A Tecmo Super Bowl For NES FAQ
Part 2 of 3: Plays/Techniques/Mechanics/Fun Stuff Guide
Version 6.2
20 November 2016
By Leif Powers
Stock e-mail address:
[email protected]
This document is in the public domain (or CC0 if your country
does not allow). I encourage the community to update it as
necessary instead of waiting 13 years. ^_^
1234567890
.........
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Table of Contents
0. Updates, Credits, Links, How To Get, How To Use, And Things Not Done
1. Introduction
2. The Roster
Player And Roster Comments
The Ratings Explained
Conditions
3. Special Teams
1. Kickoffs
2. Punts
3. Field Goals/Extra Points
4. On The Field: Offense And Defense By Play
(look there for play indexes)
5. Passing
6. Pounding The Rock
7. Pass Defense
Coverage Tips
Rushing The Passer
8. Run Defense
Confrontation
Gang Tackling
9. Playbooks/Playcalling
Formation Combos
Slot Recommendations
Good Playbooks And How To Shut Them Down
Vs. MAN Playcalling
CPU Playcalling
10. Tweaking The Tecmo
(see there for tips index)
11. The Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl Game And Roster Data
Gaffney's Pro Bowl Even Teams
Training Exercises (Best & Worst Teams)
12. The Season Game
Injuries
Statistics
Tecmo QB Rating
Stat Limits
The Computer Adjusts Itself To Your Record
Controllers (1P vs. 2P)
13. Bugs And Weird Stuff
(see there for index)
14. Mechanics
Contact Mechanics
On The Field
Fumbles
Possession Of The Ball
Pitches
Menu Screens
Music And Sound
15. Play Keys/Counters
16. Tactics List By Player (empty)
17. What Your Opponents Will Do (and what you can do to them)
18. Basic Instructions
Sound Test
Preseason/Pro Bowl
Team Data
Season Mode
Playing the Game
19. Press Conference
How do I make Tecmo harder/teach others how to play?
Do you run or pass?
Do you defend the run or the pass?
How do you measure your performance?
What do you think about tactics?
20. Rumors And Myths
21. Taunts
----------------------------------------------------------------
0. Updates, Credits, Links, Things Not Done, How To Get, How To Use, and Codes
---------------
Updates
Version 6.2:
Formatting cleanups. Minor corrections. A few new notes on certain plays
like Shotgun X Drive, Shotgun X Curl, and Onesetback Dive.
More fixed attributes. Some deduplication.
Version 6.1:
Added new material and combined old material into a new file,
focusing on tournament-relevant issues and the strategy interplay
(whereas in a Season game, you just have to go out with what you have
and deliver).
Added significant amounts of AI behavior information on common plays
seen in tournaments. Also added notes on how to run those plays.
In some sections, added notes on typical defensive behavior by MAN
opponents.
Added training regimen.
Here and there, put in some quantitative notes about things like what
QB-WR combos are fundamentally strong strategies.
Created lots of formatting issues.
Version 6.0:
Cleaned up a bunch of terminology.
Add notes on aspects of play without nose tackle dive.
Add some pointers on various plays.
Add some running tips.
Add some links and references.
Add a section about coaching/development/counterplay (vaguely inspired by
Mort's)
Some reorganization.
---------------
Credits
TSB Message Boards - 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. (
[email protected])
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. My FAQ (I hope) is more useful than
his FAQ, but his is purely objective and has some
very interesting ratings measures so give it a
look-see.
Steven Maltby - For giving me his cart of TSB,
helping me become proficient, and being a good sport
even when I'm not.
Michael Christen <- elite competition. Great sport.
Jason Tcheng - See Version 4 Updates above.
Jeff Gaffney - See Version 4 and Version 5 Updates above,
let me use his Pro Bowl rosters.
XRayMind - See Version 4 Updates above.
Matt Knobbe - See Version 5 Updates above. Many
nice tactics and inspiration.
j<13 a's>y - See Version 5 Updates above.
Mort's Guides on TecmoBowl.org - have some good pointers
in general, but in particular for tournament rules you
normally see. I would perhaps go so far as to say that
he represents the orthodox tournament player point of
view.
bruddog/jstout/those who have reverse engineered the
ROM - for several refutations of myths about ratings
and returners, amongst other knowledge
EdibleAntiPerspirant - his Attribute Guide on GameFAQs
is good, you should read it.
