Playbooks
Field Goal Block Right
At a Glance
Overview
Field Goal Block Right is a defensive special teams set inside the Special formation, built to attack the opponent's field goal and extra point unit with its pressure loaded toward the right side of the formation. It is a kick defense package rather than an offensive look. Its counterpart sets shift the rush lanes to the other side or balance them, while this set stacks extra rushers on the right edge to create a numbers advantage against the wing and tackle on that side of the protection shell.
The set carries three calls that trade block pressure against fake protection. Load Block Right commits the most bodies to the right edge and interior gaps, overloading the protection to spring a free runner off the edge. Base Block Right is the standard call, pairing a balanced interior push with edge pressure from the right. Safe Man Right pulls rushers back into man coverage on the eligible receivers and holder. It is the answer when you suspect a fake field goal or a fake extra point run or pass.
The matchup advantage comes from the overload itself. The protection has a fixed number of blockers, so loading one side leaves the wing and end tackle to handle more rushers than they can seal. In Madden, that surplus lets a user-controlled edge rusher or a leaping interior lineman get a hand on the kick. The kick needs a low trajectory or slow operation for that to happen, and a strong kicker with a quick, high kick can still get it over.
Strengths
- Load Block Right creates a true overload on the right edge, forcing the wing and tackle into a two on one they cannot fully seal and opening a direct lane toward the kick point
- Using a fast edge rusher on the loaded side lets you time the snap and take the shortest angle to the block point, which is the highest percentage way to block kicks in Madden
- Safe Man Right gives you a built-in fake counter with man assignments on the eligible receivers, shutting down fake field goal passes to the wing or tight end without leaving the formation
- All three plays show a nearly identical pre-snap alignment, so opponents who read your rush count to decide whether to call a fake get no reliable tell
- Base Block Right keeps interior pressure honest while still leaning right, forcing a lower kick trajectory and increasing miss probability on long attempts even without a clean block
Weaknesses
- Jumping the snap to beat protection risks an offside or neutral zone flag, and on fourth and short that penalty can hand the offense a first down and keep the drive alive
- Load Block Right sacrifices coverage on the eligible receivers, leaving you exposed to a fake field goal pass or holder run toward the vacated side
- Overcommitting to the right edge can lead to running into or roughing the kicker penalties if your user rusher misses the ball and continues through the plant leg
- Smart opponents can flip their fake play to the weak side of your overload, attacking the backside where Safe Man coverage never gets called
- Block attempts rarely succeed against high power, high accuracy kickers on short attempts, so heavy rushing on chip shots gives up fake risk for little reward
Usage Tips
Call Load Block Right on long attempts (45 yards and beyond) where the kick trajectory is lower and the extra edge pressure has the best chance to get a hand on the ball
Switch to Safe Man Right on fourth and short in the red zone, or against opponents who have already shown a fake, since human players fake far more often than the CPU does
User your fastest edge rusher on the loaded side, stay stationary until the snap, and take the tightest angle toward the kick point instead of rushing the kicker's body, which cuts down on roughing risk
Flip the play pre-snap when the ball is spotted on a hash so the overload attacks the side where the kick path passes closest to your rushers
If you get a block, immediately switch to the nearest defender near the loose ball, since blocked kicks behind the line can be scooped and returned for a score
