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Ok, this is getting rather niche.

As a Steeler fan, and a fan of intimidation and chaos on defense in general, my favorite base scheme is the 3-4. My local college team runs it as well, though very poorly. Crazy blitzes from all kinds of places, linebackers flying around being athletic, and confusion reigns...in a good 3-4 system, at least.

I can't for the life of me run a good 3-4 in Madden or NCAA video games, and normally default to a 4-3 or Nickle, though it depends on who I'm playing and what their style is.

If I ever get to coach HS football (far-fetched, but not impossible, since I'm going to be a teacher) I'd like to try to run a 3-4. It would be fun as hell.

So what are others' thoughts? I was thinking about buying a book on the 3-4 just for kicks...it would be sweet to have legitimate knowledge about a system, not just the kind that every armchair quarterback has as they watch games on TV.

I love the zone blitzing scheme LeBeau is known for. It's too bad the Steelers stopped using it after the San Francisco game.

While I love the 3-4 and zone blitzes, I'm about 50/50 on the Tampa 2 scheme. I also have noticed that on 3rd and 10, they will stack up defenders at the sticks and let you catch it underneath, daring you to get past one of the best tackling teams.

It's just too bad that the blitz has disappeared for the time being. Hell, even when they didn't blitz against Denver, they were still getting burned on screens. I'd like to see it come alive against Cincy. If you remember in the first meeting last year, they were practically molesting Palmer every time he dropped back, and were dictating the flow of the game. Of course, Colclough fumbled that punt, which pretty much ruined everything.

Yeah, I'm starting to like 3-4 better than the 4-3.

In Madden, somehow I can easily do the 3-4, especially if you have two fast LB on the outside. I had Ware and Spencer and each season I could atleast get 12 sacks out of them each. The 4-3 is hard for me in Madden because somehow my DE's never get sacks so I can never bring down the QB.

Originally posted by botankus
I love the zone blitzing scheme LeBeau is known for. It's too bad the Steelers stopped using it after the San Francisco game.

While I love the 3-4 and zone blitzes, I'm about 50/50 on the Tampa 2 scheme. I also have noticed that on 3rd and 10, they will stack up defenders at the sticks and let you catch it underneath, daring you to get past one of the best tackling teams.

It's just too bad that the blitz has disappeared for the time being. Hell, even when they didn't blitz against Denver, they were still getting burned on screens. I'd like to see it come alive against Cincy. If you remember in the first meeting last year, they were practically molesting Palmer every time he dropped back, and were dictating the flow of the game. Of course, Colclough fumbled that punt, which pretty much ruined everything.

Cover 2 is overused. It's good against the deep ball, but has weaknesses. Play action, good timing routes, and TEs over the middle can tear it apart. In real football, I'm always in favor of pressuring the QB instead of dropping too many guys.

And yeah, zone blitzing is awesome.

...

And I envy you Smas....I wish I could get 3-4 to work in Madden.

in madden it depends if your playing a person or a computer. VS the computer I dont care what system you give me I will be able to molest to cpu QB. But vs other people especially online the outside rush is easier to stop or to just get rid of the ball quick enough it wont matter. However the inside rush is the harder issue to get around because if they blow past the center/guard the rb isnt intuitive enough to step up into protection on an inside rusher. The point of this is that a 4-3 allows for a lot more pressure right up the middle than the 3-4. I generally prefer the 4-3 in madden unless i want to do a zone short pass coverage then id prefer the speed of the 4th LB.

first and second down, 4-3, as well as third and short.

for the pass, dime.

3-4 is good, and I also feel more confident, having the tight end on the line, as opposed to putting him in secondary.

cattanacho

A good defensive scheme is the 4-6 defense. However, everytime I play Madden I use a 3-4 defense. I'm able to force a lot of turnovers andf get a lot of sacks.

spam

Wow American football sounds more complicated as I thought.
I thought the big bunch all ran into each other while one fella throws the ball at some other bloke who managed to run free.

Then thereīs loads of faffing about and it starts again.

Originally posted by Bicnarok
Wow American football sounds more complicated as I thought.
I thought the big bunch all ran into each other while one fella throws the ball at some other bloke who managed to run free.

Then thereīs loads of faffing about and it starts again.

The pieces must be strategically positioned and given move options in advance. Only after that is in place does the maniacal blitzkrieg commence.

In Madden, for 1st and 2nd down, I usually play man to man 4-3. I like to take control of the middle linebacker or outside linebacker (whoever covering the fullback or running back) and if it's a pass play, see if the guy I'm covering is blocking or receiving. If he is blocking, I come on a delayed blitz which I can usually get to the quarterback straight on as there is usually a hole in the offensive line from the 4 DE taking blockers.

