abilities & personnel
Table of Contents
MUT Abilities
MUT Personnel
Regs/CFM Abilities
Regs/CFM Personnel
MUT Abilities
You have two options for your ability setup based on which style of Nickel Normal you want to run. If you want to run the max coverage scheme (Style 1) then I strongly recommend at least one Inside Stuff on the d-line to help out in the run game. For the blitz heavy scheme (Style 2), it’s worth putting Under Pressure on both DE’s since they will force a lot of inaccurate throws. For now, I’m running Style 1 and mostly playing max coverage as I continue to experiment with Style 2.
Max Coverage Ability Setup (Style 1) - RECOMMENDED
Acrobat x 7 (14 AP)
Inside Stuff x 2 (3 AP - 1 AP on the DT and 2 AP on our DE subbed in at DT)
Unpredictable (1 AP)
Blitz Heavy Ability Setup (Style 2)
Acrobat x 7 (14 AP)
Under Pressure x 2 (4 AP)
MUT Personnel
This biggest thing I want to emphasize here is that for the max coverage scheme (Style 1), height is extremely important the players in our secondary. A 6’3 CB with 97 speed is far more valuable for us than a 5’10 CB with 99 speed because the CBs will be playing blue flats almost exclusively, and we need them to be able to jump and get interceptions when people try to throw over them. For the blitz heavy scheme (Style 2), then you ideally want your CBs to all have 99 SPD (speed), 90+ PRS (press), and 90+ MCV (man coverage) ratings.
DE - We need up to three DE’s (three for Style 1, two for Style 2) who are as fast as possible, so this is somewhat Theme Team dependent. Players like Montez Sweat (92 speed) and Brian Burns (93 speed) can be great budget options for these positions.
DT - For the max coverage scheme (Style 1), then you need one DT who has decent speed and ideally is the Run Stopper archetype so he can get Inside Stuff for 1 AP. Mean Joe Greene is the best option at the time of this writing. If you go with the blitz heavy scheme (Style 2), then focus on getting the best DT’s possible, although most of the time they will be just eating up blocks to free up the edge rushers.
CB - We need three CB’s who are ideally tall (at least 6’0 or taller) and also have decent speed. I am currently using a 50/50 49ers Theme Team and all three of my CB’s are at least 6’0 and have 99 speed.
FS/SS - We need four safeties because we’re going to sub two of them in at both MLB positions. Once again we want both speed and height, so players like Kam Chancellor, Taylor Mays, Derwin James, John Lynch, and Isaiah Simmons will be excellent in these spots.
Regs Abilities
If you plays regs or are in a CFM, you might not have the luxury of choosing every ability you want. With that restriction, the top priority should be having fast, tall players in the secondary and fast edge rushers.
CB
Acrobat
Flat Zone KO (Style 1)
Deep Route KO (Style 2)
FS/SS
Acrobat
Deep Out Zone KO (Style 1)
DT
Inside Stuff
Unpredictable (Style 1)
DE
Under Pressure (Style 2)
Edge Threat Elite (Style 1 - DO NOT use this for Style 2, as the ability can interfere with blitzes coming in)
Regs Personnel
Based on the abilities above, here are the ideal players to use for this scheme.
CB
Darius Slay Jr.
Jalen Ramsey
Jaire Alexander
Tre’davious White
FS/SS
Jessie Bates
Tyrann Mathieu
DT
Aaron Donald
Kenny Clark
DE
Danielle Hunter
Chandler Jones
Cam Jordan
Za’darius Smith
If you are running either style of this scheme in Regs, the Packers will run this scheme the best. They have CBs that are 93 & 95 speed, and safeties that are 91 & 93 speed, making them possibly the fastest secondary in the game. When you combine that with the excellent abilities on Jaire Alexander, Kenny Clark, and Za’darius Smith, there’s no doubt in my mind that running either style of Nickel Normal with the Packers will give your opponents major issues. It’s important to remember that if you run Style 2 with the Packers or any other team with an Edge Threat DE, then you should move him to DT (the ability will cause him to get a pass rush animation and prevent him from screaming in at the QB).