Tournament Organizers/Streamers - if you watch streams,
not only will you see what players do in games, but
you will get ideas about what you could do in games
that even they don't do.
---------------
Some Longer-Lasting Links
TecmoBowl.org
http://www.tecmobowl.org/
This is Matt Knobbe's site, great message board.
Also some downloads and some very interesting
things on other Tecmo games.
You should read as much as you can on this site.
Gamefaqs.com - TSB message board
Still alive after all these years.
---------------
Things Not Done
specialized playbooks against certain lacking defenses
(in roster section, with references to that in this part?)
Elijah's ST stuff?
Putting down play numbers everywhere, other compilations.
Doing total tactics testing for plays that are
fundamentally weak (i.e. no-holds-barred players can
destroy them without using linemen dives).
Position profile for tactics and strategy.
Synch section 4 with Play Keys/Counters tactics lists.
Put in more detailed tactics for good playbooks -
have "call plays" "form tactics"
"good/bad player tips".
More diagrams esp. for killing plays?
Stats on effective plays and playbooks, i.e. how many
you should learn, how many effective ones there are
singly, how many in multiple.
Studies Not Done or need incorporated from posts on
Tecmo message boards:
Expand Tecmo Passing Study?
Dirty Play Study.
Head Turn/Defense Altering Study. (this may be true)
Jump Ball Study.
Diving Pass Study.
Test out "just-in-time" INT theory.
Find out whether being in front or in back of a receiver
makes you more or less likely to pick off the ball.
Full stat limits.
Fumble Study.
---------------
How To Get
Gamestop may be back in the business of retro consoles, but
depends on the area.
eBay has always been a place where you can get used games but beware,
sometimes people will rip you off, so look for good feedback.
There are usually good independent outlets in your local metro area.
Have to search the Interweb a bit, but this is a good route.
No matter how you acquire, clean the cartridge. There are dedicated
electronics cleaning solutions that are probably best; high proportion
isopropyl alcohol can be used in a pinch (but note the water will help
corrode contacts, so look for stuff with low water concentration).
As for NES systems themselves, both the original and toploader versions
are both sensitive to impacts/console resets. There are a number of
online tutorials to help you clean your console that will do far better
than this text document.
---------------
How To Use
See Basic Instructions. Insert it in the NES and go.
---------------
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!!
---------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Introduction
Tecmo Super Bowl is still being played 25 years from its initial
release because other sports football games have not delivered
the goods. This guide should help you get good enough that you
can hang with the good players.
----------------------------------------------------------------
2. The Roster
This thing now has three parts:
General Player And Roster Comments
The Ratings Explained
Conditions
-----------------------
General 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
and especially for that Oilers team, block well.
A good idea is to switch in Gerald McNeil or Allen
Pinkett, both of whom have far better Ball Control.
For some teams, you can also switch around your
players for a given play, or even just to eliminate a
bad player, as above, like a slow fullback (an almost
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, as you tend to give up a
TD every time he loses the ball.
Your returner's Maximum Speed doesn't matter
because it is actually taken either from the
right tackle (kick return) or the strong safety
(punt return). So choose a returner with either
good Ball Control or Hitting Power.
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. Sometimes you have players
like Lonnie Young or Bob Nelson with bizzare ratings
like high RP or Running Speed; evaluate them
individually for your playing style. Sometimes they
are better and sometimes not.
Quarterbacks:
1. Pass Speed (this helps so much against a human
player controlling a fast defender)
2. Pass Control (this is by far the most dominant
stat - take a look at QB Browns)
3. Maximum Speed (mobility is a dynamite weapon
against the other team's short yardage game)
4. Running Speed (this and MS 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)
5. Avoid Pass Block
6. Hitting Power
7. Rushing Power
8. Pass Accuracy - irrelevant
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. Hitting Power (so he can't get blown up on
running downs and you have to avoid him)
4. Running Speed
5. Ball Control
6. Rushing Power
Tight Ends:
1. Hitting Power
2. Receptions
3. Maximum Speed
4. Ball Control
5. Running Speed
6. Rushing Power
Note that for TEs, it really depends on your system
what you want. I noted down here a stereotypical
ranking for a TE, but if you send him deep a lot and
throw to him you definitely want more MS out of him.
