Stopping The Pass

[Messi910]

How in the world do you stop the pass? I can shut down the run with any back but I am serioulsly baffled on how to stop the pass.

My last 3 losses have come to teams with 3 recievers and a QB silver of higher. I play a Cover 4 and it is easily broken. I play man to man and they just pick on my generic conerback.

Two of the guys just had 2 gold wide outs (Rice, Lofton) and Cunningham at QB and thier whole offense was throw, throw, throw, throw, run up the middle with Cunningham and I got beat both times which is very sad.

I don't know if it is my team or just me.
Gold
Sayers
Lott

Silver
Christensen
Lloyd
Barney

Bronze
O'Donnell
Moore
Walker
Van Pelt
Lewis
Curry

[big_mac]

How in the world do you stop the pass? I can shut down the run with any back but I am serioulsly baffled on how to stop the pass.

My last 3 losses have come to teams with 3 recievers and a QB silver of higher. I play a Cover 4 and it is easily broken. I play man to man and they just pick on my generic conerback.

I don't know if it is my team or just me.
Gold
Sayers
Lott
Silver
Christensen
Lloyd
Barney
Bronze
O'Donnell
Moore
Walker
Van Pelt
Lewis
Curry

heh, welcome to the club. I play a 5 bronze O and R. Lott, D. Thomas (have to cover the silver TEs and Wilcox is too slow). G. Lloyd (second TE or bronze WR), Joey Browner, Lem Barney, and Terry McDaniel. I built this team because I was in the exact same position you are. FS and SS are key. I play exclusively formations that have at least 2 LBs on the field and almost always play zone. I usually start with a 4-3 cover 4 or soft cover 2 depending on the personnel and then depending on what they do I move from there. If you figure out a way to stop your DBs from dropping (manual) picks 10 times a game let me know. I've actually gotten to the point that I don't even switch to Lott or Browner because they have a better chance at making a CPU controlled leaping one handed INT than I do making a standing there, hit me in the hands, manual INT. Like you, I take the generic LB or DB and easily shut down the run.

In summary, drop your gold and silver offense. I can see why you would use a gold HB (all the top guys play tons of man-to-man so you have to run) but you can get reasonable running game out of a couple of the fast bronzes (I use McNeil). Good luck brother.

[nflhitman]

Cover 4 should stop the most passes. You need to assign Focus to the WR's you fear most so even if they go deep the Safety or CB will go with them. If you play Man with generic CB's will get shredded unless you play Bump-n-Run Man with your Generics. I use Generic CB's also, and my CB's are set to Coverage. My Generic CB playing a zone yesterday Intercepted 4 passes to Rice. Its all about focus in zone and bump - n - run in man.

[Messi910]

Well I just lost again this time to Montana, Maynard, and Moore. I played zone and bump and run but Albert Lewis just got burned by Moore every play.

It is also amazing Lott can be so horrible in coverage. Him and Barney were on Maynard's side the whole game in my zone and Lott would blow it and give Maynard two long touchdown passes.

I don't mean it is either I just suck or there is something else I can do? I may just suck.

[nflhitman]

Don't know what to say. Zone and Bump-n-Run work great for me.

[Messi910]

It is probably bad play calling. Do you use DB adjustments at all like shade to the outside or inside. I usually get beat on like three of four of the same plays.

[nyknicks33]

Swap Albert Lewis out for Terry Mcdaniel. Lewis is a cover 2 style corner and is pretty inconsistant in coverage. Or, if you want him on your team, put him on the side of your best safety, roll your coverage towards him and let barney play shut down on the other side.

[verydry]

drop lott, Lloyd for gold, silver DE. drop van pelt for FS. believe it or not, the best weapon to stop a pass happy team is a good D line. just need to pick a DE with special move

[nflhitman]

My defense is usually this set up...

