Welcome back to another episode of Ask Huddle! Each week, we break down your Madden questions to help you understand the game on a deeper level. If you have questions you'd like us to answer in a future episode, drop them in the comments below. Our goal is always to help you win more games.
To watch the full video on YouTube from Huddle, click play above or here.
#1 - Does Deep Elite counter Deep Zone KO?
Answer:
The short answer is no — Deep Elite does not reliably counter Deep Zone KO. Deep Elite is essentially a combination of Deep Out Elite and Deep In Elite, designed to boost your catching on throws 20+ yards downfield. However, Zone KOs, are extremely powerful and will often override the catch boosts from Deep Elite.
If you're looking for the best abilities for your receiver, we recommend leaning into abilities like Route Technician, Slot-O-Matic, or after-the-catch options like Grab-N-Go or Human Joystick. With how common Zone KOs are in Ultimate Team, you're better off focusing on separation and YAC — not contested catches downfield.
#2 - How do you stop RPO Read Y Flat from Big Nickel?
Answer:
One of the easiest ways to shut down RPO Read Y Flat out of Big Nickel is by starting in a Cover 2 shell. This gives you the alignment you want — with your safety lined up outside the nickel corner, creating the look we want to defend the RPO.
From there, the key is simple: put your slot cornerback in a hard flat. That one adjustment will consistently take away the flat route every time.
In the video, we explain how this manipulates the offensive blocking to make this effective — be sure to check it out.
#3 - What exactly does "ID the Mike" do?
Answer:
This is a great question — and one we’re diving even deeper into during this week’s In the Huddle stream on Twitch. Tune in Thursday at 7:30 PM ET for a full breakdown, plus drops and giveaways.
Now, as for what IDing the Mike actually does: it tells your offensive line who the fifth defender in the protection scheme should be.
If the defense shows a four-down lineman front, your offensive line will already account for those four. By IDing the Mike, you’re assigning the fifth target in the blocking scheme — whether it’s a linebacker, safety, or another threat. This also helps determine how your running back or tight end will fit into the pass protection.
Make sure to watch the video, to see what this looks like in game, and how we can see our blockers' assignments before each snap.
#4 - What does Zone Hawk do?
Answer:
Zone Hawk is usually an X-Factor ability, but as we get deeper into the Madden year, you’ll often see it baked onto certain defenders as an ability.
What does it actually do? Think of Zone Hawk as essentially Pick Artist for zone coverage — it improves your chances of catching interceptions when in a zone, but doesn’t offer any actual coverage boost.
Because of that, if Zone Hawk isn’t baked on, we generally recommend going with more impactful abilities like Universal Coverage or Zone KOs, which provide both better coverage and gives the potential to knock the ball out of the receiver's hands.
#5 - Why were there only 3 questions on last week's episode?
Answer:
Our goal each week with Ask Huddle is to answer the questions you bring to the table. Some weeks, a few of those questions don’t quite fit the format of the video, so we’ll respond directly in the comments instead.
We never make up questions — we rely entirely on the community to guide the conversation. And remember, no question is a bad question. If you're wondering about something, chances are someone else is too. That’s why we always encourage you to ask, no matter your skill level.
We really appreciate all the positive feedback you’ve given us so far. We’re excited to keep this series going through the rest of Madden 25 and into Madden 26!
If you have questions like this you'd like answered in a live setting, we have a stage setup in the MutGG discord titled "Ask Huddle" where we'll be on Tuesdays at 9pm EST.
Thanks for tuning in again this week! If you have a question you'd like answered in a future episode, make sure to drop it in the comments below.
Comments