NCAA 14 Youtube "Schemes", an actual scheme, and a few games

There are, apparently, thousands of videos breaking down "schemes" for NCAA 14; many of them have useful information, but that information is often buried beneath a ton of unnecessary talk and is rarely the actual focus of the video.

A scheme isn't just a collection of "money plays" in a certain formation or personnel package; it is a set of complimentary concepts that generate playcalling momentum. A lot of the videos online now just pick a formation, praise it, then show a bunch of plays in it, with no context or reasoning, but with lots of "this absolutely murders man coverage" or "this is a zone killer". Also, a lot of gameplay that includes the "money play" getting stopped by unadjusted defensive AI, then the commentator saying "weird, I threw a pick, but don't worry, this is a 100% guaranteed man-beater".


So here's a tiny scheme I'm using. Maybe I'll do videos soon.

We're working out of Pistol Weak Twins, and only has three plays: Lead Read Option, TE Drag, and HB Slip Screen. The scheme starts with the read option, which is what I'll call to the line whenever I'm in this formation. The read option is a great way to establish the running game, because you can nearly universally pick up positive yardage: if you read the key defender correctly, you are guaranteed some degree of space. Obviously, you are still susceptible to a defender blowing up a blocker or an aggressive blitz; you can't do anything about the former, but we'll deal with the latter in a moment. This formation's version of the read option has the advantage of springing the QB to space; if the "read" defender is the DE, and there's no other defender to the outside, then you are in great shape. This play also has a lead blocker (the up-back), which enables you to pick up huge gains if you use that blocker right.

If the defense is zone-aligned, and as a result has an extra defender or two outside the read defender (like a LB, CB, or walked up safety), I will quick audible to a deep pass, which gives me TE Drag. This play is an absolute zone killer...jk. So here's something that most Youtube schemes sorely lack: a progression for your QB.

First read is the slot receiver releasing to the flat (circle in the illustration); if it's zone coverage (no defender follows the slot) and there's no flat defender (the outside corner is backpedaling and the inside defender is in a hook zone), throw it immediately to the slot. If the slot is covered either man-to-man or by a flat defender, just move your eyes up to the outside WR (square in the illustration); this progression works great because in the time it takes you to read the defense in the flat/on the slot, the outside WR will be just about to break inside. If he is man covered, this second cut (the "in" cut) will generate good separation; if it is a zone, he'll come free right as he cuts anyway (in cover 2, 3, and 4 the deep zone will be backpedaling and/or outside the pattern). BUT maybe he is covered because the defensive AI is messed up this play, or maybe your opponent adjusted his defense to fill the gap; no problem. Third read is the TE on the drag route, which, once again, will be coming free just as you finish the second read, and will be coming free in the same visual area. I rarely throw this ball to the TE; the outside WR (square) is very rarely guarded on that second cut, but it's good to know where the ball is going if he IS covered.

So call the Lead Read Option; if the defense is giving you the edge, snap the ball. If the defense is playing zone, or otherwise has the edge covered, audible to the TE Drag. What if the defense is hard to read, or adjusting already to the TE Drag, or maybe just blitzing? Quick audible to the PA pass, which gives you the HB Slip Screen. You can definitely run this straight up, though it has the same problems HB Screens always have: the HB outruns the blockers. A nifty trick I picked up last year, and I've already seen in some videos this year, is to switch the primary receiver for the screen. Namely, put the up-back (triangle in the illustration) on a swing pattern to the right, and then hot route the HB to block (or run a go route). Because the up-back is lined up away from the screen blockers, it gives the blockers more time to get out in front of the play and set up their blocks.

So there's a three play scheme, with an explanation of how to deploy it in games. It's not about every play being money all the time, it's about recognizing what defensive keys should trigger an adjustment from the offense, then designing adjustments that make sense. It's also about progression in the passing game, so every play you run has a system of reads and decision making, not just a certainty that the play will "murder man coverage".


Game 6
Opponent: KOBEKEVIN2435
Record: 3-7 (I think)
Team: LSU

I was up 21-0 midway through the second, got a quit. I had over a hundred yards running and passing, all operating out of the scheme described above. Simple, simple stuff.

