One of the many questions we get from new Madden Players is “How To Get Better At Madden”?
As the saying goes, the defense may win championships, but the offense is just plain fun. Keeping your opponent off balance and crossing the goal line is the name of the game on offense.
Every team and every coach has their philosophy and game plan for the offense. We'll introduce you to several possibilities and provide you with tips to make you a more effective field general. No matter which style of offense you embrace, you will need to use components of all three to be a well-rounded and successful player.
By the same token, if your opponents cannot score, you will not lose. They put much emphasis on having an explosive offense. The best football game players, however, are not only prolific at scoring but very solid defenders. In most cases with evenly matched teams/players, most football games are not “won”, but are lost by the players making the most mistakes.
Selecting Your Team
A big part of How To Get Better At Madden is selecting your team, you need to decide on the type of offense and defense strategy you plan to implement on the field. Are you going to have a quick strike offense that features a lot of deep pass routes? If so, the team you select should have fast receivers who can get down the field in a hurry to make the catch. You also will need a quarterback with a powerful arm, who can deliver the pass in stride to the receiver.
Two teams that come to mind are the Bills and Chargers. They have plenty of speed at the receiver position to get down the field, plus two of the better quarterbacks in the game. If you're the type of player who wants to play smash-mouth football, the Ravens and Panthers are two teams that fit that style of offense. Both teams have outstanding running backs and can dish out the punishment when running inside. If you want to play a team with balance, look to use the Patriots. They have all the ingredients to run or pass the ball effectively and keep the defense off balance.
The defensive side of football video games has plenty of teams with different styles to choose from. If you are looking for an attacking-type defense, look no further than these two teams from the AFC North…the Ravens and Steelers. Both teams like to play an attacking-type scheme that forces the QB into making poor decisions.
If you like to play a more passive defense, look to use the Bears or other teams that like to play a bend but don't break style of defense. They figure the offense will make a mistake during their possession with the ball. They do not want to give up the deep pass; they rather see the offense dump the pass underneath. For those of you looking for a balanced team on defense, the 49ers are a perfect choice.
Scouting
The best way to scout you and your opponent's team is to go to the Rosters' menu and select the depth chart. There you can find most of the info you will need to know about team strengths and weaknesses. Look to see if your receivers are faster than your opponent's defensive backs. If you see a big discrepancy between your receivers and your opponent's defensive back speed ratings, look to exploit that weakness when it comes to the game. Once you scout things out, go into practice mode and see how the Player Ratings affect actual gameplay.
Much like real football, when playing football video games, staying balanced will be the difference between winning and losing. In past editions of football video games, you could make a living by airing the ball out. However, over the last few years with the improvements in pass defenses and better run blocking, players have found running ball can be just as effective.
Running a balanced offense is the key to moving the ball up and down the field. Use the run game to set up the play-action. Once the defense brings the safeties up near the line of scrimmage, you can go deep on them. Learn to use the short passing game; you will see your pass completion percentage and QB Pass Rating skyrocket. Find teams that have the player personnel to run and pass the ball. If your team is weak at running but strong at the pass, you can bet the defense is going to sell out on the pass.
Play To Your Strengths
Playing to your strengths plays a major part in How To Get Better At Madden. If your team is strong running the ball but is weak in passing, don't throw the ball 70% of the time. That defeats the purpose of your team's strength. For instance, you pick the Minnesota Vikings to play in franchise mode. While playing your season, you struggle on offense. You look at your team stats and see that your pass-to-run ratio is 3 to 1 in favor of the pass.
That means 66% of your offensive plays are passing and 33% are running. The Vikings are not a strong passing team. Quarterback Chris Ponder is still raw and needs another season before his ratings go up. The Vikings have an elite runningback in Adrian Peterson, plus a big offensive line that allows for them to run inside and move the ball. So pounding the ball makes good sense. Change your ways.
On the other side of the field, if your team is slow in the secondary, you are better off playing zone coverage. If you play Bump-N-Run coverage with a slow secondary, you are in for a world of hurt.
The Bengals are a good example of a team that is better suited to play a zone coverage scheme vs a man coverage scheme. Of their top 3 cornerbacks, two of them have below 90 plus speed ratings. This means their secondary is going to have a hard time keeping up with the opposing team's receivers while in man coverage. The defensive front seven also plays an important part when playing defense.
In the case of the 49ers, they have one of the better defensive lines, plus decent speed on the defensive line to put pressure on the QB. Plus, they have a dominant pass rusher in Nick Bosa. You will need to be creative when calling defensive schemes to get pressure from linebackers. Use zone blitz packages to confuse the offensive line to get pressure on the QB. That way you don't sacrifice the deep pass, while you still can get pressure on the QB.
Set Up Your Plays to Create a Scheme
Learning to fully use your playbook and use a variety of plays from each formation will keep the defense guessing all game long. Don't get stuck on using the same plays over and over or you will be shut down. Players who use a variety of pass-and-run plays will be more successful than players who use the same four or five plays.
