The Warren Help Desk

[warren123]

I get alot of Pms and Ims asking for help. I figured if some people need help they can just post here and I will answer their questions. Please don't be smartazzes like Swift and make a dumb post lol. But in all seriousness, If you have a question on any aspect of the game just ask, it can be the usual, " HOW DO I PLAY RUN DEFENSE" or " HOW I GET STICK UP" lol, but you are welcome to post Ill do my best to explain it the best I can. Thanks!!!!

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[Nevada_Ballin]

how about - why doesn't the game ever turn into the right phuggin guy on defense when changing players during a play?

[A Disciple]

In your opinion, what is the secret behind laying good hit sticks?

When playing you, it seems like guys are wiiiiiide open and then all of a sudden, WHAP!! (John Madden Haters!! :D) Also, I have a lot of trouble Hit Sticking with low AWR or low TAK guys. You seem to be able to do it with anyone. Can you explain?

[ahr19]

OK ... Good idea warren ... here we go to get us started ...

1) Explain to us your thought process when you drop back to pass the ball and look at what the defense is doing.

2) On defense ... you run some unorthodox stuff ... what do YOU do to dictate the tempo on defense?

[warren123]

how about - why doesn't the game ever turn into the right phuggin guy on defense when changing players during a play?

This is a problem I see alot of people having. If someone throws a bomb I will click switch button player probably 25 times till I get the guy I want. It's something to do with where he is on the field. Like if you throw deep and I am the safety and the CB is close I try to click on and nothing will happen or it won't go to the CB. If you do it enough times eventually it hits a spot where I guess the guy is close enough to the ball or guy on offense where it lets you switch.

I heard it was based on OVR and blah blah which I find false. I have to sit there and click around till I get the guy I want, I really have no problem with it though

[warren123]

In your opinion, what is the secret behind laying good hit sticks?

When playing you, it seems like guys are wiiiiiide open and then all of a sudden, WHAP!! (John Madden Haters!! :D) Also, I have a lot of trouble Hit Sticking with low AWR or low TAK guys. You seem to be able to do it with anyone. Can you explain?

Well, I try to give the elusion of a player being open. My biggest thing is, when you are on offense, I'm seeing what you are seeing. So soon as you see the out get seperation, I am looking at it as well. I am looking at the offenses reads each play depending on formation. But mostly like I said when you see a guy break off I see him break off. Alot of times people try to look me off then throw to a guy without even checking if hes open, they think he is open and I jump the route.

Hit sticking is just timing. Alot of times when the ball is caught I click with O like 50 times and press the hitstick button after each one. So whichever defender is in hitstick range will usually lay a good shot on the WR.

Also I can swerve to get good positioning on the hitstick, if it is 1 on 1 I usually can still get them but it's based on the offensive player too. Alot of people like to pretend to go outside then spin quickly inside, when I am controlling a player like on a kickoff, I will make it seem like im playing the outside, then even before he goes to spin I make a move inside then he spins right into the hitstick.

Basically I know where everyone is going to be, or mostly what they will do, so when people try to fake me out, say it's 1 on 1 and hes on the inside, I like I said before am seeing what he is seeing. What would I do in that situation? Most of the time I guess right and I lay the hitstick on them.

Also for example take like Weak I TE Fade, a play you love. When you lead the TE deep he will be open, sometimes I will click on the lb move him out of the way, then swoop with my SS and hitstick, I do sort of a run away but run back towards him then hit him which usually works pretty well. I also usually take safties who can hit and have good STR, not sure if that is relevant or not

[A Disciple]

Also for example take like Weak I TE Fade, a play you love. When you lead the TE deep he will be open, sometimes I will click on the lb move him out of the way, then swoop with my SS and hitstick, I do sort of a run away but run back towards him then hit him which usually works pretty well. I also usually take safties who can hit and have good STR, not sure if that is relevant or not
hey hey hey. I'm asking for help, don't be givin out the scouting report on me!! lol

Thank for the reply though. ;)

[warren123]

OK ... Good idea warren ... here we go to get us started ...

1) Explain to us your thought process when you drop back to pass the ball and look at what the defense is doing.

2) On defense ... you run some unorthodox stuff ... what do YOU do to dictate the tempo on defense?

1) I first pick my formation which is simple enough. Say I come out in Weak I normal WR Drag.


Now I see what the defense is in. Man/Zone? Bump no bump? If there is no press coverage usually it is zone, if the Lbs look like they are creeping towards the Oline it's a big blitz or a cover 2.

I put the wr on the right on a slant against man bump or the usual streak.

When it is hiked, if I identify man coverage the WR running the drag will get in the way of the MLB who has to cover half the field in a matter of seconds before he can reach my RB who usually has the ball by now.