Game 9
Opponent:DaggaSwagga 1
Record: 9-6 (or so)
Team: Wisconsin

I won this game 28-27, a rare actually completed game. We had similar days on the ground: we both ran 18 times for about 60 yards each. It was the passing game that told the story. I was 23 for 25, he was 10 for 16; I was 4 for 4 on 3rd down, he was 1 for 4 on 3rd down (and 2 for 2 on 4th down). These stats tell me that this game wasn't as close as the final score. Obviously, every game is a tiny sample of plays, so small happenings can make a huge difference. If either of his 4th down conversions fail (and both were sort of forced throws), then the scoreline reads 35-21. I threw the ball super efficiently, and had no problems scoring the ball. Ten for sixteen isn't a bad day, but it's not video game numbers.

My record is now 6-3; all three losses were a result of lost connections. Sad face.

NCAA 14 Has Arrived (to my apartment)

So I am back from Florida and have finally picked up NCAA 14. I spent most of yesterday in the tutorials and playbook editor, putting together some formations and concepts I like to use, and then I spent today on the practice field before finally playing my first online matches this evening.

Some quick thoughts on the game. The physics engine feels and looks pretty smooth, though there are frequent odd configurations of players (many players end plays stacked liked linkin logs). The playbooks have been reworked quite a bit; a lot of draw plays have been taken out, and a lot more read-option stuff has been inserted.

On that note, the work the designers did on the option offense in all its forms really shows in the gameplay. I've loved the read-option for a few years now, but so far it looks like the read-option will be a chief staple of my offense. Mainly because I can't throw the ball yet.

Game 1
Opponent: Xxepickiller3Xx
Record: 3-7
Team: LSU

Took me a while to realize this guy was an Epic Killer, not an e-pick iller. Also, he has either killed 3 epics, or he is three times more epic a killer than the usual killer. It's not clear.

Anyway, he only ran Shotgun Ace: TE Cross or Shotgun Ace: HB Draw all game (by all game I mean all 1st quarter). He did not punt, only ran his play again. It was weird. I was up 14-0 at the outset of the 2nd quarter when he quit.

But seriously, I can't throw the ball. Threw two picks, one completion, and ran for 37 yards (remember this guy didn't punt).

Game 2
Opponent: squirrelballer
Record: 1-0
Team: Oregon

Playing someone who is 1-0 is always a little nervewracking. They might be awesome, but just starting out. Squirrelballer was not awesome; but he might get there one day. He seemed to be running Oregon's offense, more or less, but gave up on the run almost immediately. Then he threw 8 INT's.

I had 11 completions on 11 attempts, and only 2 of those completions were to the defense! Hurray! More importantly, I had 139 yards on the ground, and 105 from my QB; the read-option really works. You've just got to pick your spots. Throw to put the defense in man, then run against it (because man coverage is especially susceptible to read-options, as it makes assignments really easy to figure out. If the defense is in zone or even just blitzing, it can throw off your reads and your offensive line's blocks.)

We played the whole game, ended 28-6.

Defending Against 5WR and Other Empty Sets

So it's been like four months since I last posted; I am currently ranked 37th on Xbox with a record of 192-61. I've been playing pretty consistently, though rarely for more than two games at a time. I had a few excellent games in the last week or so, coupled with a few actually insightful exchanges over XBL, and so I wanted to get back on here.

I thought I'd talk a bit about how I defend empty sets. I've been seeing a lot of offenses online that run a lot of empty backfield, most frequently with 5 WR's, but also some 4WR/1TE and Base personnel (HB/FB/TE/2WR). These users will often just run one or two plays over and over again, and will jump at the opportunity to go no-huddle for entire drives.

In any event, I've been getting a lot of repetitions at this recently, so here are some thoughts.

First, recognize the different basic options you have on defense against a 5-pattern offense: you can try to cover the field or you can try to rush the QB. A non-mutually-exclusive third option is to confuse the QB, but maybe I should just say that, preferably, you should always be trying to confuse the QB. Let's talk about these different strategies.

First, you can try to cover the field. I prefer the man-coverage version of this: 2-Man Under Spy out of the quarters normal package. This puts a DB on every receiver with two-deep safety coverage. The MLB spies the QB, guarding against those pesky mobile QB's that everyone plays with. To max this coverage ever further, I will use the LB-Rush package, which swaps out the DE's for LB's; I then will hot-route one or both of the LB's into hook zones, often using one to roam the field and disrupt patterns. This play is still vulnerable to many man-beaters (like shake and zig routes), but not too much else.

