Running a successful offense in Madden 08 involves a number of things, from knowing your playbook like the back of your hand, to using your personnel to your advantage. Out of all things needed to put points on the board, I feel none is more important than being able to read the defense.

There are many ways pre-snap to reading a defense in Madden 08. I normally send my WR in motion to determine if the DB playing my man is in zone or man defense. If he runs stride for stride then the defense is in man coverage. If he slides in a strafing motion, then the defense is in man. Sometimes a safety will man up on a receiver as soon as the huddle is broke and you know that he's playing man to man coverage. Some of the time the defense will mix it up and go with a man/zone combo. I'll cover how to beat these later on.

Reading defensive backs isn't the only way to really get a step up on your opponent. You also have to be able to determine if the defense is sending heat. If a a defensive player creeps toward the line of scrimmage, chances are, it's a blitz. I like to send my slot receiver on a slant to the inside on any play to counter this. He could be playing zone so you really have to know how to make your reads in case the player stays back in zone.

Beating a defense can be tough, especially if you can't make your reads quickly. In this year's game, the heat comes fast, so you have to be able to react quickly. I normally come out in Shotgun Normal - FL Screen (out of the ATL playbook), and I hot route my slot receiver to run a slant over the middle. By doing so, the slant allows me to be able to drop the ball off to my slot receiver if the heat is coming at a quick pace. I also send my WR on the right in motion to determine man or zone coverage. If zone, I send him back to his original spot and when I snap the ball I immediately bullet the pass over to him. He should be in position to pick up a good 5-15 yards. If my opponent is playing man coverage I audible to something different and adjust my hot routes based off what I see in the rest of the defense.

In short yardage situations, I believe its best to spread the field to make your opponent really think twice when he sees what offensive set you have called. I come out in Shotgun 5WR- WR Screen (ATL playbook). In this particular play, I hot route the receiver running a corner route to a slant over the middle. By spreading the offense and using this particular hot route, I can beat both man and zone. If it's man or a blitz, the slant route over the middle is almost always open if you have a fast WR in that position. As stated in the above play I send my WR farthest right in motion to determine if he's being covered in man or zone. If it's man, I look to my receiver running the slant. If it's zone, I do the same thing as above and take a 2 step drop after the snap and bullet him the ball.

If you know your opponent's tendencies and can determine if he likes to play a lot of man or zone. Come out in a play you know will beat that particular defense. You can pretty much create these on the fly by using hot routes and motion. Anything to find a seam in the defense. But remember, you must be able to make the right reads because the blitz is coming fast.