Here's my list of defense problems and suggestions for fixing them.
1. Have defenses play like a defense rather than run mostly like offense.
What I mean is that as the sim runs right now, the defense is assigned a play, and they run that play, and they only read the offense at certain points during the play. You can see this in action every time a very fast linebacker runs right past a ball carrier to get to the spot the play called told them to rush to, or watching CB's run the WR's routes ahead of the WR.
Suggestion: LB/SS/FS/CB's in man coverage need to be assigned to track their guy in the same way all defenders track the ball carrier on runs or once a pass is completed. LB's and lineman need a lot more read checks so they're reacting to the offense rather than running a play.
2. Assign defense depth charts based on role, not position on the field.
If I have a fast, but small pass rushing linebacker, I don't want him on the strong side of the offensive formation. Conversely, I don't want my big, eats-up-two-or-three-blockers DE lining up so far outside the offense that he's going to end up out of the play by simple alignment.
Instead, assign the depth chart by role. I want a WILL and a SAM. I want two or three technique tackles. I want my best cover guy locked on the best receiver on the field. I want my fastest sprinting secondary player watching the fastest offensive guy, and whatever guy I have who has the quickest feet to be on the slot receiver.
As an added bonus, you don't need to program for 10 depth charts, and defense coaches don't have to go through the hassle of filling all of them out. (and if you really give us the all the potential roles that real defenses have, I can run the 4-3 under hybrid that wrecks spread offenses that have become the darling of the top teams in GLB2)
3. Fix the disconnect between playbooks set by offensive formation but tactics set by game situation.
If the offense comes out in a 4WR 1HB set at the goal line, I'm not going to call for a dime defense except that I have no way of telling the game that. If the offense is running goal line formations on 1st and 10, I'm not going to send my goal line D out there, but again, I can't tell the game that.
Ideally defenses need to be set based on personnel and game situation because they have to react to everything that's going on in the game.
4. Allow defensive play calling to adjust to offense tendencies as the game goes on.
Right now if an offense switches up playbooks from what you scouted, you're pretty much screwed. A defensive coordinator who never changed his playcalling regardless of what the offense was doing would be relegated to coaching pop warner and not much else.
So what we need is that as the quarter goes on, the game needs to constantly tweak the defensive play calling percentages based on what the offense is actually doing. And yes, I'm actually cool with the idea that offenses can switch playbooks every quarter or half to mess with defenses because that's how good offensive and defensive coaches actually call games.
5. Give the defense players with a leadership stat.
There is nothing that makes a defensive coordinator into a sad panda faster than watching the offense go three and out on successive sacks. You know your defense is about to hit the field with a measurable reduction in their ability. For an offensive team, they rely on their QB to keep their morale and energy from going to hell, but defenses don't have anything comparable.
So let's give LB's or safeties a leadership skill. Have that skill work similar to the QB slot (except maybe the handoff part *grin*).
1. Have defenses play like a defense rather than run mostly like offense.
What I mean is that as the sim runs right now, the defense is assigned a play, and they run that play, and they only read the offense at certain points during the play. You can see this in action every time a very fast linebacker runs right past a ball carrier to get to the spot the play called told them to rush to, or watching CB's run the WR's routes ahead of the WR.
Suggestion: LB/SS/FS/CB's in man coverage need to be assigned to track their guy in the same way all defenders track the ball carrier on runs or once a pass is completed. LB's and lineman need a lot more read checks so they're reacting to the offense rather than running a play.
2. Assign defense depth charts based on role, not position on the field.
If I have a fast, but small pass rushing linebacker, I don't want him on the strong side of the offensive formation. Conversely, I don't want my big, eats-up-two-or-three-blockers DE lining up so far outside the offense that he's going to end up out of the play by simple alignment.
Instead, assign the depth chart by role. I want a WILL and a SAM. I want two or three technique tackles. I want my best cover guy locked on the best receiver on the field. I want my fastest sprinting secondary player watching the fastest offensive guy, and whatever guy I have who has the quickest feet to be on the slot receiver.
As an added bonus, you don't need to program for 10 depth charts, and defense coaches don't have to go through the hassle of filling all of them out. (and if you really give us the all the potential roles that real defenses have, I can run the 4-3 under hybrid that wrecks spread offenses that have become the darling of the top teams in GLB2)
3. Fix the disconnect between playbooks set by offensive formation but tactics set by game situation.
If the offense comes out in a 4WR 1HB set at the goal line, I'm not going to call for a dime defense except that I have no way of telling the game that. If the offense is running goal line formations on 1st and 10, I'm not going to send my goal line D out there, but again, I can't tell the game that.
Ideally defenses need to be set based on personnel and game situation because they have to react to everything that's going on in the game.
4. Allow defensive play calling to adjust to offense tendencies as the game goes on.
Right now if an offense switches up playbooks from what you scouted, you're pretty much screwed. A defensive coordinator who never changed his playcalling regardless of what the offense was doing would be relegated to coaching pop warner and not much else.
So what we need is that as the quarter goes on, the game needs to constantly tweak the defensive play calling percentages based on what the offense is actually doing. And yes, I'm actually cool with the idea that offenses can switch playbooks every quarter or half to mess with defenses because that's how good offensive and defensive coaches actually call games.
5. Give the defense players with a leadership stat.
There is nothing that makes a defensive coordinator into a sad panda faster than watching the offense go three and out on successive sacks. You know your defense is about to hit the field with a measurable reduction in their ability. For an offensive team, they rely on their QB to keep their morale and energy from going to hell, but defenses don't have anything comparable.
So let's give LB's or safeties a leadership skill. Have that skill work similar to the QB slot (except maybe the handoff part *grin*).
