What I Have Been Doing Instead: A Tecmo Super Bowl For NES FAQ Version 4 - 02/07/2001 By Leif Powers (LEPmf@yahoo.com) whose Internet handle is Nameless Loser (and a few other private ones) Examples Taken From The Original TSB 1234567890 .......... ---------------------------------------------------------------- LEGAL DISCLAIMER This document is Copyright 2000-2001 by Leif Powers. No for-profit production or use of this product, including above-cost sale, product ties, or other uses of this document to promote or sell objects is authorized. This document may be freely posted, but not altered, in any forum and used in any way for strictly personal usage, including improving one's Tecmo, wiping up Coke stains, and hiding from any non- Tecmo-obsessed lover/spouse/pet. The opinions and ideas expressed in these documents are not necessarily reflective of those held by Tecmo, the NFL, my father, my lackeys, the NES, or even myself. By reading this document and bypassing this disclaimer, you agree that you will not take any legal action against me, in either civil or criminal courts, and certainly not in out-of-state jurisdictions, and that you agree with my legal interpretations. All copyrights and trademarks and other such legal instruments are owned by their respective owners, including, but not limited to, Nintendo of America, Tecmo, Leif Powers, or Belgian firs. If you're still going to sue, sue me and not other people related to me. They have enough problems. However, I am not liable for anything you do with this document that is harmful to yourself, to others, or to property, God, or any other enitity, extant or non-extant. But if you do something good with this, then...it's still not my problem. This legal disclaimer disavows any warranty, implied or express, of the document. Some states do not allow limitations on certain warranties, so these statements may not apply to you. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 0. Updates, Credits, Links, And Other 1. Introduction 2. The Roster 3. Special Teams 4. On The Field: Offense And Defense By Play 5. Telling The Truth With Statistics 6. The Pro Bowl 7. Season Game 8. Tweaking The Tecmo 9. Rushing And Blitzing 10. Playbook Combinations 11. ID/Kill Lists 12. Bugs And Weird Stuff 13. Mechanics 14. Press Conference 15. Basic Instructions 16. Rumors And Myths 17. Taunts 18. Games With Tecmo ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Updates, Credits, Links, And Other "Je suis au courant, parce que je suis tres americain!!!" --------------- Updates Version 4: A lot of this is just redundant stuff that I added for your convenience. Stuff from the Tecmo manual: - You can get out of Auto skip by repeatedly pressing B. (Basic Instructions) - "There is a high probability that the Returner will be injured." (Mechanics & Season Game) - Skip halftime by pressing B. (Basic Instructions) - "Some players will need three games to recover from their injuries." (Mechanics & Season Game) Stuff with Jason Tcheng's assistance: - Noted that T Fake Sweep R is sometimes call-safe to Section 4. - Edited out the "crackback block" assumption as to the actual name of the lateral slide that blows away defenders. - Changed the "Funky Triangle Shaped Formation" to Split-I, but kept Paul's "staggered back" hypothesis. - Concept of "twins". Courtesy of Jeff Gaffney: - Added a difference in Sound 1 and Sound 3 to the Basic Instructions. Stuff from Stonecutter/Hoby Brenner: - Coach mode doesn't make players speed up in the season. - Added cross-body block nomenclature to Mechanics. Tips from XRayMind: - Reminded me to put in the "cut back" trick for slowing down Player 2 in the Tweaking The Tecmo section. - Game Genie codes for time added. My junk: - Added Rumours And Myths section. - Destroyed the Codes, Cheats, and Carrots section, and put its remainder in the Other section. - Added ID/Kill Lists section, with a "twin" idea from Jason Tcheng. - Updated Credits and Links to include new contributors and my webpage. - Added some suggested substitution stuff to The Roster section. - Added that your players' condition changes at the beginning of every quarter to The Roster. - Added a lot of stuff on kicking a field goal to Special Teams, in addition to some extra info on count kicks for kickoffs and punts. - Discerned the lineups on special teams. - Added a Defensive Shift list. - Explained why I don't identify the fullback in Section 4 instead of RB #2. - Added a tactic for Top Handoff Plays to Section 4. - Divided up certain plays in Section 4 and corrected some diagrams: - Run And Shoot Sweep Left and Right - Onesetback L and FB Offtackle L (with Jason Tcheng) - Also fixed Shotgun 3-Wing. - All of the One Man Shift play diagrams were either fixed or adjusted and that whole part has been refinished accordingly. Also, the Playbooks section on these plays has been made over as well. - Got some more defensive shifts on Flea Flicker and No Back X Deep, as well as Redgun Z Slant. - Added a nice tip about bad players' stats to the Pro Bowl. - Added some info on Coach mode to the Season mode. - Added "Knock Off Lineman Blockers On Run Plays", "When Not The QB, Hit A", "Cover A Fumble With A Slide Tackle", "Two-Tap Field Goals And Punts", "Check Your Returner's Condition" and two forbidden tactics, "Look At Your Opponent's Controller" and "Look At Your Opponent's Face/Eyes" (with XRayMind) to Tweaking The Tecmo. - Added a ranking of plays for each slot in the playbook to Playbook Combinations. - Got pessimistic in the Playbooks section. - Added the fact that players will change formation depending on the shift of the ball in Mechanics. - Added that players always appear white on the field when they get injured. - Added explanation of my criterion for bugs in Bugs And Weird Stuff. - Added a note that there are variants of the super jump bug to Bugs And Weird Stuff. - Added wrong man catching bug to Bugs And Weird Stuff. - LT fumble bug added to Bugs and Weird Stuff. - Added quarterback computer control bug to Bugs And Weird Stuff. - Added a worst teams section to the Press Conference. - The best teams section in the Press Conference was revised to include the Raiders. Version 3: Paul's additions and "point-ups": - Added notes about bouncing punts to Punts and to Bugs and Weird Stuff. - Added notes about the crackback block (the lateral slide thing that computer controlled players do) to Mechanics and to Bugs and Weird Stuff. - Added a tip to the motion plays about sending extra blockers after human players. - Stuff on Moonwalking. - Bugged me to put in Autoskip Cancel (hold B button). - Other fixes and suggestions. My junk: - Added the Rushing And Blitzing section. - Added the Codes, Cheats, and Carrots section. - Added the Taunts section. - Added the Games With Tecmo section. - Indexed the Press Conference section. I indexed some other things too, but I don't remember what they were, since I didn't add them in here when I did so. - Fixed a stupid diagram error on R&S Sweep Left/Right. - Fixed a stupid little typo in the Computer Behavior section of Mechanics. - Fixed a formatting error. - Clarified a part on motion and early snaps and their effect on receivers. - Added some things to the above Legal Statement. - Changed Links and Credits to better reflect the hoss nature of Paul's newer version Tecmo FAQ, as well as my own developed stats. - Updated Personals and added a new question. - Added a comment to the Tecmo Passing Study about Jerry Rice's actual reception rate. - Re-ranked a TON of stats in the Roster section, according to my research and to a general better sense of what makes good players in Tecmo. - Added a big glunk of junk to the Roster section, including expanded stats and conditions, and took that stuff out of Basic Instructions. - Added some extra point notes. - Refined a field goal rushing tactic in Special Teams. - Added a ton of comments and small tactics to many plays in the On The Field section. - Added two new tactics to the HATS Plays of the Onesetback formation. - Added diagrams for all the HATS Plays tactics. - Adjusted the Playbook section accordingly, re-ranking a playbook, adding another, and changing some comments. - Added a good tactic against Pitch L Open. - Added a new Defensive Shift: - (OF) Flea Flicker & (DF) WTE Offtackle R - Added a tip about changing your players in a game to both Season Game and to the Tweaking the Tecmo section, under "Work Around 'Scratch' Players". - Added some stuff about the Pro Bowl rosters and the Pro Bowl stats to the Pro Bowl section. - Changed a formation in Playbook Combinations to better suit my recent research. - Added notes about the hitting power of your backs to the Playbook Combinations section for R&S and Shifting Onesetback formations. - Added "Set Your Backups To The Return" to Tweaking The Tecmo. - Added a tip about moving out of bounds to the tip in Tweaking The Tecmo, "Run Along The Sidelines To Suppress Fumbles", "Call Plays That Cover For Others", "Watch For Blocking" and added a little note to "Ways To Waste Time" about passing. - Added some nice ones to the Bugs And Weird Stuff section, like Rice's over the line catch and the weirdest little bug ever seen, as well as the "invisible" bug, which I should have put in there earlier. - Added comments on fumbles and injuries to Mechanics, as well as some clarified stuff on hitting power and contact, as well as how people get up after getting slammed. - Added explanation of ball possession to Mechanics and added a pointer to mechanics, courtesy of Paul. - Added how far a punt will fly to and some notes on pitches to Mechanics. - Added a new playbook, 2 & 2, to the Playbook Combinations section. - Added some things for some things on how to make Tecmo harder, and for helping novices, as well as a dissertation on the nose tackle dive and other tactics to the Press Conference section, and revised the "best teams" notes. - Added that you have the names of the runners of plays in the playbook screen. - Added some new humour, which is not as atrocious as last version's. Version 2: - Added this section. - Added the Bugs And Weird Stuff section. - Added the (preliminary) Mechanics section. - Deleted Plays For The Tecmoers Of Tomorrow section because I thought it was stupid and didn't really do anything for me. - Divided up the Special Teams section into parts on kicking and each side's tactics. This information was already there, but I wanted to make it easier to find. - Added new punt tactics. - Totally reordered the On The Field: Offense And Defense By Play section based on the number of plays in each formation. - Added indices to the plays and formations, as well as to the whole On The Field: Offense And Defense By Play section. - Added Passing Order for all pass plays. - Added Defensive Shifts and noted them on these plays: - (OF) Flea Flicker & (DF) FB Offtackle R - (OF) No Back X Deep & (DF) Oneback Sweep R - (OF) Oneback Z Cross & (DF) Any Defensive Pass Play Call Except For Oneback Z Cross (not noted except in Oneback Z Cross) - (OF) Redgun Z Slant & ??? (see play for notes) - Added new defensive tactic for Pro T Waggle L. - Added new defensive tactic for T Cross Run L, thanks to Paul Schulzetenberg. - Extracted the General Comments for Set 2: Handoff After The Snap Plays from Power Fake Z Post. - Added new defensive tactic for Power Fake Z Post and Power Fake X Fly. - Big changes to the Shotgun Formation. Several play diagrams were wrong and were changed; new race defects were discovered; and the descriptions and tactics were updated accordingly. - Added new defensive options for Shotgun Sweep L. - Indexed Tweaking The Tecmo. - Added On Called Run Plays, Move Through The Gaps, Change Your Lineup, and Vary Your Hike Time With Shifting Plays to Tweaking The Tecmo. - Added Formation Combinations to Playbook Combinations. - Changed a ranking in Playbook Combinations. - Added an interesting fact about David Meggett to the Press Conference. - Noted Vance Johnson as one who plays a position and kicks and returns in the Press Conference. - Officially recognized the Giants as the best team in Tecmo in the Press Conference. - Reorganized the Basic Instructions section and added some tidbits. - Added a "Tecmo Passing Study" to this section. - Fixed up a few things and cleaned up a lot. - Added some dreadful humour; it's even worse than the last version's. Version 1: - Trashed "Version 0" TSB FAQ due to inferiority and age. - Could not then update FAQ, due to lack of existing FAQ. Thanks to Leif Powers for helping me with this!!! "Version 0": - Vaporware FAQ created and left sitting for six months. --------------- Credits TSB Message Board - Tons of support and guidance and ideas. Paul Schulzetenberg - For putting a fire in my belly to make this FAQ as good as it is and to improve it, and for making a great documentation (still improving) of the original Tecmo rosters. (edgarffvi@yahoo.com) He also has given a great tip on T Cross Run L, and a bunch of other things which are credited where they are placed. He writes an excellent 1991 Tecmo FAQ which you MUST read if you are interested in the original rosters. He's also helped me edit and correct my FAQ. Steven Maltby - For giving me his cart of TSB, helping me become proficient, and being a good sport even when I'm not. Jason Tcheng - See Version 4 Updates above. Jeff Gaffney - See Version 4 Updates above. XRayMind - See Version 4 Updates above. --------------- Links My Tecmo Homepage http://www.leifpowers.com/personal/games/tecmo/ index.htm This is my personal Tecmo page. As such, it's got my FAQ on it, Paul's FAQ on it, and a ton of other information. It also has information on the Tecmo Super Bowl tournament planned for July 2001. It also has a pretty huge links page, probably the biggest purely Tecmo links page out there. Tecmo Super Bowl Webring http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/1022 /wrvisitors.htm This is a very good page, which links to the infamous Tecmo Super Bowl Message Board as well as to a ton of other good sites. This is a great resource for Tecmo, although it's not as good as my links page. :) --------------- Personals Greetings - Paul Schulzetenberg - Well, you get to read all of the new garbage. At least I got you the special teams lineups. The TSB Message Board - This was somewhat of your fault, I swear. To the world: Read Paul's FAQ (again, if you already have). Did I mention it was a wonderful work? Steven Maltby - Have you read this yet? Not me showing you, but have you actually read this? Brianna Schuyler - You learn this game very fast, which demonstrates your many virtues (and don't give me your self-reducing spiel, you are smart, personable, and comely to boot, which explains why people like you and ask about you in CompUSA, for one thing). And thanks for the Buccaneers pants. Michael Christen - You're getting better, my friend. It's all about study, practice, and a good thumb. Questions Have I missed any plays with Defensive Shifts in them? There might be more but I'm not really that sure. Still, if you find anything, I would put it in. Does anyone want to contribute things to their own personal press conference? --------------- Codes, Cheats, And Carrots This section contains some useful codes that I have dredged up from the depths. Some good Game Genie codes - SXNXPZVG - Stop time (you have to reset the game to stop playing) From XRayMind's list: APUXLZIA - 10 minutes per quarter instead of 5 PUXLZIA - 15 minutes per quarter AZUXLZIA - 20 minutes per quarter ZAUXLZIA - 2 minutes per quarter Something else weird (from Paul's FAQ) - You can play as the Bills (or AFC Team #1) all throughout the playoffs - in every game. If you have a team that does not get a division champion title until after all of Week 17 is over, then you hit Reset as they clinch the title (during the cinema sequence), the Bills will be in every slot in the playoffs. Have fun!! --------------- Tecmo Passing Study Originally, I worked this up in order to support an argument for Dan Marino as the best strict passer in Tecmo. But, this proved so instructive and insightful that I could hardly let it languish like that (by the way, I still think Marino is the best passer, even after seeing the results of my tests, which did not say a whole lot for the skills of Marino in coverage). I played some COA games with Washington as the coached team. I picked each play and had the coached Washington defense call all of the other pass plays in the book two or three times each, excluding the ones where the QB can't get the pass off and repeating in many cases the plays where the ball was wild or the player clinched or was uncovered. All of these tests were in a Preseason, no-boost environment, the one which is most applicable to two-player contests. Here are the results, only counting the ones where there was coverage - the computer is so stupid - and where the pass got to the receiver, but not counting blocked passes and jump interceptions from the defense that players could have done little about. For the purposes of this study, 1 defender slide that touches the receiver is counted as .5 coverage: Montana-Rice Passes Receptions Interceptions Coverage 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 5 1 0 3 6 2 0 3 7 2 0 2 8 3 0 2 9 3 0 1 10 3 0 2 11 4 0 1 12 4 0 1 13 4 0 2 14 4 0 2 15 5 0 2 16 5 0 2 17 6 0 2 18 6 0 2 19 7 0 1 20 8 0 3 21 8 0 .5 22 8 0 2 23 9 0 1.5 24 10 0 1 25 10 0 1 26 10 0 1 27 11 0 1 28 12 0 1 29 12 0 2 30 12 0 2 31 12 0 2 32 12 1 1 33 12 1 1 34 13 1 1 35 13 1 2 36 13 1 1 37 13 1 3 38 14 1 1 39 15 1 1 40 16 1 1 41 16 1 2 42 16 1 1 43 16 1 2 44 16 1 2 45 16 1 1 46 16 1 2 47 16 1 2 48 17 1 2 Reception %: 35.41% Interception%: 2.08% Average Coverage: 1.60 defenders Comments: I think it's quite interesting that for this test, Rice performed much better on triple coverage passes than on lesser coverage. It might be a statistical error. For those of you who are wondering what Rice's actual reception rate is, it's somewhere around 20% of the passes that he actually caught in coverage, with wild throws from Montana and Rice not catching up to the ball or other things included, and also clinches included. Moon-Oilers' Receivers Passes Receptions Interceptions Coverage 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 2.5 3 1 0 2 4 2 0 1 5 2 0 2 6 2 0 2 7 2 0 1 8 2 0 2 9 2 0 1.5 10 3 0 1 11 3 0 2 12 3 0 3 13 3 0 2 14 4 0 2 15 4 0 1 16 5 0 1 17 5 1 1 18 5 1 3 19 5 1 2 20 6 1 1 21 7 1 1 22 8 1 .5 23 8 1 2 24 9 1 2 25 9 1 1 26 9 1 2 27 9 1 2 28 10 1 1 29 11 1 2 30 12 1 2 31 12 1 2 32 12 1 2 33 12 1 2 34 13 1 1 35 13 1 2 36 14 1 1.5 37 15 1 1 38 15 1 3 39 16 1 1 40 17 1 2 41 17 1 2 42 17 1 2.5 43 17 1 2 44 17 1 2 45 17 1 2 46 18 1 3 47 18 1 2.5 48 18 1 1.5 49 19 1 1 50 19 1 2 51 19 1 2 52 20 1 1 53 20 1 2 54 20 1 1 55 21 1 2 56 21 1 2 Reception %: 37.50% Interception%: 1.79% Average Coverage: 1.74 defenders Comments: These guys could not catch nearly as well as Rice in double or triple coverage, but they were very consistent in single coverage. Marino-Dolphins' Receivers Passes Receptions Interceptions Coverage 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 4 0 0 2 5 0 0 2 6 0 0 1 7 0 0 2 8 0 0 2 9 1 0 2 10 1 0 1 11 2 0 1 12 2 0 1 13 2 1 2 14 2 1 1 15 2 2 1 16 2 2 1 17 2 2 1 18 3 2 1.5 19 4 2 2 20 5 2 2 21 6 2 1 22 6 3 1 23 6 3 1 24 6 3 1 25 6 3 1 26 7 3 1 27 7 3 1 28 7 3 1 29 8 3 1 30 8 3 1 31 8 3 2.5 32 8 3 1.5 33 8 3 2 34 8 3 1 35 8 3 1 36 8 3 2.5 37 8 4 1 38 8 4 1 39 8 4 .5 40 8 5 1 41 8 5 2 42 8 5 2 43 9 5 1 44 9 5 1 45 10 5 1 46 10 5 2 47 10 5 2 48 10 5 1 49 11 5 1 50 11 5 2 51 11 5 .5 52 12 5 1 53 12 5 2 54 12 5 2 55 12 5 2 56 12 5 1 57 12 5 1.5 Reception %: 21.05% Interception%: 8.77% Average Coverage: 1.39 defenders Comments: Mark Duper accounted for at least four and maybe all of the interceptions. Interestingly enough, he is WR #2, the same position as Rice. That was where all the higher interception rating people on the Washington defense were. Martin Mayhew had a 69 Interceptions. I guess Marino's lower Pass Accuracy and Duper's lower Receptions (both 63, incidentally) had something to do with this. Not surprisingly, Mark Clayton, with a 69 Receptions, had a higher receptions percentage, but he seemed to account for more than 60% of the total receptions. That much is quite unexpected, and it really doesn't say much for Duper. It seems to me that maybe the rate of interceptions as well is affected by the Receptions rating a player has, and not just the Pass Accuracy and Control of the quarterback. --------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction "They made a game, and called it Tecmo." I'm still writing this because sooner or later I'll forget all the crazy things I've learned about the brilliant game known as Tecmo Super Bowl for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Feel free to e-mail me with whatever you have come up with, great plays, suggestions, criticisms, whatever. Credit will be provided, of course. There are probably a few less errors in this than before. Bear with me, and help me out if I screwed up. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. The Roster "He was made to march before the team." This thing now has three parts: Player And Roster Comments Stats Conditions ----------------------- Player And Roster Comments The most important thing about your roster in Tecmo is to always put in the best people for any given position. Sounds fair enough. However, not only do you have to watch your players' conditions in a season mode, you must also put in backups automatically in some cases. For instance, Lorenzo White of the Oilers, "Butterfingers", is useless as a running back even though he can run and catch well. A good idea is to switch in Gerald McNeil or Allen Pinkett, both of whom have far better ball control. Moreover, in a Preseason or Pro Bowl game, where injuries are not a consideration, you should put in your best running backs (or receivers or tight ends) to return the ball if that will yield an improvement in special teams. You can also switch around your players for a given play or just to eliminate a bad player, as above, like a slow fullback (a virtually useless oddity in Tecmo). The position a person originally plays has no effect on their ability to play others, although a receiver would have a hard time being a fullback because of low hitting power, for example. So you can, for instance, put in faster receivers for a bad fullback (but make sure that they have good ball control). There are some substitutions that you usually end up wanting to make. These include: slow fullbacks switched with backups or the tight end; low Ball Control running backs put at tight end or benched altogether; and running backs or tight ends with high Receptions switched into the WR slots. Also, you may switch quarterbacks if you think you can get a speed advantage on the run, even if the passing stats are slightly worse. If your returners' ball control dips below 50, you should probably bench them too, especially for the punt returner. I made a priority list of what I look for in any particular position (or would look for, but some of these Tecmo league people who trade non- changeable players might care). Here it is. Note that these rankings reflect the general tendencies of players. For instance, if I actually found a lineman with great Interceptions, I would take him almost irrespective of his other statistics, but because that doesn't usually happen, I rank the stats according to, in part, the variances that such statistics usually have. Rushing Power is another one because that usually tends to be quite high or quite low. Quarterbacks: 1. Pass Speed (this helps so much against a human player controlling a fast defender) 2. Pass Control 3. Pass Accuracy 4. Maximum Speed 5. Running Speed (this and 4 are great for using cheap QB sneaks that get tons of yardage, but only if you have enough of them to make your QB a good runner, like QB Eagles. Otherwise, they make you mobile, but not a large force on the run) 6. Avoid Pass Block 7. Hitting Power 8. Rushing Power Running Backs: 1. Maximum Speed 2. Ball Control 3. Hitting Power 4. Receptions 5. Running Speed 6. Rushing Power Wide Receivers: 1. Receptions 2. Maximum Speed 3. Running Speed 4. Ball Control 5. Hitting Power 6. Rushing Power Tight Ends: 1. Ball Control (this is here because the tight end almost always gets tackled if he catches the ball) 2. Receptions 3. Hitting Power 4. Maximum Speed 5. Running Speed 6. Rushing Power Offensive Linemen: 1. Hitting Power 2. Maximum Speed 3. Running Speed 4. Rushing Power Defensive Linemen: 1. Hitting Power 2. Maximum Speed 3. Rushing Power 4. Running Speed 5. Interceptions 6. Quickness Linebackers: 1. Hitting Power 2. Maximum Speed 3. Rushing Power 4. Interceptions 5. Running Speed 6. Quickness Defensive Backs (Cornerbacks/Safeties): 1. Interceptions 2. Maximum Speed 3. Hitting Power 4. Rushing Power 5. Running Speed 6. Quickness Kickers: 1. Kicking Ability 2. Avoid Kick Block 3. Maximum Speed 4. Running Speed 5. Hitting Power 6. Rushing Power Punters: Same As Kickers Kick Returners: 1. Ball Control 2. Maximum Speed 3. Hitting Power 4. Running Speed 5. Rushing Power 6. Receptions (I have yet to see a returner drop the ball - even if people don't even get to the "X" on the field they will still catch the ball - this has happened with a punt return (bouncing punt phenomenon). Punt Returners: Same As Kick Returners Notice my speed biases there, eh? Now I'm going to just go on about what I would do if I were trying to choose or put a team together. Quarterbacks: If you can get a GOOD rushing quarterback (Cunningham-type, or slower, but with 88-range hitting power), then he is worth gutting your running game and downgrading your passing game. The only guys who even come close to the value of a real rushing quarterback are demons, the running backs with good speed and great hitting power. If you have to give up a demon for a rushing quarterback, it might not be worth it if what you have left is either real low hitting power people or only slow people. If you can muster a back with decent speed (44 Max or greater) then you probably want to trade (unless that trade would give your opponent a really great team, but if he has a rushing QB that he's losing you'll come out on top if you have playable backs). You can put in a backup tight end as fullback, or, if you're running one-back systems, simply put in your best receiver person (no matter the position) left over from the WR slots (and possibly TE) at RB#2. However, if you have only mediocre rushing QBs available (Vinny Testaverde/Rodney Peete-caliber), don't go specifically for them unless they also have great other stats. The stat you want to look at for the normal quarterbacks otherwise is Pass Speed, and then look for good supplementary Pass Control and finally Pass Accuracy. Don't even bother with Avoid Pass Block, because there are distinguishments enough with the three main ones. Your replacement QB is usually going to stink