Gold: Ronnie Lott FS
Gold: **** Butkus ILB

Silver: Greg Lloyd OLB
Silver: Kenny Stabler QB
Silver: Leroy Butler SS

Bronze: Eugene Wilson FS
Bronze: Rob Moore WR
Bronze: Dwight Clark WR
Bronze: Eric Green TE
Bronze: Natrone Means RB
Bronze: Anthony Carter WR

You get 2 FS because in nickle coverage it has a FS at Nickle Back up on the line of Scrimmage. Use Lott as the Line of Scrimmage FS. Put Robinson at normal FS spot and use Coverage CB's. Lott, Butkus, Butler, Robinson, Lloyd with Coverage CB's in Nickle Coverage should help against the run and Pass. Try this team out since it gives you 6 Offensive players also. Play Nickle all game long but mix up your playcalling between Zone and Bump & Run coverage. Cover 4 zone, Blanket Zone, Cover 12 for deep ball worries, and Bump & Run for man 2 man coverage. When Playing a team with a great Receiving core you should play Zone more than man because no matter who your Secondary is it is easy to beat man with great Receivers and TE's. If they like to run outs a lot then adjust your CB's to outside coverage and move your Safeties up to cover any inside slants to counter your outside coverage. The main threat should always have the focus on defensive adjustments to the players you worry about most. You can put Focus on 2 players only so make it count. I never assign anyone to cover anyone directly I only use focus. When you assign defenders for matchup's it sometimes gets you out of position. Try and make this team and adjustments and see if this helps.

[totalownership]

Bring some heat man. Don't let any QB sit back there and write a book , drink coffee and kiss his wife. Make him have to get rid of the rock quick.

[AlexJones27]

I have one team that is all bronze secondary. I use it if I see "RICE" before we select teams. I has every CB and Safety that is bronze. 6 total defensive backs and I make my generic d-line runs stop and linebackers run stop. I have won alot with this team. SKY defense and COVER 4 will shut down "BOMB" cheesers. THe slant pass is still a threat. But you can minimize this with the RB button to bring your secondary up close.

[Messi910]

Well I lost once again to two gold recievers and believe me I am trying what you tell me. I try to mix it up blitz once in a while, while in a zone cover 3, cover 2 bump nothing.

What do you guys think of two gold conerbacks, bronze safties, Van Pelt and Brazile on defence?

[nyknicks33]

Well I lost once again to two gold recievers and believe me I am trying what you tell me. I try to mix it up blitz once in a while, while in a zone cover 3, cover 2 bump nothing.

What do you guys think of two gold conerbacks, bronze safties, Van Pelt and Brazile on defence?


I have a base 3-3-5 team for guys like this.

CB-Willie Brown, Lester Hayes,
Safties- Eugene Robinson, Leroy Butler, Charlie Waters

DT-Art Donavan or Bob Simms
LB- Nick Bunoconti or Tuggle here if you want more beef--I swap them out ocassionally if I have too many games where bunoconti is just getting run over.


If you can play with a generic QB or HB, you can add another LB or down lineman and then you can piece together a RB, 2 WR offense, or a 3 wide out generic backfield, 2 wr, 1 TE..whatever you wish, that should be able to score enough.

It's gimmicky, but many of the people who play like the guys who you are running into are too stubborn or stupid to simply just line up and run the football.

[Mizerak3]

I use the 3-3-5 also. It is a nice "D" for passing teams. It frees one LB for blitzes or manning the HB. If you have a QB that runs (Cunningham) he can spy.

[JHova1982]

u have to get pressure on the qb thats the only way to control the passing game. i always believe in that steelers, eagles, and bears mentally. u cant let the qb get to all his reads, and my teams is set up to ensure that the qb will be frantic in that pocket and pass the ball quicker than he suppose to.

thats how u stop the pass, Pressure on the qb

[AlexJones27]

Guys trust me you don't need to waste a pick on a gold or silver corner. All bronze guys are great. Stack your secondary with them and don't even worry about linebackers or d-line. There will be so many stars in you dime package that your opponent gets scared and tries to run. But at some point they have to pass and it's INT time.

[JHova1982]

your gold players should be on who you want your stars to be and your silvers should compliment your gold.

ex if u have a gold HB, then you should have a silver TE or FB. Gold WR , then a silver QB or WR. Gold MLB, then silver OLB or DT. you get what im saying. make your team on how u want to play football but just dont have your legends evry where on the field to try and compete with the world. let the world compete with you

[LSUTIGERSPHXSUNS]

What I do is run a 3-4, and just blitz the heck out of the guy. If he can find the holes in my zones, then I'll be in for a long day. But most people who I play can't read my defense really well, and I get tons, and tons of sacks.

