Does Dime matter?  Is there any reason to use it AND Nickel, or just use one of the two?  

To me its not clear.  Over the course of playing this game I have tended to play Nickel vs the Shotgun instead of playing Dime.  To me, its too difficult to have that much depth at DB.  

With the 3.0 engine, you you do have a little more flexibility in defensive planning.  You can set up a Dime so that it acts more like a Nickel, or even a 4-3.  You can set up a 3-4 so that it looks more like a Dime.

So, in short, I suggest trying out what you think is best, based on your personnel, and settling on what gives you the best results.

For the past 2 seasons I have practiced and played the 3-4-4 exclusively focusing on LB's and DB's with speed to give me the flexibility to drop as many as 4 LB"s into coverage in passing situations and creating a "7 man front" with the LB"s in tight to defend the run. I chose the 3-4 because it has made recruiting and roster balance more manageable. In my geographic area, ie. Pa., NJ., Ohio, etc., quality LB's and DB's have been more available. This is the way I like it, however I have observed some of the most successful programs are using the 4-3 & Nickel combination. Good luck and have fun!!

I like to run a Dime if your base D is 3-4 and Nickle if your base D is 4-3 due to you keep the same amount of D-line man on the field.

At D-1

Miami -- 4-3 // 4-4 // Nickel // Dime
Fresno State -- 3-4 // 4-4 // Nickel // Dime

Posted by ddingo on 4/20/2014 6:34:00 PM (view original):
At D-1

Miami -- 4-3 // 4-4 // Nickel // Dime
Fresno State -- 3-4 // 4-4 // Nickel // Dime

Are you practicing all of those?

Posted by harriswb3 on 4/20/2014 10:27:00 AM (view original):
To me its not clear.  Over the course of playing this game I have tended to play Nickel vs the Shotgun instead of playing Dime.  To me, its too difficult to have that much depth at DB.  

With the 3.0 engine, you you do have a little more flexibility in defensive planning.  You can set up a Dime so that it acts more like a Nickel, or even a 4-3.  You can set up a 3-4 so that it looks more like a Dime.

So, in short, I suggest trying out what you think is best, based on your personnel, and settling on what gives you the best results.

I agree -- I can find a 4th DL moreso than a 6th DB.  And with LBs with speeds in the 70s and decent tech, dropping a guy like that into coverage you can probably do better in many cases than you would (at D2 anyway) with that last DB.  

Right now all my DBs are better (in terms of role rating) as CBs than as Safeties.  I'm trying out a nickel where I change one of the safeties to CB to take advantage of a +2 disparity in role rating between CB and Safety.  Since the assignment is "cover" in either case, why not play the player as the "role" he rates better in?  Seems logical from a "game engine" standpoint, but we will see what it does.

Posted by macdee on 4/20/2014 11:43:00 AM (view original):
I like to run a Dime if your base D is 3-4 and Nickle if your base D is 4-3 due to you keep the same amount of D-line man on the field.

Makes sense.  I have a big drop off after the first 4 CBs (who I inherited) so I am going with 4-3 / Nickel, with 4-4 ready to go when I run into the right matchup for it.