Help with NFL games

[Liam]

Ok, I have NFL ESPN 2K5, but this is non-specific help, about NFL games.

It's tactical, as I don't seem to know much about tactics and formations. What I wondered is if someone can break down some of the more well used formations and what they are mopr effective for (pass, rush, etc).

Also, although it is obvious for some positions (QB needs good passing, WR needs speed and catching), what stats are you looking for with some of the other positions, like TE, CB, OLB's and some of the others.

Thanks in advance.

[NobBe Nobbs]

You got quarterbacks and wide receivers right. The other obvious one is the running back, who can either have good speed and try to go around the linemen, or have good strength and power through the middle. Tight ends are a combination of wide receivers and blockers, as they can be called into action for either one. They need good hands and good speed, but equally they need a degree of strength if the quarterback chooses another target and needs some blocking. The fullback is a combination of a blocker and a running back - usually, they'll be called into service to rush ahead of the running back and create holes for him to run through, but they have also been known to receive the handoff; it helps because it's not usual and you can get a few extra yards off a sneak play.

On defence, the cornerbacks are the anti-wide receivers, but they need much the same stats - good speed to get to where the ball is headed ahead of the wideout and good hands to make the interception. You also have safeties, both free and strong, who have to fill in whereever they're needed; they may be called on to defend against a pass or against a rush, and so they have to be good in both stopping the halfbacks and batting away the passes, meaning you'd probably want decent strength and good coverage. The linebackers are intended to blitz the quarterback, and so while they need some speed, run power is what you're looking for there in order to get through the ruck successfully and sack the quarterback or force him to make a pass under pressure. That's the best I can do, unfortunately, but I hope it helped.

[Guest Santa Spud]

I dunno about the ESPN franchise, but at least with Madden, the depth chart is sorted by position, and it shows you how good everyone on your team is at that position (with a minimum of 15, IIRC).

[VerbalPuke]

Ok, I have NFL ESPN 2K5, but this is non-specific help, about NFL games.

It's tactical, as I don't seem to know much about tactics and formations. What I wondered is if someone can break down some of the more well used formations and what they are mopr effective for (pass, rush, etc).

Also, although it is obvious for some positions (QB needs good passing, WR needs speed and catching), what stats are you looking for with some of the other positions, like TE, CB, OLB's and some of the others.

Thanks in advance.

I can't exactly remember formation names, but they are visually explanatory. Let me put it this way, when running the ball, look at the formation, how many wide outs are there? Is there a fullback in on the the play as a leader blocker? Is it a two tight end set with two extra blockers on the line?

Pass plays typically have more WR's on the line, more options so to speak. You'll have your 1-3 or 1-4 WR's, all lined up.

It depends on your players as well, and the situation at hand. Let's say it's third and one, you're going to want to run and pick a play with a stacked line of scrimmage. I'm talking the two tight end set, with a lead blocker, or no lead blocker is you choose. Of course, if you have a speedy back, you can do a sweep instead and maybe pick up some more yards. Depends on if you're a conservative type of play caller or not. Personally, I like to do some unpredictable shit.

Of course, don't be predictable either, it's good to make the formation look like pass, but go with run instead. It keeps the defense honest.

Also, I like to make use of audibles. Say you line up and you're looking to pass, but the defense is lined in the nickle or dime formation, I like to audible and go with the run. Typically in the nickle or dime, they are looking to protect the pass, therefore leaving some space in between the tackles. On the flip side, assuming the defense has the box stacked, looking to blitz or stuff the run, I like to audible and go deep to my number one WR, typically he'll be in man to man coverage, and therefore you have a shot at a big play. It's a calculated risk, but can pay big dividends if you complete the pass.

If you have any specific questions about a typical situation, I'll be glad to answer anything.

Edited December 24, 2006 by VerbalPuke

[Liam]

Thanks for the help Be and VP.

VP, one of my problems with audibles is that at a glance, I wouldn't be able to guess what the set-up of the defence is. I mean, I can see where the players are, but I wouldn't be able to work out if the defence is nickel or dime, or whatever else. Naturally, this doesn't necessarily matter, but I guess it would help.

[jase12881]

I only briefly played NFL 2k5, so i don't know if the formation names are the same, but typically most sports games have the following formations as standard, and there can be variations, and I'm probably forgetting some:

OFFENSE:

The "I" form: Names the I form because the position of the qb, fb, and hb respectively resembles the letter i ( more accurately, they are all lined up in a single-file line behind the center). This is a good base formation for offense, it typically lines up two receivers, a tightend, a fullback and a halfback. Of course there can be variations, but usually it involves swapping out the tightend for a wide receiver or a receiver for a tightend. Also there's "weak I" and "strong I" which simply have the fullback moved a few steps towards the weak side (side without the tightend), or the strong side (obviously the side -with- the tightend).

The Pro Form: Also called the split form. Basically the two running backs line up parallel to each other, an equal distance behind the qb. Pretty much like the I form, it's a good base formation, primarily a running one, but can be converted to passing in the same way that the I form can.

