Switch Stick Help

What is the best way to practice Switch Sticking? I need to figure this out! Any tips?

Honestly just try to do it in games. I love house rules because:

1. You get more rewards and the games are fresh and new.

2. You can lab and try out new play styles to your hearts content. There isn’t a big consequence to losing and the games are short, so just practice. And if your playing someone who isn’t letting you focus on what you want to focus on, just quit the game and join another.

For starters, I would recommend having a few players in mind pre snap you want to switch to, like switching on to a hard flat to guard a corner route if you think one might be coming, and try to do that. Then look back and switch from there. Getting the feel for moving around fluidly is the key. From there you can start to read the whole offense post snap and switch accordingly.

ProlateSpheroid said:

Honestly just try to do it in games. I love house rules because:

1. You get more rewards and the games are fresh and new.

2. You can lab and try out new play styles to your hearts content. There isn’t a big consequence to losing and the games are short, so just practice. And if your playing someone who isn’t letting you focus on what you want to focus on, just quit the game and join another.

For starters, I would recommend having a few players in mind pre snap you want to switch to, like switching on to a hard flat to guard a corner route if you think one might be coming, and try to do that. Then look back and switch from there. Getting the feel for moving around fluidly is the key. From there you can start to read the whole offense post snap and switch accordingly.

You are absolutely right. Thank you brother. I want to be able to switch and guard a corner route. Can I switch to a Purple Zone?

tmac1023 said:

What is the best way to practice Switch Sticking? I need to figure this out! Any tips?

I am not the correct person to advise anyone on the finer points of Switch Sticking, as most of my gameplay (especially in recent months) has been primarily Squads play, where i'm defensive coordinator.  Getting a feel for how / where you'll end up is the first hurdle (or was for me).  Learning the absolute (versus relative) directional switching was a little tricky, but once you get a feel for that it's mostly just running defenses that ensure you have DBs in the correct spots to switch to.

Maybe practice mode is the way, to at least get a hang on the basics, where you can just freely hop around.  When starting out it was often a 50/50 crap shoot, between putting myself in the correct position, versus taking my defenders completely out of the play.  It's also important to have players that move and turn well, so you can switch to them.  Big Dan Skipper is great, but he lumbers around the field, as do most of the larger player models.  So i'm finding adequate height, without being too overly large that it becomes a hinderance.

I'd love to hear what works for you, my Switch Stick skills are remedial, at best.  I've come to be fully dependent on my squadmates being in position to make plays, so i can focus on defending the center of the field.

peatrick said:

I am not the correct person to advise anyone on the finer points of Switch Sticking, as most of my gameplay (especially in recent months) has been primarily Squads play, where i'm defensive coordinator.  Getting a feel for how / where you'll end up is the first hurdle (or was for me).  Learning the absolute (versus relative) directional switching was a little tricky, but once you get a feel for that it's mostly just running defenses that ensure you have DBs in the correct spots to switch to.

Maybe practice mode is the way, to at least get a hang on the basics, where you can just freely hop around.  When starting out it was often a 50/50 crap shoot, between putting myself in the correct position, versus taking my defenders completely out of the play.  It's also important to have players that move and turn well, so you can switch to them.  Big Dan Skipper is great, but he lumbers around the field, as do most of the larger player models.  So i'm finding adequate height, without being too overly large that it becomes a hinderance.

I'd love to hear what works for you, my Switch Stick skills are remedial, at best.  I've come to be fully dependent on my squadmates being in position to make plays, so i can focus on defending the center of the field.

I will have to take some time in practice mode and get back to you for sure. Appreciate all of the advice!

What Secondary do you use? If Skipper is too clunky, who should I replace him with. I usually play him in the slot purple mostly match coverage. 3 -3 Odd.

tmac1023 said:

I will have to take some time in practice mode and get back to you for sure. Appreciate all of the advice!

What Secondary do you use? If Skipper is too clunky, who should I replace him with. I usually play him in the slot purple mostly match coverage. 3 -3 Odd.

He was a fantastic slot corner for me.  Don't let me scare you away, his elite height is terrific for making plays on balls that would be over the head of most other DBs.

I'll try to get this roster updated later this evening, but it's mostly current.  In terms of DBs (i have some hidden on Specialists tab for theme team purposes):

• FS - Ed Too Tall
• SS - Darnell Washington
• CB1 - Mel Blount (he's THE best corner in the entier game, IMO)
• CB2 - Plaxico Buress, i swear i'm not starting a Steelers theme team
• CB3/Slot1 - Josh Uche
• CB4/Slot2 - Anthony Adams

i have a handful of other corners; Gronk, NTL, Tre Brown (49ers TT Surge), but none of them have Avalanche, so they don't really see playing time unless i need to go full Bottleneck Man Press, which is almost never.

ProlateSpheroid said:

Honestly just try to do it in games. I love house rules because:

1. You get more rewards and the games are fresh and new.

2. You can lab and try out new play styles to your hearts content. There isn’t a big consequence to losing and the games are short, so just practice. And if your playing someone who isn’t letting you focus on what you want to focus on, just quit the game and join another.

For starters, I would recommend having a few players in mind pre snap you want to switch to, like switching on to a hard flat to guard a corner route if you think one might be coming, and try to do that. Then look back and switch from there. Getting the feel for moving around fluidly is the key. From there you can start to read the whole offense post snap and switch accordingly.

What is switch sticking? I still don't know and have asked different people several times within the last couple months and can't get an answer. Ty

Woodysky said:

What is switch sticking? I still don't know and have asked different people several times within the last couple months and can't get an answer. Ty

On defense if the player you are on isn’t on a blitz assignment (defensive line counts as a blitz assignment) you can flick your right stick towards and switch to different players post snap. It’s great for taking away pesky routes and route combinations and baiting players into throwing picks. There might be a setting you need to enable in order to switch stick, but I don’t think I had to change anything in order to. Try it out and your defensive will improve exponentially.

ProlateSpheroid said:

On defense if the player you are on isn’t on a blitz assignment (defensive line counts as a blitz assignment) you can flick your right stick towards and switch to different players post snap. It’s great for taking away pesky routes and route combinations and baiting players into throwing picks. There might be a setting you need to enable in order to switch stick, but I don’t think I had to change anything in order to. Try it out and your defensive will improve exponentially.

So use right stick instead of pushing the B button?  I have always wondered why people can pick me off like crazy easy but I push the B button and it just gives me a random player around the ball not the one I want.

Woodysky said:

So use right stick instead of pushing the B button?  I have always wondered why people can pick me off like crazy easy but I push the B button and it just gives me a random player around the ball not the one I want.

Yeah the B or O button switches to a random player (unless you point the right stick in that direction, but that’s pretty much only for switching to a player you want to be on pre snap). The right stick is how you switch stick post snap.

Thank you so much man! Imma try it out.

tmac1023 said:

What is the best way to practice Switch Sticking? I need to figure this out! Any tips?

I switch stick almost every play, even in solos.  This keeps the reps going and you'll quickly get the hang of it. 

The biggest thing to relearn is that you don't have to try to stay in lock step with a reciever, i.e. instead of chasing them switch stick the the next defender who is in the next zone they're running into.   

When the play starts I usually start on a sub lb in the middle strafing and then I just look for route combos to see where I would throw to and switch ahead of time to that space to hopefully take away their initial read and get a coverage sack or force a bad read.

tmac1023 said:

You are absolutely right. Thank you brother. I want to be able to switch and guard a corner route. Can I switch to a Purple Zone?

you can switch stick onto any zone or player in man as long as your user isnt blitzing (player is in man or a zone assignment)

peatrick said:

He was a fantastic slot corner for me.  Don't let me scare you away, his elite height is terrific for making plays on balls that would be over the head of most other DBs.

I'll try to get this roster updated later this evening, but it's mostly current.  In terms of DBs (i have some hidden on Specialists tab for theme team purposes):

• FS - Ed Too Tall
• SS - Darnell Washington
• CB1 - Mel Blount (he's THE best corner in the entier game, IMO)
• CB2 - Plaxico Buress, i swear i'm not starting a Steelers theme team
• CB3/Slot1 - Josh Uche
• CB4/Slot2 - Anthony Adams

i have a handful of other corners; Gronk, NTL, Tre Brown (49ers TT Surge), but none of them have Avalanche, so they don't really see playing time unless i need to go full Bottleneck Man Press, which is almost never.

Team is insane!!! There is no way you actually lose, right?!