Honestly...

[wiskyfootball]

I am about to go over the god damn edge with this piece of shit game. I have serious thoughts of taking the damn thing back because I am so damn horrible at it. Or am I? I can destroy people online, take even DJB in a straight online game and when I come to take on the CPU I am fucking garbage. No matter what defense I call the offense has something ready for it. I swear the CPU knows what play I am running and runs a play to counter it....I blitz, then run a screen or a short route where my zones arent. I man up they run a perfect route for a 15+ yard gain. When did every team become a shotgun oriented offense? Last time I checked North Texas ran the ball more then they passed, yet they come out in shotgun almost 90% of the plays? Maybe it is because I am playing as SMU, but still they are getting better and should be able to beat a team like NT...not give up 21 points in the first quarter, have 3 INT's and their defense look like girls trying to tackle 500 pound giants.

I honestly am not sure what I am doing wrong, I have watched football all my life and know that QB's dont complete 85+% of their passes. Not every teams lines up in shotgun every play, and DB's do cover guys a little bit better and dont give up 15+ yard plays every down.

[D-Mac]

I dunno wat to tell u man, dont get frustrated or you'll hate the game but seems ur alreayd past that point. Ive gotten used to throwing four picks a game now and it doesnt bother me anymore. As for the defense ur D must sucks becuz If u play it right there is a way to play good.

[Sportsbuck]

wiskyfootball said:

Last time I checked North Texas ran the ball more then they passed, yet they come out in shotgun almost 90% of the plays?

I honestly am not sure what I am doing wrong, I have watched football all my life and know that QB's dont complete 85+% of their passes. Not every teams lines up in shotgun every play, and DB's do cover guys a little bit better and dont give up 15+ yard plays every down.

Okay, first off, North Texas has a new coach this year from the H.S. ranks that runs a spread offense, so they got that part right.

Second, you need to mix things up. If you call the same types of plays the CPU picks up on it and finds your weaknesses. Switch up man and zone, blitzes and DE drops, QB contains and such. Back off your DB's on 3rd and long, and press with them when you blitz.

[wiskyfootball]

OK, i can deal with the new offense, but I have changed up defense's like crazy. I will run plays I would never run normally just to see if a change would help me out, nope, CPU still destroys me on defense and my offense throws for 115 yards 4 INT's and we score 7 points.

Don't get me wrong I know SMU isnt a top team, but they should be able to at the very least keep a close game with NT. I am not saying I should blow them out and I would even be ok losing if it was by 7-10 points. But my offense can't score and my defense can't hold anyone.

[JacktheRipper]

I don't use much pure zone and it seems to help. The quarterbacks can pick a zone apart if you get no pressure (and even blitzing seven, a five man line picks it up no problem) so I have to trust man coverage or man mixed with zone. Mix up your blitzes, and try and keep the middle of the field in a zone with the MLB to prevent as many slants and crossing patterns.

I've had a top 10 defense each of my first three years at Ole Miss by doing this. The only thing I thought was out of place is what K. Williams from LSU did to my Rebs last night. He's got like 96 speed and ran over people like Earl Campbell. Watching a guy run over a 300+ lb DT, a 290 lb DE, and a gang tackle by my SS and OLB and outrun my corner for a touchdown was sobering. The good news is, despite his 195 yards rushing (I had not given up 100 on the ground yet), I still dominated the offensive side of the ball and won by seven.

Oh and the interceptions are in general your fault. I've minimized them to under 1 a game, but every pick I've thrown was me trying to do too much. The fumbles and the false starts have been killing my offensive production and cost me the South Carolina game this year. That is frustrating. Honestly though, I think this is the most fun NCAA I have played to date.

[Sportsbuck]

bamarulz2020 said:

Oh and the interceptions are in general your fault. I've minimized them to under 1 a game, but every pick I've thrown was me trying to do too much. The fumbles and the false starts have been killing my offensive production and cost me the South Carolina game this year. That is frustrating. Honestly though, I think this is the most fun NCAA I have played to date.

I agree with you Bama, this is the most fun I've had with NCAA to date.

My only problem is when I'm on defense, I make too many picks. I have the User INT at 0, and the CPU QB accuracy at 100, and I still get 2-3 picks a game. Hell, Henne threw five picks against me.

[JacktheRipper]

Human Awareness and knockdowns (turn it up) make a difference in your pick numbers as well Sportsbuck. I would suggest playing with both a bit and see if you can't turn those user picks down a bit. I don't pick that many off, but we have poor cornerbacks at Ole Miss. Really we have poor everything at Ole Miss, but I keep pulling games against top 25 teams out of my ass.

Yeah though, try tweaking the areas I suggested and see if it makes a difference.

[wiskyfootball]

I'll try what ya said Bama, and would you mind telling me the kind of offense you run? Where you pass the ball and what kind of routes you like? It seems the CPU runs slants at will against me but when I run them it is a pick 80% of the time. It seems this is common with whatever QB I use. As for defense, i'll try putting a LB in the middle of the field and using man. I swear though, another game like the ones I have been having is gonna make me wanna break my PS3 , jk jk...

