Man Lock On/Off

One of the game features that man players have been asking for in Madden on the NG consoles is man lock on/off. Having man lock on/off would allow players on defense to disguise their pass coverage, so that your opponent on offense would not be able to tell if man or zone coverage is called. This feature didn't make Madden 09 or at least it's not in the game manual. With man coverage not as strong as past years we have to be a little more creative when using it against an human opponent. Below we are going to you how to get man lock on/off in Madden 09 through the use of audibles.

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If you are following along in the write up, set the Dime Normal Cover 2 Buc as your LB audible. If you don't have this play or don't want to use it, set another zone defense from Dime Normal.

The reason most players like to call Twin formations such as the I-Form Pro Twins is because it is easy to tell if man or zone coverage is called if the defense calls 4-3, 3-4, or 46. The reason is the RCB and LCB will line up across from the WR1 and WR2 if man coverage is called, such as we show in the screen shot above. Notice the LCB is covering the WR1 (B).

We quickly audible into Dime Normal Cover 2 Buc by pressing the X button, then RB button, then X button, and then LT button. Do these steps just as fast as you can say it.

The LCB will move over to cover the TE, while the ROLB shifts out cover WR1. This gives the offense the illusion that zone coverage is called.

If your opponent decides to send the WR1 in motion to the right ...

... the ROLB will follow the WR1 across the field. This gives away the pass coverage by showing man coverage is called.

Notice the ROLB covers the WR1 outside on the right.

To counter the motion by the WR1, we want press the X button, then the LT button as soon as the WR1 goes in motion.. This will reset the defense. The ROLB will release the WR1 to the LCB. This makes it looks like that zone coverage is called.

The LCB now covers the WR1 outside, while the ROLB covers the FB.

If your opponent tries to send the WR1 back in motion to the right, follow the same steps by pressing the X button, then RB button, then X button, and the LT button.

The LCB will release the WR1 to the ROLB. The LCB covers the TE, while the ROLB covers the WR1. Against we are trying to give our opponent the illusion we are in zone coverage, when really we are in man coverage.

If the offense was to come out I-Form Pro and ...

... sends the WR1 in motion to the left, we can still give him the illusion that zone coverage has been called.

Simply press the X button, then RB button, then X button, and the LT button while the WR1 is in motion.

The LCB will release the WR1 to the ROLB. The LCB now covers the TE, while the ROLB covers the WR1. To your opponent on offense, he will think zone coverage or at least has to guess to what coverage you are really in.

We want to look at something you can do to give your opponent to think about while in spread formations when motion is used to read pass coverages. First set the Goal Line Gaps Fire as your audible.

We come out in Dime Normal 2 Man Under .

As soon as we see the WR1 sent in motion, we press the X button, then A button, then X button, and then the LT button.

The LCB who is covering the WR1, will release him to the CB4. The WR1 now covers the WR4 (A).

As the WR1 works his away across, the CB4 will release the WR1 to the LB. The CB4 now covers the HB (LB), while the LB covers the WR1. This idea is try to at least make your opponent think zone coverage is called. Obliviously he may not be fooled by all this, but as a Madden player on defense, we have to do what we can to get the upper hand on our opponent on offense.

Final Thoughts

• Go into the lab and play around with what we have showed you in this write up. Try different combinations when choosing audibles to what you can come up with.