Houston PB Users?

[blondetom]

I played a first game with it. Its pretty nice, It more of a running playbook. It does have many slams runs but, It has some makeable fade plays. Does anyone use it? I would like to start a thread on this pb.


Thanks,
John

[blondetom]

OMG!!!!!!!!! 20 views and no replys. I know they are ballers that use houston's pb. Come on.

[Canz]

I'm all about Run n gun, but I think I have tried Hou a bunch of times and remember liking it, Ill give it a try again sometime soon

[kennon7]

I been using it for about a year now. It's a very balanced book; some good shotgun, a little compression, and some very good multiple tight end sets, which I love to use. It reminds me of the Run n' Gun actually.

[nvr2ez021]

I see someone's made a thread for this but noone has responded in quite a while......jus curious does anyone use this playbook in madden besides me? lol if so what are some good plays you run out of it? Ive got 4 or 5 hard to stop ones but thats damn it

[karlo283]

Houston has the most balanced play book for 2HB 1TE and 2WR sets. It's a westcoast style playbook that focuses on the TE and #1 HB as the main options for a quick hit against the blitz. Most of the passing and running plays are straitforward and will be shut down if you repeat a play too much, which discourages most from using it. My point is you need to save your best plays for the crucial situations. The best philosophy is to use a 50-50 mix of run & pass, and to hog the clock. You do not want to play from too far behind, because the mulitple receiver sets and plays are nothing special (a decent opponent will recognize your play calling, and will easily shut down the pass).

Here's the offensive philosophy broken down:

First you need to have a good grasp of running the ball, because you won't find many fancy run plays to exploit. Having an effective running game inside the tackles is a must. This will draw the defense into blitzing, bunching the line, and bringing up the SS for run support. This is when you need to step up with some hot routes, and line shifts. A key to making the pre-snap adjustments more effective is to do them every down - Remember you want to hog the clock. You'll want to avoid doing line shifts with the run, unless its for short yardage. The line shift is best used when directed towards the blitz on passing downs, and followed up by a hot route block from one of the two backs to the opposite side. The formation shifts should mostly be used to confuse your opponent. It's a very effective way to frustrait players who make custom adjustments of defensive player positioning. The best use of formation shifts is to catch the defense on its heels by calling hike before they are set for the new formation. You want your opponent to blitz, and this is when calling the right hot routes is the biggest part of the pre-snap decision on passing plays. You almost always want to hot route the FB to block. Against man coverage you want to keep the TE hot routes towards the middle of the field, and the HB hot routes to the flats. Wait for the TE to get open when covered, and the HB is the quick hit option when you sense trouble. Against zone do the opposite - Send the TE towards the flats for the quick hit option, and the HB's up the middle.
To complete this skill set, you now need to execute the plays based on how you see the defensive reactions. The easiest thing to see once you call hike from a defense is the blitz, and is the first thing you must look for before even thinking about throwing. Another step to this is reading the defensive line. You want to make sure there are no defenders running free towards your QB. A key to this is not dropping back too quickly - you want to usually move up in the pocket as soon as you call hike. Any AI controlled pass rusher runs strait towards the QB, and you want to make minor movements to help your blockers pick them up. If you still have a pass rusher running free towards the QB means your quick hit option (TE for Zone and HB for man) should be open. You'll have a maximum of 2 seconds (enough time to take 2-3 steps back and throw) before you are sacked or the receiver gets covered. There are some nice WR routes that are designed to give you a quick hit option as well - shallow slants and very short hooks (the L2 & R2 hot routes are the WR quick slants, which are good to use against a blitz & bump). They work best if the defense is bumping a lot. Watch for the WR to shrug off the bump, and hit the WR quickly before the saftey can step up to make a play. If you see a weak or no rush at all will allow you to focus on reading zone or man coverage. Also it's when you want to throw in a pump fake. The pump fake slows pass rushers, and can cause the DB's to jump prematurely. Know that zone coverages degrade over time, and the more you have the more likely someone will get open. Beating man coverage requires you to hit the receivers just as they make their cut, to offer the most seperation from the defender. This is another key thing for the quick passing style.

So again your hogging the clock with runs, and quick hit passes, but now you need to understand how to make your play selection to execute the Houston playbook to its fullest. Setting up play action by running the ball a few times is obvious, but most people don't understand how to setup a pass route with a pass. Throught the playbook you will find passing plays that have crazy reciver routes, and they are killer if you use them sparingly. It will take too long for me to break all of the routes down, but I'll give you a basic idea: Run the hook-in play out of I-form normal a few times, then the hitch and go route in I- form normal when you need it. The key is pump faking when the receiver fakes the hook - This should get the CB, and the saftey to jump on the fake hook, and leave the receiver open when they start heading up field. Make sure you setup the double move routes with their generic counter parts, and remember to pump fake on the first move.

The key is frustraiting your opponent with your play selection, and adjustments at the line of scrimage.
You need to get your opponent to over think and make mistakes with their adjustments and play calling. Keeping the defense on the field will ecourage your opponent to blitz which enables you to pick them appart with quick passes. Keep in mind that the defense will have a much higher chance of blowing coverage the longer they are on the field. Also keep checking the defensive players on long drives to exploit any subs that come in due to tired starters.

Let me know if you have any problems using the Houston playbook against specific defensive formations or coverages. I can be more specific about the tactics, and I'll spare everyone from rambling on any further.

[Highlander]

What else do you have, Im curious. This was my playbook of choice all of last season Shotgun Wing Trips was my favorite. The book I did like some of my other favorite formations were Strong TwTE, Singleback Big 3TE but as a whole it was a good book, if memory serves me right they added some to the weak formations

[xxtw1st3dxx]

carlo i like the post

if you could shead some light on me i have a problrm whith cover two in 3-4 where the OLB are in the Purple deep flats you have any sugjestions i use the chifes and normaly id just run it in the gut but id like to find out how to pass on it to and since my QB Greens arm is week its hard for me to throw a long ball got any sugs

[smallman01313]

are yall talking about the hou pb for ng or cg i can shed some light on it for ng

[xxtw1st3dxx]

im pretty sure this is a CG page the NG is a few floors down
ty any ways i know you where trying to help

[smallman01313]

im pretty sure this is a CG page the NG is a few floors down
ty any ways i know you where trying to help
oh lol my bad i thought it was in genereal discussion lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111