anyway, so go with the usual Speed/Control/Accuracy test and get one you can afford. Running Backs: Your best bets on these are demons if you can get them, or fast backs, because these can carry a whole running game for most of the season. Just don't put them as returners if you only have one, so that they won't get injured. Depth is an issue here; as long as you have enough speed and hitting power in the rest of your backs to pose a significant run threat in the absence of the star, you're covered. When you go for running backs, make sure you have one with 50+ Max Speed if at all possible as your star, and then whoever is a good enough compromise between Hitting Power and Maximum Speed to make the cut (for examples of how not to acquire running backs, look at the Eagles' running backs - they are quite mediocre, despite having relatively even point totals). If you can, try to get backs with 38 or 31 hitting power at least so that they can't get flattened by strong defenders all the time (moreso if you have a good or great thumb and can take down your opponents with mediocre hitting power guys), but put speed first. Wide Receivers: It's all about Receptions and Maximum Speed. Whosoever has the best of these is your pick, at least as far as you have the ability to acquire. Receptions is more important than Maximum Speed, but if your WR can burn up the road, then he can be deficient in Receptions to a certain extent. With receivers, you need a star for bombs and coverage problems, and then another who can haul the water well enough to require looking after. Backup receivers, even the best, don't really do a whole lot for you, so that's another place you can cut fat off if you please. Tight Ends: You want a certain amount of Hitting Power (44+) and after that it's Ball Control and Receptions. Get whatever mix you like; it depends on how much passing you're doing as to what one you want more. These are the guys to pinch on, unless you can get a skilled one to use for depth in the RB category (which I have done with good success when both my Green Bay RBs were injured, but then the TE, Ed West, got injured too, so I was almost up a creek). Returners: Because of the way Tecmo handles the return game (no one is too sure what does what to make the whole chemistry of the beast flow together) simply put in the person who's best at returning, either with good speed, or average speed and great hitting power. When you do this, make sure you're not putting your stars on the return, because that gets messy very very quickly (that Green Bay season, I set my RBs as returners - fooooolish mistake). I would manage depth in this fashion: I would have at least one Team Area (not starter) person who could fill in at either RB or WR (either a RB with hands, or a WR with 38+ Maximum Speed); a person who could fill in at either fullback or TE (if I had a fullback in my play system) who could simply be a normal running back with 38+ Hitting Power or a formal TE; and an overall quality of the rest to make sure I wouldn't wilt after more than two injuries - for example, you could have the worst player in the league, but you would need to have 30s Maximum Speed for your other two guys and at least one of them with a 38/44 receptions. You can always just blow off one guy on your roster, because situations where you have five starters injured almost never happen, and one of those is probably going to be your QB if you've been abusive enough of your players in season mode to have injured five of them (I have never done it, ever, and I have never heard of anyone who has) and you also deserve to lose if you have been so brutal to your team that five people have gotten injured. The QB depth is almost always a problem; getting two decent QBs is not cheap for those who play with salaries and whatnot, and to furnish a whole team after that is not easy. I would simply get a not-bad QB, not necessarily a good QB, as my backup, since anything will be a drop-off after your starter. My philosophy towards depth is "fake it until the real players return" and I think it shows. Defensive Linemen: Anything but a star is pretty much useless on the line in Tecmo. If you want a star to break through the line for you while you do something else, get one. If you want a manual rush, then you want to place him at nose tackle, and if you want an automatic rush, place him on the left end most likely, since they come in handy for certain plays' tactics. However, don't lose your lunch on these because they can be problems to play against strong runs. A iffy lineman is more than okay if that frees up resources for other defenders or the offense. The star is good; but don't waste money on more than one. A star, by the way, is one with decent speed and great Hitting Power. You do need probably at least 44 Hitting Power for your other linemen though, so that the offensive line won't break through and start knocking your other people around (50 would probably be a safer bet than that). Linebackers: You want a star to control on either the linebackers or the defensive backs. If you want to stop runs, go for the linebackers, and if you want to intercept, either go for the secondaries or get an Interceptions linebacker (but don't waste money on getting one if you can spend the money better on an upgraded defensive back, who will be covering passes all the time). If possible, get both, but have a star linebacker if you can have a solid secondary. Your star should have a Hitting Power of 69 or greater, Maximum Speed of 50 or greater, and sufficient Rushing Power to get around the field, if possible. You can let the rest fade if you like as long as you have defensive backs that can cover the run as well as the pass. If you have specialized pass coverage secondary, though, you will want to make sure you've got Hitting Power enough for the linebackers to wrestle. This is where you pool your resources that you can't spend anywhere else (other than picking up better backups for your offense). Where should you place this star? You should put him at RILB most likely, but ROLB will also work well. LILB is also a decent place if you've got a few good men to distribute. Defensive Backs: These you want, more than any other group, to all be fast, to all have some measure of Interceptions, and to all have some Hitting Power. This is the one group to waste money on, because a slow secondary can't keep up with receivers, a handless secondary can't get the crucial turnovers that make and break games, and a powerless secondary will get bowled over by fullbacks and blockers, letting running backs go home free. Having a group of people that you can count on to keep people covered is very convenient for pass coverage; a group that will end your defense is even better; and one that can stop the runs is boss. If you have a star, you probably want him at safety (which one doesn't really matter) to stop runs and passes. He should have good speed, good Interceptions, and great Hitting Power. If you don't have any good or great linebackers, then you should seriously consider putting your star at RCB for tactics. ----------------------- Stats The stats are hereby explained. Everyone's Stats: Running Speed: This is how fast a person initially runs. It doesn't build, though. A person can have 100 of this, but if their Maximum Speed is 25, they will be quite slow. Rushing Power: This is how fast they speed up. According to Paul, most all offensive players have 69 Rushing Power in Tecmo 1991 (I believe him, by the way). Maximum Speed: Self-explanatory. This is what you want to maximize, so to speak, when you want a burning-rubber back or WR. I believe this stat also regulates how fast a defender moves through the program for the play, such as going from standing like a doofus to rushing the QB. Hitting Power: How well a player struggles and knocks off opposing players. The strength of the player is determined by this stat and how fast you hit the A button. QB Stats: Pass Speed: Self-explanatory. This is exponentially useful, unlike the other passing stats, because the faster you can get the ball to the receiver, the less coverage will show up to cause problems, and the lesser the possibility that a human will be able to cover you. This also seems to exert an effect on completions and interceptions: the more Speed, the more completions and less interceptions, even in coverage. Pass Control: How well the pass makes it to the receiver. This is more important than Pass Accuracy for determining where the ball goes and for interceptions; this emphasizes where the ball goes and whether the receiver catches the ball. Pass Accuracy: This shares duties of pass controlling, completions, and interceptions with Pass Control, but this is weaker in sum total, focusing more on how many balls are not intercepted rather than receptions or getting the ball in the general vicinity. Avoid Pass Block: When this is high, close defenders won't hit the ball as much. RB/WR/TE Stats: Ball Control: The more Ball Control a player has, the less fumbles he will have. Receptions: High Receptions means a lot of caught balls. Kicker/Punter Stats: Kicking Ability: This determines how accurate the kick will be (for field goals and extra points) as well as how far out you can kick a field goal without the ball faltering before it gets to the uprights. Avoid Kick Block: Self-explanatory. Defender Stats: Pass Interceptions: The higher this is, the more interceptions a person will get if the ball is in the vicinity. Quickness: This doesn't seem to do anything. I know what it does not do: it doesn't get people to move around faster, it doesn't get people to turn better, it doesn't get people to get up faster. All that I could really tell that it did was to move the locations of defenders a little bit, and that was it. It doesn't seem to be a significant stat at all. ----------------------- Conditions There are certain conditions that players go through during the course of a season: Bad, Average, Good, and Excellent. A player's default statistics are at Average. Each condition has a particular decrement or increment (of 6 or 7) for each stat; Bad has one increment lower for each attribute from Average, Good has one increment higher, and Excellent has two increments higher. These improve or diminish a player's abilities. Conditions shift during games, even Preseason ones (and Pro Bowl games, but the actual Condition will not change, even though the stats go up or down a notch). They change every time a new quarter begins, so that's when you want to go inquire. This is something you have to watch out for and take into account (see the "scratch" tip in Tweaking The Tecmo). You want to adjust your rosters accordingly. ----------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Special Teams "Tecmo has been ruled by special teams so long that people have forgotten what's special about that." This section is divided into three parts: 1. Kickoffs 2. Punts 3. Field Goals/Extra Points ------------------- 1. Kickoffs Lineup: NT LE ROLB TE RILB RB#2 LILB RB#1 C K QB LT Returner LOLB WR#1 LG RCB WR#2 LCB RG FS SS Amazingly enough, if you set one of the RBs, WRs, or TEs to the returner slot, they will also appear in their normal place in the lineup, meaning that you have two of the same player on the field. This would be one argument for setting Okoye to the return, except that Christian would get injured during a season game too much considering he is a cog on the offense. Wonder how they check both of those guys in. ---------- Kicking The Ball The best thing for a kick is obviously practice, because it makes it much easier to kick full-power without a ton of onsides. If you're playing against a good opponent, you may not even want to try for full. Also, if you have a comparatively fast team and a good defense, you may want to onside kick and get the periodic turnover. A good way to get the best onside kick is to go for a full-power kick and then halt for a split second before pressing the button. A count kick is the best way to kick off, where you count off the time before you hit it. If you do that, try to synch your count with the power bar. Most of the time, you will always want to boot it, but occasionally getting it to the ten or twenty-yard line is better for stopping long returns. However, never kick it with less power than that, because some of your kicking team players will just sit there and do nothing if you kick it too lightly (but onside kicks will always make every player go for the ball). ---------- Returning The Kick To return the kick with a computer opponent, try to move into the middle of the field to avoid getting cut off. If the kick was only at moderate power, some of the defenders will simply stay put and not even move until you pass them up. Simply use the usual dodging tactics to move upfield. With a human opponent, just attempt to put blockers between yourselves, since the human can not only tackle you, but slow you down enough to let the dumb computer players slide tackle you. You can also engage and attempt to shove his man off, but with a kick where everyone is fast this is rather risky. ---------- Defending Against The Return As far as defending the return goes, simply don't move too far ahead of the crowd unless you have a fast kicker with good Hitting Power, because you'll get knocked over pretty quickly. As you move in, hit the slide tackle button (B) repeatedly to avoid getting blocked early in the return. Also, if you start getting