There are three plays: run, pass, and play action. All have their own formations, and those formations can themselves be used to trick the defense. Ace formations favor running plays but leave open passes. I formations mean you will run and weakly keep open the ability to pass. Shotguns mean you are passing, so it’s usually a good idea to really run it up the middle.
Your goal is to gain 10 yards in three plays and at some point get to the endzone for a score, and if you break a big play then so be it. A successful drive makes it between both 40 yard lines. When on the 40 it may be a wise idea to go for it unless you’ve mastered how to punt the ball out of bounds, or keep it out of the endzone for a touchback.
The biggest mistake would be to get near the red zone and not get at least 3 points. Sure, if you get to a 4th and 1, go for it, but you would be surprised in how many close games where you would say “had I only kicked that FG way back when I would have won this game instead of going into overtime” or something like that. Two field goals and one stop on defense is as close to a touchdown as it gets.
Running Away ————
The Run – You can run iso up the middle and just push forward. You may notice this usually doesn’t get many yards if you keep running it. That is when you need to look for lateral runs, but only if your HB is fast. You have the stretch, the pitch, the option, the toss, counters, and the other plays that don’t go straight up the middle. If your guy is super fast, perhaps you can out-run the safeties and other players to the sideline and then turn the corner to go up the field, or maybe you see a hole through your blockers and turn it up field, or maybe you feel lucky and decide to juke back and reverse your field.
I’ll be honest, run plays don’t work that much on the highest level of difficulty (Heisman). On this level you will need to pass to set up the run. Running three straight run plays is the best way to get your punt team on the field. It’s pretty simple: if you do one thing with success, the defense will counter that. You don’t even need to understand how the defense counters this (not yet anyway), just know that you need to pass the ball every now and then.
Thanks to the friendly audible system you can call a nice run up the middle when the defense has its guys spread out, or call a play action when everyone is crammed up the middle.
Here are my big tips for successful running:
- Mix up your calls between up the middle plays and runs that go outside. If the defense is in man coverage, a stretch/toss/pitch will usually work really well. If the defense is spread out, like for zone, a run up the middle may be best.
- Juke away from a defender in open space. If you are running in open field and a defender is running straight to you, run toward him and when he is close do a juke away. Doesn’t work all the time, but speedy, elusive backs will usually slip out of the tackle and run to daylight.
- Use the spin move in open space as well, but I prefer the juke. You can sometimes spin out of a tackle, but you’re really supposed to spin before the defender hits you so that he flies right by you. If your spinning isn’t working, maybe it’s because your HB can’t do it well.
- Use options a lot only if your QB can run, and when running an option it’s almost a must that you run with the QB. If the defense is playing man and perhaps the outside of the field is open, and unless your HB runs to block for some stupid reason, you can pitch to him with success. The fake pitch only works if a defender is 100% covering the HB.
- When running through blockers, take your time, which means don’t hold down sprint from the start. You need to develop vision where you see the defenders and where they are coming from. If you are running up the middle, maybe it’s best to juke to the outside if the LB’s are crashing in; maybe for a stretch you need to try and run to the sideline and turn the corner instead of cutting through blockers. But if there is a hole, hit it with the speed.
*NOTE: Most runs on heisman are highly unsuccessful. It doesn’t matter if your HB and vision is great, the defenders are just faster and do everything right on most runs. You just have to play through it.* - Juking, trucking, and spinning increase your chance of fumbling, so use in moderation during a single run. Pressing up on the highlight stick seems to protect the ball, so do that when being tackled is your only option.
- Of course having a fast QB means all plays can be runs for your team, but just like in the real game, a scrambling QB can fill up the highlight reel while filling up the loss column. You need to pass the ball.
- Whenever running, use your blockers. If a slow lineman is running with you as best you can, but there are some defenders incoming, it’s a good idea to slow it down and not turn on the jets. There is no right way to go as the blockers could do nothing, but again, just make a sound decision rather than just sprinting on every run.
Passing the Rock —————-
The Pass – Passing can be to set up the run, or running to set up the pass. Passing is not wise when the defense is in zone coverage. Sure, there are holes in the zone, but on Heisman those holes are extremely small as the defenses are faster and your receivers are slower. The best time to pass is in man coverage, when the receiver has the defender beat and it’s just a matter of placing the ball in front of the receiver, given that no other defender could intercept the ball.
It’s possible to pass all the time, just spread out your formations and have a wide variety of playcalls and routes, but you need to mix in runs, even small runs to open up the receivers. Ideal passing is when your blockers have picked up a blitz, which means someone is most likely open.
*NOTE: If you have a run called and see defenders crowding the line of scrimmage, audible a pass or play action. The opposite is true as well.*
Don’t be afraid to air it out, but only wisely. Don’t throw 40 yard bombs every other play because a lot of shorter routes can be expanded to longer plays with much less effort. Usually your long passes will be open in the middle of the field, but only in the area between the safeties and linebackers, and don’t be surprised if those passes are knocked out of the air a lot.
I like short passes. It’s the same problem the Indianapolis Colts face in that defenses would rather let you nickel and dime your way up the field than let you have the deep pass. Slants, crossing routes, and posts are easy routes to know if they are open or not. Every now and then you may want to try a deep pass, but when you do, always have a few backup routes if the play falls apart.
