OT: NCAA Football 2014 Question

Submitted by MGoBlue96 on August 26th, 2022 at 1:15 PM

So playing this on my PC, with the college football revamped mod and 2022 rosters people put together but wondering what is the most accurate defense to use as UM's base defense and the depth chart for the front seven that gets everyone where they should be. I mean a 3-4 would have to be the closest right?

MGoBlue96

August 26th, 2022 at 1:33 PM ^

Yes, I googled and saw that one, but I don't think I really agree with a 4-2-5 being accurate. UM's edges didn't really line up with their hands down and I don't think they lined up with 5 dbs very often. I mean last year it was 3 down with Ojabo and Hutchinson lining up as edges without their hand down most of the time. I mean I guess nothing in the game quite fits 100% though, which is why I asked the question. 4-2-5 in the game also uses a safety as the fifth db so that wouldn't put Johnson or Sainristil as the extra db.

JonnyHintz

August 26th, 2022 at 11:21 PM ^

Michigan almost exclusively went out there with 5 DBs… Dax spent the majority of the year playing nickel. 
 

it’s the “4-2” designation that draws question marks. How do you classify the edges? Is it a 4-2, a 2-4 or a 3-3 with a standup “end”? 
 

Obviously different scenarios led to different alignments, but that’s true of any defense. As far as base defense goes, 5 DBs was definitely the norm as we played a ton of nickel.
 

Schematically, 3-4 is probably the closest to being accurate. But again, heavy on nickel to get the best players on the field at impact spots. 

Michigan Arrogance

August 26th, 2022 at 1:45 PM ^

I'd go with the 4-3; shift the DL to the weak side and the LBers to the strong side while controlling the weak side LBer. Or, control the strong side LBer - depends on if there is a slot receiver or where the RB is lined up. If you play man, control the LBer on the RB side, if you play zone control the LBer on the slot receiver side.

MGoBlue96

August 26th, 2022 at 1:51 PM ^

I guess my issue with using the 4-3 is that puts that extra lb on the field and we know UM doesn't really use that extra lb if Morris is the DE/edge and Upshaw, Macgregor and company are the other DE/edge. Not neccassarily looking for which is most effective in the game, more just the one that gets UM closest to its base  alignment with people in the right spots.

Squash34

August 26th, 2022 at 9:30 PM ^

UM is a base 3-4, however, they played nickel more than not last year because of opposing teams offenses. 

The nickel can be called either a 2-4-5 or a 4-2-5 depending on what you want to call their edges. That said if you put in 4-2-5 as the base it will make the front like what DB ran. Meaning they will likely have a 7t and 5t DEs, with their hands in the dirt, and a 3t and 1t DTs. Whereas, UM's nickel has the IDL in 3t and in the 2i, with both jacks shaded outside the last man connected to the line. So, the DEs technique is based of the surface their side, and they both stand up too, obviously.