pounded, hit A instead to struggle. With a human, make sure that when you catch up you can either unavoidably slide tackle, struggle his man down, or have enough support around to make the tackle for you. Otherwise, you'll be immobilized and make it three times easier for your opponent to return the ball. ------------------- 2. Punts Lineup: WR#1 RCB RB#2 ROLB LT RE FS LG RILB P C NT RB#1 RG LILB RT LE Returner TE LOLB WR#2 LCB ---------- Kicking The Punt A punt is an extremely difficult kick. Practice such that you can kick the ball on the first charge of the meter - usually a count of two will yield a decently powerful kick. Try to synch your count with the power bar. ---------- Returning The Punt On the return, you only have one blocker usually, so try at first to maneuver behind him to stall some of the faster defenders, then take off in one direction and stick to it, unless you can get out into the open and start using the usual dodges and evasions. Three general situations can be used to determine what you should do next: ----- 1. No One Out There When you get the ball and nearly no one is after you, simply run straight ahead and wait until people come on screen. When they appear, then go into normal dodging tactics, attempting to put everyone behind you. ----- 2. A Few Pursuers If there are a few men coming after you, first move down to the side you don't want to advance to (i.e. if you're going to go up and then run, move down, and vice versa). Then, reverse direction and move past the people that have moved down to try and catch you. Begin the normal dodging tactics. ----- 3. A Mob Thinks You've Stolen Their Football If a slew of people at lightning speed are coming after you, being perhaps less than 15 yards from you when you catch the ball, simply take what you can get and move straight ahead into the legion of oncoming trains (some call them football players). Other methods of escaping, more hazardous, exist. One way of evading the attack is to move backwards and attempt to dodge the defenders, then go around them once they have dispersed and lost a good deal of their unity. However, one of the drawbacks of this method is its requirement for a faster returner, and if you are lacking in that department, don't even think about pulling a stunt like that. Another method of dealing with a crowd is to move into them and run through a hole in their advance. This tactic is dangerous because you can get caught in a struggle (although a returner with high hitting power can lessen this risk), and also because the defenders have a good opportunity to slide tackle you. The benefit of this method lies in the possibility that all slide at you at once and take themselves out in one fell swoop, or even that a few of them do, and lessen the difficulty of running. ---------- Defending Against The Punt Tackling a returner is no problem against a computer and usually easy against a human if you have enough hitting power and teammates to take the man down. If the returner doesn't have a lot of people moving in on him, simply be patient and let your fellow teammates catch up before you take him down. ------------------- 3. Field Goals/Extra Points Lineup: RB#1 RE WR#1 NT LCB WR#2 LE TE ROLB K QB C LG RILB SS RG LILB LT LOLB FS RT RCB ---------- Kicking The Field Goal A field goal is a piece of cake if you simply aim once and aim correctly. Position: To align yourself properly for a field goal, get tackled in the middle of the field, if at all possible, because that will make your life easier if you are close to the uprights. If not, don't worry about it or spend a trash down just moving into the middle of the field that could be better spent on trying to get a first down or a touchdown. Aiming: You always want to get the tip of the kicking arrow straight in a line with the fingers of the ballholder that are shown before the snap. One good way of keeping track of them is to make a line about three to five yards away from them and keeping your eyes on a point on that line as your kicking arrow shows up. Once that arrow comes into line with those fingers, kick. The lag on the kick is pretty negligible, so work on getting it in the right place rather than trying to lead the arrow. You want to try and get the ball in between the outstretched fingers and the end of the hand. Timing: When you kick, don't just sit there like a doofus and dawdle your time away. The arrow should not rebound more than twice from the extremes of the kick. What you need for most situations is one-rebound aim. You need to locate the arrow as it comes down from the snap and keep track of it as it comes back up into your aiming line that you made with the fingers of the holder. If you're trying to be a Tecmo master, then you need to get a count kick, where you count off a fraction of a second and then kick right there without even looking at the cursor. Your timing will take care of the aiming by itself. That takes some practice, though. Most of the time, the rush will not be able to stop you on one-rebound kicks. However, there are exceptions to this, such as a MAN controlled Lawrence Taylor. Here are some kicking ranges for you: 0-10 yard line: Basically impossible to miss. 10-15 yard line: Begins to be possible to miss, but you need pressure and a wide kick. 15-20 yard line: You can miss with pressure and a sloppy kick or with a wide kick. 20-45 yard line: You need to aim on these for sure. 45-or-more yard line: You really need to think about whether or not you should kick from here. If your kicker has a high Kicking Ability, you can boot it from the 50 yard line, but if he doesn't, then he will start to miss kicks from here due to the kick not being powerful enough to reach the uprights (Al del Greco, for instance, will start missing at the 35). Whether a player will not be able to make the range is a combination of ability and luck, just as with normal kicks. ---------- Defending Against The Field Goal To defend against a field goal, simply tap the A button three times to find the fourth man on the line from the top, who happens to be the top linebacker. This is about the only person who can consistently get inside in a reasonable time frame to block a kick. Simply run straight ahead until you are almost at the ballholder, then move down and into the ball holder to tackle him. If you get held up, attempt to wrestle off the blocker, though that is rarely possible before the kick comes off. You can still block the kick in a struggle if you're close enough to the ball. ---------- Everyone - LISTEN UP!!! One thing that is worth mentioning is that you can pick up a blocked field goal ball, unlike most situations where a player cannot pick up a fumble. So get the bloody ball after you knock it out of the air and make sure that your opponent doesn't have an unimpeded path to the end zone, because little else hurts like a field goal recovered by the kicking team for a touchdown. One way that you can tell if there's been a block early is that the cursor will appear over the kicker's head before the kick if the field goal will be blocked. ---------- Extra Points When you kick an extra point, simply hit A as fast as you can to kick. You almost never miss (I've only seen someone miss three times out of thousands of kicks). You can get the ball blocked if you let the person close in, and the ball can swerve and miss more easily if you let someone in too close. The tactic for defending an extra point is the same one as for a field goal. ------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. On The Field: Offense And Defense By Play "In Tecmo, the best defense is a good offense." This section is organized by formation. Each part will be prefaced by an ASCII diagram of a particular formation, following by a general discussion of the plays and defenses from that formation, and concluding with a list of plays in the formation and their characteristics. Before this, there is a list of useful information in understanding the information after the useful information in understanding it, which makes the information after the useful information more useful. To be more concise, this is the way this section is organized: -------- Exposition (Useful Information) T Formation (Plays) Onesetback Formation Run And Shoot Formation Shifting Onesetback Formation Shotgun Formation Split-I Formation One Man Shift Formation Shotgun 3-Wing Formation Slot Formation WTE Formation Formation/Play Oneback Z Cross Formation/Play No Back X Deep Formation/Play Run And Shoot 3-Wing Formation/Play Redgun Z Slant -------- I have also devised some cruel indices for you to use in finding and comparing plays. A notation used in the indices is called the Play Number : This refers specifically to the way the plays are organized in the Tecmo playbook selection screen. The first number is the slot in which the play is found in the playbook screen, left to right, then top to bottom. For instance, the second run slot (with FB Offtackle L) is 2, and the third pass slot (with Pro T Flare C) is 7. The second number is how many times you have to hit right to get to the play once you've selected the slot. For instance, in slot 1 (the first run slot), WTE Offtackle R is 0, and Run And Shoot Sweep L is 2. Put the number of the slot and the number of the play in the slot together and you get the play number. For example, WTE Offtackle R is 10 and Run And Shoot Sweep L is 12, while Shotgun X Curl is 60. -------- Formation Index: Exposition (0 plays) T Formation (16 plays) Pass Set 1: Straight Back Plays Pro T Flare C - 74 Pro T Flare D - 62 Pro T Screen L - 54 Pass Set 2: Waggles Pro T Waggle R - 50 Pro T Waggle L - 56 Pass Set 3: Other Plays T Play Action D - 53 T Flea Flicker - 76 Run Set 1: Power Plays Cross Offtackle - 32 T Offtackle R - 24 T Sweep Strong - 25 T Power Sweep R - 17 Run Set 2: Technical Plays Pro T Dive - 42 T Power Dive - 26 Reverse Pitch R - 45 T Cross Run L - 30 T Fake Sweep R - 16 Onesetback Formation (10 plays) Set 1: Top Handoff Plays Reverse-Fake Z Post - 81 WR Reverse R - 43 Pitch L Fake - 21 Set 2: Handoff After The Snap Plays Power Fake Z Post - 66 Power Fake X Fly - 77 Onesetback L - 11 FB Offtackle L - 27 Set 3: All Other Plays X Out And Fly - 80 Oneback Flare A - 65 Pitch L Open - 33 Run And Shoot Formation (8 plays) Run And Shoot Y Up - 87 Run And Shoot Z Fly - 61 Run And Shoot Flare C - 57 Run And Shoot QB Sneak - 40 Run And Shoot QB Run - 46 Run And Shoot Draw - 20 Run And Shoot Left - 12 Run And Shoot Right - 37 Shifting Onesetback Formation (6 plays) Playaction Z In - 72 Roll Out R - 51 Onesetback Dive - 41 WR Reverse L - 35 Oneback Sweep R - 22 FB Open L - 14 Shotgun Formation (6 plays) Formation 1 Shotgun X Curl - 60 Shotgun Draw - 36 Formation 2 Shotgun Z S-In - 84 Shotgun X Drive - 70 Formation 3 Shotgun XY Bomb - 86 Shotgun C Draw - 44 Split-I Formation (4 plays) Offset Flare E - 63 Play Action - 55 Toss Sweep R - 15 FB Power Dive - 43 One Man Shift Formation (4 plays) FB Offtackle R - 13 Weakside Open - 23 Roll Out L - 52 Flea Flicker - 73 Shotgun 3-Wing Formation (2 plays) Shotgun 3-Wing - 75 Shotgun Sweep L - 47 Slot Formation (2 plays) Slot L Z Drive - 82 Slot Offtackle - 31 WTE Formation (2 plays) WTE Offtackle R - 10 WTE Flea Flicker - 67 Formation/Play Oneback Z Cross - 64 Formation/Play No Back X Deep - 83 Formation/Play Run And Shoot 3-Wing - 71 Formation/Play Redgun Z Slant - 85 -------- Play Number Index: 64 total plays in 8 slots XX: Exposition 10: WTE Offtackle R - WTE Formation 11: Onesetback L - Onesetback Formation 12: Run And Shoot Sweep L - Run And Shoot Formation 13: FB Offtackle R - One Man Shift Formation 14: FB Open L - Shifting Onesetback Formation 15: Toss Sweep R - Split-I Formation 16: T Fake Sweep R - T Formation 17: T Power Sweep R - T Formation 20: Run And Shoot Draw - Run And Shoot Formation 21: Pitch L Fake - Onesetback Formation 22: Oneback Sweep R - Shifting Onesetback Formation 23: Weakside Open - One Man Shift Formation 24: T Offtackle R - T Formation 25: T Sweep Strong - T Formation 26: T Power Dive - T Formation 27: FB Offtackle L - Onesetback Formation 30: T Cross Run L - T Formation 31: Slot Offtackle - Slot Formation 32: Cross Offtackle - T Formation 33: Pitch L Open - Onesetback Formation 34: WR Reverse R - Onesetback Formation 35: WR Reverse L - Shifting Onesetback Formation 36: Shotgun Draw - Shotgun Formation 37: Run And Shoot Sweep R - Run And Shoot Formation 40: Run And Shoot QB Sneak - Run And Shoot Formation 41: Onesetback Dive - Shifting Onesetback Formation 42: Pro T Dive - T Formation 43: FB Power Dive - Split-I Formation 44: Shotgun C Draw - Shotgun Formation 45: Reverse Pitch R - T Formation 46: Run And Shoot QB Run - Run And Shoot Formation 47: Shotgun Sweep L - Shotgun 3-Wing Formation 50: Pro T Waggle R - T Formation 51: Roll Out R - Shifting Onesetback Formation 52: Roll Out L - One Man Shift Formation 53: T Play Action D - T Formation 54: Pro T Screen L - T Formation 55: Play Action - Split-I Formation 56: Pro T Waggle L - T Formation 57: Run And Shoot Flare C - Run And Shoot Formation 60: Shotgun X Curl - Shotgun Formation 61: Run And Shoot Z Fly - Run And Shoot Formation 62: Pro T Flare D - T Formation 63: Offset Flare E - Split-I Formation 64: Formation/Play Oneback Z Cross 65: Oneback Flare A - Onesetback Formation 66: Power Fake Z Post - Onesetback Formation 67: WTE Flea Flicker - WTE Formation 70: Shotgun X Drive - Shotgun Formation 71: Formation/Play Run And Shoot 3-Wing 72: Playaction Z In - Shifting Onesetback