I generally only play Cover 2 when it's 3rd and 4 or some similar distance. Truthfully, I'm not that crazy about Cover 2. I find it's very susceptible to long passes and if the running back does a wheel route. I'm more of a fan of Cover 3.

I think the only two teams that can do Cover 2 is the Colts and Bucs.

Other teams should just get away from it, especially if you dont have good tackling CB's.

After seeing good QBs shred defenses even when they drop 8 in coverage, I've really started wondering why more teams don't try to get an awesome free safety type for insurance and then run a 4-6.

I still love my 3-4, but it can fall apart easily. The big man in the middle needs to be solid as hell. Casey Hampton playing injured (or being out occasionally) exposed the Steelers D late in the season and in the playoffs. He makes almost no tackles, but the whole defense flows from him. Without a good nose tackle, a 4-3 is much more intelligent.

Well, its very hard to get an safety who can cover the whole field, like Sean Taylor did, and still be able to make the tackles.

Yeah, your right. 3-4 is very dependent on the DT. Look at the Pats and Chargers. They both have excellent big guys.

The Cowboys lost Ferguson, one of the better DT's in the league and it hurt them because Ratliff is an excellent pressure type tackle but breaks down over a long period of time.

Originally posted by botankus
The pieces must be strategically positioned and given move options in advance. Only after that is in place does the maniacal blitzkrieg commence.

Does the apposing team also have to "fit" the strategy. ie how many fellas are in the front bit, outside etc or can they do what they like.

I watched the movie grid iron gang which was brilliant, didnīt know what was going on on the field though.

Originally posted by Bicnarok
Does the apposing team also have to "fit" the strategy. ie how many fellas are in the front bit, outside etc or can they do what they like.

I watched the movie grid iron gang which was brilliant, didnīt know what was going on on the field though.

That's the key. You have to essentially guess what the other team is going to put out there, and what play call they will utilize. For an offense (offence), the ultimate goal is to put one man with the ball in a position where he is uncovered by the opposing team. The other team must study film, devise strategies, and rely on sheer athletic talent to make sure the man with ball doesn't advance (or gain possession of the ball themselves).

Originally posted by DigiMark007
Ok, this is getting rather niche.

As a Steeler fan, and a fan of intimidation and chaos on defense in general, my favorite base scheme is the 3-4. My local college team runs it as well, though very poorly. Crazy blitzes from all kinds of places, linebackers flying around being athletic, and confusion reigns...in a good 3-4 system, at least.

I can't for the life of me run a good 3-4 in Madden or NCAA video games, and normally default to a 4-3 or Nickle, though it depends on who I'm playing and what their style is.

If I ever get to coach HS football (far-fetched, but not impossible, since I'm going to be a teacher) I'd like to try to run a 3-4. It would be fun as hell.

So what are others' thoughts? I was thinking about buying a book on the 3-4 just for kicks...it would be sweet to have legitimate knowledge about a system, not just the kind that every armchair quarterback has as they watch games on TV.

The 3-4 is my fav as well, but is predicated on 2 premises: a) you must have a monster of a NG, and the 4 LBs must be very good to great, otherwise it suffers easily against the run.

Originally posted by BobbyD
The 3-4 is my fav as well, but is predicated on 2 premises: a) you must have a monster of a NG, and the 4 LBs must be very good to great, otherwise it suffers easily against the run.

I feel like decent LBs aren't impossible to come by. If you wanted to run a 3-4, the NG would be the biggest concern.

Originally posted by Bicnarok
Does the apposing team also have to "fit" the strategy. ie how many fellas are in the front bit, outside etc or can they do what they like.

I watched the movie grid iron gang which was brilliant, didnīt know what was going on on the field though.

Sort of. A team will have a "base" defensive formation that they operate out of most of the time, but will exchange players for different situations. Like in a passing situations, more defensive backs (small and fast) will be on the field to protect against receivers and passing. On the goal line, for example, it's a bunch of linemen and linebackers. Only 1-2 DBs.

They all have assigned roles, but "get the guy with the ball" is the overriding concern. So yes, it's a lot of violent hitting, but there's a method behind a lot of it.

I personally like the 4-3 for a real football team and in Madden. It takes two very solid tackling and fast ILBs, which are normally not very abundant.

It's a lot easier in Madden to bring a fast MLB down the middle when you have two DTs eating up blockers, and that's how I normally play defense.