Questions from a first-time player

On O-line Blocking:

• One game my blockers seem to hold up, the next game they're letting the DT blow by them.  I don't think it's attributes, I've got a 97 overall team with Iron Wall strat card and I've been using the reddit guy's list of best pass/run blockers.  
• My understanding of Id the Mike is that, once you've got a line with 90+ awareness, it's actually counterproductive to manually control it because if you guess wrong, you let someone by.  Is this still true for M22?
• Is this just madden being madden? Or are there adjustments I need to be looking to make?  I get that if they bring 6 and I'm blocking 5, I need to hot route it, but even when it's regular 5 on 5 my guys still get beat.  Double team the DT?

On running with Escape Artist:

• I tried to play action and run out of the pocket, but Cunningham inexplicably slowed up like he was stuck in molasses.  Is this by design because of the play action? Do I need to be in read option in order to sprint out of the pocket?  Would it then be better to just run a regular play and roll out on my own?

On 335 Wide Defense:

• My opponent's coverage is so sticky when they run 335 wide against me, but when I run 335 Wide I give up long bombs even with flats adjusted to 30 yards.  Is this just a play calling thing where they're calling cover 3 beaters?  Even when I call a Cover 3 beater like verticals, it seems like they never get open against the same coverage.  

Any help would be super appreciated, I just got into this a few months back for the first time and I felt like I was getting better but suddenly I hit a wall facing the same strategies over and over again, and I could use some guidance on how to adjust.

O-line --- That is more madden being madden but understanding defense line alignment helps with id'ing the Mike and your double team blocks.  I try to double team the most natural fit based on where my line is set. I try to make my double team on the play side with one defender between 2 o-line.  I do more double team block than mike ID. Defense inside stuff ability  is a part of it.  You have to change your run scheme to some stretch and off tackle runs. I use the post up ability on my center that way he can get the double on either side of the gap. I hear nasty streak on a faster o-line helps open lanes too. 

Escape artist -- Escape artist usually is very very good on play action boots, sprints and roll outs.  Straight PA drop back you need to either cancel the PA with R2 or take one step to the side before trying it.

335 wide - Depends on the total set up.....Verticals unless there is a route that pulls a defender, wont naturally beat cover 3 but if you have a corner, mid out or deep hitch on the same side as the streak works best.   Also....what are your zone coaching adjustments?

Thank you! for replying, that was extremely helpful!  I hope others can chime in, this game has such a steep learning curve and many of the youtube videos already assume a base level of knowledge that I just don't have, so it's difficult to fill in the gaps.

I played more WL last night and got to 10 wins., but generally I only won against teams using less than 99 players. so I think I still have work to do to get to the next level.   I am on current gen on PC, if that changes anything.  

• I saw someone have the same trouble with breaking PA to roll out, it was like they got stuck in the animation for dropping back when they were clearly trying to roll out and run so they just kind of slowly moved to the left and got sacked.  I'm guessing that RT/R2 timing is a little tricky but I'll work on it.
• On the double team, I'll try to throw more in there to the play side.   What I really had trouble with last night was extra pressure off the edge.  Even my quick routes did not develop fast enough for me to get a throw off.  No idea what I can do on that except get the ball out quicker.  Any thoughts?
• For zone drops, I understand that I need to adjust for what the offense is targeting, so it's a cat and mouse game.  If they're hitting deep crossers to the sidelines, I'm setting flat zones to 25-30, curl flats to 5, default on hooks.  But if they're throwing to the short flats, I need to set flat zones to 5.  
• I also try to throw in some audibles from the OLB rushers to send them into hard flats if they're on RB side, or vert hooks on the TE side so I can cut down on the large area in the short/medium middle that I need to user.  Nothing works 100% but I am getting a better sense of how to change up looks and be less predictable.  
• Question on the safety zone audibles, what's a good combination if, say, they're still targeting the deep cross like with PA Boot Over? 
• When is it a good time to throw in match concepts? If I have zone drops set, do I need to hit Reset Play when using Match?

Thanks again! I know this game will aggravate because even when you do everything right, sometimes you get a fumble and your guys just don't pick up the ball after running over it twice.  I guess we just gotta roll with those punches.

I did forget to add in adjust your coverage pre-snap to shade over the top. That helps add deeper coverage.  

For the edge pressure pre-snap check the o-line drop depth. It'll be faded white/ gray.  The shorter the line the faster the ball needs to move.  If expecting quick pressure I slide my line to the side I'm make the throw to from the ID the Mike screen. 

You can hit reset on match or adjust your hooks to 5. I have success with just flipping the hooks and other zones at default. 

Extra help on the PA boot depends on who you user. I try to take a sub lb using defensive assist to stay in range. 

Curl flats can also cover corner routes depending on how aggressive they play.  Ihave Kam, Jimmy, Simmons and maye and they all play pretty aggressive with mid KO or acrobat. 

What system are you on and are you in the mut gg discord?

Oh just reread the PC part for system. But the discord is a good source too. And real time help almost 24/7. Game play, line ups, tips,  new big yard plays, how the market is moving and rerolls.

Thanks friend, I'll check on the discord.  Much appreciated!

In response to your issue with cover 3, here is the one play beater

Gun Bunch- available in the Spread, West Coast, WFT, Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Browns, Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Packers, Texans, Raiders, Chargers, Vikings, Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Giants, Pats, and Saints playbooks. 

Call any passing play in Bunch

Put the point of your bunch on a streak

And that's it! 

you can hot route the rest of your players, but the streak will be wide open almost every time.

Defensively, if you have a 97 overall team, I assume your corners are fast enough to match in man, or just switch to a different coverage- alternate them

Bwiggy said:

In response to your issue with cover 3, here is the one play beater

Gun Bunch- available in the Spread, West Coast, WFT, Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Browns, Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Packers, Texans, Raiders, Chargers, Vikings, Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Giants, Pats, and Saints playbooks. 

Call any passing play in Bunch

Put the point of your bunch on a streak

And that's it! 

you can hot route the rest of your players, but the streak will be wide open almost every time.

Defensively, if you have a 97 overall team, I assume your corners are fast enough to match in man, or just switch to a different coverage- alternate them

Thanks B, I think I've tried this trick and it doesn't seem to work nearly as well on PC/Current Gen as it does on Next Gen.  You can imagine my disappointment after watching some youtubers do it so easily.

I've learned a couple of things the last few days, and I think perhaps I was mistaken about how they got their coverage to be so sticky.  Instead of 335 wide mike blitz 3, I think they were running cover 3 match concepts and I just missed it.  I use Base 46 playbook and started using Cover 3 Match out of 4-4 Split and Dollar 3-2-6, and the coverage was much better towards the sidelines and intermediate zones, though I still got bombed over the top so I think that's either a zone drop issue, a safety audible issue to cover the deep third, or I just need to user it and live with the underneath routes.  

I try to shade coverage overtop and outside when they're just bombing away on deep crossers but even my 99 speed corners get beat so I figure that's just Madden being Madden.  The game wouldn't be any fun if the corners never got beat.  

Any other thoughts? I'd love to hear more.