Formation 73: Flea Flicker - One Man Shift Formation 74: Pro T Flare C - T Formation 75: Shotgun 3-Wing - Shotgun 3-Wing Formation 76: T Flea Flicker - T Formation 77: Power Fake X Fly - Onesetback Formation 80: X Out And Fly - Onesetback Formation 81: Reverse-Fake Z Post - Onesetback Formation 82: Slot L Z Drive - Slot Formation 83: Formation/Play No Back X Deep 84: Shotgun Z S-In - Shotgun Formation 85: Formation/Play Redgun Z Slant 86: Shotgun XY Bomb - Shotgun Formation 87: Run And Shoot Y Up - Run And Shoot Formation -------- ----------------------------- Exposition First, some general definitions and explanations are needed: Reversible Play - This is a play that can be changed by simply making the running back move in a different direction, useful against human opponents. Call-Safe (AKA Picked Play - Safe or Pick-Safe): Player: A call-safe player is someone who can generally be thrown to by most offenses and can catch the ball whenever a play is called. Play: A call-safe play is one with some ways to get yardage if it is called. Nose Tackle Dive (AKA center trick, lurch, NTD, center slide, or simply slide): Using the nose tackle, move in one or two yards down-diagonally inside and one or two more straight inside, and sliding into the QB/running backs by hitting the B button repeatedly (and in some cases this means mashing the button, as the game does not always appreciate your efforts to defy physics). In some cases, it is necessary to move a bit farther in to catch some faster QBs, like Vinny Testaverde and QB Eagles, or a little less to hit slower QBs before they do anything. The NTD is a nearly invincible move as is the normal slide, moving through multiple people with the greatest of ease. Passing Order: This is the order of your passing targets (receivers). For instance, the first receiver is the one the cursor starts on, the second is the one that you target after pressing A once, the third twice, etc. Race Defect: When I use this term, I mean that a play can be discerned from others in its formation if the races of the people are switched around. When you look at the lineup of these plays, you will notice that certain plays have lineups different from some or all of the others in the formation. This allows you to discern when a particular play or group of plays has been called. This weakens the offense and strengthens the defense attendant to that play. Note however that I am not a racist. The reason that this phenomenon exists is because the people are switched in position for that particular play, and this can be noted by looking at the running backs' races if they are dissimilar. The plays with a race defect are: Pitch L Open (Onesetback Formation) T Power Dive (T Formation) The Shotguns are a mess; look in that section for more about their lineups and resulting race defects. Defensive Shift: This is when a certain defender (usually the top cornerback) will move along with a moving player on the offense when the whole team is in the lineup before the snap. This allows you to tell when a certain play has been called so that you may act accordingly. However, defensive shifts only happen every so often. For most of these, though, the shift really doesn't matter too much, except for Flea Flicker, where it is terribly important. I only tested rigorously the shifts for Redgun Z Slant and Oneback Z Cross, so No Back X Deep and Flea Flicker might be erroneous, but I doubt it. Here's a list of defensive shifts: Offensive Play - Defensive Play No Back X Deep - Any Play in Slots 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 Flea Flicker - Any Play in Slots 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8 Oneback Z Cross - Any (Pass) Play in Slots 5, 7, and 8 Redgun Z Slant - Any Play in Slots 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 Unless otherwise specified, all of the run plays are not call-safe, but not necessarily the kiss of death. Almost any play in this book, though, can be call-safe or call-nil in special situations, (such as a fast running back or QB and bad defense) so for passes, you might want to tap B if you think you can get a pass off and for runs you just want to get as many yards as possible. When I say that a play has lots of blockers, I mean that it has free blockers in front of the runner (I call them "roving blockers"). These are the guys that take out unnecessary defenders, shield the runner for a few yards, and pull stuff like blocking safeties in the back (you should have heard Steven's indignant protest, "That's ILLEGAL!" when my roving blockers on a Pitch L Open hit his free safety in the back - the guy rolled over, too). These guys are absolute nightmares for a human opponent because they get in the way of direct confrontations with runners and receivers. When there is motion in a play, and you hike the ball before the people stop moving, the receivers will still go to the same spots, but the path that they take will be altered according to their position at the snap. Paul gives a good tip on using this to your advantage: if your opponent is using a lineman or linebacker, you can "send" a player after him by hiking the ball when the person's running path coincides with that of your opponent. I'm laughing just thinking about it. RB#1 (also RB #1 - in other parts of the FAQ, the space is sometimes used for better readability) is the first running back in the lineup and likewise with WR#1 (also WR #1 for example). I left RB #2 as RB #2 instead of calling him the fullback because it's more compatible with the list below. Moreover, some teams don't have fullbacks so... One thing that is not really an explanation of this per se, but that is quite useful, is who is who in alternate team lineups, such as four WR/one RB or three WR/one RB/one TE. The order is the same; it's just that the names are different. In other words: -------- Normal Lineup QB RB#1 RB#2 WR#1 WR#2 TE -------- Three Receivers QB = QB RB = RB#1 WR#1 = RB#2 WR#2 = WR#1 WR#3 = WR#2 TE = TE -------- Four Receivers QB = QB RB = RB#1 WR#1 = RB#2 WR#2 = WR#1 WR#3 = WR#2 WR#4 = TE -------- Does that make sense? I hope so. ----------------------------- T Formation Plays WR#1 TE RB#1 LT LG QB C RG RB#2 RT WR#2 or, for T Power Dive: WR#1 TE RB#2 LT LG QB C RG RB#1 RT WR#2 General Comments: For this formation and the next one, I have no general overreaching comments for the whole set. I have arranged them according to peculiar characteristics that each of them have. You'll see what I mean when you read them, and the general comments for each set are given with that set. There are five groups for this formation: Pass Set 1: Straight Back Plays Pass Set 2: Waggles Pass Set 3: Other Plays Run Set 1: Power Plays Run Set 2: Technical Plays ------- Pass Set 1: Straight Back Plays General Comments: All of these plays are good, but susceptible to the nose tackle dive and most other blitz techniques. Make sure you're prepared to dodge any defenders. Pro T Flare C: O--------------------->WR#1 O----------------- O LT--RB#1 \ \---------LG ->TE QB---O C RB#2 RG / O RT / \ / ---------------- WR#2 O--------------| Offense: All people go past the line in this one. Move closer to the bottom to increase your chances of a reception to the middle receiver, because as he moves down he tends to cause quarterbacks trouble in passing to him. If you pass to him, make sure you're not moving or under significant pressure. Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (hit A two times). Passing Order: WR#1 TE RB#2 WR#2 Defense: The one that really has to be watched is the tight end that slopes downward. He often shakes computer defenders, so oftentimes it's a good idea to take someone out and cover him for sure. Pro T Flare D: --RB#1 O------------------- / \->WR#1 | | TE--------- O LT \ LG \ QB---O C TE RG O RT | \ ------------ --RB#2 O----/ \-->WR#2 Note that RB #1 and RB #2 will sometimes run out of their places and move straight out into the field. Offense: This is a great play in the second pass slot. You can almost always find someone open with this. If you want short yards, simply pass to the running backs on either side of you as quickly as possible after the snap for an almost guaranteed reception. The tight end moves into the middle about two seconds in, so keep him in mind and throw to him quickly, because your opponent can see him very well if he's open. Call-safe receivers are the tight end (hit A once), RB #1 (hit A thrice), and RB #2 (hit A four times, if you can do that before getting nailed). Abuse this play, call it 16 times a drive if you want. There is almost no wrong that you can do with this one, either for ball control offense, quick yards, or crunch time. Just make sure that your opponent isn't going to NTD you every time. Passing Order: WR#1 TE WR#2 RB#1 RB#2 Defense: The wild card here is the two running backs on either side of the QB. If you move in to directly cover one of them, a pass to the other side is impossible to stop. Moreover, it leaves you susceptible to passes long or in the middle that get caught, because you have to run all the way back out to stop the receivers. What you should probably do is stay right in the middle where the tight end is and move for whoever catches the ball once the pass is thrown. If you think this play will be used next, don't call it. The reason for that is the high number of call-safe receivers and the utility of those receivers to even a mediocre QB. Only call it if you can cover the TE, and even so, if your opponent can tag the running backs before getting sacked, it's usually not worth it. Calling it against a general pass defense, though, is often useful. Pro T Screen L: ---RB#1 O---------------------->WR#1 / | | O------- O LT \ LG \ QB---O C TE -RB#2 RG O---/ RT WR#2 O----------------| RB#1 will sometimes continue on straight ahead. Offense: This is a well balanced play, with two decent short opportunities. Move to the top to make your passes more accurate. You'll usually get sacked on this one if it's called - just hit B to pass in the rare event that you stay up long enough to make it. Paul told me to mention the weird movement of the QB - he stops moving back for a second if the play is picked, making it much harder to get a pass off. You have a very easy "flash" opportunity with RB #1, if the defense has been stopping your backs. Passing Order: RB#1 WR#1 TE WR#2 Defense: If you pursue the long men, make sure to watch the shorter ones. ------- Pass Set 2: Waggles General Comments: Both these plays severely hurt linemen, though Pro T Waggle L can be dodged by a good nose tackle or even stopped by a nose tackle dive. They should only be used for diversity and never abused, because each can be attacked either by a call, which results in a nine or ten yard loss, or by a secondary or linebacker who moves in after the QB - same loss. Their difference lies in how far the receivers go out. Pro T Waggle R: O--------------- \ WR#1 RB#2 TE O---|-- LT | | LG /--|---O C -/ | RG O/ | | RT | \ WR#2 QB \ / --O-RB#1-------- Offense: Of the three short receivers, the best is RB #1 at the very bottom, because many times he's not covered and RB #1 is usually decently fast. This play can be confused with T Cross Run L. If everyone is covered on this play, you've got a great scrambling opportunity. Passing Order: WR#1 WR#2 RB#1 Defense: As with other plays with the quarterback on a track, take a secondary or linebacker and move in after the QB. Failing that, just make sure everyone is covered. A tactic that you can use if your opponent has T Cross Run L in his/her playbook is to use the second-to-top linebacker and move in as you would for the run, but watch in the middle or nearer RB #2 and see over whom the cursor reappears. When you deduce who it is, smash them. If it is this play though, you will have to deal with a blocker, so slide tackle the QB when you go after him. Pro T Waggle L: O---------------------->WR#1 QB -------RB#2 | / | / TE O | | LT \\ | -O WR#2 \\---|--|O C / \ | -O / O---\-- |RT / \ ---LG & RG (block) RB#1 / O--------- Offense: This one is better than Pro T Waggle R because your people go longer. Watch for the top receiver, because he's not often covered well or even at all. The shorter men are decent as well in that respect. This pass can be confused with T Power Sweep R, amongst others. Use a QB sneak if your men are covered. Passing Order: RB#2 WR#2 WR#1 Defense: Move in on the QB as in Pro T Waggle R, but look out for the long man if you stay out in coverage. Alternatively, if you don't know what play will be called, you can stop this play if you use an altered nose tackle dive: if you hold down-diagonal toward the bottom as you normally would, and hit B quickly (it may require you to mash the button) as soon as the center snaps the ball, you can slide through a few opposing men, hitting the QB as he comes up from the fake handoff. This allows you to stay close for a normal nose tackle dive to stop other plays. Make sure, if you use this tactic, that you do it quickly. You can also slip through the hole in the middle with linebackers and attack from behind. ------- Pass Set 3: Other Plays General Comments: None. T Play Action D: O---------------- \ \ TE \ O LT WR#1 / LG | QB------O-C----RB#2 | / RG |O----- RT \ ------------------->RB#1 O-------------------->WR#2 Offense: Move yourself to the bottom a little bit to take advantage of the bias in the receivers. If this is called, consider a trip to the hospital when the seven defenders hit you all at once. WR #1 slants, so keep your QB in one place and without pressure if you pass to him in that motion - that is an effective man for eluding coverage as well. