I do a lot of qualitative scouting, and I find it helpful to focus on specific criteria. Here's a few things I like to watch, especially to sort the middle tier teams:
- Driving ability - both skills and decision making
- Cycle times - do they cycle efficiently and use their time well?
- Patterns - do they do the same thing every match? This one can help your drive team out a lot when you play against them
- Specific strengths and weaknesses - do they do one type of shot really well?
Qualitative scouting is something that gets easier and better the more you do it and think about it.