Warrior General Games

anyone having elusive back success, my back went from an endorsment year performance wise to horrible, how about yall?

Terrible.

Could be your OC...but elusives<<<power

Tea Baggins is doing well.

Elusive backs suck compared to Power Backs. The sheer fact that they break 3+ tackles in a single run for a TD is why.

the sheer fact that most people on defense rarely ever train strength unless on O-line, I've seen some teams with MLBs faster than their entire secondary and weaker

I have an elusive back and am very frustrated. I don't see a reason to create an elusive back at this point in the game.

Elusive still have their place, especially as a receiving threat. But the Powerback is definitely the build of the day. Combo backs can have great success too. It may also be the case that we don't really know how to build an elusive back yet...I am working on a few ideas, but I think a properly configured O-line is key to making them work as well.

Pure elusive backs (scat backs) are great pass receivers/screen/pitch guys. Just like in the NFL very few pure elusives are great at running between the tackles. Gotta be physical to run up the middle and thats why Combo/Power backs are the "best" ball carriers. But if you don't have a receiving/scat back then a good DC can just stack the box on you all day long and never fear getting burned by a receiving HB.

To answer your topic question, YES. They are very easy to stop, but I guess they're good to have if your team already has a powerback that defenses gear themselves toward. You definitely can't be a one dimensional back and expect to do well with a lot of carries. You'll be relegated to breaking long runs on occassion as well as catching passes out of the backfield. I had a back that sucked it up last year and got replaced by the FB as the primary ball carrier. I changed his build to a more power build and he's done a lot better now.

More people will be/are investing in strength/tackling....the reason elusive backs suck/did suck is because every linebacker is built like a cornerback in terms of speed/agility. Powerbacks dominated, elusive backs were meh. Now people are beginning to counter powerbacks, which should let elusive backs regain a little bit of that lost ground.

Originally posted by DennisValet
More people will be/are investing in strength/tackling....the reason elusive backs suck/did suck is because every linebacker is built like a cornerback in terms of speed/agility. Powerbacks dominated, elusive backs were meh. Now people are beginning to counter powerbacks, which should let elusive backs regain a little bit of that lost ground.

except most of the LB are still getting beat consistently by strong passing games. While some guys are putting more in strength/tackling, the majority are trying not get beat on pass plays by quick TEs, WRs, HBs to do what they need to stop power backs. Powerbacks will be successful for many seasons to come. While it may begin to even a little, LBs are going to be built like CBs because of the passing game. The only difference I have really seen is everyone is using wrap up tackling now when going up against a power back. Unless the passing game shifts to having strong receivers being better than speed receivers, LBs are going to stay pretty much the same.

Since when are LB's supposed to cover receivers with the exception of zone coverage? If you are getting beat by 3 or 4 wide receiver sets while you are stuck in 4-3 defense then yea, your linebackers deserve to get burned.

Havent broken a single tackle all season. I'm putting up decent numbers though after a horrible first 2 games.

LBs cover TEs and HBs every single down. They cover WRs on occasion though, but it's usually as a double team or having to chase them down. The point is LBs aren't made to stop the run, they are made to stop the pass for the most part. You will not see many LBs, DTs, or DEs invest in many Run Stopper Abilities as well. MLBs and NTs are the few players on defense that actually try to be a run stopper.