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 Defense: This dies with a nose tackle dive. Otherwise, just go out into coverage, and watch the top receiver; he's quite pesky. RB #1 can also give you problems if the opposing QB waits for him to come out. T Flea Flicker: O-------------------- -----------RB#2 \->WR#1 | | TE O | LT \QB | -O \\--|---|O C \ | -O O---\- |RT \ ---LG & RG WR#2 RB#1 / O----------- The left and right guards are roving blockers, I believe. Offense: This can be confused with T Power Sweep R, so use that to confuse your opponent. It can also be confused with Pro T Waggle R and T Sweep Strong, but to a lesser extent than with T Power Sweep R. You can't call this one very often, because this play can yield automatic fumbles if called by your opponent, or if your opponent hits your quarterback. You may not even want to call it at all, but rather leave your opponent waiting for it and exploit the weaknesses of the defense. It's not call-safe, but occasionally you will be missed and become able to pass the ball. Passing Order: WR#1 RB#2 WR#2 Defense: One way that you can deal with this play is to use the top linebacker and move in as you would for T Sweep Strong, then attack the QB. If that's not permitted, just tag whichever ones aren't covered. Try to call this play and then recover the frequent fumble that results if you don't have anything more urgent (such as a lot of running plays). ------- Run Set 1: Power Plays General Comments: These plays all have either a lot of blockers or the ability to stuff linemen or linebackers with the push of the offensive line after the snap. Thus, these are generally more useful than the plays in Set 2. Cross Offtackle: WR#1------- | --------------|---->RB#2 / TE (blocks) O---/--- LT / | LG QB/----|---O C (whole line moves out to block) / | RG O | RT RB#1 (blocks) WR#2-----/ Offense: This play is very good and decently fast, but watch yourself as you come out, because you rarely have roving blockers and anyone who approaches you will take you down if you're not careful. Defense: Take the top cornerback or free safety and move in on the hole, slide tackling if useful. You can try an RILB attack through the middle, but you tend to attract blockers and your opponent can usually reverse before you can slide tackle. Be cautious if you try this. T Offtackle R: WR#1 (blocks) TE O LT \ LG QB--------O C (this line moves out to block) \ RG RB#2\ RT \ ----------------->RB#1 \--(blocks) WR#2----------(blocks) Offense: This is a hard play on the defense because tons of people get hit. However, you need to avoid making unnecessary moves since some linebackers can move down fairly quickly and make life hard for you. You have one roving blocker, but he usually goes for the strong safety. You're basically on your own with this one. Defense: Use a defensive back to wrestle down the man, or, take a lower linebacker and slide tackle the runner down. T Sweep Strong: WR#1--------(blocks) QB | | TE O | LT \| -O |-------|O C (these fellas block) | -O O-| |RT \ \ ---LG & RG (block) -------------RB#2 (blocks)----------->RB#1 WR#2-----(blocks) Offense: This is a good run play, but the blockers are somewhat spread out, so watch for insurgent defenders. This play can be reversed somewhat. It can be confused with Pro T Waggle L and occasionally Flea Flicker, but this is actually a unique play because RB #2 comes down to block. Defense: Take someone on the top, either secondary, linebacker, or lineman, and move through the blockers for the tackle. You can also move around the line and attack from behind. T Power Sweep R: WR#1--------(blocks) QB ---------RB#2 | | | | TE O | | LT \| | -O |--/----|O C (most block; see note) | / -O O-|- |RT \ --LG & RG (block) ---------------->RB#1 WR#2-----(blocks) Offense: This is one of the better run plays because the blockers are many and tight. This play can be reversed with a decent running back. This can be confused with Pro T Waggle L and T Flea Flicker. Defense: With this play, move through the hole in the middle of the offensive line and come from behind using one of the linebackers. You can also move around the sweep with whatever defender you've chosen. You can move through the sweep, but it's a bit tougher than with T Sweep Strong (in my opinion, at least - the numbers would not suggest that). ------- Run Set 2: Technical Plays General Comments: These runs are nice, but require more care and skill to pull off than the power runs. Pro T Dive: WR#1------ \ \ TE \ O LT | / LG (blocks) | QB------O-C--------------->RB#2 | / RG (blocks) |O----- RT / \ / ------RB#1 | WR#2 Offense: This play is not great, considering you have no blockers through the middle. This play can be easily reversed, though, which is almost necessary. This can be put in with T Fake Sweep R for confusion, since the movements are the same, but the possession of the ball differs between the two. Defense: A nose tackle dive kills this. You can also just take someone in and struggle them down with few complications. Watch for a reverse to whatever side is most open (if you're shifted to the bottom, watch for the top). T Power Dive: WR#1------ \ \ TE \ RB#2--- LT | \ LG (blocks) QB------O-C-----RB#2-------->RB#1 / RG (blocks) RB#1-- RT / / | WR#2 Offense: This play is like Pro T Dive, but with a blocker in front, making it much more useful. You can decently run in the middle, or you can go to either side on a reversal. However, this is the one play in this formation that is afflicted with the cursed race problem - the two backs are switched on this play. Thus, you have to be careful about this play if you have different color backs. Defense: You can nose tackle dive this, or you can take a secondary and move in after the blocker has been taken care of. Watch the backs and see if they've switched for an indication that this play has been called. If your opponent likes to reverse, don't move in, because you can get caught up with RB #2 and your opponent can just move right around you. Reverse Pitch R: O / --/----->RB#2 (blocks) || TE RB#1--||- LT ||| LG /-||--O C (this group blocks) / || RG O--/ || RT (blocks)(blocks) / \\ / / QB --RB#1---------/--->WR#1 WR#2------- Offense: This is a nice surprise play, but not much else, so go in whichever direction seems most useful and free of defenders. Defense: Simply find the runner and take him down. This play can be detected by looking at WR #1 and seeing whether he remains stationary, and, if so, this is the play in progress. T Cross Run L: WR#1------- \ -------->RB#2 (blocks) | TE O-----|-- LT | | LG /--|--O C (this group blocks) / | RG O--/ | RT (blocks) / \ / QB RB#1 / WR#2------- Offense: This is a decent run play, but you don't have many blockers (and the slower fullbacks tend to run this) so be careful about where you go if you want to get more than a few yards. This is only a little reversible. This play can be confused with Pro T Waggle R. Defense: Simply take a linebacker or secondary and just move in after the running back. Paul gave a good tip which I had used before, but always had forgotten and likely would not have made it in here; take the second-to-top linebacker and simply move straight in. As long as you don't contact any blockers, you have a straight shot at the runner. You can either slide tackle or struggle him down from there. Thanks Paul! T Fake Sweep R: WR#1------ \ \ TE \ O LT | / LG (blocks) | QB------O-C--RB#2 | / RG (blocks) |O----- RT / \ / ------------|----->RB#1 WR#2 Offense: You can run this play and it works somewhat, but it's kind of weak due to the paucity of blockers. This play becomes useful with one other run play through the middle like Pro T Dive (especially Pro T Dive, because the motions of the players are all similar) if your opponent can't use the nose tackle dive. Simply run straight ahead and don't think about reversing it. This play is call-safe if you have a really fast running back. Defense: This play can be stopped with a nose tackle dive or simply by moving your man to the bottom and taking out the runner when he gets the ball (or before, if you want to get a fumble). ------- ----------------------------- Onesetback Formation: WR#1 RB#2 LT LG RB#1 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 or, for Pitch L Open: WR#1 RB#1 LT LG RB#2 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 There are three groups for this formation: Set 1: Top Handoff Plays Set 2: Handoff After The Snap Plays Set 3: All Other Plays ------- Set 1: Top Handoff Plays General Comments: For these plays, the essential thing to look out for is where the ball goes after the handoff. You can kill the play before then as well by attacking the two men involved in ball switching with a linebacker slide tackle or struggle. Moreover, you can hit the quarterback as he pitches the ball and cause an automatic fumble (a nose tackle dive is the best way to do this little trick). All of these plays are inferior because they can be tracked down and destroyed fairly easily. None of these are call- safe. Reverse-Fake Z Post: ------O /-------------->RB#1 / RB#2 WR#1 LT / LG QB-O---------O C RG RT TE ---->WR#2 O--------------/ Offense: This play requires that you know who you're going to pass to before you get the ball, since there's a lot of time between the snap and the QB getting the ball. Once you get the ball, pass quickly. If the long man isn't open, then you can wait a little bit for the short one to open up, but if there are blockers near him he probably won't, because one or more will pursue him. In that case, simply QB sneak, or, more likely for a person in the position that you end up in, move as far back as you can get, and throw a cross-field bomb in an attempt to get rid of the ball without the risk of interception. Passing Order: WR#2 RB#1 Defense: You can initially murder this play by attacking the QB. If you can knock the QB down either by slide tackling him at the start of the play or hitting him with a nose tackle or other defender in the middle of the ballplay, you cause WR #1, who gets the ball, to throw it wherever the QB is, even if he's down, which yields you a automatic fumble. What's more, you can hit either the running back who goes up to handoff or WR #1 who takes the ball to stop or fumble the play. And more - you can cover the men who go out (since there are only two). You have no excuse if your opponent gets yards on this play. WR Reverse R: ------O /--------------RB#1 / RB#2 / LT / LG QB-O---------O C (all but QB & WR#1 block) \ RG \ RT \ TE --------------->WR#1 WR#2 Offense: As soon as you get the ball on this play, move forward, because chances are that your opponent is watching you very closely and wants to take you out at the first opportunity, unless more blockers are on the top, in which case going down might be more advisable. Defense: This can be distinguished from Reverse Fake Z Post because the runner usually hooks toward the line instead of moving in a straight diagonal towards the QB. Simply take this guy out by making sure your man doesn't get caught up with the fake or a blocker. There's nothing more to it than that. Pitch L Fake: ------O /-------------->RB#1 / RB#2 / LT / LG QB-O---------O C (all but QB & RB#1 block) / RG WR#1 RT TE WR#2 Offense: Move straight out as soon as you get control of the runner. Watch the defense as the computer is moving the people around so that you know where to run later. Defense: If the cursor on top of the man who runs up reappears, take him out. ------- Set 2: Handoff After The Snap Plays General Comments: On all the HATS Plays, you can take the left end (hit A twice) and simply move up-left diagonally at the snap and then slide tackle to kill any one of these plays. The right end can also work in this way, but in the down-left direction, if he is fast enough, like Bruce Smith or Greg Townsend. Anyway, if this tactic is not allowed, you can take the second to top linebacker and move diagonally down-left into the formation, then slide tackle. With the passes, sometimes you can catch the QB with a slide from the line, but most of the time you have to pursue him and then take him down. These are their fundamental weaknesses, but if you alternate these with something devastating like Pitch L Open or something tricky to recover from and defend against with those players like X Out And Fly, you can make this formation work somewhat. None of these are call-safe. Here are some diagrams for these: Left End Dive (the best, but not always doable): WR#1 RB#2 LT LG RB#1 QB C (slide here)-\ \ RG LE RT TE WR#2 Right End Dive (for good right ends): WR#1 RB#2 LT LG RE / (slide here)-/ RB#1 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 Linebacker Attack: WR#1 RB#2 LT /------X (get him)LG RB#1 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 Power Fake Z Post: O-------- | ----RB#1 ----RB#2-----|--/ / LT | / LG | O----QB------O C | RG | RT | TE WR#1 ---->WR#2 O----------------/ RB #2 is a roving blocker. Offense: This is a good play to use when you want to lead receivers instead of having straight out situations where people get covered and blocked fairly easily. You want to watch for RB #1 who comes out and is often uncovered. There's a roving blocker on this play as well - always a good thing on a pass. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#1 Defense: If you want to stop the pass and go out into coverage on this play, watch the shorter range men because those are the least frequently covered. If it's near the end of a half or fourth down, you may want to help cover the long receiver, because coverage for all people is usually single on this play. You can also attempt a nose tackle dive, but it doesn't always work very well because you can get caught up in the line. Watch out for the blocker. Power Fake X Fly: O--------------------->WR#1 ---RB#1 ----RB#2--------/ / LT / LG O----QB------O C RG TE RT / TE----- O---------------------->WR#2 Offense: This is a good handoff play with four receivers that go out. It has good medium and long pass opportunities. Pass soon to avoid getting stuffed by coverage that moves in front of your receiver. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#1 TE Defense: See General Comments. Also, coverage for this play is longer, so take out a man and put him in the middle of all the receivers to make it easier for you to cover multiple men. You can try a nose tackle dive on this almost straight after the snap. Onesetback L: O---WR#1 --RB#2 O/ LT -----O/------>RB#1 / LG O----QB------O C (all block) RG--O RT TE O-------WR#2 FB Offtackle L: O---WR#1 --RB#2 O/ LT -----O/------>RB#1 / LG O----QB------O C (all block) RG RT TE O-------WR#2 Offense: These two plays are nearly indistinguishable, so I'll treat them as one. Don't do anything funny, just go through the hole and start dodging people as soon as you gain control. One thing to look out for is the top cornerback. Sometimes he gets blocked and sometimes he doesn't so take him into consideration as you run. This is one of the better running plays in the game because you get a good thrust that blocks multiple positions. If your opponent is blocking the hole, reverse the play. Note that in Onesetback L, the right guard comes back as if he were pass blocking, whereas in FB Offtackle L, everyone goes out. Props to Jason Tcheng for noticing this. He also noticed that when the right guard comes back, no one blocks the left end. If your opponent chooses the left end, he will be unblocked. One way to disable these is to take the LILB and run in through the left end and get inside. FB Offtackle L is tougher to nail because of the right guard moving up. You may not be able to always handle this one with the left end dive. Defense: See General Comments. If those tactics are not allowed, just use a safety or a lower linebacker to finish off the runner. The left end is also a good one to choose for Onesetback L, because he does not get blocked by the right guard. ------- Set 3: All Other Plays General Comments: I just threw the rest in here. X Out And Fly: O--------\ /-->WR#1 RB#2 ------- O----/ LT LG O QB---O C RB#1 \ RG / TE \ RT / / \ O----/-------- -------------- --->WR#2 O---------------/ Offense: This is a great five-receiver play. You have to wait for a little while for a couple of the short- range opportunities to develop in the middle, but you have a nice spread over the field. Make sure you pass quickly if you're going to the group of three in the center of the field to avoid increased coverage in that area as the play matures (I didn't want to use develop again). Call-safe receivers are RB #2 (hit A two times) and RB #1 (hit A four times). This is one play that you can effectively Boomer with in this formation, so keep that in mind as well. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#2 TE RB#1 Defense: You can nose tackle dive this play. Also, the three-receiver nest is easily handled if you stand in the middle of it. The key here is not to miss an open man in the mess of people. Oneback Flare A: O--------------| WR#1 O------ LT \ -RB#1 LG \ O----/ QB---O C RB#2 RG RT TE ->WR#2 O------------------/ Offense: This play is kind of weak. You should pass as soon as you find a man, because with only three receivers, coverage will come soon to all of them. Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (hit A twice). You can also Boomer with this one, but it's not so easy. One trick you can pull with WR #1 is to pass to him when he's 5-9 yards out, before he curls, and he will run straight for the pass, which often makes him run straight out. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#2 Defense: Just go out into coverage, or nose tackle dive the QB. You should watch the short range receivers, because those are not often both covered. Pitch L Open: WR#1 ---------------->RB#2 / RB#1 / LT (this whole side blocks up and out) / LG O QB C RG (sits there) RT (sits there) TE (moves out and blocks) WR#2 (moves out, up and blocks) Offense: This is one of the best run plays in the whole game. You often get three blockers who just roam around (they even block safeties in the back) and you gain control of your back quickly. Move as quickly as you can out into the field, since the blockers often end up doing their own thing. This is a play to abuse. The only drawback to this play is a problem mentioned earlier, the bloody race problem (race defect). This is (if I did this part properly) the only onesetback formation play where the fullback (or RB#2) is in back, making it easy for a good human opponent to literally discriminate when you run this if you have backs of different color. Watch yourself. Defense: There's a nice tactic you can use on this play that will take you straight to your opponent. You should first choose the bottom (left) end. When the QB takes the snap, move straight up (you can hold the up button before the snap as well) and you will find yourself on a totally clear route to the runner, right behind him. The guard assigned to block your player will just sit there like a doofus, so you don't have to worry about getting blocked in the back. If this tactic is not allowed, when this play starts, don't move in too quickly. Instead, wait until the blockers have dissipated and then move in to attack. The best people to control are the safeties and the lower linebackers. You can see if this play has been called if the backs have different colors from other plays in this formation, if your opponent's backs have different colors. ------- ----------------------------- Run And Shoot Formation: WR#1 RB#2 LT LG RB#1 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 Comments: Some of the best pass plays in the game are from this position. The runs are also very balanced, though one of them is impotent (Run And Shoot Draw). Don't force big plays with this, because most of the best opportunities are short but definite gains. Look for the nose tackle on this one. He can get inside on all the pass plays and cause havoc with some of the runs. Run And Shoot Y Up O------------------>WR#1 ----------------------->RB#1 / O-------- / \ / LT \ / LG RB#2 O QB-----O C RG RT O------------------>TE O------------\ ->WR#2 Offense: This is somewhat the Run And Shoot analogue of Shotgun Z S-In. You have three men that go long, one that curls into the middle (RB #2 from the top) and one that stays by the side of the quarterback (RB #1). Simply use this one as you would the shotgun, but pass a bit more quickly as the defense can sack you more easily on this play. Call- safe men are RB #1 (hit A twice) and RB #2 (hit A thrice). Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#1 RB#2 TE Defense: Go after the QB or watch the long receivers, especially the bottom ones. If they are taken care of, move in closer to stop a short pass. Run And Shoot Z Fly O------| WR#1 O------------------->RB#2 LT LG RB#1 QB-----O C RG RT O-------| TE O-------------------->WR#2 RB #1 moves up and blocks after the snap. Offense: This play is the best in the game for one simple reason: one or more receivers will almost always be open. Apparently, the computer has a hard time handling this play, even when it has big speed boosts and whatnot. Go for the longest man who is open without delay, because people start covering better after about two or three seconds and the longer receivers will be harder to throw to when they are farther away and more easily covered. The wild card here is a man opponent, who can plug up the gaps in coverage. This play is not really call-safe, but you can get the ball off. Whether you want to take the sack or not depends on your situation and inclination. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#2 TE Defense: Either pursue the QB or go out and cover whichever man happens to be open. Run And Shoot Flare C O-------\_/--------->WR#1 -------RB#1 O---/----- / \ LT RB#2 /-----LG O-------- QB---O C RG RT O-------- /-------->WR#2 \ / O--------\--------TE Offense: The nice thing about this play is the wide variety of receiving options. You have the standard two long receivers and you have two short opportunities that develop a couple seconds into the play, plus an often-open longer shot to the bottom that stops some yards out. As long as you vary your receivers, you can make this play work for you. This play has no consistently available call-safe receivers, but RB #2 (hit A twice) is usually still standing. Passing Order: WR#1 RB#1 RB#2 WR#2 TE Defense: Make sure that the lowest receiver and the lower long receiver are covered, because one or the other often isn't and represents a good pass opportunity. Otherwise, move in to forestall the short pass. Run And Shoot QB Sneak WR#1 RB#2 LT LG RB#1 --O C |-RG------>QB RT TE WR#2 Offense: You can run this play two ways: you can just run straight in and get a couple of yards, or you can move at a diagonal down-right and follow your advancing line, which can sometimes yield you more than five yards and allow you to break out (as much as a slow QB can do so). Defense: Just get the quarterback down, either with a nose-tackle dive or with a linebacker. One thing to take advantage of is the low Hitting Power of QBs. If you have a strong defender, simply touching him will tackle him, and thus you can get yourself in more risky situations than you could with a decent running back. Run And Shoot QB Run WR#1 ------------->QB | RB#2 | \ LT \ LG RB#1 -----O C RG RT TE WR#2 All non-QB men block. RB #1 moves to the bottom and comes back up to block. Offense: Make sure you don't run this too often, because a familiar opponent can cause problems with it. However, it is a fairly strong run for this formation, especially against defenders who prefer nose tackles. Simply run the play the way it goes, because you're too far up by the time you gain control to feasibly switch directions. Defense: Take a secondary or a bottom linebacker and smack the quarterback down. Hitting Power differences are useful here for you, so pick a strong one. Run And Shoot Draw WR#1 RB#2 LT LG O----QB--------O C (all other men block) \--------RG------>RB#1 RT TE WR#2 Offense: This is the worst run play you could possibly have. Only use it for surprise attacks and just get your yards before your opponent catches on to what you're doing. Defense: You can discern this play from a normal pass by looking at the pocket. If a man is sitting there and doing nothing, it's the draw play. What you can do is a nose tackle dive to kill the runner and even the quarterback before he hands off if you're fast enough, or you can take a linebacker or a secondary and just struggle him down. All in all, you should have no problems with this play. Run And Shoot Sweep Left/Right Left: WR#1 ----------------->RB#1 (these guys sweep) / RB#2 / / LT / LG O QB C (all others move out and north and block) RG RT TE WR#2 Right: WR#1 (blocks out) --O / RB#2 O--\ |--O LT (blocks) O | QB C (blocks) \ |--O RT (blocks) \ \ O--/ \ -----(LG & RG) (block) \ O-----TE (sweeps and blocks) ----------------->RB#1 O-------WR#2 (sweeps and blocks) Offense: Simply move in the direction of the play. Don't get fancy because getting yards with these is not that easy, and moving in contraflow doesn't do much. You can usually get two or three yards at least with this. With a very fast runner like Bo Jackson or Drew Hill, you can have a call-safe run if you can escape the initial flood of men, but you generally have to be shifted in the direction opposite that of the run (if you're shifted to the top, you have to run to the bottom). Note that since the guards come out and block on R&S Sweep R, that play is more effective and powerful than R&S Sweep L. Also, the right end is unblocked. Watch out if your opponent picks him. Defense: Take someone and move through the blockers (or around if you have yards to spare) and slide tackle or struggle the runner down. This play is not a killer run by any means, so don't let your opponent get major yardage on it. The right end is free on this play, so you can use him pretty easily. ----------------------------- Shifting Onesetback Formation: WR#1 | | -----RB#2 | | | O O | LT | | LG RB#1 | QB C | RG O------- RT TE O | WR#2 General Comments: All the plays in this formation can be slightly altered in the positions and paths of players, in either blockers for runs or receivers for passes, by taking the snap at different times during the shift. These plays are pretty good and, since there are six of them, they are pretty hard to distinguish if all of them are in the playbook. Playaction Z In: ------------------>WR#1 | | ------|------RB#2 | | | O O | LT | | LG ----QB--|-----O-C--------------->RB#1 | RG WR#2 O------- RT / TE O / | / ---------- Offense: This play is good, with two short men and two long men. Note that the pass to the running back in the middle (who goes out for a pass and acts as a receiver) should probably be done as soon as possible since