Man Lock

Description

A great all purpose pass defense that is especially well suited towards unbalanced passing formations utilizing Twins or Trips receivers. All four cornerbacks and the strong safety play man coverage, leaving the free safety to play centerfield and protect the deep middle.This man coverage ensures that every eligible receiver is covered regardless of the offensive formation, enables bump-and-run press coverage by audibling before the snap, and provides better reaction to running plays than predominantly zone coverage schemes.

Man Lock is a good call to make on 3rd and long. While I often use Speed Quarter plays in these situations, Madden players who have not mastered some of the less conventional techniques used in my favorite plays like Spin Zone may find something a little more basic, a little more familiar like Man Lock to be a more comfortable fit. Because Man Lock uses the same basic principles of other plays with the same name in the standard defensive formations, players should be able to pick it up immediately and use it in critical situations without worrying about non-obvious weaknesses.

Player Assignments

See the Madden Playbook Guide for a description of these symbols.

Analysis

Pros:

• Excellent balance between coverage ability and QB pressure
• Strong defense against passes down the deep middle
• Holds up fairly well against surprise runs like draw plays

Cons:

• Somewhat vulnerable to deep passes down the sidelines due to only one defender in deep zone coverage
• Unbalanced offensive formations can move all defensive backs away from one side of the field, opening up outside running plays to the weak side