To have an effective offense, forget everything you’ve learned from previous Madden games. The days of just running three plays are GONE! So many Madden players believe that the CPU defense is just too good now. They say that the zones are on “steroids”. In my opinion, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the defense is better than years past. But that’s because the CPU actually does what it’s supposed to do. It adapts to your gameplay, and in turn plays better zone and man coverage. When you think about it, you really shouldn’t be able to run one to three plays all game anyway. Name one college or professional team that does. As a result, it’s the best defense in Madden history!
So what can you do to start running an effective offense? Start by making an effective scheme. A simple yet effective scheme starts with the idea of setting up your opponent. Meaning, make him or her unsure of what you’re going to do. To do this, you might want to give yourself some rules.
Rule 1 – Have a Strategy – Understand what you’re trying to accomplish with this scheme. How can I set up the “money” or “glitch” plays (discussed above)? If third downs are killing you, then set up your plays to give yourself an easy third down. A 3rd and 3 gives you the opportunity to run the ball, do a play-action pass, or a standard pass. Do you want the pass game to open the run game or vice versa? Those questions are the type of questions you need to ask yourself before making your offense. Don’t just run the plays to run them, have a strategy.
Rule 2 –Don’t be Predictable – Have a balanced attack on offense. I would suggest a 50/50 run to pass ratio. Still, I understand some players like to run the ball more than pass it and vice versa. That is okay! Just keep them guessing. This will halt players from dropping everyone in anticipation of your pass.
Rule 3 – –Be Patient – Don’t try to score in one play. Is it possible to score in one play? Yes of course, again it’s Madden. However, that is what a lot of Madden players are having trouble with. Pass it to the underneath routes (i.e. drags, slants, and hitches). Throw it to the running back out of the backfield. Throwing underneath the coverage will suck up the players for the next time you pass it. When you continue to throw to the same player and run the same plays, the CPU adapts to the plays and covers them. If you throw to other players and run multiple plays, the CPU cannot adapt to your style of play. When you have a balanced attack, the CPU respects both the pass and run.
Here is a quick video, a mini scheme on how to have an effective offense.
