Gaming Madden NFL 2025

[00Stinger]

Comes down to understanding situations (ie down and distance and where on the field you are), and then you need to make calls accordingly off that.

Playing the computer is completely different to playing another user. Against the computer you can pretty much play a variety of zone defences (cover 2, cover 3, cover 4 and cover 6) and you should be able to get by ok. I find that the computer is pretty effective at beating man coverage if you don't get to the QB extremely quickly, and I'd suggest that blitzing isn't always effective vs the computer unless it's on obvious run downs.

Against a user, I consider myself a chameleon in that I'll play a style of D that ultimately depends on what I'm reading in terms of the feel of the game. Are there any trends I pick up on in certain situations? Is the QB a scrambler? (this can take certain coverages out of the equation) How are the routes being distributed (ie are they focused on the middle of the field or the sideline) and then I'm asking the question of how many defenders I want rushing the QB. Do I want 3, 4, 5 or even more than 5 coming downhill? And from that there are creative ways in which you can rush 3 or 4 guys whilst still getting favourable 1 on 1 matchups to get after the QB. Then you have to also look at the alignment of your defensive line to attack certain gaps (be it the A, B, C or D gap) And I haven't even discussed how the run game can affect coverages on the back end.

Bottom line is that there are so many variables to playing defence in Madden - and whilst there is a degree of button mashing and what not, you're only controlling essentially one player at a time and hence the play calling is the biggest factor imo to success on D.

It also depends on the personnel you have. For instance, if you play press man on the outside and have a corner with a high 80s speed rating up against a burner like Tyreek Hill with no safety help over the top, you're going to be in trouble if your corner doesn't jam Hill at the LOS.

The only way to get better in this instance is practice.

For context, I've played every version of Madden since Madden 2004, so I have done a fair bit of thinking in this space!

Do you have a preference of scheme?

So I know all of the schemes and kind of pros and cons but I cannot for the life of me work out reading plays

I ask this because I feel in Madden if you are playing as a DT or DE it might be better to play a 3-4 scheme to allow more cover over the top.

But I never do this as the teams I tend to play are heavily focused towards the d-line being their strength. That and I can get chopped up as a LB

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[Chewy316]

Do you have a preference of scheme?

So I know all of the schemes and kind of pros and cons but I cannot for the life of me work out reading plays

I ask this because I feel in Madden if you are playing as a DT or DE it might be better to play a 3-4 scheme to allow more cover over the top.

But I never do this as the teams I tend to play are heavily focused towards the d-line being their strength. That and I can get chopped up as a LB

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Well more than 95% of the time I've used the Raiders defensive playbook in Madden, and given that the creators of the game rarely change the playbook, that has given me a lot of continuity to be comfortable with the play calls so I'm not spinning my wheels wondering wtf I'm going to call when I've got roughly 15 seconds to sort it out.

When it comes to 4-3 or 3-4, I honestly use both. I use all of 4-3, 3-4, 3-3, 5-2, 6-2, 5-3, 4-2, 3-2, 4-1 and 3-1 D-Line/LBer combinations. It truly depends on the down, distance, and part of the field you're on. And even then there are way more variables that are largely related to what trends you pick up (if any) when you're playing a real life opponent.

You can get quite exotic with your play calling - for instance on 3rd and short if you're anticipating a run you could line up in a standard nickel 4-2-5 look but call a run blitz where both safeties come downhill to block any stretch plays. Or you could call a dime D with just the one linebacker on the field but have multiple DBs blitzing to stop the run. Or if you're anticipating a pass you could do the complete reverse and line up in base formation (4-3 or 3-4) and play coverage on the back end. That's not to say though that you should be doing these little tricks on every 3rd down play or any other play for that matter, otherwise you just become predictable. The only time you want to be predictable is if the game is won and you're running out the clock.

The bottom line is that you need to be thinking about pretty much every possible variable that can happen pre-snap and adjust accordingly based on down, distance, location in conjunction with the offensive formation.

Just remember that the hardest thing for any offensive opponent is not having a clue as to how you're going to attack them on D in the most crucial moments of the game.

FWIW, I prefer playing D in Madden. There's way more thought that has to go into it compared to offence where you can run half a dozen plays and score 50 points each game quite easily.

 

[Chewy316]

Played my game last night - think the final score was 56-7.

I gave up a crazy 73 yard run in the first quarter which then led to LA scoring the first touchdown of the game. They barely got a first down thereafter. The D-line got after the QB and their offence capitulated.

Threw two picks on offence which annoyed me because I would have put up a 70 burger otherwise.

 

[Chewy316]

When are you advancing next Exe Gesis ??

Given it's the weekend we might be able to get through a few game weeks with a bit of luck.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Ill advance now.

 

[Chewy316]

Ill advance now.

I'll play my game this afternoon once the Yankee game has finished.

 

[Chewy316]

Ready to advance. The new patch update has changed defense a bit so I struggled but it was also against Mahomes so nothing to sneeze at.

No interceptions this time on offense though.

 

[WAbulldog]

Seahawks 28 defeated by Bills 31

Was a back and forth contest but unfortunately Bass kicked the winning field goal to get Bills over the line.

Will update the post later with the stats.