Use your judgement.
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 (see Bob Nelson)
4. Running Speed
5. Interceptions
6. Quickness - irrelevant
Linebackers:
1. Hitting Power
2. Maximum Speed
3. Interceptions (this is a big factor for the ILBs
who don't typically rush the passer - if you have
guys like this you can go out with a 5th DB many
times for free)
4. Rushing Power
5. Running Speed
6. Quickness - irrelevant
Defensive Backs (Cornerbacks/Safeties):
1. Interceptions (this is what they do after all...)
2. Maximum Speed
3. Hitting Power
4. Rushing Power
5. Running Speed
6. Quickness - irrelevant
Kickers:
1. Kicking Ability
2. Maximum Speed
3. Running Speed
4. Hitting Power
5. Rushing Power
6. Avoid Kick Block - irrelevant due to glitch per bruddog
Punters:
Same As Kickers
Kick Returners:
1. Ball Control
2. Hitting Power
3. Running Speed
4. Rushing Power
5. 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).
6. Maximum Speed - irrelevant
Punt Returners:
Same As Kick Returners
-----------------------
The Ratings Explained
This is adapted from a post by bruddog. I tried to capture the sum
total wisdom of the community. However, I'm responsible for all errors.
Running Speed - How fast the player initially starts at. To give a frame
of reference, a 56RS player starting speed would the same as a 6MS
player's top speed.
Rushing Power - How fast the player accelerates. This isn't very
important for offensive players until you drop the value below 25 or
so. The difference between a 69 and 81RP offensive player is worthless.
However on defense this is probably the most important "SPEED attribute"
because defensive players have meaningful acceleration to their top
speed.
Maximum Speed - The top speed of the player. Defensive players have a
higher top speed than offensive players. Example a defensive player
with a MS of 6 has the same top speed of an offensive player with 106MS.
Obviously 106MS is impossible on the original ROM since no players are
rated even close to 100. Having defensive players faster than offensive
players is what allows them to catch up to offensive players fairly
easily when the offense gets past them.
Hitting Power - There are two different roles this variable plays:
- It takes a 50HP differential for a man to popcorn drones. That is, if
you are David Fulcher (75 HP in AVERAGE) and you want to blow up WR #2,
WR #2 has to have 25 HP or less.
- For COM vs COM line play it takes a 25HP difference for the lineman
to bust in often. e.g. 75HP Bruce Smith would bust in against a 50HP OL.
A 69HP DL would bust in on a 44HP OL. The probabilities are on a
sliding scale based on the relative HPs.
In MAN vs. MAN or MAN vs. COM grapples, it is not actually used. In MAN
vs. COM grapples, you have to press the button 3 times within a second
or so to defeat the CPU. In MAN vs. MAN grapples, the player with the
most taps in the second wins; if there's a tie, the defensive player
wins.
---> In regards to bumping defensive players into offensive players to
free up your boys, it is not clear what the role of HP is. People
reading the code indicate that the probability of the bump succeeding
is about 75% regardless of HP. However, in testing it seems that
- the probability may be off e.g. the RNG may be skewed to favor higher
probability
- slower and weaker players seem to have less success with this tactic
- animations would seem to line up with HP being factored in e.g.
popcorn vs. fall-down, although this might only be applied after the
resolution of the bump.
RB/WR/TE
Ball Control - The default value of 50 gives you about a 4.8% chance of
fumbling any time you get tackled. Each notch of ball control increases
or decreases your chances by about 0.5%.
Pass Control / Receptions / Interceptions
These all work together pretty much equally. However even good QBs
overthrow the ball a lot on deep balls, and these stats don't really
matter for wide open open passes. Pass Control on non hacked roms
determines if the ball is on target and also works with the other 3 in
determining if the ball is complete, intercepted, or defensed. bruddog
also came up with a chart that details how often a QB will overthrow
the ball. It ranges something like 40% of the time for an 81PC QB to
about 80% of the time for 19PC QB. Remember lots of overthrows are caught
though, and tend to be harder to defend. Per bruddog, here is a case
where the ball goes directly to a single covered WR:
50PC 50 REC 50 INT
Deflection 69%
Catch 12%
INT 19%
Each notch of PC or REC will reduces the deflection by about 2%, increase
the catch by about 4% and reduce the int% by about 2%. INT works the
same way in reverse.
