The Strong Close formation is one of the most used formations used this Madden 12 football video game season. For those of you who play online, you know what we mean. What makes the Strong Close so popular is it’s a balance compressed formation. Both the flanker and split end line up tight on both sides of the offensive tackles. This makes it fairly easy to read man or zone coverage. Besides the flanker and split end, the formation has the tight end, by default lining up on the right side, next to the right tackle. The halfback lines up directly behind the quarterback and about 8 yards off the line of scrimmage. The fullback’s alignment is to the right of the quarterback and behind the right guard. The quarterback lines up directly behind the center.
Strengths
- The Strong Close formation is one of the better balanced under center formations as it provides the offense plenty of fire power to run or pass the ball.
- Easy to pre-read the pass coverage’s before the snap. Look for a the left cornerback to line up just outside of the flanker or even further outside to tell if zone coverage has been called.
- Create inside pass protections schemes with the fullback on the fly.
- One of the better compression formations in the game.
Weaknesses
- With so many players running it, players spend a lot of time in lab on defense learning to defend it.
Popular Strong Close Plays
- Off Tackle
- Quick Toss
- PA (team) Cross
- Mesh
- Y Trail
