The Passing Game

At its most basic level, the passing game is dropping back, looking for the open receiver, throwing the ball, and making the catch. But there's much more to a successful air attack. This section provides tips on knowing where to put the ball, integrating your impact and motivated players, and performing consistent execution to avoid sacks and turnovers while maximizing big play potential.

A successful air attack begins at play selection. While it may not always be possible to focus your offense around your best player (the defense may be double teaming that player), you should certainly try to get an impact receiver (or certainly a motivated receiver) the ball as often as possible.

Avoid calling the same passing routes over and over again. Mix it up. Just because you have an extremely fast wide receiver doesn't mean every play has to be a deep bomb post route. Call a wide receiver screen or a short out route. Make the defense think short then hit the fast receiver on a deeper ball. Plus, by piling up short, high percentage passes, you can increase motivation for your receiver and quarterback.

Utilize packages and motion to help free up your star receivers. With packages you can shift a primary receiver around the field—onto the opposite side of the field or into the slot. This can place your best receiver against a poor defender—a mismatch that's certainly in your favor. Using motion before the snap can help free your receiver off of bump-and-run press coverage as well as help determine if the defense is in man-to-man or zone coverage as well as line your receiver against a weaker defender.

Know your personnel. Are your receiver targets fast or slow? Faster receivers excel in crossing routes and deeper post routes; slower receivers are better suited for curl routes or even quick slants where faster corners don't have the time to defend or jump the route (if the defenders aren't playing press coverage). Obviously it's better to test the opposing defense deep with your fastest target rather than a slower target that will likely be tightly covered.

Watch how defenders react at the snap. How the linebackers and safeties move will help you determine where to put the football.

After snapping the ball, watching defenders' movements can help determine where best to throw the ball. If you've called a slant, in, or crossing route in the middle of the field, watch the movement of the linebackers. A blitzing linebacker can leave the middle open; also, a linebacker may be in man coverage against a running back that's in the flat. If the linebackers drop back in zone, be cautious about tossing the ball in the middle of the field; these passes can be easily disrupted or picked off by a linebacker crowding the passing lane.

If you're trying to throw deep, watch the movement of the safeties. Ideally you want single coverage when throwing deep. Otherwise it's difficult to complete the pass and could very well be intercepted. See if the safety goes to the line (in a blitz) or is on man coverage with the tight end or another receiver. If the safety moves outside in zone to cover the outside receivers, look at a secondary read in the short to medium middle of the field or a dump off to a back in the flat.

The passing action is also important. Planting the quarterback's feet and passing the ball generally tosses the most accurate pass. Avoid scampering around and attempting to throw while on the run especially medium-to-long range passes in traffic. A dump off to a back in the flat can be made on the run or rollout but be careful about tossing the ball with defenders in the area.

When throwing the pass, holding down the target button tosses a bullet pass; tapping the target button tosses a lob pass. A "standard" throw is essentially in-between the two. Give your passes more of a lob or arch when you want your receiver to run under the ball or you're tossing deep over pursuing defenders. Throw a bullet pass when you need to strike the target quickly, such as in a curl route or to a running back in the flat. You can also use the thumb stick in precision passing to better place the ball—such as ahead of a receiver's route to keep the ball away from a defender.

After throwing the pass, switch players to the wide receiver and put yourself in the best position to catch the pass. If the option exists, come back toward the ball to make the catch. A quick move around a defender could avoid leaving the defender between the quarterback and your initial position. Utilize the catch button (for instance, "Y" on the 360) to complete the "User Catch". As the manual suggests, taking control and making the plays has the biggest impact for motivation levels.

Top Ten Rated Quarterbacks

The table below reveals NCAA Football 08's top ten quarterbacks sorted by overall rating. The chart also lists important quarterback stats: speed, awareness, throw power, and throw accuracy. Faster quarterbacks, such as West Virginia's elusive #5 and Missouri's quick #10, also have higher agility, acceleration, and special move ratings than typical pocket passers (such as Louisville's #12, the highest overall rated quarterback in the game).

Top Ten Rated Wide Receivers

Challenge defenses using fast wide receivers as deep threats or steadily move the chains with the consistency of possession receivers. The table below reveals the top ten wide receivers in NCAA Football 08. Key statistics include speed, agility, acceleration, catching, jumping, spectacular catch, catch in traffic, route running, and an assortment of special move ratings.

Top Ten Rated Tight Ends

The tight end serves a dual role as blocker and receiver threat. Don't underestimate the tight end in the passing game. The tight end is unlikely to break big gains but he often draws less attention than a team's premiere wide receivers. The list below reveals the top ten rated tight ends in NCAA Football 08. Key statistics include speed, catching, jumping, break tackle, trucking, and blocking.

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