One of the problems with playing defense in Madden on the 360 is that it can be difficult to make all of your adjustments before the snap. The reason it can be difficult is because the offense is able to snap the ball so quickly after calling a play. Fortunately, SportsGamer is here to showcase one of the easiest setups for a blitz that you will see in the game. Since the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing on Thanksgiving, we've decided to let these two teams walk you through today's breakdown. Enjoy!
Nickel Normal - Over Storm Brave
Quick Setup
Step 1 - Flip the play at the play call screen
Step 2 - Spread the defensive line (LB + up).
Step 3 - Pinch the linebackers (RB + down).
Figure 1 - Take a look at the offensive assignments in the image above. The Over Storm Brave is a six man pass rush, leaving you without a defender to help over the top. We would suggest manually controlling either the free safety (Keith Davis) or the strong safety (Roy Williams) to play deep with after the snap. Playing deep with one of these two defenders will leave a man open, but we'd rather take our chances that the offense won't be able to find that man in time before the pressure hits.
Figure 2 - In this image we've taken steps two and three as we are now ready for the play to begin. Figure 3 provides a closer view of the line of scrimmage.
Figure 3 - The Cowboys are setup exactly how we want them to be on the field. You may see one of your blitzing linebackers start to creep down near the line of scrimmage. If this happens, simply spread the linebackers, then re-pinch them until they are standing firmly in place.
Figure 4 - As Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms drops back you can see that center John Wade is hit with an overload up the middle of the offensive line.
Figure 5 - Wade is forced to take on the closest blitzing defender, allowing linebacker Demarcus Ware to attack th eopening just to the left of him. Simms is under heavy pressure already.
Figure 6 - Ware closes in for the sack as Simms continues backpeddling in the pocket ot try to by more time.
Figure 7 - Simms is driven into the ground by Ware.
Final Conclusion
Convenience and consistency are the two biggest positives when running the Nickel Over Storm Brave flipped. However, this play is susceptible to most running plays, as well as deep lob passes if your opponent can find the time in the pocket. We would suggest placing your fastest linebackers in at the blitzing positions to increase the pressure up the middle. Lastly, this play requires very little practice, so you can look to add this into your defensive playcalling almost immediately.
