I dont know why but I just suck at defense. I did practice mode for an hour and just can get it. Swat the ball is like 'X' correct? So when ever I'm covering a WR and hit "X" the ugy dives instead of sawt and I hit the WR giving me Pass interference. Or, If I play up on the line(I don't play Football some I'm not aware on all the positions names) hwere the center is and just try and get to the QB I never get to him and he always gets a complete pass. My computer D doesnt do anything. So like how the hell do you play defense?

Sorry really broad.

For starters, you can modify the game controls however you want. Just assign the commands to whatever buttons you are comfortable with.

For instance, I hate using the trigger to sprint, so I moved it to A, where the X button was on PS2.

I set up my controls like they used to be on Madden for PS2 and I can play it much better now. Save the settings to your profile and youre all set.


Next off is to be very cautious when going for the tackle if youre the last man back. I play a lot of man to man and the running game on this edition, combined with the running back ability makes timing very important.

You will find your AI teammates getting destroyed by the o-linemen/wr's in blocking, or just getting their tackle attempts broken or juked by the ballcarrier.

You have to take the right angles and make sure that your tackling is sound and that you arent just diving in the general direction of the ballcarrier.

Ill be glad when a slider set is put out to tone down the superbacks and running game in this one.

I won a game against the Carolina panthers 62-52. No defense whatsoever. I gave up kickoff and punt return touchdowns, and Deshaun foster had 15 carries for 243 yards and about 5 touchdowns.

On the opposite side, Larry Johnson had similar numbers, rushing for 238 yards and 6 TDs, with Tony Gonzalez snagging the other 2 touchdowns from the offense with 7 catches for 271 yards.


The blocking and tackle breaking is just way too high. It needs to be toned down by about half I would think. Im averaging 200+ yards rushing on the ground with Johnson on about 15-20 carries a game.

I throw intermediate passes to Tony Gonzalez, and just let him run behind blockers or just run over people for long touchdowns.

This is the most arcade style offense Ive seen from a Madden game yet. When you have the ball, you can really do almost anything on any play. Even subpar runners are capable of taking it the distance on any play, so it makes playing defense that much tougher.

ur right, defense is really tough on this game but i think i got some of it down. i usually keep the offense to under 20 points regardless of the team and i pile up around 3-5 sacks and up to 5 ints. i play with the free safety and when the quarterback is pressured with the defense i run he normally throws it a little short normally right around the first down marker and right to my safety on the left side.

normally i always run the 4-3, unless they go 5 wide in which case i use dime or quarter.

here's the defense i run

when they use 2 wr, i blitz. not too much, make sure you have people to man up if they decide to pass, but enough to put some pressure on the qb.

when they use 3 wr, i use the regular 2 man under. strait man, it works pretty good and usually stops them.

when they use 4wr, i use a zone coverage, particularly the one where all the secondary backs up because if they throw something short, your linebackers should take care of it.

and when they run the 5 wide, i use a huge man coverage play because usually they only use 5 wide in desperation like in the 2 minute drill or if your up big.

and when i use these plays i don't touch my lineman at all, on the zone plays, if they look like they're doing man, (if they line up on their guys), then just hit A, then right and they should go back to normal, after that spread your linebackers with the RB and up, and your all set. let me know how this defense works.

I usually run all sorts of various defenses. When I first started playing football games, I would pick maybe 2-5 different defensive plays all game long and just repeat them.

The gameplay got stagnant and repetetive for me that way, so I really try to use every defense that they have in there. Especially against other human players.

My main problem with the gameplay is that it seems the offense gets waaay too perfect of blocking on almost every play. When I finish a game and I see that my offensive linemen each have about 15 pancake blocks, thats just a touch much for me.

I cant stop the opposing offense, and in turn Im near unstoppable on offense/special teams. Its just slanted. Id mess with the sliders if I had the time, but I usually leave that to the people who love to tweak those things until they are perfect, and then I go by their formula.

My main problem with slider adjustment is I usually cant figure out if when i make a huge play if I actually earned that big play, or if the sliders need more tweaking.

You have to set the sliders, play 3-4 games and then look at the collective stats. Then tweak a bit more, 3-4 more games, its just a long process and Id rather leave it to people who enjoy that stuff.


I like that its hard to win on this game, but Id like a bit more realism. All due respect to the Carolina Panthers, but I think it would be a cold day in hell before they racked up 52 points on anyone.