Man or Zone???

Lately, I been wondering what's the better scheme to run on defense with the assumptions I would have knock outs. 

Right now I run zone but is man with knockout just a good or is it a pick your poison?

I usually play zone

zone is more consistent. man is only as good as your pass rush.

fourquartss said:

Lately, I been wondering what's the better scheme to run on defense with the assumptions I would have knock outs. 

Right now I run zone but is man with knockout just a good or is it a pick your poison?

In a perfect world you'd have some type of hybrid defensive scheme.  I'm with you, though -- i almost exclusively play Zone, or at least come out in various base Zone formations, but will often directly Man up say, Slot receivers and/or TE on many plays.  It's not a clear distinction that one is always going to perform better than the other, but broadly speaking, it's a Zone meta for a reason.  Having Deep + Mid Zone KOs on your outside DBs (both corners and safeties) is absolutely vital to get the most out of this defense.  Peanut Tillman makes for an ideal Slot corner, as he gets both Flat and Mid Zone KOs for 0AP.  Sauce is a close second, with PA + Mid Zone (or Flat) for 0AP.

I would NOT say that Man is "just as good" it's not that difficult for a decently skilled opponent to consistently cook man coverage.  And, as always, the best pass coverage is a good pass rush.  While i invest the bulk of my AP into my DBs, i do still run a couple D-line X-factors, hoping to generate somewhat consistent pressure by only sending 3-4 pass rushers, although I regularly work in more aggressive blitzes, while trying to keep my opponent guessing, giving them the same basic look and formation on each and every down.

HEAVY BOX Dollar, is where it's at, IMO.  I liek to come out in the Dbl Safety Go play, then immediately audible over to whatever blitz or coverage i prefer.  The audibles i'm using with this Heavy Box Dollar scheme are as follows; DB Fire 2, Spinner, FS Zone Blitz and Cover 4 Quarters, but it can really be anything YOU prefer.

I use both equally based on coach suggestion (one play zone next I'll pick a man the "coach" recommends)...from my H2H experience...it don't really much matter as what may work one game...may not the next six.

Generally speaking I am in zone 80% of the time and 20% of the time I mix in a man blitz just to keep him honest. 

I used to prefer man-coverage based schemes, but zone ko's are OP this year so I had to adjust.

fourquartss said:

Lately, I been wondering what's the better scheme to run on defense with the assumptions I would have knock outs. 

Right now I run zone but is man with knockout just a good or is it a pick your poison?

There's not enough man KO discounts to for man defense to be viable this year. For man defense to be consistently useable, realistically, you'd want Short Route KO, Deep Route KO, and Pick Artist on each of your DBs. In addition, you'd want this combination at preferably at 1-2 AP, which isn't available.

I prefer to run mostly zone coverage with man and man blitzes thrown in.

i prefer man but especially this year i have been mixing in zone more just to keep opponents guessing but i get burned more when i go in zone

Thank you everyone for your responses has help me give some more insight.

Why does man play way better for me? I like and want to use zone but by far my D does better in man...I run a lot of 3-4 and 4-3 and nickel. I'm not really a strategic player by any means either. I just put the best player I can get or afford and see what the best abilities I can get/afford for those cards and line them up. No real method to my madness...

chrsprfft said:

Why does man play way better for me? I like and want to use zone but by far my D does better in man...I run a lot of 3-4 and 4-3 and nickel. I'm not really a strategic player by any means either. I just put the best player I can get or afford and see what the best abilities I can get/afford for those cards and line them up. No real method to my madness...

I tried to do best position for man before and just got cooked but this was like a couple months ago, so I just forgot about it.

chrsprfft said:

Why does man play way better for me? I like and want to use zone but by far my D does better in man...I run a lot of 3-4 and 4-3 and nickel. I'm not really a strategic player by any means either. I just put the best player I can get or afford and see what the best abilities I can get/afford for those cards and line them up. No real method to my madness...

You basically just identified how or why your Zone defense isn't comparing, we'd typically want (or need) various Zone KOs, especially on our outside corners and safeties, such as Deep + Mid Zone KOs with Slot corners getting Mid (and maybe Flat, using Peanut Tillman as the example).  Not only do these Knock Out abilities improve pass coverage, but they will increase the reaction time of your defenders, essentially giving them eyes in the back of their helmet.  This is the difference between turning around to make a play on the ball immediately as it's thrown, versus potentially NOT playing Zone coverage whatsoever.

Please don't just take my word for it, here's the full ability description for Mid Zone KO:

Defenders with this ability force more catch knockouts and react quicker in any mid-field zone coverage, less than 20 yards from the LoS inside the numbers and 10-20 outside.

It's a Zone meta for a reason, Man coverage is not difficult to burn with certain route combinations.

Who cares. Play what works for you. I do just fine without meta. Never ran 6-1 but I LOVE people that do 😉. Point is, just play what works for you there are enough copycats

Mutplayernone said:

Who cares. Play what works for you. I do just fine without meta. Never ran 6-1 but I LOVE people that do 😉. Point is, just play what works for you there are enough copycats

Honestly this is the truth, It works fine for me and I'm happy with it and always looking to upgrade to a better player. But I also don't spend more than 1 or 2 hours a day on this game. I can't even comprehend how a adult would spend thier whole days playing such a corrupt game made that way from a company that cant seem to do anything right. While being one of the biggest video game companies on earth. What

I got work, kids, am single father so it's good I can't get deep into this madden because they have become in a way a gambling site with no upside, if i could sell my team for cash i would, especially cuz it's gotten so complicated with abilities, expensive players you want but can't afford. I used to do just franchise mode, but it feels like that hasnt changed in 15 years, while getting less fun and more tedious. 

I'd much rather just play on my old OG xbox and play maddens 2005,2007