How to Use Coach Mode in Madden

You call the plays, make adjustments, and then watch your quarterback take the snap without touching the controls. That is the basic idea behind Coach Mode in Madden.

For players who enjoy football strategy more than stick skills, this changes the way Madden feels. Instead of controlling every player after the snap, you focus on preparation, play calling, personnel, and game management. In this guide, we’ll explain what Madden Coach Mode does, what you control, and how to get the most out of it.

What Is Coach Mode in Madden?

Coach Mode is a way to play Madden from the perspective of a coach rather than an individual player. When it is enabled, the CPU handles post-snap gameplay while you remain responsible for important decisions before the ball is snapped.

That makes the mode especially interesting in Franchise. Coach Mode as an option for players who want to call plays, manage the roster, handle important decisions, and let their players execute on the field.

The result is closer to watching and managing a real football game. Your decisions matter, but you are no longer relying on perfect stick movement to win every snap. 

How to Turn On Coach Mode

Start by entering the game settings and finding the Coach Mode options. Madden gives you several settings that let you decide how involved you want to be before the snap.

The available options include Auto Quarterback, Auto Snap, Coach Suggestions, Pre-Play Cutoff, and Pre-Play Audio.

You don't have to make the experience completely hands-off. Experiment with the settings until you find the level of control you enjoy.

For example, Auto Snap can reduce the amount of manual input required, while Coach Suggestions can help you approach play calling without constantly studying the entire playbook.

Step 1: Build Your Game Plan

Coach Mode rewards preparation.

Before the game, think about how your offense should attack the defense. Consider your quarterback's strengths, your best running concepts, your receiving options, and the weaknesses you expect to find.

Madden also gives coaches more adaptive behavior. Offensive AI can feed a quarterback or running back who is performing well, adjust run-pass tendencies based on line matchups, and set up complementary plays throughout a game.

That means you should not think about every play in isolation. A successful run can create an opportunity for play action later.

Step 2: Make Smart Pre-Snap Decisions

The biggest difference in Coach Mode happens before the snap.

You can study the defensive look and decide whether the called play makes sense. If you recognize a bad matchup, change the play or make an adjustment before the communication window closes.

Madden introduces a Pre-Play Cutoff system designed to make the timing feel more realistic. When the play clock reaches 15 seconds, the coach-to-player communication window closes, along with the pre-play menu. After that point, you cannot continue making audibles or hot-route adjustments.

This creates an interesting challenge. You have control, but you cannot spend forever searching for the perfect answer.

Step 3: Coach Your Quarterback

One of the more unusual Coach Mode features is the ability to give your quarterback direction before the snap.

By using the appropriate pre-snap control, you can tell your quarterback who his primary read should be. On run pass option plays, you can also communicate whether you want him to hand the ball off or throw it.

This gives Coach Mode a stronger coaching identity. You are not simply choosing plays and watching the CPU. You are influencing how your offense approaches individual situations.

Step 4: Adjust to What the Defense Does

Do not expect your original game plan to work perfectly for four quarters.

Madden's Coach DNA system is designed around coaching identity and adaptation. Defensive coaches can respond to offensive tendencies, while offenses can change their approach based on what is working.

If your opponent repeatedly stops outside runs, stop calling them. If underneath routes are producing easy yards, keep testing that area until the defense adjusts.

The goal is to think one step ahead.

Step 5: Use Coach Mode in Franchise

Coach Mode becomes even more interesting when combined with Franchise.

Franchise lets you manage the entire team, including strategy, depth charts, scouting, free agency, trades, contracts, and the draft. Madden also adds the Persona Engine, which gives players different personalities, motivations, and reactions that can influence the league.

That makes Coach Mode a natural fit for long-term saves. You can build a roster around your coaching philosophy and then watch that roster execute your plan on Sundays.

Tips for a Better Coach Mode Experience

Start with a simple playbook. You do not need to call dozens of different plays to be effective.

Pay attention to tendencies. If something works repeatedly, understand why it works rather than simply repeating it.

Use personnel strategically. A strong roster means little if your best players are constantly placed in poor situations.

Most importantly, accept imperfect results. Coach Mode is about managing football, not guaranteeing touchdowns. Sometimes the right play fails. Sometimes a backup player makes a huge mistake. That uncertainty is part of what makes the mode interesting.

Why Coach Mode Is Worth Trying

Madden Coach Mode is built for players who enjoy the chess match of football. You call the plays, manage the situation, make pre-snap decisions, and trust your players to execute.

It will not replace traditional Madden gameplay for everyone. But if you have ever wanted Madden to feel more like coaching an NFL team than controlling one, Coach Mode offers a different way to experience Franchise.

The key is to stop thinking like a player and start thinking like a coach. Build a plan, recognize what the opponent is doing, make your adjustments before the clock runs out, and live with the result.

How to beat the shake blitz

Shake blitzing occurs when a 155 defense is moving all of their linebackers from side to side before the snap.  This tends to confuse the offensive line after the ball is snapped.

Here are some Madden online tips to follow to help counter these shake blitzes: 

Passing
In passing situations, use slants, drags, curls and, in/out routes.  Shake blitzing defenses will tend to force you to pass the ball quickly so use quick routes.

Also, most shake blitzing defenses will likely send all of their linebackers.  So, the middle area of the field will be vulnerable to the defense.  Attack this area with your passes.

Try to avoid using a play from under center.  Pass from a Gun formation.  The extra ground will allow for extra time to get a pass off. 

Running
When running the ball use a power set so you have plenty of blockers against the blitz.  Pinching the line should also help.  If you are running to the outside, snap the ball when the linebackers start "shaking" to the opposite side. 

Final Thoughts
Let the play clock run down until there's about 1-3 seconds left.  This will help force your (button mashing) opponent to work a little bit harder at what they are trying to achieve.

Beating Cover 3

 

Cover 3 defenses can usually get beaten by Strong Flood plays or plays where there's a curl on one of the wide outs and also someone running a flat route to the same area of the field.  While occupying the flat zone, you can attack the area that is open between the flat zone and the deep blue zone.  The RB or TE will run flat routes and an outside WR will run a streak while an inside WR will run an out route.  The flats defender is taken by the receiver running the flat route while the streak occupies the deep blue zone which leaves a hole in the defense for the out route.

Using 3 Receivers on one side of the field
Also, use formations with 3 receiving targets on one side of the field and do the following:

1.  One receiver runs a streak.   
2.  Use a route that attacks the buzz (purple) zone area such as outside slants.
3.  Use a route that attacks the flats.

Against Press Defense
If the defense is using a press coverage you can hot route one of your better wide receivers to a streak. You can hit him right after he breaks free from the press defender and before he gets to the safety in the deep blue zone.

Cover 3 is also known for being a bit weak on streaks up the hash marks.  Use a snugs or bunch formation and streak the inside receiver.

How to read Cover 3
After all of the players on the defensive side have lined up in the chosen formation, keep an eye on the two safeties.  If it's Cover 3 the two safeties slightly rotate together towards deep middle of the field.  In a Cover 2 defense there is no movement by either the safeties.

7 Madden tips for beating bumps and nanos

1.  Use at least one wide receiver who is good at beating the press.  Study a player's REL (release) attribute.  In Madden NFL, Dwayne Bowe and Hakeem Nicks have one of the best REL ratings.

2.  Spread the defense by using spread formations.  This will make it more difficult for the defense to bump.  If you have a receiver that does not have anyone lined up, hot route him into a slant in route.

3.  Use unbumpable routes such as C routes or routes where the receiver double fakes a slant-in like what is seen with the square receiver below:


4.  Send your receivers in motion followed by an immediate snap.  This will help turn some routes into unbumpable ones.

5.  Set up extra blockers to gain some extra time by hot routing your half Back or Tight End to block.

6.  Use a Gun formation with two players in the backfield.  These players will not get bumped thus will be more difficult to cover.

7.  Using a hurry up offense can help prevent your opponent from having enough time to setup his blitz.

Substitution Tactics in Madden Ultimate Team

The overall enjoyment of online head to head play seems to fade away as your team's OVR rating rises above 90.  I think one of the main reasons for this may be that some of the more advanced players that have become successful in Madden Ultimate Team are able to build an elite team.  An advanced player can probably be listed under two categories.  There the skilled players and then there are players that may not be as skillfull but still have a knowledge of certain Madden programming defects that help aide their successes.