Single Back (Somtimes called the Ace formation): Basically, no fullback means an extra wide receiver or tightend. More of a passing formation because of the extra passing support provided by the extra receiver/tightend. Can, of course, be ran from.

Shotgun: The most important factor in this formation is that the QB lines up a few yards behind the center (and I forget how many....5 maybe? 3? I don't know). This allows the Quarterback a little more time to read the rush and react, making this mainly passing formation, that usually uses multiple wideouts to spread the defense out. 3, 4, and 5 wide receiver sets are typical.

Goal-line (or heavy or something like that depending on the game): Basically just an I formation with 3 tightends lined up tight. Allows for power running on short yardage, and goalline situations

DEFENSE:

4-3: Standard defensive form that defends well against short passes, and the run, typically. 4 Defensivelinemen and 3 Linebackers allows for quite a bit of run support, while two corner backs and two safeties help to cover the receivers. Tends to lead to mismatches if the offense is playing 3 or more receivers, or has a very fast tightend.

3-4: Basically the same as 4-3, however there's 3 Defensive linemen and 4 linebackers. The main advantage of the 3-4 is that teams can still rush 4 at the QB, and drop back 3 linebackers in coverage, but the offense doesn't know where the 4th pass-rusher is coming from since it could be any of the linebackers. While this is still considered a balanced formation, it's very slightly more pass-oriented, in my opinion because of the extra linebacker being able to drop back into coverage. While the lack of two defensive linemen in the center can make stuffing the inside runs a little more difficult.

46 Defense: Basically the same as the 4-3 except that the Strong Safety comes up to the linebacker position, and the other linebackers all shift towards the free safety's side of the field. Usually a heavy blitz formation to either stop the run (in the backfield preferrably ) or break up pass plays by applying pressure to the quarterback. This is mainly a run-stopping defense. The biggest weakness, is obviously the lack of a strong safety providing protection against the deep ball.

Goal-line: Basically the opposite of it's offensive counter part, it's designed to stop the run in short yardage situations. Generally consists of 5 defensive linemen, 4 linebackers and 2 corner backs, but there's always variations.

Nickel: This formation uses 5 defensive backs. Basically, picture the 4-3, then remove the extra linebacker and add a corner back playing on either side, wide to defend against 3 (or more) receivers. Generally has 2 linebackers 4 defensive linemen 3 cornerbacks and 2 defensive backs. Although there's variations including the 3-3-5 which has 3 defensivelinemen 3 linebackers and 5 defensive backs.

Dime: Basically the same as a nickel, except with one linebacker, and 6 defensive backs. 4 cornerbacks and 2 safeties mean better coverage in passing situations, especially when the offense has 4 wide receivers. Great passing coverage formation, especially against mid to long passes, but fairly weak against the run.

Quarter: Basically used when you KNOW the long pass is coming, or to match up against 5 wide receivers. The same as a dime, except one defensive lineman is taken out and another corner back is added to match up against a heavy passing offensive formation or to stop the hail mary attempt. There's variations, the most common one being the cover 3 which subs the extra cornerback for an extra safety.

Most of this was done from memory, so it may not be 100% accurate. If this is the case, I'm sorry. Feel free to correct me.

That said, I also found a pretty decent wiki article on formations towards the end of doing this, so here's the link to that for more information (though it may end up just confusing you since there's -a lot- of information):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_%28...can_football%29

I hope this helped!

EDIT- Probably more info than you were looking for

Anyways, as far as recognizing dime and nickel, the easiest way is to count the defensive ends. (also, in base formation the linebackers tend to give it away) If you see 2 linebackers and 3 corner backs, you're facing nickel. If you see a single Line backer and 4 corner backs, you're facing a dime.

Edited December 24, 2006 by jase12881

[VerbalPuke]

A good reference point for yourself liam, is too look at what you're doing yourself on defense. You think to yourself, "ok, it's third and 12, I'll go with the dime and play to protect the pass here". Your players line up and you can recognize "oh ok, so when the opponents line up with something similar to this, they're probably in the dime".

It's not exactly a scientific method, but it helps with visuals. And honestly, something I always do in any sports game before my initial usage of it is practice. Practice some defense and offense, familiarize yourself with formations, where the LB's and DB's will be for certain situations. Basically, if you're protecting against the run, it's good to stack the box, but maybe you want to have a linebacker lined near your defensive end and have him rush in from the side going unblocked.

[kingtut307]

Another thing to look for is key players. If you are on defense and the other team has a great WR (Steve Smith, Terrell Owens, etc.) you want to double team that player as much as possible.

Another suggestion is to run out of "passing formations". Such as shotgun or any 3 or 4 WR sets.

Oh, and keep running the same type of plays until the defense proves they can stop it. It'll set up other plays (for example, running to set up play action passes).

Hope that added a little to the thread.

[Liam]

Much appreciation for all the help, people.