Madden 20 Playbooks To Feature New RPO Plays, Jet Sweeps, & Trick Play
On Thursday night, the EA Madden Twitch channel brought forth another live stream covering new aspects of Madden 20. With the game set to release in just a few months, gamers are quickly learning how different the new title will be. Last night’s live stream “Deep Dive” covered the updates that will take shape with the Madden 20 playbooks with EA playbook specialist and developer Anthony White. He spoke about the new RPO types, jet sweeps, and of course, a new trick play available in the game.
New RPO Plays featured in Madden 20 Playbooks
An “RPO” refers to Run/Pass Option plays. The RPO is the type of play that gives the offense multiple ways to attack the defense in a single way. RPOs typically involve the pre-snap, contemplating what you see for defensive alignment, and then sometimes there’s a post-snap element. That involves reading a certain defender to determine whether you run or pass the ball.
When Madden 20 release date arrives, the game will have over 200 total RPOs in the game. These are the three types you’ll see in the new game:
Peek – This is a “second level” play that involves reading the backside linebacker. Based on their reaction (if they sit and hold position) then it’s best to hand the ball off for a run. But if the defender moves towards the line of scrimmage, you want to pass. You’ll keep the backside tackle locked on backside defensive end on this.
Read – White referred to this as an “old school triple option.” He brought up NCAA Football and Madden’s read and play options in the game. Read RPO involves replacing the pitch element with a pass. Teams read the first level defensive end to determine what to do, and then read the pitch defender to decide on the type of throw to use. White says he really enjoys this one for the variety of ways it gives to attack a defense.
Alert – These are run plays with route alerts. You determine what to do based on the box count. If there’s an unblockable attacker at the point of where the runner is going you’ll use a back screen. So you’ll look to use either a smokescreen, quick slant or bubble screen depending on what receiver you have on the backside.
It’s noteworthy that just like in the Madden 19 game, if you don’t do anything special with an RPO after snap, the ball is automatically handed off to the runner.
White mentioned that while there are some teams that heavily rely upon RPOs in the playbooks, others don’t use them as much. So keep this in mind when using the Patriots, Rams, or other teams that don’t have RPO heavy playbooks.
Jet Sweep plays, new trick play
There will also be Jet Sweeps in the Madden 20 playbooks. These involve a play with a wide receiver out wide going super fast in motion. The quarterback can either get it to that guy or fake it to them for play action or a run. Check out some examples of Jet Sweep plays “in progress” for Madden 20.
White mentioned the LA Rams’ playbook which is heavy on single back and bunch type formations. The first page of their playbook features these plays so they’ll be part of the game. He also mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs using a play in the first week of the 2018-19 season. That involved a shotgun formation where they fake it to back and then pass. In another version, they might fake it and give it to back.
In addition, they touched upon the new trick play available in Madden 20. This will be the Philly Special, which we mentioned a few days ago. It’s the highlight play that the Philadelphia Eagles used a few seasons ago in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. On that play, Nick Foles initially appeared to be the quarterback. However, he shifted to the right side as the ball was snapped and caught a touchdown pass from Trey Burton.
In the video below, they quickly cover the latest developments with more of an in-depth look at the animation behind the Philly Special.
The Los Angeles Rams’ playbook will be updated according to Anthony White. He mentioned this has been a common concern from gamers about the Madden 19 game. He also mentioned they will be updating team playbooks more frequently throughout the season on Madden 20.
The updated playbooks look like they should give an exciting update in terms of providing new strategies against opponents. They’ll also continue to make the game feel more authentic. The full playbook deep dive notes are available here at EA’s Madden site.
It should also be interesting to see how they incorporate the RPOs, Jet Sweeps, and other special plays within Ultimate Team mode. Get more of the latest Madden 20 news here.