man you can lab any way you want.
me and Real2Death lab well together. we both stepped up each others games real well.
we started off just gaming, ranked, for serious, all the time. then we figured each other out, and started trying new stuff. just the other day we were labbing like crazy. he passes 10/11 times, i did the most basic zones so that he could get a feel for his routes. i punted it on 1st down sometimes if i wanted to try something else on defense. i mean it was crazy. i punted it on his 3. fun stuff.... but it all helps. the best way to get good at anything is practice.
like bob sanders said on that episode of madden nation "the way to get better at anything is consistent repetition" and that true.
you dont even need to know the guy. on my lab account i'd get on a ranked game and run it 100% of the time! i understand some guys would be pissed bc its boring, others would be happy because its a free win, but that game turned my running game around. i do the same thing with passing.
when i decided i HAD to lab the rocket catch (RC) i hit up practice mode and just did every route about 100 times. i got the RC motion down, now i need to work it into game situations. so soon i'll get on my lab account and just played a game with someone and i'll try to RC every single pass. i'm sure it will help. hopefully it takes my game up another level.