There are a variety of zone options for max-coverage. My favorite is Cover-4. To the left is the Quarters Normal version of Cover-4; it has four deep zones to make downfield passing prohibitive and two buzz zones that take away the corner routes or outside hitch patterns. It has no spy, so I will often hot-route a DE/LB to spy the QB. It's weakness is in the middle of the field, where only two players are in coverage. Knowing this, I often will control the weakside buzz zone and follow patterns into the middle of the field, helping to disrupt throwing lanes. You might also consider hot-routing a DE/LB into an extra hook zone.

Max coverage forces the QB to be disciplined and can often frustrate opponents; they are vulnerable, though, to mobile or patient QB's, because they generate little pressure.

The second approach to defending the empty backfield is to rush the QB. With no HB's (and frequently no TE's) to provide extra blocking against pressure, a six-man rush is going to force the QB to throw the ball early every time. If you can generate pressure with an overloaded four or five man rush (like this or this), all the better. Whatever the case, you've gotta get to the QB quick to prevent a big gain. My preferred six-man blitz is Nickel Normal: Over Storm Brave. It gets good, fast pressure up the middle while preserving the edge against a mobile QB. It's weakness is the safeties in coverage: they won't press automatically, so you often have to manually realign them to get better leverage against the receivers.

If I am in Quarters I will call Under Smoke, which matches up well with receivers and still gets pretty good pressure up the middle. I will crash my line to the right to maintain the edge and prevent a quick escape by a mobile QB.

Of course, any good QB is going to have a hot-read against a zero-blitz (no safeties in deep coverage, all defenders in straight man-to-man), so you've got to try to identify and neutralize that read. More on that later.

The third thing to consider is disguising your coverage in order to confuse the QB. One way to accomplish this is with zone-blitzes (one or more LB's/DB's will blitz while one or more defensive linemen drop into coverage).

Zone-blitzes work because they mess with a QB's reads; many users will see a LB or DB blitzing and immediately throw to their hot receiver, assuming that the blitz has left a hole in the coverage or that the receiver is covered one-on-one. If your DE drops into that throwing lane, it might be too late for the QB to get the pass back. One such play is Fire Zone 3 in Quarters Normal. As you can see, it blitzes three DB's and the LB, while dropping the two DE's into coverage. If you are using the LB rush package, those DE's are replaced by LB's (hopefully with better Awareness and Catching ratings). It's still got a lot of holes in the coverage, mainly in the flats and middle of the field, but it has three DB's covering the deep ball and is unlikely to give up many big plays. Most importantly, if used at the right time, it is more likely to confuse the QB and force a bad throw (and hopefully an INT).

Second, even if you aren't zone-blitzing or calling a particularly confusing coverage, you can still create a good deal of confusion by mixing up your playcalling. This has been an area where I have improved a lot this year. I used to be a strictly 2-Man Under guy; sit back in the deep zones, force everything underneath, and wait for the QB to make a mistake. Once I cracked the top 100, though, that was no longer a viable strategy; too many users didn't make mistakes, and, because my defense was so vanilla, too many users knew just how to attack it.

So now, with a few exceptions, I very consciously try to randomly move between zone and man and coverage and pressure. Very few (if any) plays work against every type of coverage, and most users come to the line expecting a certain coverage and prepared to make a certain decision. If you can keep users off-balance, you disrupt their playcalling (Do I run the man-beater or the zone-beater? MADDENTIPS DIDN'T PREPARE ME FOR THIS!!).

Additionally, make ample use of the show-blitz option. This walks the DB's into the box and rearranges the LB's; it enables faster pressure when you DO decide to blitz, but more importantly it prevents your AI players from tipping their hand pre-snap. It also changes the angle from which your defenders will attack their assignments. In Cover-3 the SS will typically come towards the line of scrimmage into a hook-zone at the snap; if you show blitz, that same safety will be backing off the LOS at the snap. A CB who would be in press coverage pre-snap is now aligned just outside the slot; a LB who would be aligned outside the TE is now inside the TE. These subtle adjustments make the QB's job more difficult.

Finally on this point, consider ways to modify whatever play you call with hot-routes. This can be as simple as changing a flat zone to a buzz zone or as complicated as creating an entirely new play; one thing I like to do is trade coverages. I will hot-route my DE's/LB's to man coverage on the slot receivers, then hot-route the DB's to blitz. This keeps the coverage and rush dynamics static (every receiver is still covered one-on-one and I am still rushing the same number) while adding another layer of confusion for the QB to sift through; he may see the DB's blitz and believe those receivers are now uncovered, only to find a LB drifting into his throwing lane.

Finally, recognize that there are only a handful of plays/concepts that people are running out of these formations. The most popular by far is four verticals with a shake route underneath.

This puts a lot of vertical pressure on the defense, though most users will be looking almost exclusively at the shake route (Y in the diagram). This route crushes man coverage, and generally will end up between zones (that are stretched thin already by the downfield threat). If your opponent is running this play, your chief objective is to take away the shake route. You can double-team him manually, hot-route a second defender to automatically double-team him, or redirect extra players to cover the zone you expect Y to end up in.

Several other formations use this concept (four verticals with a shake underneath); other users prefer to throw corner routes, deep hitches, or deep outs. The key is to recognize the user's reads and preferences and then adapt. Most users who run an empty backfield offense do so because they have found one or two "money plays" that seem to work every time, and are either too lazy or too awful to execute any other plays. They run the plays again and again because they work; and because they run the plays again and again, you will beat them.

Being Reflective

Alright, so I just lost a game to a talker. Anytime a big play happened for me he had to get on the mic and say it was bull. I muted him during the second quarter, but still played relatively poorly. The key to improvement is honest criticism though, so I'll have to reflect on what I could do better.

First, I have to recognize nano blitzes. The first 2 timed I was sacked, coupled with the random pre snap movement, should have made it obvious. Eventually, I adjusted, but it was too late. I need to recognize the blitz earlier and throw swing passes and find the hot receiver. Also, against nano blitzes that require pre snap set ups, you need to snap the ball quickly to prevent the defense from getting set.

Second, I got lulled into biting on the play action. His running game was effective, and I got impatient and he burned me for a couple touchdown passes; I should have just played that way the whole game.

Don't cave into bullies. Stay calm, recognize the blitz, and play smart.

Top 100, Here We Come

I played three games tonight, the end result being that I am now ranked #87 (IN THE WORLD). Exciting.

Don't have detailed game notes, but a few observations.

Game 4
Opponent: FASTEDDIEKG8894
Record: 89-58
Team: FSU
Better User Name: FASTEDWINDJ8894

Dece record, poor gameplanning. He blitzed a ton on defense, but they were of the nano/youtube variety, so he was constantly arranging his defense in a very precise way. This, of course, tips the offense that a blitz is coming, and a particular kind of blitz, too. It allows me to anticipate specific pressure from a specific spot on the field, and also make any adjustments I want to my passing routes. By the late second half he had begun to disguise his defenses a bit better, but by then most of my offense was "hot" and so I was able to do quite a bit of damage on the ground.

So don't nano, kids. It's beneath you.

Game 5
Who knows. I just know I won and got a quit at halftime.

Game 6
Opponent: HH CHRIS HH
Record: 49-16 ish
Team: LSU
Better User Name: ChrisHanson

Buddy ran five plays on offense. First, he operated out of Ace: F Pair Twins, with a FB lined up outside the TE on the strong side and twins to the weakside. He'd run a HB Stretch to the strongside and a play-action bootleg when it was setup. Then he moved on to a Wildcat: Spread Flex with some jet sweep, jet sweep option, and PA jet sweep. And that was it.

He scored on two of his first three possessions, but not after that. Gotta diversify that playbook.

An Awful, Horrible, No-Good Game

Man oh man...

Game 2
Opponent: THE FLORIDA 04
Record: 158-89
Team: Georgia
Better User Name: TheOrangeAndBlueVictorious 04

I threw FOUR interceptions in this game. He threw FIVE. And I still lost. It was a miserable outing for both of us; halfway threw the 3rd quarter I sent him a message: "We are so bad". He replied "yeah".