defenders guarding the receiver on top can move down more easily to prevent a pass. This play is not call-safe; if your opponent picks this play, you eat it. Passing Order: WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 WR#2 Defense: The man moving out in the middle can be ignored once he's gotten out long enough in the field as long as you have enough people back there to cover him should the pass move in his direction. Following him for a little while is a good idea if no one has the man who curls from the bottom. This play can be stopped with a nose tackle dive and responds only mildly to the usual pressure tactics. Roll Out R: ------------------------->RB#1 | | \ | | \ | -----RB#2 \ | | | \ | | O \ O / \ | LT \ | / \| LG WR#1 --- |----O C / | RG O/------ RT | O----\ QB O TE | ---------------->WR#2 Offense: Like its cousin, Roll Out L, this play has a vulnerability in that the QB can be taken out fairly easily. However, with more plays to choose from, it's not quite as predictable or risky. The receivers are shorter range on this play, though two go out at angles. This is a nice play, but don't expect to get a pass off if it's called. RB #1 develops later, so if all your other receivers are covered, watch for him to come out. Passing Order: WR#2 TE RB#1 WR#1 Defense: The thing to watch is the hand off. If the QB takes the ball, it's Roll Out R, and if not, it's FB Open L. Calling FB Open L is a good way to insure yourself against a yardage loss. Stop the play by just moving a cornerback or linebacker behind the line and taking down the QB while he's still a drone. You also have a slim chance of sacking the quarterback when the handoff occurs if you take the nose tackle and slide in. Onesetback Dive: WR#1 | (these two move down and block) | -----RB#2 | | | O O | LT | | LG ----QB--|-----O-C----->RB#1 | RG O------- RT TE O (these two block) | WR#2 Offense: A dive play, Onesetback Dive is one of the better ones. It's reversible just as any other dive play. Go wherever you think you'll get the most yards. Defense: This one can be stopped with a nose tackle dive. If you can't do that, take a safety or cornerback and tackle the runner. Watch the reverse as always. WR Reverse L: WR#1 | -------|--------WR#2 |-----RB#2 || | || O O || LT \ || LG \QB--||-----O C (men on the sides go out and block) \ || RG O---\--|| RT \ | TE \| O |\ | -------RB#1 Offense: Surprise your opponent with this. You can get decent gains with this if your opponent isn't looking for it. The handoff can be confused with Oneback Sweep R. You can enter the fray at any point you deem viable on this play, since most of the blockers are usually disorganized. Defense: Oftentimes you can catch the runner moving up with the man you take in to catch Oneback Sweep R. Otherwise, simply stay back from the line, until it is obvious what play is developing, then move. You can disable this one using a lower linebacker and hitting the decoy or the runner as well, I believe. Oneback Sweep R: WR#1 | | -----RB#2 | | | O O | LT \ | LG \QB---|-----O C (men on the sides go out and block) \ | RG O---\---- RT \ TE \ O -------|-------->RB#1 WR#2 Offense: This is a highly effective run play, but note that it has few blockers. Not ultra-reversible. Defense: Take a man in from the secondary or the linebackers and take down the runner. It's that simple. FB Open L: WR#1 | ---------|-------->RB#1 | -----RB#2 | | | | | O O / \ | LT | / \| LG --- |-----O C (men on the sides go out and block) / | RG O/------ RT | TE QB O | WR#2 Offense: Just as with Oneback Sweep R, note the relative absence of blockers and the predisposition of the play for being run the way it was designed. Defense: Just as with Oneback Sweep R, use a man not likely to be disabled from the initial thrust and take care of business. If your opponent has Roll Out R in, you can take care of both by using the lowest linebacker and watching over whom the number reappears, then smashing them. ----------------------------- Shotgun Formation: Formation 1 - Shotgun X Curl and Shotgun Draw: WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 LT LG QB C RG RT TE WR#2 Formation 2 - Shotgun Z S-In and Shotgun X Drive: WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 LT LG QB C RG RT WR#2 TE Formation 3 - Shotgun XY Bomb and Shotgun C Draw: WR#1 RB#1 RB#2 LT LG QB C RG RT TE WR#2 General Comments: There are three distinct shotgun formations. Two plays switch the running backs, and two plays switch the tight end and WR #2. This is a big problem for diverse teams. I have ordered this section to put the separate formations' plays next to each other. The runs in here are only good as surprise plays. If your opponent is watching for them, they are next to useless. The passes from here are superb. Going for the QB on these plays is a bad idea since most of the time, an opposing player will find an open man before you can stop him from passing. The best chance is to stay out in coverage using one of the defensive linemen or linebackers, which also insures you against the runs. I don't think as highly of this formation as I used to, but it is still decently useful, especially if you don't have to worry about the race defects. One other thing to note is that QB sneaking from this formation is not terribly useful because it takes a while for the QB to move up. If you're thinking about using them, move toward the line as soon as you get the ball. ------------- Formation 1 Shotgun X Curl -------RB#1O-------------------| / WR#1 / O---------| / RB#2 RB#1 LT LG QB C RG RT TE O---------| WR#2 O-------------------| Offense: This is one of the best short range pass plays. Five receivers give you good options. The longer range men can be had, but usually the two shorter range ones are open and good choices, with the occasional fifth man pass to mix things up. This play really works well in the red zone when the coverage begins to tighten. I love this play, and if it weren't for Run And Shoot Z Fly and Pro T Flare D, I would almost always choose this play. Call-safe opportunities are RB #2 (hit A once), TE (hit A twice), and RB #1 (hit A four times), but note that these, especially the tight end, may get knocked over. Passing Order: WR#1 RB#2 TE WR#2 RB#1 Defense: This play, like Shotgun X Drive, has two ranges of receivers. Make sure that each range is covered and put yourself in the middle if one isn't. In particular, use your best lineman to cover the two short range opportunities, because coverage is almost always lacking in that region and passes to those men are short and effective. The fifth receiver, as always, should be watched. Shotgun Draw WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 LT \-------------LG------>RB#1 QB C RG RT TE WR#2 All people go out to block except for the QB, the center, and the guards. The three offensive linemen in the middle (C, RG, LG) fan slightly to give the running back more room. Offense: This is better than Shotgun C Draw and you can usually get a few yards using it if your opponent isn't expecting it. Just be careful about moving every which way once you get the ball. Get your yards and then finish things. Dawdling behind the line gets you nothing. Defense: If you think your opponent will call this play, simply take a linebacker and wait for him. You can even go inside, but that gets a bit risky because he can simply run out around you and you can get engaged or knocked over by a blocker. If you have to catch him before he gets a few yards, take a lineman and move in or do the same with a linebacker. ------------- Formation 2 Shotgun Z S-In RB#1 O---------------->WR#1 | | O---------------\ | RB#2 RB#1 LT LG QB C RG WR#2 RT / / O------ O---------------->TE Offense: This play has some interesting properties. One of them is the running back on the side of the quarterback who is generally insulated from immediate coverage. The second is the short man about five or so yards out. These two give you nice short alternatives to the two men who go long. and the intermediate running back. If every man is covered, you want to throw to the TE on the bottom because he usually only has one defender in his vicinity. Call-safe receiver is RB #1 (hit A four times). Passing Order: WR#2 TE WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 Defense: Watch the short range pass by staying in the middle and covering the man there, or by moving behind the line to cover there. Like all shotguns, just cover everyone and you'll be fine. Shotgun X Drive O-------RB#2-------->WR#1 ---------------------/-----RB#1 / O--------- / RB#1 LT LG QB C RG WR#2 RT / / O--------- O------------------->TE Offense: This play has two main long receivers whom you should look at first. Then, look for the short receiver in the middle and for the one who sits near the top of the screen. Finally, look at the man who starts running out about one or two seconds into the play. This is how you should plan your pass on this play. This is a good play, with short and long men for good effect. Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (hit A three times). Passing Order: WR#2 TE WR#1 RB#2 RB#1 Defense. One thing to note is the duality of range. There are two long and two short men. The two long ones are usually covered (you may want to assist if the defenders aren't keeping up) but the two short ones aren't usually covered well. To stop those passes, place yourself in the middle of those two men. Watch for the fifth man who comes out, because as soon as he passes the short-range receivers he becomes a good target for a first down pass. ------------- Formation 3 Shotgun XY Bomb O---------------->WR#1 O----------------->RB#1 /------------------------- RB#2 LT \ LG \ QB C RB#2 RG RT O---- ->TE \-------------/ O---------------->WR#2 Offense: This play is, as you might expect, a bomb. Everyone goes long and the best chance you have of making it is if one person is uncovered. You should toss to them promptly after you have identified them, because the longer you wait, the easier it will be for more defenders to obstruct the pass. The only real diversity in the play is the shortest pass to RB #2. Your opponent may try to lure you to pass to him since you can't see where the defender or the receiver is on this play until you pass, and then move in for an interception or whatever. I don't like this play because it just doesn't have a whole lot of options or complications. You either make it or you don't. The closest thing to a call-safe receiver is RB #2 (hit A three times to get him). Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#1 RB#2 TE Defense: Note the trap with RB #2 above. The only thing to watch for is a QB sneak that might come when you move away to cover a slightly open man. Shotgun C Draw: WR#1 (these two go out and block) RB#1 RB#2 LT /\-------------LG------>RB#2 QB C RG RT TE (these two go out and block) WR#2 Offense: The main difference between this play and Shotgun Draw is that this play keeps the ball out of the running back's hands for two seconds after the snap, when the QB tosses it to the running back. Thus, this can only be used as a surprise play since an opponent can cause severe problems with this. Defense: If you want to watch for this play, simply look at the running back. If he stays put for more than a second, then this is it. To prevent it from developing, either wait as before or simply move in. You can even go in right after the snap and engage the running back in a struggle, causing a minor fumble, but that usually doesn't pan out for you. It's better just to tackle the runner for a loss. ------------- ----------------------------- Split-I Formation (Paul calls this a "staggered back" formation) WR#1 LT LG RB#2 QB C RG RB#1 RT TE WR#2 General Comments: The plays from here are decent, with Toss Sweep Right and Offset Flare E being the better plays. It has good runs and good passes which complement each other. Offset Flare E: O--------------| WR#1 LT LG O QB C RB#1 \ RG / \ O---/--O-------- \ RE/---O \ TE- --O--------RB#2--------------->WR#2 General Comments: Good play, concentration to the bottom and a short range bias, but plays well into a mixed pass-run strategy. RB #2 is the call-safe receiver (hit A three times). You can make WR #1 move straight out if you pass 50%-80% of the way through his motion, when he gets about 6-8 yards out. Passing Order: WR#2 WR#1 RB#1 RB#2 Defense: The long receiver is usually covered, so just stay in the middle of the field about five yards from the center for best results. Nose tackle dives and other sacking techniques work here. Play Action: O----------------->WR#1 LT LG (slight shift up of these) O--QB-------O-C------RB#2 / RG \-RB#1 (blocks) O-- RT TE WR#2 \ O------------------/ Offense: This play only has three receivers, and two are short. Make sure your opponent is probably not going to call a pass play before you use it, because three receivers can be easily covered. One redeeming feature of this play, though, is that it has a free blocker who goes out and takes on defenders, which often opens up the shortest man for a pass. You will get sacked if this is called. One way that you can defeat a top linebacker moving in on you is to alternate this with FB Power Dive to confuse your opponent. Passing Order: WR#1 RB#2 WR#2 Defense: Watch the blocker, because he will cause you grief if you don't. A nose tackle dive will finish this play off without a hassle. I wouldn't use other tactics to go after the QB, though, because of the complicating blocker and also because only t