WL Findings and Thoughts for Anyone interested that doesn't have God Squad (18-7)
Thought I would make a post for some people that had some questions about WL and my thoughts.
P.S. My team is an 87 overall, nothing special at all. With 2 guys with abilities.
Questions
When to play?
a. If you have the ability, don't play more than 5 games on Thursday. From what I have found, after going 5-0 you will start to see yourself matched against better players/teams because of ELO. However, the increase seems to be less dramatic if I wait until Friday night or Saturday afternoon to play another set of 5 or 10.
Are abilities a must have to be competitive in WL?
a. No. I only have two abilities on my teams (Lamar Jackson 89 card) and I added inside stuff on my 84 Michael Pierce. I do think that this makes a HUGE difference as you can get away with always only having three down linemen and this minimizes the damage done on inside zones. If you have a few extra training though, adding edge protector to your tackles is definitely something worth doing as well in my opinion.
What do you run that you are seeing was successful on defense?
a. I run a 3-3-5 and put all safeties at the LB spots. This year linemen can not hold blocks downfield at all, doesn't matter if it is corner or a safety. So get some guys with speed on the field. Also, find 3 defenses that you like to run. A zone, a man, and a blitz. 3 is all you really need... but you have to mix them up. If you run the exact same defense over and over and over, even with variations, generally good players will begin to find holes.
Tips
1.. Accept Loses..
a. This one seems weird, but I think to be successful in WL you have to accept losses and not get frustrated with them (Easier said than done). You will run into GOD SQUADS and really good players, unless you have a GOD Squad, you generally will not crack top 100. There are a handful of guys that can do it, but generally not. If you get behind 2 or 3 scores, and you don't see a way back, go ahead and quit and move on. 25 is alot of games, don't get stuck on one, when you have 24 others to play.
Stick to you gameplan on Offense
a. Find a gameplan that works for you. In my opinion you need about 5-10 plays that you have MASTERED. ONE OR TWO IS NOT ENOUGH. Again, for non god squads, ONE OR TWO PLAYS ON OFFENSE IS NOT ENOUGH. Don't get cute during WL, if you haven't run a play before, generally not the time to try it out.
USE THE COACHING CHANGES
a. I always set flats to 0 or 5 and curl flats to 20 or 25. This minimizes the times you get torched by corner routes in zone and the deep crossers. Try it. If you are leaving these as default it will get you in some trouble if your guys have lower zone ratings.
Take what the defense gives you
a. This is my number one way to beat god squads... Flats and drags are your friend against max teams. Their guys are bigger stronger and faster, but double moves, drags and flats still are open alot of the time. Use that to your advantage. Try and get the user to get out of their gameplan, that's what dinking and dumping will do. Instead of shading overtop, they shade underneath and maybe you get a deep post overtop with no safety help because they are just tired of the 3 yard drags working. Remember they got 25 games to play too, and nothing more frustrating than an 85 OVR team hanging around with a 90 OVR team....
Just a couple things I found, hope any of you guys searching for more wins, that this helps even a little bit.
Thought I would make a post for some people that had some questions about WL and my thoughts.
P.S. My team is an 87 overall, nothing special at all. With 2 guys with abilities.
Questions
When to play? a. If you have the ability, don't play more than 5 games on Thursday. From what I have found, after going 5-0 you will start to see yourself matched against better players/teams because of ELO. However, the increase seems to be less dramatic if I wait until Friday night or Saturday afternoon to play another set of 5 or 10.
Are abilities a must have to be competitive in WL? a. No. I only have two abilities on my teams (Lamar Jackson 89 card) and I added inside stuff on my 84 Michael Pierce. I do think that this makes a HUGE difference as you can get away with always only having three down linemen and this minimizes the damage done on inside zones. If you have a few extra training though, adding edge protector to your tackles is definitely something worth doing as well in my opinion.
What do you run that you are seeing was successful on defense? a. I run a 3-3-5 and put all safeties at the LB spots. This year linemen can not hold blocks downfield at all, doesn't matter if it is corner or a safety. So get some guys with speed on the field. Also, find 3 defenses that you like to run. A zone, a man, and a blitz. 3 is all you really need... but you have to mix them up. If you run the exact same defense over and over and over, even with variations, generally good players will begin to find holes.
Tips
1.. Accept Loses.. a. This one seems weird, but I think to be successful in WL you have to accept losses and not get frustrated with them (Easier said than done). You will run into GOD SQUADS and really good players, unless you have a GOD Squad, you generally will not crack top 100. There are a handful of guys that can do it, but generally not. If you get behind 2 or 3 scores, and you don't see a way back, go ahead and quit and move on. 25 is alot of games, don't get stuck on one, when you have 24 others to play.
Stick to you gameplan on Offense a. Find a gameplan that works for you. In my opinion you need about 5-10 plays that you have MASTERED. ONE OR TWO IS NOT ENOUGH. Again, for non god squads, ONE OR TWO PLAYS ON OFFENSE IS NOT ENOUGH. Don't get cute during WL, if you haven't run a play before, generally not the time to try it out.
USE THE COACHING CHANGES a. I always set flats to 0 or 5 and curl flats to 20 or 25. This minimizes the times you get torched by corner routes in zone and the deep crossers. Try it. If you are leaving these as default it will get you in some trouble if your guys have lower zone ratings.
Take what the defense gives you a. This is my number one way to beat god squads... Flats and drags are your friend against max teams. Their guys are bigger stronger and faster, but double moves, drags and flats still are open alot of the time. Use that to your advantage. Try and get the user to get out of their gameplan, that's what dinking and dumping will do. Instead of shading overtop, they shade underneath and maybe you get a deep post overtop with no safety help because they are just tired of the 3 yard drags working. Remember they got 25 games to play too, and nothing more frustrating than an 85 OVR team hanging around with a 90 OVR team....
Just a couple things I found, hope any of you guys searching for more wins, that this helps even a little bit.