So far this week we've taken a look at scoring chances and the jostling mechanic in FIFA 15. Today we'll be chatting about standing tackles.

And in case the title wasn't obvious enough, "bring the violence" would be my tagline for standing tackles in FIFA 15. It's a mechanic that tends to reward the ultra physical, and we'll take a look at why that is in GIF and video form after the jump.

 

Ruthless aggression is an A-plus quality to have on the defensive side of the ball this year. With that in mind, here is the first example of ruthless aggression in action -- take note that no foul is called in the GIF below.



Now before I go any further, let me explain the two types of standing tackles I see in this year's game:

1. The type where you press the B button (on Xbox One) or Circle button (on PS4) at the right moment to step in and stab at the ball.
2. The other type is where you simply run into the ball carrier -- turbo may or may not be pressed at these moments -- and simply try to take the ball.

Much like I talked about with jostling, standing tackles are easy to understand and attempt, and that's a positive. However, since the mechanic is so easy to understand, most people try to win the ball right away rather than contain or even call for controlled double teams.

In theory that would be okay if the game was balanced a certain way, but three major factors stand in the way of this being so:

1. Almost everybody challenges ball carriers at top speed. To put it another way, this means users don't really slow down to challenge the ball carrier, rather they just stay at top speed and try to get a piece of the ball.
2. There is a lack of fouls called when players get super aggressive with their tackles. This plays directly into the first.
3. Players fall over a lot when challenged. I talked about this same issue yesterday when discussing the jostling mechanic, so this is more or less an extension of that same problem.

So let's unpack these one by one.

Turbo-Charged Challenges



There isn't a simple solution here because this is a complex problem. It's silly that many players run in at top speed and simply try to take possession by running through the ball carrier. However, in part this happens because people sometimes feel helpless on the defensive side of the ball. FIFA is a wide-open game (by design I would think) and so when there's a ton of open field to cover, you're going to have people running around at top speed trying to win the ball.

In other words, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. The ball carrier is going to use turbo a lot because there's lots of open field to run into, and the defenders are going to use turbo because they have to try and keep up with those players.

If play does slow down in the final third, then things start to feel a bit better because everybody isn't going at top speed. In these cases you'll see more of the timed tackles where people look to stab at the right moment and take control of the ball.

Can I Get A Call?

I'm going to lead here with a video. This video shows off a bunch of tackles where no fouls are called.



Now, to be fair, I don't think all those clips should end with a foul call. However, the video is there to prove that this game is very physical.

The timed standing tackles where a player steps in at the right moment and sticks the ball carrier are especially violent plays -- and I would argue ridiculous looking. I assume on some level these crazy falls and physical outcomes are there to reward users who nail the timing of the tackle. In practice that's fine, but it doesn't really feel special when you see these outrageous tackles every game (sometimes multiple times) and really only emboldens users to stab at the ball more often. After all, a successful tackle that leaves the opposing player on his back leads to breaks the other way.

In that video, you also noticed some defenders running as fast as possible into head-on collisions. Here's the thing, even if you get ball in those instances, you should more than likely get called for a foul. You don't play defense by running as fast as possible at someone and ramming him. In short, there is a real lack of nuance here, and reffing the game more tightly is one way to chill everybody out.

That being said, the current state of things does lead to hilarious moments like this:



Amazing. The defender just comes in with a forearm to the face of the ball carrier. On the bright side, that tackle did end with the ref blowing his whistle for a foul.

Stay On Your Feet



I'm not trying to say the player above should have necessarily stayed on his feet because he does get nailed. However, if a big part of the standing tackle mechanic is "run at guy at top speed and try to take ball" then the win condition for the defense can't be "player on offense falls" as a lot of the time that just leads to a counter going the other way.
 

I don't think you can look at standing tackles in a vacuum. The issues I outlined above are intertwined in many ways, which makes this a difficult problem to solve. I was also much harder on FIFA in this feature than I was in my other two articles so far, but that's because this is a major mechanic and there are very real problems with it. However, let me make it clear that it still has its good moments.



The defender speeds up and tries to make a stab at the ball. He misses and thus obstructs the ball carrier. The ball carrier takes the foul and stays on his feet, and the ref blows the whistle for the foul. Everything fits and works as it should. If users could just consistently see that type of outcome, then at the end of the day I think standing tackles would immediately take a big step forward.


I'll be back with a final article tomorrow. It will be shorter than the others as it will just briefly touch on a couple other defensive elements in this year's game.Oh, and follow me on Twitter if you'd like.