[Aestis]

Really great summary. Will re-post this in our league Discord for people.

Personnel & play-calling are so key. I sometimes talk to players with a 49 spd / 71 acc guard who can't figure out why they are getting stuffed on counter runs.

A pulling guard or a lineman you expect to get out in space on plays should ideally be ~70 spd, ~80 accel, and ~70 agi. You may not quite hit all 3 of those attributes, but that's your benchmark. Whereas 50 spd 70 accel are fine if their job on 90% of your run plays is: push forward. But as charter said, that's when you need high STR & weight.

I also don't know the degree to which Madden truly weighs Strength or size in straightforward power run plays. I'm an optimist, I still believe it matters, but I've seen the damning evidence that it may not matter much in (very) limited 'testing' on Youtube. But if you get in the habit of looking for it now, even if it's not as impactful as it should be, you will benefit long-term when it becomes more important. That's my glass-half-full.

Madden online CFM players LOVE to stack the box on 1st down. As charter said, coming out in good pass plays on 1st down is your friend here--even if you identify as being a run-first team, you may have to force your opponent to respect your pass first. "Pass-first" doesn't mean you have to run less often, it just means you first establish the passing threat so they get in the 2-deep looks charter mentioned. Another wrinkle to add to this: come out in pass plays out of 2WR formations on 1st down. Guys will see 2 TEs or 2 RBs and assume you're going to run it, stack the box. Profit. That doesn't necessarily mean play action. Even a normal pass out of these formations can be very effective.

Meanwhile, do the opposite on 2nd & 8-10. Come out in a 4WR set and run a draw or an inside zone. No, you usually won't get the 1st down (though occasionally you will!), but a lot of Madden players assume you're passing and will double-down on this assumption when they see a 1 RB 4 WR set. They may only have 5 guys in the middle of the field and you will often get a nice 4-6 yard run from it, setting you up for a much easier 3rd down.