Questions for those of you that play h2h

I've been playing MUT for about 5 years now but really never play online h2h.  I say every  year I want to do more but I never do.  I'm making a conscious effort to play h2h more this year.

The reason I'm asking is because I played a h2h game today and I really had no "plan" going in.  I've set a bunch of favorites that I like and have used and had some success but struggled while trying to change things up so as to not be predictable.  I got a few delay of game penalties because I was trying different route combinations - on defense I got caught in mid-coverage adjustments.

How many unique plays do you typically run in a game?
How many formations/sets do you typically use?

Do you set custom audibles?
Do you use player substitutions?
Do you run the same route combinations every time you run a play?
How many hot routes for any given play (typically)?
Do you pick plays to feature certain players or just read for the open receiver?

It seems to me that I should have at least a handful of plays that I am comfortable with and have practiced so that I have a reasonable chance of those plays being successful.

Also, I know reading defensive coverage is important.  I've watched the videos, done the tutorials and all that, but when I play I often draw a blank and fail to recognize what I'm looking at.

I'm not expecting become a pro overnight but I'd at least like to be semi-competitive and have a chance (slim or otherwise) to maybe win a game or two

Thanks for the answers and any advice/tips!

Between seasons and mut champs I’m 25-3 this year with a 79 ovr team. I honestly just run coach suggestions, make anywhere from 0-3 hot routes a play. Only coverage reading I do is just look if either of my outside receivers are pressed and if they are I usually hot route to a streak to see if they get open for a deep shot. My advice would be just use a playbook your comfortable with, you don’t need to run the meta, know your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th reads before snapping the ball, and remember at the end of the day it’s a video game so it really doesn’t matter if you win. Also, don’t go into a game thinking your gonna lose or win based off of your opponents team, I’ve played people with great teams that I blow out bc they aren’t good and people that beat me with a worse team bc they are better than me

PaulieV said:

I've been playing MUT for about 5 years now but really never play online h2h.  I say every  year I want to do more but I never do.  I'm making a conscious effort to play h2h more this year.

The reason I'm asking is because I played a h2h game today and I really had no "plan" going in.  I've set a bunch of favorites that I like and have used and had some success but struggled while trying to change things up so as to not be predictable.  I got a few delay of game penalties because I was trying different route combinations - on defense I got caught in mid-coverage adjustments.

How many unique plays do you typically run in a game?
How many formations/sets do you typically use?

Do you set custom audibles?
Do you use player substitutions?
Do you run the same route combinations every time you run a play?
How many hot routes for any given play (typically)?
Do you pick plays to feature certain players or just read for the open receiver?

It seems to me that I should have at least a handful of plays that I am comfortable with and have practiced so that I have a reasonable chance of those plays being successful.

Also, I know reading defensive coverage is important.  I've watched the videos, done the tutorials and all that, but when I play I often draw a blank and fail to recognize what I'm looking at.

I'm not expecting become a pro overnight but I'd at least like to be semi-competitive and have a chance (slim or otherwise) to maybe win a game or two

Thanks for the answers and any advice/tips!

I've been playing MUT for about ten years now.  See below for my answers in CAPS.

How many unique plays do you typically run in a game? 
How many formations/sets do you typically use?

FOR A GAME THAT GOES THE FULL 4 QUARTERS AGAINST A GOOD OPPONENT WHO COMES OUT IN DIFFERENT DEFENCES... I'LL RUN OUT OF FOUR DIFFERENT FORMATIONS AND PASS OUT OF MAYBE TEN.  BUT I'VE SEEN GOOD PLAYERS STAY IN THE SAME THING ALL GAME AND JUST MIX THINGS UP WITH VARIOUS PLAY CALLS AND HOT ROUTES.

Do you set custom audibles?  YES... IT TAKES THE FIRST FEW PLAYS TO GET THEM ALL IN.

Do you use player substitutions?  ABSOLUTELY.

Do you run the same route combinations every time you run a play?  NO... I ADJUST DEPENDING ON WHAT MY OPPONENT IS DOING.

How many hot routes for any given play (typically)?  I DON'T RUN ANYTHING "STOCK".  ON OFFENSE MAYBE 2-4 HOT ROUTES.  ON DEFENSE UP TO 6 ADJUSTMENTS... UNLESS MY OPPONENT IS QUICK HIKING... THEN THERE'S ONLY TIME FOR 2-3.

Do you pick plays to feature certain players or just read for the open receiver?  I JUST SCHEME TO GET CERTAIN RECEIVERS OPEN AND USUALLY HAVE A PROGRESSION OF 2-4 READS ON ANY PLAY.  

