Warrior General Games

I'm having problems with my QBs in Pro and feeling that tactics may be wrong

The step up in level from Regional pro is substantial. Opposing dots are playing that bit looser underneath and getting in for the deflection way quicker than than the ball reaches the receiver, so I presume a little more Bullet will help here.

At present, QBs are favouring route distance but receivers are either not getting free and QB is passing into coverage all the time, or the pocket is collapsing, so I presume a little more Open Man will help this.

I've never built QBs so I haven't a clue really, but I want to give my guys some decent advice that will improve their completions.

So my question is, how do I begin to quantify the impact of moving sliders around? I thought I'd come here first to arm myself with a bit of knowledge before I open it out to the QB agents to get their input.

Any links, insights or advice much appreciated.

Originally posted by Makntak
At present, QBs are favouring route distance but receivers are either not getting free and QB is passing into coverage all the time, or the pocket is collapsing, so I presume a little more Open Man will help this.

I'd go with a lot more Open Man, actually. The longer your QB holds onto the ball, the more likely it is that he'll start to feel some pressure and will just chuck it to whoever he happens to be looking towards at the time, which can lead to QBs passing into double or triple coverage. Switching to Open Man will help your QB get rid of the ball quicker, though it also means you'll have to be careful with your custom progressions on your pass plays so that you don't accidentally throw it to a target who will only get you a 2-yard gain on a short route to the flat or something.

Actually, careful use of those custom progressions, combined with better scouting of your opponent's defenses, may end up having a bigger impact than changing your QB's tactics. Scout the opponent's defensive plays against each formation and look for the following:

- blitzing tendencies, so you know which formations to avoid if their blitzing is deadly, or which formations to attack if their blitzing is over-aggressive and stupid
- single-coverage targets, since a target who draws single-coverage with no help at all can get open with a single move, or at the very least have a better chance of fighting for a catch when covered
- lack of deep safety help... if they're dumb enough to let WR2 go deep in single coverage without keeping a Safety over the top, you might as well call lots of WR2 deep routes and keep chuckin' it to him
- coverage mismatches, like a Safety or LB singled on a WR, or a slow run-blocking MLB trying to cover an HB when you can call a play that sends the HB deep

Then, select passing plays that have routes that will help you attack these weaknesses, and set up the custom progressions on those plays to target the receivers who are most likely to get open. Lots of difference philosophies on how to do that, but I always liked to look at a deep target first if possible, then a couple of shorter targets, then another deep look, and then a shorter target in the last progression slot. Adjust as needed, and don't be afraid to put the same target in 2 progression slots in a row to force giving them a longer look.

And finally, I'd go all-Bullet at this point. Even on long downfield passes, your QB will still put some arc on it to get it downfield. All a Lofty pass does at this point is gives the defense an extra few seconds to converge on where the ball is going, which can turn an open man into a triple-covered nightmare while the ball is in the air. If someone's open, they might not stay open for long, so you want to zip that ball to them. And if you find your QB is over-throwing receivers or your WRs are dropping lots of easy catches, you can always pull back a little bit on Bullet until you find the right balance. But keep it on the Bullet side for sure.

As for how to quantify the impact of all this... well... if your completion percentage and yards-per-pass stats start to go up, those are probably good signs. But really, nothing beats just watching some replays and seeing what's going on with your own eyes. Some stuff just can't be quantified in stats.

Hope this helps ya!

Originally posted by Novus
Switching to Open Man will help your QB get rid of the ball quicker, though it also means you'll have to be careful with your custom progressions on your pass plays so that you don't accidentally throw it to a target who will only get you a 2-yard gain on a short route to the flat or something.

Actually, careful use of those custom progressions, combined with better scouting of your opponent's defenses, may end up having a bigger impact than changing your QB's tactics. Scout the opponent's defensive plays against each formation and look for the following:

- blitzing tendencies, so you know which formations to avoid if their blitzing is deadly, or which formations to attack if their blitzing is over-aggressive and stupid
- single-coverage targets, since a target who draws single-coverage with no help at all can get open with a single move, or at the very least have a better chance of fighting for a catch when covered
- lack of deep safety help... if they're dumb enough to let WR2 go deep in single coverage without keeping a Safety over the top, you might as well call lots of WR2 deep routes and keep chuckin' it to him
- coverage mismatches, like a Safety or LB singled on a WR, or a slow run-blocking MLB trying to cover an HB when you can call a play that sends the HB deep

This is very nice info for me. I scout a lot but I'm never exactly sure what I'm looking for. i've been trying to target the DB with the weakest stat history, eg, most RecAlw, most missed tackles, but this is structured and methodological. Great stuff! Thanks

Originally posted by
Then, select passing plays that have routes that will help you attack these weaknesses, and set up the custom progressions on those plays to target the receivers who are most likely to get open. Lots of difference philosophies on how to do that, but I always liked to look at a deep target first if possible, then a couple of shorter targets, then another deep look, and then a shorter target in the last progression slot. Adjust as needed, and don't be afraid to put the same target in 2 progression slots in a row to force giving them a longer look.

Got any links on where to read these philosophies? What I've been trying to do is build a 'playing style' by looking off deep and trying to pass underneath, so my packages are built that way. It only works in theory, so I'll give your method a try, see if it improves things

Originally posted by
And finally, I'd go all-Bullet at this point. Even on long downfield passes, your QB will still put some arc on it to get it downfield. All a Lofty pass does at this point is gives the defense an extra few seconds to converge on where the ball is going, which can turn an open man into a triple-covered nightmare while the ball is in the air. If someone's open, they might not stay open for long, so you want to zip that ball to them. And if you find your QB is over-throwing receivers or your WRs are dropping lots of easy catches, you can always pull back a little bit on Bullet until you find the right balance. But keep it on the Bullet side for sure.

OK - will do

Originally posted by
Hope this helps ya!

It's a massive help thank you, and I'll have a big overhaul to implement these ideas. Would you be willing to enter into PM conversation?

Think of it like playing Madden.
Or NFL 2k5.
Or Jagged Alliance.
It's all in the sauce.

Originally posted by Makntak
This is very nice info for me. I scout a lot but I'm never exactly sure what I'm looking for. i've been trying to target the DB with the weakest stat history, eg, most RecAlw, most missed tackles, but this is structured and methodological. Great stuff! Thanks

Glad I could help.

Originally posted by Makntak
Got any links on where to read these philosophies? What I've been trying to do is build a 'playing style' by looking off deep and trying to pass underneath, so my packages are built that way. It only works in theory, so I'll give your method a try, see if it improves things

I don't really have any links on this... basically, I had to learn this the hard way by sucking eggs with my passing offense for about 20 seasons, then learning from Tomcic while running the offense for the Manchester Titans and later the Laos Chaos, and then learning even more from Snakes22 while serving as the Assistant OC for the Asau Golden Eagles.

Originally posted by Makntak
It's a massive help thank you, and I'll have a big overhaul to implement these ideas. Would you be willing to enter into PM conversation?

Sure, we can PM... just keep in mind that I still wouldn't exactly consider myself to be an expert in the passing game. There are still plenty of people who know WAY more than me and who have a more-instinctive grasp of what it takes to make a passing offense work. But I figured I could at least get you pointed in the right direction, and nobody's come in here yet to call me a flaming idiot, so I guess I didn't get anything wrong up above.