Do not have just one pass and one run play from the I-Form Normal and expect to move the ball. Use at least 4 to 6 plays from the I-Form Normal and learn them well. That way, the defense cannot expect what play you called. If you are playing a player next to you, be sure to sure use the bluff mode to keep him from cheating and knowing what play you have called.
Using Audibles
Another factor in How To Get Better At Madden knowing how to use audibles. How many times have you played an opponent and at any point of the game, you're faced with an offensive or defensive scheme that spells a certain disaster for you? You immediately audible out of your play only to find that the default audibles for that playbook are all but useless to help you counter what your opponent is doing. This has happened to us all at one point or another.
Usually, when situations like this occur, you're forced to either call timeout, go with your original play call, or audible to a play that you've probably never used before. Each of the three aforementioned scenarios will usually have a negative effect on your team in some form or another. In times like these, having a good audible system can save you many moments of frustration.
The word audible in football terms simply means to change the play that was called in the huddle to a different one once at the line of scrimmage. Both the offense and defense will use audibles to adjust to a specific situation that may present itself during a game. When setting up audibles for your team, there are three questions you must ask yourself.
Note: You can set up your audibles by going to Features and then audibles from the main menu.
What types of situations will the various audibles be used in?
The first thing you should do when setting up your audible system is to determine what situations that may occur within the game are the situations you'd like to possibly take advantage of by audibiling For example if you're on defense and your opponent has a tendency to use empty backfield formations to throw the ball in passing situations, consider audibiling to a max coverage scheme that drops 8 men into coverage. If you're on offense and the defense shows a strong tendency to blitz and play man coverage in the secondary on 3rd & 10 situations, you may want to audible to a pass play that has a high success rate against man coverage. Lastly, you may just have a bad play call and would like to change the play to something more reliable.
One acceptable way to use your audibles is to help create win-win situations for yourself on the offensive side of the ball. Calling a play out of a formation that you also have an audible play for allows you to change the play at the line without having to reset your formation. For example, call Weak I Twins Toss Weak at the line of scrimmage. This play will run a toss to the twins side of the formation. If you come to the line and the defense is in man lock coverage (both corners will be on the twins side), you can audible to Toss Strong and run a toss to the wide-open side of the field. The defense won't know what hit them. Also, don't underestimate the importance of the flip play option on both sides of the ball.
What play to use as an audible once that situation arises?
Once you've identified the situations you'd like to use your audibles in, you'll now want to find a play that can successfully counter whatever it is your opponent is doing. Your opponent may like to throw to his tight end on 3rd & 7 situations, so you must have a defensive audible that can take away the tight end in this case. You may want to audible to a zone coverage to cover all underneath areas of the field, making it difficult to get the ball to the tight end or use a defense that double covers the tight end.
On the other side of the ball, if the defense is continually dropping 7 men into coverage on first down, you may use a run play in your audible system to take advantage of this. If the defense is blitzing while playing bump and run coverage, you may want to audible to a pass play from a bunch formation, especially since pass routes from bunch formations are extremely effective against man coverage.
How do I execute the audible play once it's been called?
Learning to properly execute the plays you have set as audibles is where using the practice mode comes into play. After you've answered questions 1 and 2, you're now ready to practice the plays you plan to use as audibles. You'll want to cover all bases when practicing. Does the play work as well as I thought it would in this situation? What should I do if my opponent audibles to a different play as well? Practicing the subtle nuances of your audible plays will help you to answer those questions.
For starters, it'll give you confidence knowing that you're prepared for nearly any situation that may arise. On the offensive side of the ball, knowledge of how to properly execute your audible plays can also open up no huddle opportunities. Defensively, you may feel comfortable knowing that a blitz play that you have works well against a certain type of formation. Practicing is important.
Answering the above questions when setting up your audible system will go a long way in you having the right play called at the right time. Being prepared is the name of the game. Once you've reached a high level of preparedness by using an audible system, you'll quickly see the benefits that come along with a constant state of readiness.
Going for it on 4th Down
Sometimes in a game where going for it on 4th down makes sense. There are other times when players will go for it on 4th and long thinking they can get it. Be sure to keep an eye on what the offense is doing on 4th down. Don t assume they are going to punt and call punt return formation. If not, the offense comes out in Shotgun 4WR, and you are stuck in punt return. He snaps the ball while you scramble around with the controller trying to call an audible or timeout. Next thing you know; he throws to a receiver for first down. There is nothing more frustrating than holding your opponent to three and out, then on fourth down he gets a first down because you were not paying attention.
Play Field Position
We cannot stress the importance of playing field position in this year's game. Punting the ball on your side of the field can make the difference between winning and losing. If it's fourth down and 2 at your own 38, don t go for it. Instead, punt the ball as it's not a gimme.
Finale Thoughts
As you can see, there are many factors for How To Get Better At Madden. We have just touched on a few topics in the article. There is plenty of Madden advice out there on social media, on How To Get Better At Madden. Do a search on Google and you will find plenty of more info.
Don't forget to check out the Madden Guides YouTube channel for the latest videos for Madden Tips, Madden Strategies, Madden Plays, and Madden Formations.