It seems to me that I should have at least a handful of plays that I am comfortable with and have practiced so that I have a reasonable chance of those plays being successful.

I ADVISE NEWER MUT PLAYERS TO PICK MAYBE 2-3 FORMATIONS AND BECOME VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PLAYS IN THOSE.  YOU CAN WIN A LOT OF GAMES RUNNING THE META (GUN BUNCH... GUN TRIPS TE... GUN TIGHT).  IN FACT... I WOULD SAY THAT 60-70% OF MY GAMES ARE VERSUS THESE TYPES OF PLAYERS.  YOU NEED TO HAVE DEFENSIVE SCHEMES TO SHUT DOWN THE COMMON PLAYS OUT OF ALL THESE.

Also, I know reading defensive coverage is important.  I've watched the videos, done the tutorials and all that, but when I play I often draw a blank and fail to recognize what I'm looking at.

YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT GOOD PLAYERS ARE GOING TO DISGUISE THEIR COVERAGE.  SO THE PLAYCALL MIGHT SAY "TAMPA 2" BUT THEY'RE REALLY PUTTING AN LB INTO A DEEP MIDDLE BLUE... SORT OF A MAKESHIT COVER 3.  PEOPLE ALSO CHANGE DEEP HALVES TO OUTSIDE THIRDS... SO MY POINT IS THAT WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PLAY CALL MAY NOT BE INDICATIVE OF WHAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING.  SOME GUYS DROP DLINEMAN INTO 3RECS OR VERT HOOKS OR FLAT ZONES... ETC.  IT CAN GET VERY COMPLEX. 

I'm not expecting become a pro overnight but I'd at least like to be semi-competitive and have a chance (slim or otherwise) to maybe win a game or two.

DON'T GET FRUSTRATED.  LIKE ANY SKILL IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND REPS TO GET BETTER.  BUT YOU WILL GET BETTER OVER TIME.  I'M STILL LEARNING THINGS ALL THE TIME.  I JUST GOT THRASHED LAST NIGHT BY A GUY RUNNING ONLY GUN BUNCH TE WHICH I NORMALLY SHUT DOWN.  SO I WATCHED THE POST GAME REPLAYS TO SEE WHAT HE WAS DOING... THEN WENT INTO PRACTICE MODE TO FIGURE OUT A COUNTER.  NOW I'M PREPARED THE NEXT TIME I FACE HIM OR HIS SCHEME.  YOU LEARN MORE FROM YOUR LOSSES THAN YOUR WINS! 

Thanks for the answers and any advice/tips!

Advice from an average at best player -

I normally win around 55% games h2h each year.

Learn the playbook and know your strengths on O and D.

Try and get a basic grasp of D formations.

When user try and take away opponets first read.

If you play MUT then you should play some H2H. I mean its why we build our teams. I'm probably a slightly above average player and I agree what another poster said in knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Find a playbook that you are comfortable with and practice some plays. You should always have at least 2-3 reads every passing play,you have 5 receivers thus 5 reads but realistically will you be able to go through 4 or 5 reads in a short amount of time? So I try to keep it simple and have 2 or 3 reads at least. Look at your opponents previous play calling to get an idea what they like to run. Im a run first west coast short passing offense that tries to minimize my turnovers on offense. I'm not that good at deep passes though this year passing seems easier with users being so slow starting off. Another thing I do is record some of my game footage and go over it to see what I did well and what I can work on.

Appreciate all the advice and help.  Trying to soak it all in and figure out at least some kind plan.

I've really only ever used the Patriots playbook so I'm sticking with that and have a few plays that I know and am comfortable with as far as offense is concerned.

Defense is another issue entirely.

Guess I'll get to work!

When I use a new playbook, I usually run "coaches suggestions" to mix it up. But sometimes it dumbs out and only suggests 1 play.

On 3rd or 4th down Ill usually pick a set I'm comfortable in.

CK20 said:

Between seasons and mut champs I’m 25-3 this year with a 79 ovr team. I honestly just run coach suggestions, make anywhere from 0-3 hot routes a play. Only coverage reading I do is just look if either of my outside receivers are pressed and if they are I usually hot route to a streak to see if they get open for a deep shot. My advice would be just use a playbook your comfortable with, you don’t need to run the meta, know your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th reads before snapping the ball, and remember at the end of the day it’s a video game so it really doesn’t matter if you win. Also, don’t go into a game thinking your gonna lose or win based off of your opponents team, I’ve played people with great teams that I blow out bc they aren’t good and people that beat me with a worse team bc they are better than me

This is a constitution right here. Great advice, and id add pay attention to formations used on 3rd down. Most folks only have 2 main chain moving plays. Figure that out, and get cursed out and enjoy your rage quit win