Madden 2017 Strategy Guide
I made a thread like last year, and for Madden 17, I'll be doing the same. Madden 17 primarily has these types of coverage plays. Zero Man, Cover 1 Man, Cover 2 Man, Cover 2, Cover 3, and Cover 4. Also there is Quarters defense (Use this for hail mary plays), Cover 6 (Combo of Cover 4 and Cover 2 concepts) I will not be reviewing Cover 6, because unfortunately, I haven't seen it used much online. Zero Man (Man Blitz): This play has man to man across the board, with no one deep to prevent a long pass. You can tell if this is zero man if there is no safeties in the back, like Pinch Buck 0. This also generally means that a blitz is coming as well, so make a quick read.
If the receiver is not on press coverage, Hot route him to a slant. Hit the slant receiver as soon as he breaks his route, for an easy 5-7 yards+. If the receiver is in press coverage, pick the one with the best release and speed advantage, place him on a streak, and expect him to blow by the corner leaving him open for a deep pass.
+3 speed is all you need on someone to get a good chunk of space. Cover 1 Man: This play is similar to the Zero Man, except you will see a deep safety on a deep zone, and a blitz won't be coming.
The middle of the field will also have a LB in a hook zone. The corners will generally be 5 yards off the receiver unless your opponent manually presses coverage, or gives a cushion. Use drag routes, slants, and anything with a good sharp cut.
Cover 2 Man: This play has two deep safeties deep this time, instead of one deep safety and a LB hook zone. Motion a receiver back and forth, and if the corner moves with him, you know it's man. Use the same man beaters like slants and drags from before. Cover 2: Look at the secondary. There should be 4 secondary players. 2 corners 5 yds off the receiver, and 2 safeties standing deep.
Madden 2017 Strategy Guide
The corners will drop to a flat zone, the linebackers will play hook/curl to flat zones. Run four verticals, where the tight end cuts across the middle, and provided theres not a good user defender, will be open a lot of the time for a big gain.
Madden 2017 Strategy Guide
This time the secondary should have 3 players. Corners 10 yds off the receivers, and one deep safety. The corners will drop back to a deep zone, and the LB's will cover the flats. The other LB's/S will play a hook zone. Use four verts, but instead of hitting the route across the middle, try and look for one of the two seams next to each other.
The middle deep zone will be taken by the tight end, leaving a two on one matchup between your receivers and the one corner. Pass it to the one that's open.
Madden 2017 Ps3
Similar to the cover 2 look, it will have four DBs. Look for the corners to be 10 yards off the receivers, and any underneath pass should be able to work. The safeties will drop back to a deep zone, along with the corners, leaving four players deep. The flats are also cushioned back, along with only one hook zone in the middle of the field. Hope these tips help out new players for reading coverages and being able to take advantage of mismatches and win more games.