Playbooks

Tight

Full House·32

At a Glance

FormationFull House

Personnel

323 RB · 2 TE · 0 WR

Plays9

In 2 playbooks

Broncos OffenseOffense NFL Live Broncos OffenseOffense

Overview

The Tight set in the Full House formation is Madden's purest downhill power look. It uses 32 personnel: three backs in a full house triangle (two lead backs flanking the QB with the tailback stacked deep) and two tight ends aligned inline on both sides of the formation. There are no split receivers. Every eligible player starts within a few yards of the ball, so the defense has to declare early. Most opponents counter with Goal Line, 5-2, or heavy 4-4 packages, and that personnel response is exactly what the play-action tree in this set is built to punish.

Other Full House sets spread at least one eligible player outside. The Tight set compresses everything, which gives you two extra gap blockers at the point of attack and balanced strength to either side. Because the formation is symmetrical, the defense cannot key run direction off alignment. Power O, Counter Lead, and HB Slam can hit either A or B gap with a lead blocker, and HB Sweep gets two inline tight ends sealing the edge while the lead backs log the force defender.

The passing game comes entirely off run action. PA Dig Wheels, PA Post, PA Power O, and PA Ctr Waggle all sell the same flow as the base runs, then release tight ends and backs into space against defenders who have filled downhill. When the defense matches heavy, you get linebackers covering backs on wheel routes and safeties squeezed into run fits, leaving the post and corner windows open behind them. Curl Y Corner gives you a straight dropback option that stretches the flat and corner against Cover 3 and Cover 4 rotations.

Strengths

Symmetrical 32 personnel alignment lets Power O, Counter Lead, and HB Slam hit either side with a lead back, so the defense cannot cheat its front or slant strength toward a tight end.
Defenses usually respond with Goal Line or heavy 4-4 personnel, which puts slow linebackers in coverage against backs on PA Dig Wheels, one of the most reliable man beaters in any heavy set.
PA Post and PA Power O punish Cover 1 and Cover 3 safeties who trigger on run flow, creating deep shots over a vacated middle of the field with max protect style blocking behind them.
PA Ctr Waggle moves the QB away from the run action for a clean rollout read, beating aggressive edge contain and giving you a flat to intermediate high-low zone beater on the boot side.
Curl Y Corner creates a corner-flat stretch from inline tight ends that beats Cover 3 and soft Cover 4 when the defense stays in base personnel to respect the run.

Weaknesses

No wide receivers means zero horizontal spacing, so a Goal Line front with a user in the middle can clog every interior gap and force you into low-percentage perimeter runs.
Nano blitzes off the edge are dangerous on play-action because the QB turns his back on the fake, and your backs are running routes instead of picking up pressure.
A user-controlled safety or linebacker sitting in the middle hook can undercut the dig on PA Dig Wheels and the post on PA Post, since both routes break into the same defender's zone.
The playbook is thin, only nine plays with little quick passing, so opponents can recognize the set and sit on the run with man coverage across the board and a spy on the QB.
Slow tight ends and fullbacks struggle to separate against man coverage when the defense uses speed linebackers or subs safeties into the box, which limits the play-action game against smart personnel matching.

Usage Tips

Use the set in short yardage, goal line, and four minute offense, and alternate Power O and Counter Lead to set up PA Power O once the linebackers start filling hard.

Read the defensive personnel pre-snap: against Goal Line or 5-2 fronts, check to PA Dig Wheels and target the wheel against a linebacker. Against base or nickel with extra DBs, stay on the ground with HB Slam or HB Sweep.

Hot route a tight end to a block or slide protection toward the blitz side on PA Post when you spot an overloaded edge, keeping the QB clean long enough for the deep shot to develop.

If the safety drops into the box pre-snap, run PA Ctr Waggle to roll away from pressure and hit the flat or crosser before the backside end can close on the boot.

Mix Curl Y Corner in on second and medium to break tendencies, and read the flat defender: throw the corner if he jumps the curl, and throw the curl if he sinks under the corner.