1. (Optional) Sub in your best run blockers on the left side of your kick return team.

2. Make sure you have your best returner in. Overall rating is meaningless. Important stats are speed and acceleration. Whoever is fastest should be your kick returner. If there is a tie use acceleration as a separator.

3. Select Return Left

(more…)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This is a just a simple way to add great deep ball routes to any play.

The deep ball route that is better than the streak:

The Extended Fade!!
To extend a fade, simply playmaker the receiver to a fade, and smart route him. This will only work if he is behind the LOS.

This route is most effective against the bump and run, but if you have a great WR it can still burn DBs who don’t bump. The reason this route is so effective, is because it takes a sharp cut that the defensive back just can’t match in time.

If you are facing a DB who is slower than your WR, this is money all day long. The better arm your QB has, the more effective it will be. I am able to use Clarence Moore and get 2 yards of separation on nearly every deep ball against CHAMP BAILEY. If you have a receiver like Moss, Coles, Stallworth, Lelie, etc., then you need to add this to your arsenal.

How I run it:
1. I like to have it in one of my favorite PA plays(not necessary, just helps to get those safeties to bite and opens the pass up a little more)
2. I roll out just a bit to the side you’re passing to(also not necessary)
3. Launch the deep lob with pass lead up(my favorite way to do it, but you can lab other options)

Sometimes you really don’t even need to user it. I occassionally, with guys like Moss, will get 5 yards of separation and it’s just an EASY house. Other times, it’s just a 1v1 jump ball vs the safety because the DB is beaten so badly.

Beating the Spreaded Safey Coverage

After you run this a few times, or even before you run it once, many ballers are fond of spreading their safety coverage using triangle + up and then triangle + up again.

The best way to beat this coverage is:
Inverting the WRs fade!

To do this:
1. Motion the WR across the field.
2. Playmaker him on a fade and smart route it.
3. Motion back to his original position
4. He is now running an inverted fade

This route takes advantage of the fact that the safeties go straight to the sidelines and abandon the deep middle. Your opponent assumes you will attack deep down the sidelines, but they have forgotten you can attack the deep middle as well. The inverted fade, will head straight for the hashmark, and, just like the regular fade, will absolutely burn most DBs. Essentially, you’ll have a 1v1 EASY jumpball vs a DB, or the DB will be nowhere near you and you’ll be able to house it. This route also makes a good 3 step drop and bullet because the WR gets great separation on his slant portion of the route.

How I Run It:
1. Add the route to my favorite PA play (not necessary, just helps to get those safeties to bite and opens the pass up a little more)
2. Launch the deep lob with pass lead up(not necessary, lab the way that is most effective for you to make the throw.

Using these two routes will allow you to take advantage of your fastest WRs more, and force your opponent to REALLY respect that deepball.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Blue routes have been used over and over again by top ballers because: they are unbumpable, they can confuse the D, and occassionally the defender will blitz the receiver in a blue route or abandon his coverage. One, more uncommon, use of blue routes is to set picks for players to create unbumpables and open up routes.

I’m going to show how to use this concept in play from Atlanta’s O book.

You can execute this type of play in any book that allows you to shift from a play with a back to an empty backfield.

1. Place Shotgun Normal Curl Flats in your audibles
2. Come out in Singleback Slot Strong WR Option
3. Audible to Shotgun Normal Curl Flats
4. Formation shift to Shotgun 2RB Flex
5. Steal the routes
6. Formation shift to Shotgun 5 WR
7. Flip the play
8. Motion WR#2 to the right a little
9. Smart route WR#3 while WR#2 is in motion.
10. Motion WR#2 back to his original position as quickly as possible to save time.
11. Send WR#2 on a screen
12. Send WR#1 on a streak
13. Send TE#1 on an inside slant
14. Motion the RB to the right and let him set.
15. Smart route the RB
16. Hike the ball

Reads:
1. WR#3 is running an unbumpable on this play.

2. What you will notice is that the TE goes unbumped because the RB runs into his defender. It’s a VERY easy QP.

What you will notice is that the sometimes the RB will either set a HUGE pick on the TE’s defender or the RB’s defender will do the same to the cornerback. Sometimes both do it, and the slant is so wide open that there is not anyone within 10 yards.

3. WR 1v1 streak.
Your opponent will be forced to abandon deep coverage cover that route. It may be too late, but if they get over then you have your #1 receiver on a streak 1v1 on their corner, and that is MONEY all day in Madden 07 if you have good user.

4. The RB will eventually come out of his delay unbumped, and it’s an easy completion if you haven’t gotten rid of the ball yet.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This is a concept I use in many of my money plays. It allows you to get 2 or 3, I have a play or two with 4, unbumpable rotues in one play.

It works best when you have a compression set. What you should try to do is get routes that cross the unbumpable. If they unbumpable is headed inside and being run by an outside receiver, you should try to get an inside receiver running an outside route. He will then, most of the time, become unbumpable as well. It works almost 100% of the time in compression sets to get you more unbumps in one play.

If you have a nice idea but can’t get it into a compression set, don’t panic cuz you can still get the same effect on many plays.

1. Put a Split Backs 3 WR play in your audibles
2. Call Weak I WR Option
3. Audible to the Split Backs 3 WR Play
4. Form Shift to 4WR Flex
5. Make it a play action
6. Form shift back to Split Backs 3 WR
7. Cancel the play action to steal the routes
8. Form shift back to 4 WR Flex
9. Send WR#1 on a streak
10. Motion WR#1 past to the left and then back to the right, just as he passes the TE, going back to his original positon, call hike.

WR#1 is now running an unbumpable streak. If you like this play itself, you can hit him on the streak by taking a 2 step drop and throwing a bullet with pass lead up.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Taking another technological step forward, league owners approved a communication device for defenses on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting.

One defensive player will wear a helmet similar to what the quarterback is allowed on offense. Should that player leave the game, a teammate can be designated to also have the device. But only one defender with the device can be on the field at a time.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

cept:

Flooding receivers to one side is an excellent way to attack all types of zone coverage in Madden 08.

Primary Patterns:

WR2 (X) - Drag
WR3 (Y) - Streak
WR4 (A) - Slant
WR1 (B) - Streak
RB (RB) - Curl

Offensive Plays Used:

Shotgun Trips Flood

Defensive Play Used:

Cover 2
Quater Cover 2

How the Concept Works on the Field:

The play we use is the Shotgun 4WR Smash Corners. This play by default has both slot receivers running corner routes. Against Cover 2 zone, this is an effective play because those two receivers will split the safeties out wide. The RB running the seam route will be open once he clears the underneath zone coverage. However, we want to show how we like the flood right side of the field with this play.

The defense called is Quarter Normal Cover 2.

To set up the flood concept, we hot route the WR2 on a drag.

Next, we hot route the WR3 on a streak.

We then hot route the RB on a curl.

Finally, we hot route the WR1 on a streak.

Once all the pass routes adjustments are done, we take control of the WR2 and motion him to the right. Notice we now have trips to the right. The WR2 is running a flat route, the WR4 is running a corner, and the WR1 is running a streak. We now have flooded the right side of the field with three receivers. Hence, Shotgun Trips Flood Concept.

Our first read is the WR2 running the flat route. If no defender is covering the flat, we will look to throw to him. Normally if no defender is covering the flat, chances are the pass coverage called is Cover 4.

If the WR1 is not open, we then look for the WR4 running the corner route.

We look to see if a defender is dropping back into his area. If one is, we look for the WR1 running the streak route.

He is matched up with the SS. This is a match up we like, so we throw him a bullet pass.

We take control of the WR1 and go up to make the catch.

Key Points:

• If none of our first three reads are open, we look to throw to the RB running the curl route.
• There are several different flood combinations that be created in Madden 08, we touch on a few more in the book.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites