Welcome back to Ask Huddle! Each week, we take your Madden questions and break them down so you can understand the game on a deeper level. Got something you want answered in a future episode? Drop it in the comments. Our goal is simple: help you win more games.
You can watch the full video on YouTube from Huddle by hitting play above or clicking here.
#1 - How do you defend the Motion Glitch?
Answer:
The motion glitch happens when the offense quiets the crowd while a receiver is in motion. This causes the receiver to get further outside than usual, which can easily beat the defense if you’re not ready for it.
The simplest way to counter this is to put your outside cornerback in man coverage on the motioning receiver before, or as, they begin moving. You can also manually move your defensive back wider to ensure they have better leverage at the snap.
In the video, we also break down how to recognize when your opponent is setting up the motion glitch before the play even starts.
#2 - What's your favorite Cover 3 Bomb?
Answer:
It’s tough to pick a single favorite Cover 3 bomb, since we use a variety of shot plays at Huddle designed to attack Cover 3, as well as every other coverage you’ll face. That said, one of the best in the game right now comes from the Jaguars playbook. You can find the exact setup inside Gabagol’s Offensive Gameplan, available at Huddle.
The formation is Gun Tight Doubles, and the play is PA WR Cross. What makes this play so effective is how simple the setup is: start by aligning your running back to the wide side of the field; streak both receivers on the short side; and put your tight end on a corner route. From there, you can either send the running back to the flat for an easy checkdown or keep him in to block for extra protection.
When run correctly, the inside release seam route gets wide open over the top. In the video, we show you exactly how it looks in-game.
#3 - What are the best run concepts to counter a gap shoot?
Answer:
Running the ball can feel frustrating, or even impossible, when your opponent is consistently shooting gaps with their user. The good news is that there are run concepts which help counter this style of defense.
Zone-based runs, such as stretch, inside zone, and outside zone, are the most vulnerable to gap shooters. To neutralize this, it’s better to lean on gap-scheme runs. Plays like base, power, duo, and iso are all strong options, since their blocking rules differ from zone concepts and make it much harder for the defense to get a clean gap shoot.
Of course, the best run call will always depend on the alignment of the defense, but as a general rule, look to gap-scheme concepts first when facing opponents who love to shoot the gaps.
#4 - How does the new Safety Midpoint Adjustment work?
Answer:
Madden added three new safety alignment tools this year to give us more control pre-snap: safety depth, alignment, and midpoint. The midpoint feature, as the name suggests, determines where the “middle point” between your two safeties will be set on the play.
There are six midpoint options to choose from:
- Left / Right: Aligns your safeties to the left or right hash.
- Strong / Weak: Aligns them to the strong or weak side of the offensive formation. For example, against a 3x1 set, “Strong” places them on the three-receiver side, while “Weak” places them on the solo-receiver side.
- Field / Boundary: Aligns them to the wide or short side of the field. “Field” shifts them to the wide side; “Boundary” shifts them to the short side.
Personally, I find this adjustment especially useful when running single-high safety looks against 3x1 formations. In the video, I break down exactly how I use midpoint along with the other safety alignment tools to create the best pre-snap looks.
Thanks for tuning in again this week! If you have a question you'd like us to answer in a future episode, make sure to drop it in the comments section below.
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