My defense is only Fred Marion, Joey Browner, William Perry, Scott Studwell, Robert Brazile. I've kept my opponents to under 10 points for almost all of my games so far. I'm 7-2 with this team

[nflhitman]

The offense in this game is a lot more powerful than the defense and thats why I put both Gold picks and 2 Silver picks on Defense. As long as I have at least a Silver QB the rest of my offense is fine. I have had generics beat Gold CB's and that shows you how much more powerful the Offense is so why not fill your Defense with Gold & Silver. There are Bronze offensive beast to do well on Offense,The only weakness to me on Bronze offense is at QB.

RB's:

Okoye and Means are Beast

TE's:

Eric Green & Pete Metzelarrs are Beast

WR's:

Rob Moore, Dwight Clark, Anthony Carter, Alvin Harper, and many more are Beast.

With all these options on Bronze Offense why use your Gold and Silver on Offense then?

Put Lott and Butkus on your team and watch how your Generics all of sudden play better and Have BIG HITS!

[Bl00d h0und Gang]

Defensive line calls to get after the QB: Mix, Twist, All In, Fan.

Show Blitz (LB + down) will disrupt a QB's timing. Show Blitz is horrible for stopping the run.

[Messi910]

Well I changed my team to this:

Gold
Sanders
Lott

Silver
Browner
Lloyd
Tuggle

Bronze
McDaniel
Brookshier
O'Donnell
Moore
Walker
Metz

I went against a guy with Rice, Reed, and Moore and he threw 5 picks. All I did was play a bump and run man to man or cover four. I focused on Rice and Reed and it helped a lot.

Thank you guys for all the help I just need to perfect my technique now

[nyknicks33]

Well I changed my team to this:

Gold
Sanders
Lott

Silver
Browner
Lloyd
Tuggle

Bronze
McDaniel
Brookshier
O'Donnell
Moore
Walker
Metz

I went against a guy with Rice, Reed, and Moore and he threw 5 picks. All I did was play a bump and run man to man or cover four. I focused on Rice and Reed and it helped a lot.

Thank you guys for all the help I just need to perfect my technique now


Good Job :thumbsup: It's all about figuring out the puzzle. Kudos for hanging in their and sticking with it.

I made some tinkering to my 3-3-5 team and held a dude this morning with his Rice, Cunningham, Novacek, scramble chuck and duck attack to 5-23 passing . He had Otis Anderson who was running pretty well, but he was either too stubborn or stupid to just run the football and play off of that, so his 14-7 lead at the start of the 2nd quarter, gradually turned into a 37-21 win for me.

[ToyDingo]

Bring some heat man. Don't let any QB sit back there and write a book , drink coffee and kiss his wife. Make him have to get rid of the rock quick.

Exactly...don't let them have any time back there.

I run a pass heavy offense as well. If I see that my opponent has a weak secondary, I will throw it all over the field. But, the opponents I have the most trouble with are the ones that rush me constantly.

Get to blitzing and put some heat on that QB.

[Syrus Odin]

Well I lost once again to two gold recievers and believe me I am trying what you tell me. I try to mix it up blitz once in a while, while in a zone cover 3, cover 2 bump nothing.

What do you guys think of two gold conerbacks, bronze safties, Van Pelt and Brazile on defence?


I play HEAVY defense with most my teams. Zone and Bump Man are great. Dont forget to mix things up like Cover 2 Corners (1 and 2 WR's are covered 1on1 by my CB's while the rest of my team plays Zone).

Also, keep in mind, sometimes you just WONT be able to stop an offense no matter what you throw at them. Offense is already better then D in this game, so a good offensive player can be cruel in what they can do.

I like to make sure that My offense on my Big D team has GOT to be able to score quickly just to keep up in fire fight kinda games.

My D team..