It takes a 3 notch difference to have a 50% chance of JJ inting a QB. It
takes a 4 notch difference to consistently be able to JJ int a QB.
Double coverage reduces the chance of catch dramatically. However it
doesn't necessarily increase the chance of interception. In double coverage
the game checks starting from the RE down to the SS; if the pass is
incomplete or intercepted, then the second player is never checked. So
having your best INT DB at CB 1 is favorable since if there are two or
more DB's it will check him first for an INT.
---> Is this really accurate? I see it being explained both ways.
Here is an excellent text chart:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587686-tecmo-super-bowl/faqs/44195
QB
Passing Speed - How fast the QB's pass gets to its receiver. Also, the arc
of the ball is determined by the pass speed. Lower PS QBs tend to be
better for JJ passing.
Passing Accuracy - Does nothing in non hacked roms.
Avoid Pass Block - bruddog is not sure if every time a player rushes in
the game it checks for a block. However, based on a code read, if there
is a check, a 06 APB QB would have a 31% chance of getting their pass
blocked and a 100 APB QB would have a 9% chance of getting their pass
blocked.
K/P
Kicking Ability - Controls how fast the arrow moves and how far the
kicker can kick on a field goal. The best kickers can kick beyond the
50 yard line, but note that the length of the kick is also partially
determined by a random variable.
Avoid Kick Block - Based on bruddog's code read, it seems like this
has a range of 20% for a 06 kicker and 8.5% for a 100AKB kicker.
However, it seems there is a bug where the animation trigger causes
the probability to be set to 20%.
Defense
Quickness - Does nothing on non-hacked rom.
-----------------------
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. Numbers on the slider:
6 - 13 - 19 - 25 - 31 - 38 - 44 - 50 - 56 - 63 - 69 -
75 - 81 - 94 - 100
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. For defensive players, you want to
not take chances early in a quarter if you are borderline
on throwing a player.
PLUS, the conditions change even BEFORE the game begins,
both on offense and defense (as per the quarter changes).
Beware. However, it's not known whether or not this
affects how the player plays, as far as their actual
performance is concerned.
There is also "phantom health".
As 2P, your players will display the reverse
ratings that their conditions (e.g. GOOD, EXCELLENT)
would indicate as the 1P. That is, the condition is
accurate but the ratings are not.
-----------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
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.
----------
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 defensive
special teams unit and a great defense in general,
and the opponent has a bad kicker, 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.
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). Some people like to go for full
every time and it can work for you, but against
fast offenses, that won't go over so well because
you won't have much of a chance to recover the
onside kick every now and then that results from
going for full and missing. Again, practice is the
key.
Usually you kick it low because your DBs are faster,
but on some teams you go high.
As for player positioning, you can either take on
a blocker if you are playing very conservatively,
or (my preferred) you off-line yourself so you get
into the area, and draw as many CPU drones as
possible, since your own drones are much faster than
you.
On LCD TVs and anything that introduces display lag,
doing initial calibration by doing shorter kicks than
usual is the best way to adjust. I've personally
played on setups that brought in 1/10th of a bar
worth of lag. If you see those kinds of numbers, you
should also remember that the defense will be
similarly affected, just like in online Tecmo.
----------
Returning The Kickoff
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. Try to run past guys who aren't engaged
in a struggle so that they pick up some of the guys
trying to tackle you.
You should balance your attempts at gaining yardage
on the return against the odds that your returner will
fumble. Pittsburgh Steelers kickoff, no problem.
Most teams' punt return, problem. A lot of that is
just feel and how the game is going; the way I think
about it is, if I would run a power dive or other
run normally, are the yards I'm going to get by making
the decision to continue the return by cutting inside
justified by equivalent or worse yardage if I ran that
play from scrimmage?
Of course, always bring the ball to the sideline on
kicks late in the half/game, and on any punt return
that doesn't have 10+ yards associated with it.