I may even look to playing the game on varsity, hell right now i am not even sure if i can win a game on that level....

[JacktheRipper]

I use Florida State's playbook on offense, and run around 60% of the time. Most of my passing comes from play action and shotgun. The majority of the routes I hit are crossing patters, flairs out of the backfield, and some out routes if I can get the throw right. Slants are very dangerous, and I won't throw one unless I see the CB is lining up a bit outside and off of the receiver. Also you have to watch the LBs near by, because they will jump the slant. You can't throw it unless it is open, which is tough.

Play action passes are big in getting your guys open. If you run enough they will bite on the play-fake and it will give you enough time to see an open guy. If you don't see anyone open, just throw it away. Do not force anything. It seems at first this almost cripples your passing game, but I'm starting to get 250+ yard and 3 TD games by calling a plethora of different plays to keep the defense off of me.

Finally, I would almost suggest playing with a power school to get your feet wet man. The talent on the offensive line will make a big difference. On defense you will see it as well.

[wiskyfootball]

should the ratings of the offensive lines and defensive lines matter that much if im using two C+ teams? Your saying use a high powered school like texas or whatever, but shouldn't it be the same if I am using two underrated schools like SMU and NT?

How are you able to run for enough yards is my question? I run the ball two plays in a row and usually end up with 3rd and 9 or 3rd and 14, then i am forced to throw longer routes. Do you have a stud RB and a good O-Line or something? Do you break many tackles, because I have a decent RB with a decent O-Line going against a crappy NT D-Line and they stuff me consistently...

[JacktheRipper]

They do matter, trust me on that one. My offensive line is sub-par for the SEC, and it makes any play an adventure. I have to fake snap to keep the defense from jumping it, and we false start around 5 to 6 times a game at least. I've had six drives this year on the one that were brought back five yards on a false start. It's annoying.

Running is actually pretty easy I think, just don't sprint before the LOS and find the holes that do open up. Play action will also keep the defense honest. The ratings do matter though, I promise.

[wiskyfootball]

That just doesn't make any sense at all. A 80 OVR LT vs. a 80 OVR RE should be the same as two 99 OVR's at each position. I believe ya there because it is something EA would do, but shouldnt that match-up be the same? I went back to varsity and am using default sliders and am just going to have to make adjustments as I go....thanks for the help Bama....ill consult with ya after the game and see if i can make some more adjustments

[JacktheRipper]

Well things like awareness, strength, and pure blocking ability come into play here. A 330 pound LT may have problems with a quicker DE of the same rating, because he can beat him off the snap and get into the backfield. It's not as simple as 80 ovr. vs 80 ovr.

[wiskyfootball]

Bama in case your wondering how its goin on varsity lol, ill give ya a half-time update....

I am up 14-0, i have one more first down. I have 174 yards of offense they have 139. 114 yards on the ground for me, 26 for them, they have 113 passing yards i have 60.

So all-in all I am having a lot better game then I was on AA and Heisman. I know i suck and have to play varsity, but this is turning out to be a usual SMU game, good defense and a few plays key the game. They had the ball deep in my territory twice and fumbled once and threw a pick the other. Easily could be 14-14 right now....hoping this will stay this way

[wiskyfootball]

The game got out of hand in the final minutes and I was able to tack on some cheap TD's, but I won the game 41-14, which it may sound way off, but the game was a lot closer then you would think...I'll stick with these for now and make changes along the way...thanks Bama

[D-Mac]

wow dude seriously playing on varsity is horrible, dont play on sliders that help u win. I always like it tough and dont care if I lose or not.

[wiskyfootball]

See I don't really care much either, usually that is. I want to see you got 0-13 loose every game by 40+ points, thats what would have happened. And it wasn't playing on sliders to help me win, I moved down to make the games more competitive....

[JacktheRipper]

Dude, I'm going to try to dream up a set of sliders for you to try on All American and see if we can't make this game play right for you. When you are having issues adapting to a new game, that's what happens on varsity. You'll play a team close, but blow them out in the end. It's going to start happening more and more as you get use to the game. So...I think we need to come up with a set of AA sliders to transition you into the game.

[D-Mac]

Ill chime in on some sliders later

[Sportsbuck]

If your having trouble running the ball, use the Lead Blocker feature. I control my Fullback on toss plays and pick up the safety thats coming down to make the stop, and I control one of guards on isos and dives so that I can clear a lane for my running back.

Also, with the argument about 80 ovr. vs 80 ovr. there's a lot more than the basic attributes that come into play. Like the new ones, such as run block footwork and such for offensive lineman, and block shedding/power & finesse moves for defensive lineman.

Also, when you get later on in your dynasty ASM, you might want to switch some offensive lineman's positions around based on size. Like I have this five-star tackle that I'm recruiting, but he's only 6-1, 300 pounds, so, if I land him I plan on making him a guard. I'm also recruiting this 6-9, 378 pound center. No way in hell is he going to play center, I'm putting that bad boy at tackle.

So, the deeper attributes, and size, also come into play for offensive lineman.