 

[00Stinger]

Beat Cowboys 37 - 35

A long td by Dallas in last 20 seconds made the score closer than it should have been

Dak scrambled a fair bit which threw me off guard and I struggled a bit with Zeke rushing the ball

 

[WAbulldog]

Ok here’s the stats

G.Smith 241 passing yards, 2 passing TD and 1 interception
K.Walker 188 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD

J.Allen 358 passing yards, 3 passing TD and 2 interceptions
M.Valdes-Scantling 9 receptions, 147 receiving yards and 1 TD

 

[Exe Gesis]

Wont be home till Sunday night so will play my game and advance then if everyone else has played

 

[Chewy316]

Beat Cowboys 37 - 35

A long td by Dallas in last 20 seconds made the score closer than it should have been

Dak scrambled a fair bit which threw me off guard and I struggled a bit with Zeke rushing the ball

Ok here’s the stats

G.Smith 241 passing yards, 2 passing TD and 1 interception
K.Walker 188 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD

J.Allen 358 passing yards, 3 passing TD and 2 interceptions
M.Valdes-Scantling 9 receptions, 147 receiving yards and 1 TD

I presume both of you are playing on the PS5? If so, have you updated to the latest update of Madden? I updated this morning and have found defensively things are a lot tougher than they were on the previous update. Might just be me not being used to the new update yet but I felt like I was trying to push shit uphill in all of the games I've played across multiple franchises today.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Defense is only harder because the cpu offense is more in gog mofe. Ridiculous how the cpu cheats even on lower skill levels

 

[Exe Gesis]

God mode

 

[Chewy316]

Defense is only harder because the cpu offense is more in gog mofe. Ridiculous how the cpu cheats even on lower skill levels

Yeah but I play my regular games on All-Madden and I found the D abnormally difficult today. Less turnovers, harder to tackle, less D-line wins to get to the QB etc.

 

[WAbulldog]

I presume both of you are playing on the PS5? If so, have you updated to the latest update of Madden? I updated this morning and have found defensively things are a lot tougher than they were on the previous update. Might just be me not being used to the new update yet but I felt like I was trying to push shit uphill in all of the games I've played across multiple franchises today.

I play on Xbox but should be up to the lattice version of the game. Only played the one game since the update and that was against one of the higher overall teams in the game and i always found it hard to play against higher rated teams so I couldn’t say I found it harder. Might play few games tomorrow to see if there’s any difference.

 

[00Stinger]

I presume both of you are playing on the PS5? If so, have you updated to the latest update of Madden? I updated this morning and have found defensively things are a lot tougher than they were on the previous update. Might just be me not being used to the new update yet but I felt like I was trying to push shit uphill in all of the games I've played across multiple franchises today.

Yes on ps5

I'll look into uploading the new update if it hasn't already

Found offense fairly easy again. 21 in the first quarter before I did a few stupid cocktails things and then had to play conservative to just get home

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[Exe Gesis]

Yeah but I play my regular games on All-Madden and I found the D abnormally difficult today. Less turnovers, harder to tackle, less D-line wins to get to the QB etc.

That's what i mean, D is harder because the cpu offense is god mode now even on the lower skill levels. You can't tackle because RBs make a million subtle hesitation moves and those slinking their body sideways moves as they run the ball, also QBs who are Brady-slow are out running speedy defenders in the pocket, avoiding sacks and making big scramble gains also with those subtle moves, etc.....meanwhile, you run the ball and there are ten cpu defenders hit sticking you all at once. Also stupid shit like getting sacked snd pressured constantly in your 3 or 5 step drop even tho human pass blocking is at 75, just no time to stand and throw. Might have to bump up human pass blocking even more for the next week advancement.

And other things like their WRs getting a glitchy speed boost at the catch point, etc etc.

All this only highlights how shit madden is that they have to nerf and god boost stuff just to make the game somehow "balanced" or competitive. The whole game is so broken and unrealistic, it's all unorganic. Compare to NFL 2K games where everything looked and played like real life....make your drop, climb the pocket, lineman formed an actual pocket, you could src throws over DBs etc etc.

 

[00Stinger]

Sorry I misread your post last night Chewy316

Playing d was much harder. Zeke and even Dak were killing me on the ground

Stopping the rush was unusually hard

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[WAbulldog]

Has the week been advanced?

 

[Exe Gesis]

Sun/Wed cycle for advancement.
Can advance earlier. Will play my game tonight and if i see everyone else has played then will advance, but if some havent, will advance Wed

 

[Exe Gesis]

Sorry, i was exhausted last night and just crashed when i got home. And got an early start and have to get back to sleep.

Will do all that madden stuff tomorrow night

 

[Constantgin]

Hey wanna send me the sliders you use ?

 

[Exe Gesis]

Hey wanna send me the sliders you use ?

75 Human pass blocking
40 cpu pass coverage
40 cpu reaction time
40 cpu interceptions
1 cpu tackling

Likely human pass blocking to go higher next advancement

 

[Exe Gesis]

75 Human pass blocking
40 cpu pass coverage
40 cpu reaction time
40 cpu interceptions
1 cpu tackling

Likely human pass blocking to go higher next advancement

Also 40 cpu pass blocking