Madden 24: How to stop verticals
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Playing defense in Madden 24 can be challenging. You can only manually control one player and sometimes, the CPU doesn’t do as well as you might have. When it comes to downfield passing, this can often leave you in dire straits and produce touchdowns for the other team. One of the biggest downfield passing plays is Four Verticals, often referred to as just verticals.
This play consists of four pass-catchers, usually the three wide receivers (WR) and one tight end (TE), going pretty much straight down the field. The halfback (HB) stays in to block often. A lot of times, two will be on either side of the offensive line. If you’re struggling to stop this play, here’s what you can do.
If you’re interested in reading more about Madden NFL 24, find out which playbooks reign supreme, learn the best settings for the game, and take a look at the official soundtrack.
How do I stop verticals in Madden 24?
First, let’s note that no defensive formation is perfect and they do not always work. Even the best defensive play has an offensive counter and vice versa. If you’re playing against a real opponent, they can do things to beat the defense that a CPU might not, so there are no guaranteed stops.
However, it’s a good idea to do a few things if you believe verticals are coming. This is a shotgun play that has four players out wide. If those two things are true pre-snap, there’s a good chance the play is Four Verticals.
One thing you generally do not want to do in a Four Verticals counter is press. This is when the cornerbacks and others in coverage get right up on the line of scrimmage to knock the receivers off base when the play begins. It’s a lot easier, even for receivers with low release ratings, to get behind the defensive backs that start two feet in front of them.
Always hang back, as it’s harder to get beat down the field if you have a 5-10 yard headstart. Do this by changing your defensive alignment to play off. At this point, it doesn’t matter as much if you’re in man coverage or zone coverage as the quarterback (QB) won’t be able to find an open pass catcher deep down the field with enough time.
If your team has zone corners or runs a zone scheme, call a zone pass coverage play and shift the defenders back. However, if the opposite is true, call something like Cover 2 Man and drop everyone back. If you’re facing a mobile quarterback, try zone coverage so backs don’t get turned or set a QB Spy so the quarterback can’t take off. The defensive end can also rush in QB Contain to avoid this.
Four verticals is a play that’s fairly difficult to pull off in Madden 24, and these defensive tips will help you keep it that way. Be wary of any hot route the receiver runs, but these adjustments will ensure you have a strong defense for the standard vertical pass play.