-------------------
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 a more difficult kickoff. 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.
The longest a normal punt can go is about 80 yards,
a little more sometimes, but 85/86 is about
the best you can get in Tecmo, but your limit
would be 90ish if you had a punter that could
reach 100 Kicking Ability.
The shortest a punt can go is about 20 yards
with a 6 Kicking Ability punter, possibly a
little less if you get lucky.
Note that when you punt, you know for sure that you
can't be blocked. Sometimes by waiting, you can get
your guys to beat down some of their guys, and that
will let them run the instant you kick the ball.
Therefore, sometimes you want to wait. Other times,
they are better than you are at coming through, so
you want to kick it the normal way so that you get
less free punt return guys.
In either case, after you kick it, dodge anybody
that may be hurtling for you, then free up at least
the boys that are right next to you. This way, you
will create a mob of punt coverage men that will
mangle the punt returner and recover the ball easily
if he fumbles. Then follow them downfield.
If you have a very fast RB such as Bo Jackson, he
will get downfield much more quickly than the other
cover men, and can even hit the PR right after he
catches the ball.
----------
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.
Whether it is wiser to move to the sidelines is a
situational decision.
-----
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).
Ideally you would get to the sidelines, but depending
on how close they are, you may not be able to do that
without giving up a lot of yards.
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.
-----
Note
Make sure to use the blocker in front of you if you
can. You won't always get the most yardage that way,
but sometimes it is worth delaying a little in order
to maneuver a guy into him. Make sure you know how
strong your guy is, though, before trying this.
If your blocker is weak, there won't be any point to
doing this because he'll just get bowled over. The
blocker is the FS, so he's the guy you want to
check on.
----------
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. Assuming no high-display lag, the lag on the kick
is pretty negligible, so work on getting it in the
right place rather than trying to lead the arrow.
If you are far from the goal posts, you should also
slightly err on the side to which the ball will
have to go, i.e. if you're shifted to the top, err
to the bottom, and if you're shifted to the bottom,
err to the top. But don't do that too much, because
you can still very well miss.
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. If you can pick up the skill to kick it if
it's straight on before it rebounds, that is very
useful against great teams.
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.
The best kickers can kick field goals with the offensive
line of scrimmage on the kicking team's 40 yard line.
However, not all kickers can kick from this distance.
Practice in advance to know your kicker's range and
know that your kicker's condition may change during the
game, so don't push it too much.
A side note: if your field goal is blocked, it won't
show up as either a made kick or a miss, it will just be
as if you never kicked it.
----------
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. If you manage to tackle
the ballholder, you will get possession of the football,
even if it's not fourth down (thanks for the heads-up,
Tommy Agee).
Another way to do it is to use the LILB. There is a
crease in the line when the play starts and you can
punch yourself up in there if you have a fast LILB. The
best way to do it is to watch a few kicks and see the
line move, then try it out, the timing is very tricky
and it's not close to 100%, but it certainly can be done.
I've even seen some people try using the RCB down low.
If he's in EXCELLENT and he's a great player he can
rush the kicker - Deion Sanders once blocked one of my
field goals.
Also, if the guy you play against takes a long time to
kick, and you have a guy close to you who is fast, you
can try and free him up and let him attack 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. You can pick up a first down from
this distance, and will also retain possession of the
football (unless it is fourth down, in which case it
is a turnover on downs).
Also, the better your kicker is (in terms of accuracy),
the slower the arrow will move back and forth. In
addition, it may not move as far to one side or the
other. Take this into consideration when you kick.
----------
Extra Points
When you kick an extra point, simply hit A as fast as
you can to kick. (Use this time to practice field goals
if you know the other team can't mount a serious rush.)
You almost never miss (I've only seen someone miss five
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 tactics for defending an extra point are the
same 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
Strong-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 indices for you to use
in finding and comparing plays.
A notation used in the indices is called the
Play Number <no. 1 & no. 2>: 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:
<Formation, Plays In Formation>
<Play, Play Number>
Exposition (0 plays)
<no play> <nonexistent play number>
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
Strong-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
Plays and Formations by Slot:
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 - Strong-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 - Strong-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 - Strong-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 - Strong-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:
For some receivers, I have listed the number of times
you need to hit A from the beginning of the play
to get to them. Here are some examples:
RB#1 (A 0x) - Don't hit A at all: you already have
the cursor on RB#1.
