You hear it all the time when playing Madden, “That guy had a dominant scheme” or “His scheme kept me guessing the whole game” but what does that really mean and how do you go about creating your own scheme? We’ll try to answer those questions and give you the basics of forming your own scheme on offense in Madden 16.
Lets first start by defining exactly what a scheme is. A lot of people have different definitions but most competitive Madden gamers agree that it has a few core components:
- Each play in the scheme must be called out of the same formation
- Your opponent should not be able to identify the play you are running before you snap the ball
- It must be easily repeatable
Generally, you will also want to have at least 1 pass play and at least 1 run play in each scheme although it isn’t required. A scheme should also not be specific to only one team. If you can only run the scheme with the Seahawks, it probably isn’t a very good scheme. Some of the most common and overused schemes in previous Madden games have been out of shotgun tight, strong close, and singleback bunch. I’m sure anyone who has played a lot of Madden is all too familiar with those schemes.
Now that you know what a scheme is, lets break down in a little more details how you should go about forming your own scheme…
Any good scheme should include 4 different types of plays:
- A zone defense beater
- A man defense beater
- A solid run play
- A quick pass to use against a heavy blitz
If you can find 1 play of each out of the same formation that you set up the exact same way, you will have a scheme that will be nearly unstoppable in Madden 15. At that point it comes down to pre-snap reads and knowing your opponents tendencies. Once you identify man or zone as well as whether your opponent is blitzing or dropping a lot of guys into coverage, you can then call your play accordingly.
If you aren’t great with putting together your own scheme and need a little help, below are some resources we have at Madden-School to help with that process.
- Our Madden 16 Offense Tips section will have some detailed breakdowns with videos
- Our Madden forum has plenty of experienced Madden gamers sharing some of their best plays
Hopefully this helps you hit the ground running when Madden NFL 16 comes out on August 25th. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a response in the comments section below.
First take the time to create your custom Playbooks on defense and offense i found that your default team playbooks are missing about 250-300 plays Oh and set up your audibles so you dont get caught with a receiver uncovered or getting a free release and keep a safety over the top of the elite receivers
I play Madden but not on a competition level. What are some tips you could give me to increase my passing game skill? My 2 favorite teams is 49ers (NFC) and Broncos (AFC)
Check back in a day or 2 and we’ll have some basic passing tips for Madden 15 up.
With the Broncos and Peyton’s accuracy ability you should find 2 and as many as three skill players to get the ball to efficiently, almost any ball put towards #88 Thomas is safe and a great place to start. As Peyton did in Indy, he’s very good at checking to running backs on plays where the enital receivers don’t offer high efficiency throws. Great place to develop a go to #2. Finally it is more on your level of play and style to develop and 3rd player option. A good option that can get open and adequately move the ball would be a player with lightening speed as E. Royal possesses. Clearing him over the middle with a man who can’t cover him always get him in open space after a reception. A solid 123 punch in your passing game paired with some type of run game will help you dominate opponents. Just keep moving down the field and get in position to score and you should have a blast honing your new scheme. Don’t lose sight how what got you down the field as everyone gets excited/nervous as they cross their own 30 yard line.
If you’d like to catch more I’d be more than happy to exchange gamer advice in an email conversation. I’m hopin maybe an idea or two from you might help out my own game. Moreover I love taking defense rather as much if not more than offense; with the mind set that if they can’t score it will be hard for you to lose.
Drop me a note at Husky232@gmail.com
I hope I contributed to your play and wish you good luck.
I’m currently searching for an alternative playbook to use with The San Diego Chargers, I’m using ATL playbook with 3-4 defense. I also use the Arizona Cardinals with the same playbooks. Any suggested schemes or playbooks?
I’d just recommend finding a playbook that you are comfortable with and sticking to it. There are no magic playbooks or anything like that
I understand the importance of creating a scheme. Does the ebook or the film room explain when is the right to call plays oor when to call counter plays?
We do show gameplay videos in our ebooks showing some examples of when to call what plays and we also sometimes go over that in the overview section with stuff like, “this is a great play to call on 3rd and 4” but we don’t explicitly tell you when exactly to call each play because a lot of that depends on the feel of each game and your opponent.
I am currently playing madden 15 and I have run a crossed an algorithm defense that cannot be passed on or run on it looks like a bear 46 with 6 men on the line and 2 backers are behind them for a total of 8 men in the box then you have corners on out side and 1 safety and every time they run it on the “what play was ran screen” it shows up as a cover 3 with 2 of the outside men blitzing and there is nothing you can do against it. If I come across this defense again whom do I send it to to be analyzed to see if this is a glitch in the game?
Send it to admins@Madden School.com with as much detail included as possible.
I put a player in sets and I want him back because I can’t play or correct this ?