My next read is if there is no pressure look for the corner, if it is zone the drag is usually open. The streaking WR is always a read if the Safety comes up or if it is zone I will user catch it.

That is just one example I hot route most of my plays I can tell you things from any formations.

2) On defense, it is basically stopping what people like to do. I've been running a modified cover 2 zone, basically this year everyone loves the flats, and the deep ball. I have them both covered. Most people don't test me deep, if they do I make a play. I make sure I want them to be afraid to throw deep.

But I put guys in areas where the ball will be. If you are in shotgun trips bunch, The CB on the left wont be in a flat zone usually since that area is hardly thrown to from that formation. I will identify what the formation is then put guys where I think the ball will be. I know every play in the game and every read in the game, so I will intentionally leave a place open to bait them to throw the ball to. Like I said before I am looking at the offense and seeing what they are seeing, I don't even know if I look at the player im controlling much.

[Nevada_Ballin]

This is a problem I see alot of people having. If someone throws a bomb I will click switch button player probably 25 times till I get the guy I want. It's something to do with where he is on the field. Like if you throw deep and I am the safety and the CB is close I try to click on and nothing will happen or it won't go to the CB. If you do it enough times eventually it hits a spot where I guess the guy is close enough to the ball or guy on offense where it lets you switch.

I heard it was based on OVR and blah blah which I find false. I have to sit there and click around till I get the guy I want, I really have no problem with it though

Understood.. I read that a couple years ago too, from EA - in fact i think it was in the Manual for Madden 2005, about changing players on defense during a play where it won't always change to the closest player but the "best" player closest to the play within a 10 yard range.

i wonder if it would be different if i changed my camera view back to Madden Classic instead of using Madden Long & get more players off the screen. What cam view do you use Warren?

[A Disciple]

Understood.. I read that a couple years ago too, from EA - in fact i think it was in the Manual for Madden 2005, about changing players on defense during a play where it won't always change to the closest player but the "best" player closest to the play within a 10 yard range.

i wonder if it would be different if i changed my camera view back to Madden Classic instead of using Madden Long & get more players off the screen. What cam view do you use Warren?
I use classic. It doesn't matter.

[JoeJGibbs]

I use classic. It doesn't matter.
On every wishlist I put down -- by holding L2 and pressing different buttons you should be able to do different things during gameplay.

The old NFL Gameday series, x switched players, but if you pressed L2 + X, instead of changing players, it would change to the player that was deepest downfield.

You could get 4 new options for player control on offense and defense. but they never do it... :(

[Twinkle]

Wow I like that idea gibbs. Keep bugging them with that maybe someday it will be in there


Ok heres my question. Warren hit stick or L2. Which one do you think cause more fumbles, also When the ball is thrown to the wr which one knocks more balls loose?

[CapnKill]

Wow I like that idea gibbs. Keep bugging them with that maybe someday it will be in there


Ok heres my question. Warren hit stick or L2. Which one do you think cause more fumbles, also When the ball is thrown to the wr which one knocks more balls loose?

IMO the strip is the most effective and less risky at the same time. I think you get more fumbles with the strip but you probably knock more balls loose w/ the hit stick.

However, the strip can be negated by the use of the stiff arm. The strip animation will not happen if the ball carrier uses a stiff arm.... so theres a big disadvantage to the strip. Also if you try to strip with crap players you'll cause a lot of face masks... so thats another problem.

[warren123]

Wow I like that idea gibbs. Keep bugging them with that maybe someday it will be in there


Ok heres my question. Warren hit stick or L2. Which one do you think cause more fumbles, also When the ball is thrown to the wr which one knocks more balls loose?

The strip causes more fumbles but you also risk the facemask. Hitsticks are better to knock a ball out soon as it is caught. If someone throws deep and you are the CB behind him you can strip it soon as he catches it. There is situations for both but i've played some really good people with the strip and it gets really hard to complete certain passes since the ball is always being knocked out.

[A Disciple]

On every wishlist I put down -- by holding L2 and pressing different buttons you should be able to do different things during gameplay.

The old NFL Gameday series, x switched players, but if you pressed L2 + X, instead of changing players, it would change to the player that was deepest downfield.

You could get 4 new options for player control on offense and defense. but they never do it... :(
Kinda like NBA Live. When you hold down one of the buttons (I think it's R2) it activates direct switching when you're on D. You can switch to any of the 4 other players.

[JoeJGibbs]

Kinda like NBA Live. When you hold down one of the buttons (I think it's R2) it activates direct switching when you're on D. You can switch to any of the 4 other players.

Yup. It was a really good feature because in Madden 1-1 when someone throws a bomb you click on and you're playing the ball from behind instead of from the top down.

