I really need some help here. I just went into Draft Champions for the last few hours and remembered how insufferable the online is sometimes. Sometimes people only pass or only run and they find a play that I just have no play call answer to. Am I supposed to call a certain play, or just take control of a character and do what needs to be done? Sometimes I throw a double team at an opponents only receiver and there's still nothing I can do to stop them.
Note: I usually draft all in on O-Line, a WR, and a HB. Defense is mainly secondary and 2 or 3 D-Line playmakers.
I'm not expert, although I'm 2 - 0 in Draft Champions (haha) but you really want a balanced team. If anything, draft more D than Offense. Forget the defensive line because not many people are going to run in draft champions mode because of the short clock. I mean, obviously, get some D-line if that's your only choice, but don't focus heavily on it.
Try to get 2 solid CBs, 1 solid safety, and one solid MLB.
For my offensive play style, I really like possession style receivers and receiving tight ends. A solid receiving tight end will open so much up for you that you couldn't get by someone who is junk. And then try to get 3 balanced offensive lineman... A center, LT, and RG should be enough in most circumstances. If you do overload one side of your team, say, you get a solid LT, LG, and C, then focus on running to the left side because chances are the defense will not be fully stacked there.
For defense, yes, you need to call plays to try to match your opponents offense. But if you're unsure of what play to call, follow this:
When the opponent picks their play, it tells you their formation. If they have 2 WR, 1 TE, and 2 RB, go with your base defense... which is typically a 4-3 or 3-4 defense. From there, call a basic play, cover 2 man or cover 2 zone. Don't get me wrong, cover 2 is very beatable by anybody who can identify it. To beat cover 2 you corner routes, but about 50% of people that play can read defenses, and the cover 2 will work as an effective base defense against 50% of people who can't read defense and can't change their gameplan.
If it's 3 WR, then you can still pick your base D, but if it's a passing down, consider picking a nickel or dime defense. That puts more CBs on the field. Again, you can try to use the Cover 2. It's a solid, standard defense... sure, there are gaps, but it's a base defensive call.
You want to mix up in a few areas... Call blitzes when you want to be aggressive, although avoid the safety blitz. It's a dead giveaway and is very easy to exploit. Safety blitz is effective against the run, but it's so easy to diagnose that it's not worth it.
I've noticed most people go for it on 4th down in draft champions. In that case, clal a dime and use a cover 3. Before the play, hit Y (or triangle) and then RB (or R1) which is the "Protect Sticks" defensive mentality. Basically, this will concede a reception over the middle or a DEEP reception, but will actively prevent the offense from getting a first. It won't work every time, but on 4th down, you really just need it to MOSTLY work.
In terms of who you're defending, most "skilled" players control a linebacker, but it does take some work. If you're not good at manual defense then you'll get chewed up, so you may want to play safe and control a lineman and let your CPU do most of the work, switching to them at the point of the play.
Draft Champions is all about clock management. If you got the ball to start the game, try to be up by half time, if you did not get the ball, try to be tied at the half. Stick to your gameplan, don't give up. If you're down by 7.. don't abandon your gameplan and what works for you. Be willing to punt. I was down 7 - 0 in the first half, with 2:30 left... and had a 4th down at my opponents 45. Now... I can guarantee my opponent would have gone for it (he didn't punt once), but I punted and pinned him at the 4 yard line. After a near safety, he had two quick incompletions and I got the ball back to tie 7-7 going into the half. Then I steadily marched down the field to take a 14-7 lead... He panicked, played like shit on his next drive, and went 0 - 4, adn then quit the game.
Draft Champions seems to encourage cheese play... going for it on 4th down, onside kicks, etc. It's really crazy. It's not like a typical game of football because the games are short and there's some strategy involved here, just not football strategy. It's almost like people do onside kicks to to a 2 for 1, like in basketball (e.g., scoring, then giving up a quick score, to then try to score again). It's interesting.
