Every Thursday, a leader in the community will share a tip or two to help you improve your Madden game.  Next up is Bangpow, co-owner of the popular sports gaming fansite ConsoleSports.net.  Here's part one of his two part tip on screen passes.  Come back next Thursday for part two of this tip.

Screen Passes

Screen passes can go a long way in keeping a defense on its toes.  I think it’s probably one of the most under used plays in Madden and NCAA, which can work to people’s advantage because when utilized correctly, the screen pass can be a very dangerous play.  Screen passes can be effective against zone defenses, man defenses, and even blitzes. So, let’s take a look at how screen passes can work against different defenses:

Screen Passes vs. Zone Coverage

Screen passes are usually the easiest to pull of against Zone defenses.  The Corners and Linebackers are usually sitting back in their zone while your offensive line lets the defensive line get pressure, while your tackle and guard pull outside to the side where your running back is setting up for the screen.  Since the corners and linebackers are sitting back in their zones, you can get a nice convoy of blockers consisting of your receiver(s) and your two lineman out in front of your running back paving the way to positive yardage.  Usually, all that’s out in front of your blockers might be a corner, a safety, and a linebacker or two at which point your beefy lineman should handle the smaller guys without a problem paving way to positive yardage.  There are plenty of good LB’s out there that can avoid the blocks and make plays, however. Just watch out for them.   

Screen Passes vs. Man Coverage

Throwing screens against man coverage can be a bit risky.  While your receivers usually run deep passing routes to take the DB’s with them, there’s also a defender assigned to cover your running back out of the backfield as well.  In previous years, the play would automatically be busted or it was a sure fire INT, but not this year.  When throwing the screen against Man coverage, your pulling lineman will sometimes block the defender covering your running back which will open him up to receive the pass, and if you are able to complete it, you can expect large gains as a lot of the DB’s are covering your WR’s downfield.    Even if the defender covering your RB doesn’t get blocked, the pass can still be completed and positive yard can still be had with decent success, but there is also greater risk of an INT, incomplete pass, sack, or negative yardage.