[X Bones X]

I have been having problems running effectively lately, how can i get back on track.:(

[killacs]

On D I want to run say a cover 2 or 3. Also I want a delayed bum, how do I make my linebackers stay where they normally would line up instead of going and lining up over a specific player

[STICKTHEVICKTIM]

SIr, Mr. Warren,


why does my zone defense have all these holes, but on the play call screen it looks like the whole field is covered. I think i am in the perfect D and i get the deep lob thrown and its money.

[warren123]

SIr, Mr. Warren,


why does my zone defense have all these holes, but on the play call screen it looks like the whole field is covered. I think i am in the perfect D and i get the deep lob thrown and its money.

because zone is bad against the deep ball:cool: :cool:

[nothasoul]

Is it best to use the dpad to run the ball? it seems i have more controll of the back but the oline doesn't block as good and release there blocks early.

[warren123]

Is it best to use the dpad to run the ball? it seems i have more controll of the back but the oline doesn't block as good and release there blocks early.

Dpad or Analog don't make a difference with blockers not blocking well. Use what you are comfortable with

[killacs]

Is it best to use the dpad to run the ball? it seems i have more controll of the back but the oline doesn't block as good and release there blocks early.
I use Dpad. I say use whatever you normally use. Yes I know this is the Warren help desk but trust me if your oline always blocks like that you aren't ever going to run well.

[A Disciple]

Is it best to use the dpad to run the ball? it seems i have more controll of the back but the oline doesn't block as good and release there blocks early.
if you press "X" to speed burst while in the back field, the blockers release their blocks and start heading upfield.

[nothasoul]

if you press "X" to speed burst while in the back field, the blockers release their blocks and start heading upfield.
Yeah i don't use the x button till i brake free, but it just seems the online let's go of their blocks quicker when using the dpad. It's like the game wants you to use the analog stick.

[nothasoul]

My biggest problem this year has been my timeing from off line to online. I go into prctice mode and 2 minute drills and run my offence. I pretty much manually catch everything but when i go online everything i worked on does not translate to the field. I am complety off with my throws and catch cause of the timeing. I have played about 250 games online and it still bothers me. What am i doing wrong? Simple things like when i played a league game the guy would call zone but put both corners in man and jam my wrs so slants get covered because of the line backers in zone so i try a fade route and the it's eather well defended by the corner or safty up top or i'll just jump too early and cause an int:mad: . I know how to read deffences and witch things works best but it just don't seem to translate on the field .I just can't seem to get the pass protection right cause i give up alot of sacks and my qb always get stuck in the mud even when i'm jamming on the passing button. What gives?

[ahr19]

OK ... have to keep this thread going b/c it is a valuable one ...

So Warren ... what is your philosophy on Playbooks? Do you pick one at the beginning of the year and stick with it? Do you learn a few? Do you just close your eyes and pick one at the beginning of every game?? Walk us through your thought process.

Many people (including myself) look at switching playbooks to give their offense a shot in the arm (quiet Chad P!) ... Others match the PB up to the strengths of their teams ... What would the help desk recommend???

[warren123]

OK ... have to keep this thread going b/c it is a valuable one ...

So Warren ... what is your philosophy on Playbooks? Do you pick one at the beginning of the year and stick with it? Do you learn a few? Do you just close your eyes and pick one at the beginning of every game?? Walk us through your thought process.

Many people (including myself) look at switching playbooks to give their offense a shot in the arm (quiet Chad P!) ... Others match the PB up to the strengths of their teams ... What would the help desk recommend???

i use pitt pb, last year i used tenn.....what i do is this, i find a formation i like, i started this year with sb twin wr i think, wrote down every pb that had it then looked thru them all and did process of elimination....im not sure if i use pitt pb because i like the team and im used to it or just because they have nice plays....

i like shotgun so i make sure i have plenty of that, and basic formations, 1 big set like i twin te and a twin wr set as well, pitt has a bunch of both.

theres some plays i wish i had like hb middle or some strong i plays from last year but im used to what i do now....

i would find a formation you like, find the plays you like from them look at the pbs that have those plays then evaluate the rest of the pb based on the formations you like

[X Bones X]

Warren, I stink. tell me how to get better:cool:

[sportfan88]

K since im new, I got a few questions for Mr. Warren. :D

When picking a FS to manual, what attributes do you look for in order? Do you value SPD over TAK or vice versa, and how do you deal with a liablity of one? When your playing D, it seems like your everywhere at once, and you dont exactly have the fastest corners in the league, how do you make plays without cone following?

On O, when your passing, what reads do you make against man and zone? What routes do you use?

Thanks a bunch Mr Warren :D