The pass rush determines your pass selection while the play is happening. It’s a bad idea to look at your line to see if it’s broken, but you do need to maybe see if anyone has broken through at the start of the play. If every defender has dropped back in coverage, usually the four pass rushers won’t reach you for 3 seconds, so you have some time to let a route develop for a guy to get open. If defenders are blitzing, someone is open so find them and let it fly. Whether the pass rush is close or the blitz is on, having a QB that can run out of the pocket can extend passing plays, on top of being able to run with the QB.
My tips to successful passing:
- Hesitation is the mating call of bad passing. If you see a guy open, throw it. Of course “open” means there is no one in front of him. So if a guy is open and you see him open, pass or else he won’t be open for long.
- To extend the first tip, most passes are open right after the snap, especially some slot routes. On a similar note, most passes are open only as/before the receiver makes a cut in the route. Reacting to an open receiver is usually not wise, it’s best to trust his running and have the ball waiting in the open area.
- I always love to slide my o-line around to the side of the field I like to scramble to. It’s usually the side I intend my main route, or secondary route, to end up because it’s easier to pass on the side of the field as the intended receiver.
- Zone coverages in this game tend to stay only in their zones, which I haven’t noticed in other games. This has increased my ability for deep passes as I just wait for the receiver to make his inside/outside break to an open part of the field, usually deep up the middle, and then just wait for him to be in the clear and pass. I don’t know, it just works in this game. I believe defenders in zone would follow streaking receivers, but they don’t or they think they are fast enough to beat the pass or something.
- Never lob a pass, which is to tap the receiver’s button and send the ball in the air for five seconds. On Heisman those passes will usually be eaten by the defenders as they will close in no matter how far away. And you only lob when the defender is behind the receiver. It’s probably not a good idea in the underneath routes because even if your guy gets the ball, another defender will be there to stop him quickly. Best to learn how to apply some touch.
- Touch is never precise, and it may not be in this game, but I’m pretty sure it is. Touch is when you are throwing a ball to a spot, rather than directly to the receiver. If your man is running a slant with a defender behind him, and the pass would hit the defender, the best thing would be to throw the ball a bit ahead of the receiver so he is the only one to catch it. To do this you simply hold the LS in the direction you want the pass to go. Again, it’s not precise or exact. You can try throwing high to where your guy has to jump to get a pass in traffic, and of course his pain is only virtual. Low passes can be just as effective, but of all of this, never apply touch to make a pass worst.
- Check-downs are passes to either your tight end, half back, or full back that are parallel to the line of scrimmage. They are worthless if a defender is following them, but if there is no one covering the checkdown, throw it because it will ensure you gain yards. Aside from positive yards, you extend the drive, wear out the defense, and maybe your checkdown can gain a lot of yards.
- Comebacks, hitches, outs and ins, and sometimes the screens are complete garbage – on Heisman of course. Just use those routes as decoys unless you have un-godly receivers running those routes. You have a simple screen pass in your Big, Ace package, but those slip screens have a high % of failure, for really no reason at all. Use two screens a game, maybe.
- Just recently I have found the short, crossing patterns to be most effective. For one, there’s little risk as you should clearly know whether it’s open or not. And secondly, defenses tend to back up to cover the deep passes, and that usually leaves all the short stuff open. Ace and shotgun packages will have plenty of plays with crossing patterns for either the TE or a WR. If the defense is in man, the pattern will work, usually.
- Master your hot routes and sending players into motion pre-play. If the default play gives you few options, hot route a few receivers; if you sense a blitz or a mis-match, tell someone to go straight and toss them the ball the moment you see the blitz coming; and if your HB can catch, send him out there too.
- A cheap way to buy time is to keep drifting back. Of course it reduces how far upfield you can throw it, but it helps buy time for short routes to get open, and so long as no pass rushers are chasing you, you can frustrate the defense all day.
- The key to my offense is what I creatively call the “running receiver”. It could be from my Sundays of seeing Brian Westbrook double as the Eagles’ best running and receiving option. I like calling a hot route and either giving my HB a slant or fly, and then send him to the side of the field to either act as a decoy or make sure he will be open in that slant on the other side of the field. If you got a fast back that can catch, there is no linebacker that can keep up. Do this a lot against real players and you can really mess with their heads’.
- Trust me, the CPU doesn’t like it when you pass all over it. It’s wise to start running the ball after a bunch of successful passes because you’ll start to see defenders make phantom plays to intercept you. You need to believe me on this because slow defenders will start to run faster as the ball is thrown to give the illusion that they are playing good D. So please, run the ball a little. Of course sometimes you get the good bounces, but not often.
Faking It ———
Play Action – If you are mixing enough runs and plays, the play action is always on the table. A play action, or PA, pass is one where you fake a run play which is really a passing play. It’s a better play in real life because real players would bite on the fake, but in this game it only buys you a step or two for your receivers at the most. There is no such thing as a broken play where someone is wide open for no good reason.
It’s pretty simple, if it’s 4th and 1 and you’ve had mucho success running the ball, call a PA and toss it to the FB running in the flat, or run with your QB if possible. The only time I would second-guess a PA is at the goal line where there is little room to pass, but it’s possible.
There is just one thing to think about when considering a PA: perhaps it’s better to call a shotgun play where the field is spread and opens up the QB to run in most cases. Why? Because what defense would call zone coverage if you need a yard? The defenders would follow your guys and the QB should be free to run if not being spied. Just something to consider.