Nine interceptions between the two of us, just miserable. Two of my picks went for touchdowns; a third gave him the ball on my 15; I also went for it on fourth and handed it over to him inside my twenty. Not even trying to knock him, but I feel like I gave this game away. Final score was 37-35 (I also gave up a safety - DAMN DAMN DAMN).

His defense relied on a single blitz package (like 75% of his plays); it took me most of the game to find the appropriate reads. When playing against a blitz-heavy defense, you've gotta find the uncovered receiver (or the receiver who is technically marked, but whose man is starting out of position). I had the ball for like 4 minutes out of the 20; when I did score, it was super fast, because I beat the blitz downfield.

His offense was almost entirely run out of an ace-slot or shotgun-slot formation. Lots of TE and slot receiver crosses, then some wheel routes later in the game. Obviously not too complex/polished, because he threw a million interceptions, too.

Ugh. I can't say anymore about it.

Game 3
Opponent: TAE33000
Record: 11-6 (I think)
Team: Alabama
Better User Name: Billy Blanks

Don't mean to be making reference to the 24-0 final score here; Billy Blanks just does Tae Bo. Anyway...

As frustrating as the game against The Florida was, this game was as straightforward. His defense opened in a soft cover-2 zone, so I threw a series of short crossing patterns. He switched to a safety blitz, open TE seam for 20 yards. Then some man-blitzes, and I score in the first 90 seconds. I force a punt, then throw a pick (gross), force another punt, then score in largely the same fashion: underneath patterns, followed by a deep seam pattern.

By the start of the second half I was up 24-0, and so I just ran out the clock. Conservative tempo, run run run run run run etc run run run. Etc. His offense lacked progression or complexity; some failed runs early on, then many contested passes. I think I had five or six picks this game; he just didn't seem to have a clear plan on offense.

Biggest leap for me in terms of offense: finding some passing concepts that worked. My old four verticals/corner sets from NCAA 11 and 12 aren't working in 13; the defensive upgrades are too good. So I went back to the practice field, felt out the mesh/drag patterns, levels, seams and verticals, etc, until I found some ideas that worked consistently. Then I took those templates to the playbook editor and found multiple iterations of them out of different formations. Before I snap the ball, I have a good idea where the pass is going; when I snap the ball, I have a clear progression of reads that confirm or change that notion. You can't just call a play and hope someone is open, particularly not against decent competition.

As an update, I'm now ranked 117th. Record is 50 and 18.

And the Gators whooped Tennessee again today. Rightly so.

A game! Finaly, a game!

Game 1

Opponent: baylorRB28

Record: 69-33

Team: Texas (selling out his Bears...)

Better User Name: BRB28

A fine record for BRB coming into this game, let's see what he's got.

He gets the ball to start, converts a long 3rd down on a deep WR comeback, but then punts on the next 4th down. Straightforward running game, haven't seen any gimmicks in the passing game yet.

My first possession set the tone for the game: I hit a wide open TE in the back, then a pass is tipped at the line, and then my FB drops a 1st down completion. I punt.

Our boy goes three and out, mixing in some option. Ensuing position, I hit a drag for a first down, then a completion to my TE's outside shoulder on a seam route, beats the safety to the endzone, 7-0. Opponent was in a lot of Cover 1, so if the LB's are covering the TE then I'm going to have the outside shoulder open most of the game. 

He scores next possession, then I drive to the ten with a couple TE seam throws (to the outside shoulder), but then I fumble at the five. His possession is extended by a roughing the passer penalty, but he gets sacked on 4th down around midfield. With 55 seconds in the first half, I scramble twice for a small gain, then hit two more TE seams. Halftime, 14-7.

Most notable thing in the second half was an "Illegal Touching" penalty; what is this? It was thrown when I hit a receiver downfield after a prolonged stay in a rush-less pocket. It happens when the defense runs the all-spy scheme. Glitch? 

Rest of the half goes about the same. His offense is fine, but he had difficulty finding open receivers and staying in the pocket. He more or less abandoned the run game once he was down in the second half, so it was a lot of soft Cover-2 Under and that's hard to beat. To his credit, he did fake a punt, but it was stopped about 3 yards short of the 1st down. Ran out the clock for most of second half, conservative tempo and ground game: counter, counter, power-O, counter, jet sweep, td. 31-14 at the final whistle. 

Good times.