WR#2 (A 3x) - Hit A three times to get to WR#2.
Remember that you can switch pass with A~B (A then
immediately B) or dupe pass with B~A (B then
immediately A) so you can switch up how you get
to the receiver in question.
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,
***** move, low blow, 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.
However you can't rely on it in all situations.
Typically you can't execute it against a QB dropback
if the QB has 19 MS or more. Watch out for changing
conditions in each quarter.
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. You loop back to the first receiver after going
through all the receivers.
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. Note
however that I am not a racist.
The plays with a race defect are:
Pitch L Open (Onesetback Formation)
T Power Dive (T Formation)
Shotgun Plays
The Shotguns are a mess; look in that section for
more about their lineups and resulting race
defects.
Curl-Pass: On some passes a player will curl and
this gives you an opportunity for a throw which
goes to the player, but goes past him, allowing
for a jump-ball opportunity if you get the streak
target, the receiver's curl target, and the QB's
pass all in a straight line. Also can be used to
get the receiver to go straight on a play where
he usually doesn't, by throwing the ball much
earlier than normal in the play. Does not always
work and can be stopped if you place your defender
in the line of the pass. A fairly low-risk maneuver
in general but the pass can definitely be tipped.
Defensive Shift: This is when a certain defender
(usually the RCB) 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.
Also, not every tactic may work under certain conditions.
For instance, T Offtackle R's LOLB tactic may not work
in the season mode, and neither may Pitch L Open's left
end attack. However, they should be effective in one
way or another most of the time. Sometimes, you will just
get nailed by the CPU, no matter what you do.
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 take the snap
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.
In here there are references to freeing up your boys,
those are not guaranteed, especially in Season Mode.
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
Note for your usual T Power Dive/Pro T Clare C combo:
LOLB, LE, or ROLB and RILB are the strong players for
run stop: strategy is to call pass and defend run,
forcing them bail immediately to deep coverage, then
either checking down or QB run to follow.
DBs: called run and now bailing out to cover pass. (If you
see this type of play, start heavy ballthrowing)
-------
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 top 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. You can try
passing to the TE if you roll to the bottom but that
doesn't work as well because you have to basically
give up on WR #1 since you would have to cross-field
pass to him.
Also note that the TE will stop on this play about
25-30 yards out; don't use him in a bomb situation.
The WR #2 is deadly in this play with a good QB and WR, or even an iffy QB and
a good WR. The defense has to be prepared to bail out on that read.
Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (A 2x). You do see guys try to go to the TE, but
that only rarely works. It's most effective with a good TE, an iffy QB,
and shifted to the bottom. Don't bother attempting it on the top unless
you really like your matchup and are willing to throw a double-coverage
pass.
Progression:
- You can try for the RB #2 on quick hit. Basically you are looking for the LCB
to not pull up. If he does, the quick hit isn't there...in that case you have
to wait longer for RB #2, if he's open at all.
- You want to set your fastest WR on bottom if you have a decent quarterback
and a bad matchup. The throw to pull the WR #2 out of his curl is pretty
reliable for 20+ yards in those situations and is a good "shot" play even with
iffy combos. The best is when the safety comes down and the LCB pulls up, the
safety can almost never catch the WR. This still works with a busted LCB<=>WR
matchup, but the speed/Receptions of the WR and the Pass Speed/Control of the
QB are much more important. You can't really force it in against the double
coverage look, but either the single coverage LCB or the pass-off to the SS is
a throwing situation. You more or less have to treat it like a called play,
where you hit A 3x and throw it right as the WR passes the SS' shoulder.
- If you see the defender bail out on WR #2 with a high INT defender, run
your QB to the top or throw it to RB #2 for an easy 5+ yards.
- You can gamble on the WR #2 curl-pass if you like that matchup and the MAN
is sitting on something else, but it's not a high-percentage play because the
spacing and timing of the curl isn't that predictable.
No LBs come out so you are looking at a stock level-type read otherwise.
