Coaching Adjustments was a popular feature in our NCAA Football series. It now makes a debut in Madden NFL 18.

For those of you who’ve played NCAA Football, you'll recognize elements of this feature and will have a general idea of how it works. But, there are some key additions and updates we've made specifically for Madden.

The Coaching Adjustments option is located on the front page of the play call screen. This is for both offense and defense. Once the user selects the Coaching Adjustment option, they'll be taken to the next page, which contains the list of Coaching Adjustments available for the side of the ball they’re playing.

By default, each adjustment is set to Balanced. This means standard gameplay conditions apply based on the mode the user is in. Here's the complete list of Coaching Adjustments, as well as the descriptions on what they do.

Defensive Adjustments

Auto Flip Defense On - The CPU will flip your defensive play to best match the offensive formation Off - Disables auto flip defensive play call

Ball In Air Defense Play Ball -- AI will play the ball in two-man catch situations Pro: Increased chance of an interception Con: Increased chance of WR catching ball and increased chance of a broken tackle Play Receiver – AI will play the receiver in two-man catch situations Pro: Decreased chance of a broken tackle Con: No chance of an interception Swat Ball –AI will attempt a swat in two-man catch situations Pro: Increased chance of knocking out ball Con: No chance of an interception

Option Conservative Pro: Focused on QB on the option Con: Dive and Pitch left open on the option Aggressive Pro: Focused on the Dive and Pitch on the option Con: QB left open on the option

Pass Rush Conservative Pro: Outside rushers play QB Contain and AI defensive line will look to swat passes Con: No Jump Snap bonus and more time in pocket for QB Aggressive Pro: AI pass rushers will attempt to jump the snap Con: Higher chance of off sides penalty versus hard count New Addition: Pass Rushers also see an increase in fatigue

Strip Ball Conservative Pro: Lowers break tackle chances Con: AI will not attempt to strip Aggressive Pro: Higher chance for AI to attempt a strip for a higher fumble chance Con: Higher chance of a broken tackle and face mask penalty

Tackling Conservative Pro: AI defenders tackle conservatively Con: Increases chances of allowing yards after contact Aggressive: Pro: AI defenders attempt Hit Stick tackles for higher fumble chance Con: Higher chances of missed tackles



Offensive Adjustments

Ball Carrier Conservative Pro: Ball carrier protects the ball, decreased fumble chances Con: Decreased ability to break tackles Aggressive Pro: Higher chance of triggering auto break tackles Con: Increased fumble chances

Blocking Conservative: Pro: Decreased chances of holding penalty Con: Hold blocks less for run and pass Aggressive: Hold blocks longer for run and pass Increased chances of holding penalty

Deep Pass Catching Conservative: Pro: Receivers will attempt a RAC catch, increases run after catch chances Con: Increased interception chance Aggressive: Pro: Receivers will attempt an Aggressive catch Con: Decreases run after catch chance

Intermediate Pass Catching Conservative: Pro: Receivers will attempt a Possession catch Con: Decreased run after catch chance Aggressive: Pro: Receivers will attempt a RAC or Aggressive catch Con: Increased chances of ball being knocked out



Cornerback Matchups

Cornerback Matchups is a Coaching Adjustment that allows the player to set what criteria they want to use to determine which wide receivers their CBs matchup against. Cornerback Matchups work for both man and zone defenses. To maximize the effectiveness of this feature, users ideally want to make sure the number of CBs on the field is equal to or greater than the number of WRs.

If, for example, the offense has more receivers on the field than cornerbacks, the CBs will still follow the matchup criteria set by the user. But only the CBs who are projected to matchup against a WR will swap positions with one another.

The options the user has available are:

By Overall – Highest-rated cornerback will matchup vs. highest rated receiver

By Speed – Fastest cornerback will matchup vs. fastest receiver

By Height – Tallest cornerback will matchup vs. tallest receiver

By Route Running – Highest-rated man coverage cornerback will matchup vs. highest rated route run receiver

By Depth Chart – Matchup based on cornerback's depth chart position vs. receivers overall rating

By Depth Chart gives the user the ability to set specific cornerbacks to a specific receiver. For example, if a user wants their highest-rated cornerback to matchup vs. the second highest overall-rated receiver, they can simply go to the team depth chart and place their highest rated cornerback into the CB2 slot.

AI Usage and Game Styles

Coaching Adjustments are available with all Game Styles and all play modes except for Practice. Therefore, when a Coaching Adjustment is set, the assumption is that the user is willing to accept the inherent risks and rewards of that Coaching Adjustment. Penalties and other various outcomes can occur as a result of a Coaching Adjustment in any game mode.

An added element is that the AI in the Simulation game style will use Coaching Adjustments. When the AI uses a Coaching Adjustment, and if that adjustment had an impact on the play result, a drop-down banner will appear under the in-game scoreboard HUD displaying the adjustment that triggered.

The Coaching Adjustments that the AI will use are: