Formation audibles are back. For those new to the game, formation audibles were on the XBox and PS2 version of Madden a few years ago, but never were added to the next-gen consoles until this year. Formation Audibles are a technique that allows for each playbook to have specific audibles for each formation, which can be called at the line of scrimmage. These audibles have some level of consistency, and are very useful when putting together an offensive scheme. Take a look at how this works.
Here, we see that Tampa Bay has come out of the huddle in the Singleback Snugs formation (a new formation in 09). Dislayed is the play art for the called play.
Now, by hitting X (360) + right on the right analog stick, your play switches to the play shown above. For most formations, the right formation audible is going to be a standard pass play.
Now, we again hit the X button, but now hit down on the right analog stick. You can see in the image above that the play is now a running play. For most formations, the down formation audible is a run.
This time, we hit X + left on the right analog stick, and we get a play action play. Most formations have a play action pass for the left formation audible.
The last formation audibles is X + up on the right analog stick. This is again a pass play.
While every formation is slightly different, you can be fairly confident that when you use your formation audibles, you're going to have a play action pass, a run, and two standard passes. By taking advantage of these formation audibles, you can really open up your playbook. And don't worry if you haven't memorized the formation audibles. With the addition of bluff play art, you can check your real play art on the field, and still disguise it from the defense. To learn more about the bluffed play art, please reference the Training Camp Guide.
