Warrior General Games

Any tips on stopping pitch plays against power backs? Once they get outside the tackle box they just run over some CBs and trot home for the score. Blitzing seems like it would be counter-productive. Maybe some zone coverage underneath and setting OLBs and SS to run focus?

Your OLB's aren't picking this up?

I'd try a 3-4 and get the OLB's to stop them.

Of course, Cover 2 is the best shell for stopping outside runners. 3-4 Zone is pretty good too, especially with an unstacked box. You'll get killed if they have thunder to go with that lightning, though.

The issue as I have stated in numerous threads is that the LB pathing is really strange this season. LBs are charging right at the LOS and into the OL, last season they flowed outside and took care of the outside run with speed, now LBs are like unguided missles, they just blast right off into the OL.

Safties are also running inside this season and not flowing outside to cover outside running lanes .. well first they run 10 yards back and then they charge the OL.

Major problems this season with defense, its pretty much futile to do defensive gameplanning like you were able to last season, now its basically you have to defensive gameplan AGAINST the new defensive pathfinding by playing soft in the hopes that people dont tear off huge plays.

My defensive builds and defensive menality is to attack, but this season I have no clue, I have to play soft .. it makes me insane.

The OLBs have no idea how to stop the pitch. LBs do fine on short dump passes following the HB, but on a pitch they run straight for him through the LOS, often into blockers- even though the HB is moving to the sideline.

The only OLBs who are capable of consistently making good plays on it tend to be level 20+ guys with high enough vision to see all the blockers, and mainly run outside because they see it as their best route to the back. Unless your LBs already have soft-capped vision, don't listen to the guys with level 25 LBs claiming vision is the magic cure, because it takes a lot of vision and agility for a LB to make a good path.

Your safeties should be good enough at tackling to take down any back, and it helps to have them watching the run. To make a good stop, they need to be fast and agile enough to avoid the blockers though, and should be on balanced or watching the run (SS)

CBs are generally in the best spot to make the tackle. If stopping the pitch is a real priority, playing balanced/run and training strength, agility, and tackling will let them break the WR block and have a good shot at tackling. On the bright side, it shouldn't take much strength to break most receivers, and CBs should have good agility anyway.


The other player I've seen make good stops on the pitch are DEs. Generally they get blocked, but if they see it coming and get off the tackle quick, they can stop pitches for an easy 2 yard loss.

That's a good point. I have a CB #2 that had 15 tackles one game, 14 in run support. They kept pitching it, but the WR couldn't block the CB and he blew every single one up for minimal yardage. He did miss a tackle towards the end, but slowed the back up enough that the LB could get there.

Originally posted by Randy03Texags
The issue as I have stated in numerous threads is that the LB pathing is really strange this season. LBs are charging right at the LOS and into the OL, last season they flowed outside and took care of the outside run with speed, now LBs are like unguided missles, they just blast right off into the OL.

Safties are also running inside this season and not flowing outside to cover outside running lanes .. well first they run 10 yards back and then they charge the OL.

Major problems this season with defense, its pretty much futile to do defensive gameplanning like you were able to last season, now its basically you have to defensive gameplan AGAINST the new defensive pathfinding by playing soft in the hopes that people dont tear off huge plays.

My defensive builds and defensive menality is to attack, but this season I have no clue, I have to play soft .. it makes me insane.

Exactly. My OLBs are running right into the LOS, or in the best case scenario, right at a pulling guard. Normally the safeties should be there to make the clean up play as last resort, but they are doing the same thing, and half the time they wind up running right into a WR or my own CBs. Half the time the CB or safety from the opposite side of the field is the one to make the play.

Like Pestface said, this isnt a problem so much in the higher leagues where vision is maxed for a lot of LBs and safeties. I'm in a capped expansion league though, so my players are getting burned. My LBs are admittedly the worst part of my team, but there's no reason my run defense should be getting torched the way it has been.

And playing the 3-4 is not really an option. The strength of my defense is the d-line, and I have a very thin, weak LB corps. Putting a level 8 LB on the field in place of a level 12 DT or level 15 DE is only going to hurt me.

Originally posted by Steeeve

And playing the 3-4 is not really an option. The strength of my defense is the d-line, and I have a very thin, weak LB corps. Putting a level 8 LB on the field in place of a level 12 DT or level 15 DE is only going to hurt me.

You can run a 3-4 by putting one of your DEs at an OLB spot and moving your DTs (the NTs will play in the middle) over to the vacated DE spot, thus solving the problem of getting your stronger D-Line onto the field in a 3-4 D.

4 CBs work pretty well. The team we played last night had 4CBs on the field every time we ran the 3WR set (which is 90% of pitches). They kept our pitches under 4YPC