I try to keep my team between 80-85 OVR rating.  This helps level the playing field to some degree.  Lately, I've noticed some teams pausing the game to auto reset their depth-chart.  In the online head to head match-up screen before a game, some teams will appear to have the same OVR as your team.  But, some teams may also have some superstars on their roster that are not listed in the starting lineup.  These players won't be included in a team's OVR rating but that doesn't mean they won't be participating in the game.

The online match-up screen does have a way to allow you to preview your opponents depth chart before the game but this feature hasn't been very stable, on Playstation at least.  If the depth chart preview is used too much or is pulled up at an inopportune time, Madden has been known to freeze up.  Lately, it seems to be working better but EA hasn't confirmed whether or not it has been fixed. 

The depth chart preview feature isn't always reliable and sooner or later you'll have to face an opponent who will either pause the game to reorder the depth chart or they will do something that is less conspicuous and sub in their superstars between plays.  Until EA is able to find a way to address these hidden roster tactics, my new philosophy will be "if you can't beat them, join them".

Resolution
To be more successful in Madden Ultimate Team, I would recommend keeping some superstars at a few positions on your roster.  If your opponent pauses at the beginning of the game use this opportunity to auto-reorder the roster.  You can't stop your opponent from doing the same thing so might as well do it yourself.  I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with the Madden substitution user interface and start subbing in superstars between plays.  Everybody else does it so you might as well start doing the same. 

On offense, I have a pretty strong offensive line except at the Center and Right Guard positions.  Before a play, I'll choose a formation and sub in my superstar C and RG.  On defense, I use an all silver defensive line in my starting lineup and a couple medium value outside linebackers.  In between plays, I'll choose a formation and then sub in my top-notch defensive ends and linebackers.  On the next play, the same substitutions will remain if I'm using the same formation.

When playing Madden Ultimate Team always remember to first watch out for your own interests, because others will be watching out for theirs.

Football Playbook Designer

Have you ever found a Madden NFL Football write-up on the internet and gotten a bit overwhelmed by all of the changes needed in order for the play to be run effectively?  Some users go into practice mode and "lab" these write-ups for several hours until they get everything down.  I imagine most users, like myself, either don't have the time to lab or might lose interest in labbing after a while. 

To help speed up my learning process I have attempted to mark hot routes from the write-up to a playbook image and then I would refer to it during the Online game.  This works pretty well but it takes a lot of time to edit each playbook image.  Instead of drawing up plays I came up with a Greasemonkey script which allows you to drag and drop hot routes onto a playbook image. 

This script will currently run on the http://www.primamadden.com/free-preview website. (This site hosts all of the team playbooks for Madden NFL). 

How to use:
1.  Go to an offensive playbook page and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. 
2.  Here you will find buttons for each hot route that is available on Madden NFL Football.  Also, included are some "player motion" graphs and slide protect images.
3.  Click on a button and then the hot route image will appear on the page. 
4.  Drag the hot route over the old route in the playbook formation image.

Now you can have a visual representation of your write-ups.

Download Madden NFL Playbook Designer.

Madden Ultimate Team Tips

Buy Gold Packs
Buying gold packs (not premium gold packs) seems to give you best bang for your coins.  Buy a gold pack (6,ooo coins), look through the pack and determine which cards you want to keep for your team and collect the cards you need for your collections.  Post the rest of the cards to the auction block for 10,000 bid and 10,000 buy now.  For best results, set your auctions to expire after 1 or 2 hours during peak times.

By default, the buy now value is 30,000 coins for gold cards.  When a buyer sees 10,000 BIN (buy now) they will be more apt to buy your card.  You can also discard cards that are not part of a collection and get back 750 coins.  So essentially, you can get back at least 2/3 the amount of coins you used to purchase a gold pack through discards and selling popular cards on the auction block.

Also, do some research on cards that you are posting to the auction. Do an auction search for your card. If the search comes up with more than 100 you will have a more difficult time selling the card then say a card that comes back with less than 30 in the list.

Legend Pack Strategy
Another way to earn coins is to buy a legend pack.  If you are lucky enough to get a Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders, or Jerry Rice in a pack you can put it up on the auction block for about 100,000 coins.  You can probably build your entire team off of the sale of a Dan Marino, for example.

Free Coins
In the Madden NFL menu, sign up for fantasy football with NFL.com and then log your team into Madden NFL 12 and you will get 3,000 coins.