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I don't remember the colors really well. I seem to think there's bright orange, or maybe yellow lines, gray lines, and blue lines. The VG is right - the blue lines are delayed routes (TEs or RBs). The rest all appear the same, as far as I've noticed.

Here's my guess: There's usually (maybe even always) three orange/yellow routes. I think that those are the "main" receivers. The game thinks those are the routes you should check first. The gray routes are the rest of the routes.

It may also be to help clear the confusion. With all the yellow/orange routes, it may be too hard to see who is who. A gray line may clear it up.

Your first read is whoever you want it to be. The way I play is when I pick a play, I can only really remember the route of one or two players. My first read is that player. First, I check blitzes as I'm fading back. Then check that first receiver. If it doesn't look good for him, I do a quick check for other receivers, and watch out for any d-linemen who have escaped my blockers. Last, I look for a running route.

Also, the way I've found it best is to pick a formation. The one I picked first is the 5-wide receivers / no shotgun formation. Learn 6-10 plays pretty well. Like, if they're blitzing, each play has a pretty good route to throw in a hurry. If they're in a zone, this guy should be open. If they're man-to-man, this guy should be open. After a while of getting those 6-10 plays, move on to another formation. (Another one I like has shotgun snap, 4 WRs - 3 bunched on right, 1 on left, and a RB on the left side.)

That's my advice.
 
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there is no substitute for running every play in your playbook in practice mode against random defenses to get a feel for each play, find out which ones you like the best, and find out which receivers are open against certain defenses, after a while it becomes second nature..............to take it to another level start motioning different guys and there will be some patterns you actually like better, add in hot routes to give you more options and quick reads, or involve the guys who run routes that you don't really even look at (why have a guy run a funky out that you probably won't even include in your read when he can streak and be an available option if you catch your opponent in the wrong defense)......................*oh yeah i just remembered another reason i cooled on playing '05 online, playing on the road so much and completely crippling that aspect of my game


anyway, this is what i did when i decided i was tired of being mediocre online
 
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Good call on the hot routes and sending guys in motion. When I learned about that, it opened a lot of what I considered "useless" plays.

For instance, I can't get down-and-out routes to work at all. If the pass isn't intercepted, it's tipped by the defense every time. If a receiver is supposed to do an out pattern, I might send him in motion to the other side, making it a down-and-in route. If the defense is man-to-man, and the middle linebacker isn't playing a middle zone or spying the quarterback, this receiver is open most of the time.

And, as far as hot routes go, I really like the fact that you can tell the TE's and backs to stay in and block. If I think I need more than 3-4 seconds for some complicated route my receivers run, I tend to get my backs to block, in case of a blitz.

About playing online: I've never played online. When you press L2 (I think) to show the play, does your opponent see that? I have a bad habit of using that button against the computer, when it is harmless. But against a human opponent, I feel like I need to see the play, but that's when it will burn me. Do opponents online see when you do that?
 
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