We teamed up with antcap of Huddle.gg on a new weekly series in an effort to help you win more games by building up your Madden (and real football) knowledge. This week we’re focusing on how to beat the most popular defense in Madden 23: Spinner from Dollar 3-2. If you’ve played online at all, you’ve faced it, and it can frustrate even the best Madden players. Here are antcap’s favorite tips when facing Spinner:
1. Add Jailbreak Screens to Your Offense
Jailbreak screens turn Spinner’s biggest strength into a major weakness. The aggressive pressure focused on the QB allows you to create a numbers advantage on the outside to attack your opponent with quick screen passes with multiple lead blockers.
Jailbreak screens can be found in almost every playbook, so keep an eye out for them.
2. Learn Antcap’s Spinner Blocking Method
Once you know how to block Spinner, you’ll have a lot more time in the pocket. It won’t work in every formation, but you need to find one where you can block a player that isn’t connected to the offensive line. Sometimes you can even double-motion a HB across the formation to create this block. Here are the steps:
- Max protect
- Motion a player across the formation to create the wide blocker
- ID the Mike on the blitzing CB opposite the wide blocker
3. Add Curl Routes to Your Offense
Curl routes do a great job of attacking man coverage this season. If you can find them in your playbook, the best type of curl routes start out by breaking to the inside before going up the field. This puts the receiver in a better position against a man-coverage defender.
Make sure to get the timing down in practice mode because throwing late to a curl route may cost you a possession.
4. Use Motion to Change Matchups
Because Spinner generates consistent pressure by sending seven defenders at the QB, at least one WR is going to be uncovered or left to the user. Motioning a receiver across, such that a 2x2 formation becomes a 3x1 formation, creates matchup problems for Cover 0 defenses like Spinner. The inside receiver on the trips side of the formation will be left wide open in many cases. It makes sense to send that receiver on an out-breaking route so that even if the user defender chases him, the middle of the field will be open for you to target another option.
5. Attack Spinner with Specific Run Plays
One of the biggest reasons why Spinner is so popular is that not only can it quickly get to the QB, it also does a good job against most runs. If you know what to look for when calling a running play, you can consistently beat Spinner on the ground. Look for inside zone runs where the blitzing CB you’re running toward is clearly blocked by a receiver.
Keep in mind that many of your opponents will respond by pinching their defensive line to better defend the run, but that takes away from the effectiveness of the blitz, which opens up the rest of your offense. If you’re looking for more ways to attack Spinner with a running game, check out this recent video from antcap.
About Antcap
Antcap24 is one of the top minds in the Madden community and has been helping players improve their game since 2014. Through his experience as tournament director for numerous Madden esports events and his years playing competitively, dating back to the earliest iterations of the game, antcap has accumulated a great deal of Madden knowledge. We're excited he's sharing some of it with us in this new weekly series and hope you are too!
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