Every year Madden introduces new formations. This year they revived an old favorite with Near Close. This undercenter formation is not the deepest formation, but what’s new is always popular in Madden. We wanted to tackle this new formation for everyone to see. We did not go into a huge amount of depth here, but we did cover an entire scheme that can be run from your audibles.

From the great runs to the efficient passing plays – Near Close is definitely something you will want to be using early on. If you are playing with a custom playbook then feel free to add this formation to it and set your audibles accordingly. If you are playing with locked playbooks then you’ll want to head into Kansas City or Philadelphia to run this new formation.

Plays Covered: FB Dive, HB Inside, Post Drag, PA Strong Flow

Post Drag Setup 1
Adjustments:

  • TE on out route
  • Left of screen WR on curl

Post Drag Setup 2
Adjustments:

  • TE stays on drag
  • Left of screen WR on curl

PA Strong Flow
Adjustments:

  • Swing fullback to the left