If you see the TE open and have a decent QB, you can throw the TE route from
the bottom of the screen, not just the top slant. Remember the TE stops as
well. However, you should usually be running at the top of the screen in order
to pressure on the WR #2 coverage, and to set up a bomb if you get trapped.
In terms of vs. MAN strategy, if you see WR #2 is not strongly covered, you
go for him right off the snap.
If the MAN uses a R-player, you probably have the quick hitter if it's there.
If he really sells out on the quick-hitter with the FS, you should remember
the quick TE throw is an option.
Otherwise you roll to the top, as this gives you most accurate throw on WR #1,
TE, and has lanes to the other two targets.
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#2 (A 2x)
Passing Order:
WR#1
TE
RB#2
WR#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
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. However if
the QB is trying to run, go after the QB, the TE can't
be hit consistently on the run except by a great QB.
Doing a TE<=>RB #2 hover or coverage switch is a pretty
safe gamble type play, and can buy you a lot of time
for your pass rush to get going. Iffy QBs have a hard
time completing either of those throws out of position
or before RB #2 stops.
If you see the motion that indicates WR #2 is going to be open, you have to
pull your guy into a position that allows you to make a play on the passing
lane. You don't have to completely abandon RB #2, but you have to move far
enough out that the MAN is going to be able to run the ball if he wants. You
just have to give that to him.
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
(A 1x), RB #1 (A 3x), and RB #2 (A 4x, if you can do
that before getting nailed).
Abuse this play, call it 16 times a drive if you want,
as long as you can match up well with your RBs against
whatever defender your opponent is using.
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.
Call-Safe Receivers:
TE (A 1x)
RB#1 (A 3x)
RB#2 (A 4x)
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,
consider not calling 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 running game.
Passing Order:
RB#1
WR#1
TE
WR#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
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 defensive back 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. THIS PLAY REEKS - too easy for the MAN
to catch you for a short gain if you try to run.
Passing Order:
WR#1
WR#2
RB#1
Defense: As with other plays with the quarterback on
a track, take a secondary guy 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
RILB 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
Bomb Threats:
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. The RCB is also a pretty good one for
this play.
-------
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
Bomb Threats:
WR#2
Defense: This dies with a nose tackle dive.
Otherwise, just go out into coverage, and watch the
top receiver just a little; 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 ROLB 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 running play you
can't stop).
-------
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 RCB or a 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.
The LOLB can also make a pretty good play on this too,
if you have a great one. Just swing him up into the
hole.
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. One key to note here is that the guy who goes
for the SS can often start cut blocking, and he will
then throw anyone who comes near him. One thing you can
do to stop that is if you can blow up the guy who
comes after you, just ram through him and and beat down
the RB.
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 defensive back,
linebacker, or lineman, and move through the gap in
the middle for the tackle. You can also move around
the line and attack from behind. You may be able to cut
through hard inside against the sweep blocker action
but don't count on those guys not picking you up.
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). Also note similar defensive moves
as with T Power Dive, but with the additional benefit
of being able to take on the RB directly in the hole
instead of contending with the lead blocker.
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.
Some players don't read this properly or just misplay
this. Unless you are doing a stall for clock and
really trying to avoid fumbles at any cost, you need
to follow your lead blocker through the middle hole
if you have your opponent in a situation where he will
have to take you on. You can bail on it if you think
your opponent will try and dive tackle into the hole,
or if you think he is going to lose his speed, you have
a fast running back, and the CPU has collapsed on the
hole.
Note that if the secondary defenders have frozen
(e.g. because the opponent called a pass play), you
won't trigger them after you until you cross the line
of scrimmage. This also applies to other plays, but is
particularly important for this one when bouncing the
play outside.
Make sure to watch in the hole to see if your line
matchup is good. A mismatch there will seal the hole
and make this play useless without a fast RB. Consider
checking conditions prior to installing this play if
you think this will be a problem.
