The offensive line is the powerhouse of the offense. They keep the quarterback safe and open up lanes for running backs to make big plays. These big boys are overdue for some improvements in the Madden NFL series. According to Madden NFL Gameplay Producer Clint Oldenburg, this year is the year. In an exclusive interview, Clint Oldenburg tells SGO’s Lead Content Creator The Natural that the offensive line will see both quality-of-life and major updates in Madden 22.
And who better to talk to about linemen than a lineman? Astute fans know Oldenburg spent multiple seasons on NFL and CFL rosters at the offensive tackle position. How will that experience translate to Madden 22? First, Oldenburg says that blocking in Madden 22 uses the same physics and momentum as tackling. He says this new system will reduce the loss of control linemen feel on both sides of the ball.
Interview with Clint Oldenburg: Offensive Line Improvements
The Natural: What improvements can we expect to see specifically with the offensive line?
Clint Oldenburg: That’s a really good question. So we made a bunch of improvements to the line play. Like you said, it hasn’t really been talked about yet because they’re more on, um, the core side I guess. Core players will notice them more than media. And they range all the way from, you know, small quality-of-life improvements to… what I would call major features. But the first one, and most impactful, is the momentum stuff that we were talking about in tackling. [The] momentum and physics being reflected in the interactions is the same types of formulas that we put on blocking. And what that means is you’re gonna see the direction and speed at which the interaction starts is gonna be carried out throughout the interaction.
So you’re gonna feel less loss of control on both sides of the ball, the lanes are gonna open more organically because there’s more lateral movement in the blocking, and then also the match-up matters. One of the complaints that we got last year was, “I have two safeties in the box and they’re playing linebacker, and I feel like they don’t get blocked effectively enough by guys much bigger than them.” So this momentum stuff that we took from tackling and brought to blocking is gonna address that as well. So you’re gonna see a lot more, like, impact block stuff, with big guys matched up on small guys. So that’s the big story on blocking.
Offensive Line Animations; More Angles of Attack
Then, Oldenburg talks about the visual improvements to blocking. He says an entire batch of new animations are being added to the interaction between blockers and defenders. This includes different angles of engagement, so that blocking doesn’t feel as heads-up as in previous games.
Oldenburg: Lastly, we improved blocking coverage, animation coverage, so you’re gonna be able to see what I call a “get engage,” that’s when an interaction starts between a defender and a blocker. We got a lot of new animations to get engaged at different angles, so you’re not always heads-up. You can get engaged on a guy’s shoulder; you can get engaged potentially even on his back shoulder in pass blocking. And we added more coverage for double teams, which functionally will make double teams more reliable, especially when playing against a 3-man and 2-man pass rush.
For all this, plus more information about next-gen stats and upcoming Madden 22 features, check out the full interview with Clint Oldenburg above. For more news on NFL Madden 22, like our breakdown of the best team options for franchise mode this year, follow us on Twitter and Facebook to make sure you don’t miss news as it breaks.