G-Lott FS
G- Rice WR

S- Barney CB
S- Browner SS (plays nickelback spot)
S- Maynard WR

B- Robinson FS (plays SS)
B- Mcdaniel CB
B- Van Pelt OLB
B- Simmons DE
B- Saleameau DT
B- Moore WR.

Just 3 stars on offense. All WR's. I run first and foremost and only break out my strong pass attack when I need to keep up to a high flyin offense.

VERY hard team to play with because you have to be spot on most the game on both sides of the ball..but when it works its just great.

Good luck man..

Also, practice your stick skills in practice mode a bit so you know how to quickly switch to a CB while ball in in the air and pick or bat it down.

[nyknicks33]

I play HEAVY defense with most my teams. Zone and Bump Man are great. Dont forget to mix things up like Cover 2 Corners (1 and 2 WR's are covered 1on1 by my CB's while the rest of my team plays Zone).

Also, keep in mind, sometimes you just WONT be able to stop an offense no matter what you throw at them. Offense is already better then D in this game, so a good offensive player can be cruel in what they can do.

I like to make sure that My offense on my Big D team has GOT to be able to score quickly just to keep up in fire fight kinda games.

My D team..

G-Lott FS
G- Rice WR

S- Barney CB
S- Browner SS (plays nickelback spot)
S- Maynard WR

B- Robinson FS (plays SS)
B- Mcdaniel CB
B- Van Pelt OLB
B- Simmons DE
B- Saleameau DT
B- Moore WR.

Just 3 stars on offense. All WR's. I run first and foremost and only break out my strong pass attack when I need to keep up to a high flyin offense.

VERY hard team to play with because you have to be spot on most the game on both sides of the ball..but when it works its just great.

Good luck man..

Also, practice your stick skills in practice mode a bit so you know how to quickly switch to a CB while ball in in the air and pick or bat it down.

^^^Thats interesting....i have a similar theory except my 3 offensive players are bronze..but the threat of rice out there for you, makes your opponent concious of him at all times.

[Syrus Odin]

^^^Thats interesting....i have a similar theory except my 3 offensive players are bronze..but the threat of rice out there for you, makes your opponent concious of him at all times.


I tried to develop my team confusion in mind. Sure they focus on Rice (who only gets thrown to at the most 4 times a game) which leaves Maynard open deep and rob moore for the shot pass. The big thing is, I run alot more then one would think while rockin a gen Oline, QB and RB haha.

What 3 offensive players do you have? Bronze? Id imagine something like Moore, Metz and Okoye?

[nyknicks33]

I tried to develop my team confusion in mind. Sure they focus on Rice (who only gets thrown to at the most 4 times a game) which leaves Maynard open deep and rob moore for the shot pass. The big thing is, I run alot more then one would think while rockin a gen Oline, QB and RB haha.

What 3 offensive players do you have? Bronze? Id imagine something like Moore, Metz and Okoye?


Floyd Little, Dwight Clark and Rob Moore

[Valdarez]

The best way to stop the pass is the following:

1. Know the Defensive Plays that Counter Various Offensive Play Calls
2. Recognize Offensive Play Calling and Play Call Tendencies
3. Mix up your defensive play calls

Step 1
You must first know the appropriate defensive plays to call when a certain play is called. If you can't call the right defensive play at the right time, then you're completely out of luck.

Step 2
Once you start getting the defensive play calls down, then the next step is to be able to identify the type of plays that your opponent is calling. Everyone has certain plays they like to use, and special plays they like to use in various situations (1st, 2nd, 3rd downs and short/long yardage situations). Learn their plays, and then use the knowledge from step 1 (knowing the plays that counter certain plays) to capitalize on recognizing their play calling habits.

Step 3
If you don't know what they are going to call, especially at the start of the game, don't be afraid to blitz, or try out plays you might not use towards the end of the game. The 1st drive or two should be a feeling out process, where your goal is to learn your opponent. Keep in mind, he's trying to learn what you are doing as well. So if you mix up your defensive plays, you're going to keep him off guard as well.

This isn't an exact 'how to', but it's a good approach for stopping the passing game. At some point we will be posting a matrix of defensive play calls vs. passing plays at www.2kfootballstrategy.com, which should help a lot with step 1.