Madden 20

I'll preface this reply with what we have in common...  We are both annoyed anytime we play against someone that runs the same play over and over. Where we differ is in our expectation of our personal responsibility as a player versus the responsibility of the Madden 20 software (devs, EA, defense, etc). 

A few things:

1. It is 100% up to you to recognize what your opponent is running.
2. It is 100% up to Madden 20 to provide you tools to address what your opponent is running.
3. There are not enough snaps in a single game to try 'everything in your power'

Some might take these truths as a personal affront, but it is not meant that way. 

If we take these in order, #1 addresses your skill to recognize what your opponent is doing.  You said he was running the same play over and over, and he may have been.  Or he may have been running the same concepts from the same formations over and over.  Slight, but meaningful difference.  Either way, your ability to recognize what your opponents do does not rest with EA. 

When we consider #2, we must question whether EA has provided all the necessary tools to strategically impact your opponents.  Since there are only three parts to any strategy (personnel, position, and tempo) we must say that EA has provided ample tools to get the right people in the right place at the right time.  On the personnel front, we can substitute and package almost any player on the roster (within limits).  On the position front, we have multiple formations with multiple alignments we can call from the play call screen and can further reposition players before the snap.  On the tempo front, we have control of when we call specific plays, how we manage personnel and position to speed up of slow down our opponent's decisions and execution. 

When we consider #3, we must think of all the possibilities that combine our ability to recognize our opponent's strategy with the overwhelming number of tools available to combat our opponents and whether we systematically employ the BEST strategies instead of merely guessing with the hope that something works.  We must also understand that it would take hundreds of games and perhaps thousands of snaps to 'try' everything to stop a specific play. 

All that said, be mindful!  You can beat any football strategy that is based on football strategy with the tools already in Madden.  The key is learning to recognize the strategy your opponent is using, knowing how to use your personnel, positioning, and timing to frustrate his strategy, and quickly narrowing down the thousands of possibilities in your toolbox down to the ones that will work best. That will take time and experience to develop. 

In the meantime, you might face some frustrating games against one-play wonders...  But once you become adept at your craft, they will be frustrated when they face you. 

Later