With the introduction of disguised coverages in Madden 25, many players may feel overwhelmed by the defensive options. One essential technique that remains pivotal is base alignment, a feature that allows you to disguise your defense more effectively. Despite the new changes in defensive mechanics, base aligning is still a core tactic, especially as Madden 25 brings fresh complexity to defensive play.

If you're unfamiliar with base align or need a quick refresher, this article will guide you through how to utilize it in Madden 25 and why it matters more than ever.

What is Base Align?

Base aligning is a way to disguise your coverage pre-snap by aligning your defense as though they’re in a standard formation, even when you’re running specialized coverages like Cover 2, Cover 3, or man coverage. This setup can help confuse opposing quarterbacks and prevent them from reading your defense too early.

For example, when you run a Cover 3 zone defense, your corners would usually play deeper and farther outside to cover the deep thirds of the field. However, base aligning puts them in the same position as if you were in a man or Cover 2 scheme, making it harder for your opponent to diagnose the play.

But here's an important note: base align doesn't fully disguise everything. Pre-snap motions, like a receiver shifting or going in motion, can still tip off whether you’re running man or zone defense. But it’s a small way to gain an advantage and prevent giving up easy reads.

How to Base Align in Madden 25

In Madden 25, you can’t base align at the line of scrimmage. Instead, you must set it up before you pick a play through the menu. This is a slight change from previous Madden games, where you could make this adjustment after lining up. To enable base alignment:

1.Select a play on defense – This is the point when you can adjust your defensive setup.

2.Press the right stick – This brings up the Coach Adjustments menu.

3.In the Coach Adjustments menu, look for the option labeled Auto-Alignment.

4.Change the setting from “Default” to “Base”.

This will lock your defense into base alignment, disguising some aspects of your coverage.

Why Base Align Matters in Madden 25

In Madden 25, zone coverage is arguably at its weakest in years. There are numerous problems plaguing zone coverage at launch:

- Deep zones aren't responding well to corner routes.

- Custom stems on routes are causing problems for defenders in deep thirds.

- Curl flats (purple zones) aren’t obeying custom adjustments like they used to. In past games, players could set curl flats to zero yards to aggressively defend flat routes. That’s no longer as reliable.

- Zone drops (flat defenders) are slow to drop to their assigned areas, which is partly a legacy issue.

- Pre-play adjustments to flats don’t always remove you from Match coverage, which is a change many players need to adjust to.

Given these challenges, you need every tool at your disposal to keep your defense competitive. Base alignment helps by providing better width to your defense, which is especially useful against:

- Outside runs: Base aligning spreads your defenders wider, improving your edge containment.

- RPOs (Run-Pass Options): The width of base-aligned defenders helps deal with these tricky offensive schemes.

- Flats: Players in base alignment are better positioned to cover quick passes to the flats.

While base align isn’t a cure-all for Madden 25's defensive issues, it helps minimize the weaknesses in zone coverage and gives your defense a chance to compete.

Conclusion

To succeed defensively in Madden 25, you need to adapt to the game's current defensive challenges. While zone coverage remains a work in progress, utilizing base align helps compensate for some of its shortcomings. Base aligning can confuse your opponent, widen your defense, and give you an edge against outside runs and short passes to the flats. Though not perfect, it’s a simple tactic to add to your playbook, especially in a game where defensive mechanics are still being ironed out. So, make sure to incorporate base alignment into your strategy and stay ahead of the competition! By the way, get the cheapest Madden 25 MUT Coins at MMOexp, improve your team is so easy and useful.

MMOexp Madden 25 Team