Plays and adjustments I make use of in Solo Battles: Neo Novalis My preferred run play is an RPO play (Stretch Alert X Lookie) out of I Form Pro. I do some adjustments pre-snap (in particular moving the FB, blocking adjustments, and sometimes flipping the play depending on the defensive formation I face). I’ve chosen this play because both WRs (and their DBs) are close to the sideline. Most often I benefit from the WR’s blocks and can run past the blocked DB inside (if I see just the green field in front of me) or outside in order to be able to go out of bounds, if necessary. I use this play for my 2-Point-Conversions (or if the ball is inside my opponent’s 3-yard-line) either. In this case I always flip the play because the goalline defense formation has one more defender at the side of the TE. After flipping the play, my preblockers have to take one defender less out of the game. At the begin of the game, I substitute the WRs for my backup TEs because the have better run blocking skills. In principle, any other stretch play out of I-Form-Pro would do it for me too, but this RPO play is the only one in this formation in my 49ers playbook. I was also considering using a Weak or Strong formation. The most important players and attributes allowing a good performance using this play are speed (in particular for my HB) and run block abilities (of my OL and all my TEs). Good juke and spin moves skills of the ballcarrier are also helpful. In order to improve my run performance, I’ve chosen the following abilities for my HB: “Reach for it” in order to gain extra yardage at the end of a play (if my HB gets tackled; sometimes this is helpful in particular when I’m close to the endzone (incl. 2-point-conversions) or to the First Down marker); “Balance Beam” in order to avoid stumbling; and “Evasive” to have better spin and juke moves available. Risks: I try to avoid being tackled inbounds. That’s in principle my top priority in order to save time. In addition, every tackle reduces the stamina of the tackled player. The play does not work that well against 4-3 formations (if the 3 LBs are lined up behind the DL). For other defensive formations (and plays), it is most often key that the TEs and OL do not lose their blocking attempts immediately. Sometimes I face games, where my HB is almost immediately chased by 3-4 defensive players who have beaten their opponents. I’d guess that is (or should be) part of the game but can be very annoying against quite weak opponents. My suggestion for these situations: do not panic! If you are not able to successfully perform run plays, stay calm and switch to a safe passing play on 3rd down at the latest. If you have a HB who is fast enough, you will get your chance to create a run for huge yardage. My preferred run play (pre-snap) My favorite passing play is Fade Smash out of Gun Trey but do a lot of adjustments pre-snap depending on the defense concept I see. I like this play because it allows me to do a quick pass (no huddle) if my previous play did not work well and I did not manage to go out of bounds. In addition, the route of my inner WR is a potential Cover 2 beater for an easy long yardage TD (if I move the TE to the right sideline and put him on a streak route) or in the redzone. Furthermore, moving the middle WR (of the 3 WR at the left) to right side allows me to read the defense with a very high success rate. Before moving him, I can see how the defense is lined up against a Triple formation while after moving him I can also see how the defense is aligned against two receivers on both sides. If I face man coverage (incl. blitz plays), I convert my play as follows (see screenshot below how the play looks like pre-snap). The result is probably similar to the Mesh concept. The outside WR and the TE are set to a drag route, the inner WR to a slant route, and the HB to pass blocking. In addition, I do some blocking adjustments, depending on whether I see a blitz (ID the Mike) or not (double block on the pass rusher at the left end of my OL). The favorite target is WR “F” who is my fastest WR (with good route running skills too). Except some rare cases, the WR easily beats the DB and is able to gain a First Down (or TD if needed). In order to improve my performance / success rate in this play, I assigned the ability “Route Technician” to this WR (not shown in the screenshot because I did the screenshot in a Rivalz Solo Challenge where my WR1 was replaced by Christian McCaffrey), but in principle there are only a few plays where the DB is able to cover the slant route (even without the WR’s ability). Risks: sometimes, the primary receiver is engaged in a very unlucky body collision allowing the DB to catch up with him. That’s why I set all other routes as they are shown in the screenshot. This way potential body collisions might happen only as long as the WR is on the left side (or at the center) of the field and still leaves time to decide whether to pass to WR “F” or to take one of the alternative routes (WR “Q” or TE “E”). My preferred pass play against Man Coverage (incl. blitzes) If I face zone coverage (and the game clock stopped; otherwise, I would lose too much time doing all the adjustments), I move the middle WR to the other side of the field. Doing that allows me to almost perfectly guess the defensive play (by considering the position and movement of the safeties, the CBs and the DLs). In addition, I modify all 5 routes of my WRs, HB and TE (see screenshot below). I also do the blocking adjustments described above for man coverage. The main target is WR “F” since the defenders on the right side are vertically stretched leaving this WR completely uncovered, in most of the cases. Sometimes, a LB tries to follow him as soon as he runs past him and throwing the pass to earlier might result in an incompletion. I sometimes make use of the lead-pass option in order to come closer to the First Down marker (i.e. trying to gain less yardage to be able to get more First Downs during that drive). Doing that is quite risky if the defense is in Tampa 2 (or similar) because the CB decides to switch from covering WR “R” (closer to the LoS) to covering WR “F”. The CB starts to run backwards exactly at the time when the pass should be thrown. If you do not know that the CB does it this way, it somehow looks like being scripted because you could not see it coming (if you have not read the defense correctly). If I was not focused enough while reading the defense pre-snap, I often throw an easily avoidable INT. That’s one of the reason why I propose to focus on a smaller set of plays. This way you are well prepared and know more and more what can happen and which situations are best to avoid to minimize risks. In order to be able to select the hot route of WR “F” (in the screenshot it is Christian McCaffrey), you’ll need an ability allowing you to choose 4 extra routes (either for the QB or the WR; I’ve chosen the Hot Route Master for my QB). My preferred pass play against Zone Coverage: If I’m close to the endzone or face some zone blitz plays (e.g. Cover 3 blitz) I do similar adjustments as above but use a drag route and a slant route for my WRs on the left side and streak routes on the right side. The main target is again WR “F”. If I did not read the defense correctly, this play is risky against Tampa 2, for instance. In this case, WR “F” directly runs into the outside CB’s zone while the DB covering the outside yellow zone (or the CB at the outside) are also a danger for the slant route. My preferred pass play in the redzone and against some Zone Coverage blitzes On defense, I use Pinch Buck O out of 3-4 odd with a lot of adjustments. The main adjustment is moving the safeties closer to the center of the field and closer to the LoS while the CBs show a blitz (not press). I user the MLB who is covering either the HB or the inner WR or TE. I usually audible this MLB to a blitz but try to cover the player he was assigned if he is running a route. If this player (only applicable for HB, FB or TEs if the are lined up next to or behind the OL) is pass blocking, I try to rush the QB. Usually, one of my OLB is able to sack the QB unblocked. I therefore put my fastest pass rushers at these positions.