horrid display of passing take place.

Here is the thing!!!
As a defense all you need to do to throw a run game off is 1 (yes only 1) run stuff per downs. And then SORT of limit another gain (about 5 yards or so) then the offense is left with a 3rd down and around four or five yards

But then comes WHY? and HOW?

Why do players do this?

How does this happen?

Either they dont know any better. That i do not buy because they have to have played other madden ballers who have more diverse schemes then their own.
or
They dont know how to develop even a basic passing game

As far as developing a basic passing scheme you could just run three football passing concepts and be okay to dive into battle

I have talked about the curl flats and drive concept but here is a new one for you guys

streak-out concept

it is good vs man or zone defense

imagine my art gallery worth artwork above is a picture of the route combo being ran from the right hash mark

all you need is a slot wide receiver

-a streak route run by the slot
- a smart routed out route by the outside wide WR or s stock 10 yard out route

*this can all be done from hot routes*

you actually could use this route combo up to seven yards away from the first down if you wanted to..it will not effect the throw. But no closer than seven yards away

This combo is good vs man or zone coverage

Man

- you can read the seam route to see if you have space to pass lead inside for the catch. Or if it is cover 0 and you like your matchup you could throw it deep

- the money maker is the out route vs man. Throw right at the cut by the wide WR. You will need to head into maddens practice mode to get the timing down

- if you dont like that throw you will need to hit a check down route. Either a in/drag/delay route that you feel good about

Zone

- see if you like the seam

-the out route should be open vs cover 2 and cover 3

-if you dont like it check down

As you can see its a very easy read to execute and the combo can be run in any formation where you have a slot wide receiver. Just so you know you can motion a running back out of the backfield to be a slot wide receiver so theres no reason not to run this route combo

So guys you now have three solid route combos to run in curl-flats, drive, and now the streak-out combo. All of these combos can be run from many different formation (if not every formation in the game) so there is no excuse to have zero pass game

For more reading on passing concepts I would check out

Inverted Cover 3

2011-10-23T19:23:00.001-04:00

Well since Sgibs and Zfarls of Maddenbible.com (twitter: maddenbible and sgibs7) have coined the name inverted cover 2 this year I have to make an adjustment to the name lol

This is a really good play I have been using off and on since madden 09

As you can see its from the 4-3 stack defense (but can be done from any and every defense)

its the cover 3 play....NOT THE COVER 3 PRESS...Its the regular cover 3 with the safety already in the flat

the set up is

-call bump and run defense or back your DBs back. it really doesnt matter to much for the pass, but for the run I would Bump and Run

-globally blitz all LBs

-globally hook all LBs

-Put safety on the left of screen in a flat zone

-shade db coverage inside

*user Middle Linebacker*

------------------------

Thats basically it but you can do whatever you want to the DL

I like to put a DT in a QB spy to cover the shallow middle.

---------------------------

When usering the MLB you want to protect the deep middle just like if you were playing a cover 2. But also be aware of routes that will cross your face. Its a hard thing to do but the coverage look will confuse your opponent!!!

The flats may look really open at first but with the way most flat route work this year that route will go for 3 yards max unless you wiff on a tackle

Also the way the safety goes to the flats he will semi cover the curl area which is .....well great lol

You want them to throw to the middle and test YOU

also I didnt mention but bump and running or off coverage will keep the safeties from rotating and showing cover 3. That is pretty big

I run this coverage sparingly. For those who dont know me im very conservative and dont like a lot of coverage that can give up big plays. This is some pretty good red zone D as well.

You also can tie in some blitzs with the coverage, just use your imagination!!!

if you dont want to user the MLB you can put him on a deep blue zone and user a OLB. Or dial up a blitz and user a DE or whatever (I may have given away too much lol)

WFColonel56 OUT

Is speed overrated?

2011-10-23T18:52:00.000-04:00

Speed is always a highly debated rating in madden as well as ncaa football. The community is partly divided on the topic, some think that speed is a necessity and some others dont think it is as important. I will be doing some research on the topic and hopefully I can get some numbers from other ppl as well.\

so look out for that in the future...hopefully I can make this really epic