The new Madden NFL installment is out. Like each year, players will work towards training the best team and learning the mechanics best to stand out in the competition of the game. This guide aims to help you learn the best defense tips for Madden NFL 23 and decide what formations will work best for your teams.
Madden NFL 23 Defense Tips
Defending is a huge part of Madden NFL 23. Just being aggressive will leave your back completely open and therefore, you need to make sure that your team has good enough defensive capabilities along with your offense.
Maintaining your defense is not that hard, all you need to do is learn the basic mechanics and Madden 23 defense controls. That will give you proper command over your team and make sure that no one from the opponent team makes it to your goalpost.
Selecting your Playbooks
Playbooks play a huge part in determining your offensive and defense. The first part of your team building is selecting the appropriate playbook.
Playbooks have been updated in Madden NFL 23 and you need to have an in-depth understanding of these to make sure you pick the playbook that works on whatever boosts or abilities you need for your team.
Interception
Not the movie, but intercepting the ball. You need to select the targeted defender and then press the intercept button to get the ball the button is Triangle on PS4, Y on Xbox and R on PC.
Interception is a huge part of Madden NFL series. You need to learn to anticipate the moves of your opponents and get the ball. Familiarizing yourself with formations, play types and personnel will improve your ability to predict any opponent player.
Selecting Formation
Your selected formation for the team plays a huge part in determining the defensive capability of your team. A balanced formation will allow you to take advantage to get goals, as well as keep the opponents from scoring a goal.
On the other hand, defensive formations are best for ending time and making sure that the opposing team cannot score their goal.
Using a 3-4 formation allows you to focus on linebackers to keep the opponents from rushing. Similarly, DB formation allows you to keep the opposing team from passing the ball around too much.
Utilizing the Coaching Adjustments
Madden NFL series always features some hardcore fans who have such mastery of the game, that taking them down is always difficult. For these players, the best option you have is the Coaching Adjustment Screen. This allows you to modify the formations in specific areas of the field.
A custom formation is always better than a pre-determined, as you can control a lot of variables and make sure your formation is properly designed for whatever situation you are facing.
Tackling
Your best way of keeping the ball away from your goal is by making sure that all the quarterbacks are out of action. The best way to do this is by tackling down the quarterbacks, so they can neither make a pass nor catch one.
Madden NFL 23 has four types of tackles that you can use:
- Conservative Tackle:X on PlayStation, A button on Xbox
- Dive Tackle: Square on PlayStation, X button on Xbox
- Hit Stick: Flick Down on the Right Analog Stick on PlayStation and Xbox
- Cut Stick: Flick Down on the Right Analog Stick on PlayStation and Xbox
Using the different tackles will allow you to make sure that the opponent quarterbacks are completely incapacitated and unable to move against your team in any capacity.
Blitzing
Whenever you are starting your coverage, make sure you Blitz your user is the pre-play. This will allow the character to start coverage with a speed boost. Though the speed boost is extremely small, it is still worthwhile and can make a huge difference when used properly.
Since blitzing provides you a speed boost, you can set up your defense so that you blitz the selected player in the middle on O-line. This allows you to perform much better and the pressure on the opponents can arrive much earlier than regular.
Another strategy you can use for Blitzing is by using it outside of a contain. Using a blitz outside of the contain will confuse the O-line. You will raise the pressure and your quarterbacks will remain open as well.
D-Line
D-Lines allows you to set up defenses and these should be properly used. A D-Line set up to counter the stronger side of the attackers will always keep your defense strong. These can be used to stop runs from your opponents and you can open a gap that can be easily sealed off by your users.
Adjusting to Situation
Adjustment is something that will help you a lot on the field. Even if you have all other essential skills but don’t know how to adjust in different situations, all these skills become irrelevant.
Now to adjust someone in the secondary, you must double-tap the Y or Triangle button. For adjusting the linebacker, you have to double-tap right on the D-pad. Similarly, for defense, double tapping left will work.
It will allow you to adjust many defenders simultaneously, and you don’t have to switch to each one. You can practice it to improve your speed further.
Reading the Coverages
It is a vital thing in Madden 23, and once you master it, no one can defeat you. It is a system that will work in your mind and help you tackle the opponent team’s offense.
But, just like you learn the skill of breaking the defense of other teams, you have to work on stopping the offense.