Typical reads:
If your guys blow up anyone on the line of scrimmage,
press onto that hole and make the MAN commit
If they engage at the hole, then diagonal downward
(if shifted to bottom you can go upward if you have
the speed advantage)
If they go LOLB or LILB, hold up at the snap
If they float outside the hole (but not right up on
the hole opening) then press the hole
If they stick themselves right outside the hole,
counter opposite side
Defense: This is frequently misplayed, even by elite
players; that's because it's probably the play most
affected by conditions and personnel matchups in all of
Tecmo. In rough order, here are the shutdown moves to
consider:
- Nose tackle dive (if available): almost 100% effective
- LOLB (LB #4) dive: more specifically, run up into the
LE with your LOLB, typically pressing B button (odd but
works). Once you get penetration, finish off the RB with
a normal slide tackle. Against < 50 MS RBs, this is
highly effective as long as the line matchup is OK.
Against 50+ MS RBs, this is a very risky move and is
often modified to be a LOLB grapple or harass. With speedy
RBs, your opponent can easily bounce to the top and will
gain significant yardage. The community indicates it is reliable
with 44 MS LOLBs, but it's not guaranteed even then. One
thing you can try is changing it to the LOLB-LE combo rush,
which can be safer against a fast RB.
- Freeing up your boys: very good play if you can get
the right matchups. Situational though. For example, you
can free up the C with the LE, but the C tends to dive
tackle and miss against a MAN.
- Lead blocker throw: if you have a high HP defender
working against a low HP lead blocker, you can take on
the lead blocker and blow him out of the hole. Then the
play reduces to the Pro T Dive and is far more easily
defended.
- LE-LILB combo block: move the LE up at the snap and
hover him on top of the RG, so that you are right on
him when he and the LILB engage. If you hit A enough,
you should be able to blow up the RG. Then, you want to
go attack at the RB or lead blocker before the RT can
recover. If this is legal, it can be very effective
against mid-speed RBs. There are variations of this move
with strong REs, C, etc.
- LILB vs. RG engage: At the snap, take on the RG and
throw him. Then move on to the RB - sometimes you can
straight dive tackle him after the throw. Against relatively
slow RBs and with a good LILB, this works decently as
an option that preserves your ability to defend the pass.
It's not that weak against the bounce outside as long as
your LILB is really good.
- Hole lurk and dive tackle: with ROLB, RCB, or other fast
players, you can wait at the hole and then dive tackle as
the RB #1 comes out, but before RB #2 can block you. Works
OK if the MAN reacts strongly to people at the hole, but
doesn't work if they follow my advice to PRESS THE HOLE,
and then they stall in the hole for a split second. The
other problem you have to deal with is the blocker you left
behind.
- Outside blocker throw: if you find yourself needing
to use a safety or cornerback, you can try to work
against the WR blocking in the middle to free up
additional defenders to engage the lead blocker.
- Safety engage: biggest issue here is you have to
distract the lead blocker. There isn't an algorithm for
this, you just have to practice and watch his field of
vision, making sure he doesn't get you.
- Line engage: if you have a fast DL and can't NTD,
then you can try taking on your opposite defender and
then trying to make an adjustment. Does not work well
when the opposing line is combo blocking effectively.
- General harass: try to bait a tapper into pursuing
you north and south (not getting forward yardage), or
threatening the dive tackle, or threatening an engage.
If you can get behind the lead blocker with a fast
defender, sometimes you can make your opponent do
something stupid. (This is why I always say to follow
your lead blocker in on the offensive side of this
play: if you ignore your lead blocker you open yourself
up to all sorts of fakes.)
Don't overpursue this play. Most players will try to
bounce it outside if they see the hole is going to be
attacked. Hang back and wait; the longer you can wait,
the more that the lead blocker and WRs will be
neutralized.
Remember that this play has a race defect and pre-snap
read accordingly.
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-------
(see below for the guard pulls)
Offense: This is a decent run play, but you don't have
too 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 guy 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
RILB 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. Plus, Paul also found out (and told
me) that if you pick a run, then only one guard will
pull and lead block for the running back, as opposed
to two. This provides an easy way for you to
distinguish between this play and Pro T Waggle R.
Thanks again 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). If you want
to ensure that you will recover the fumble, then
call this play, and then your berserk players will
swarm the ball and pick it up for you. Thanks Paul,
for that tip.
-------
-----------------------------
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
On all of these plays, the LOLB is a pretty safe bet. Pitch L Open will still
give trouble, but the LOLB isn't worse off than any other player. You can also
make it work with a fast LILB, especially if you like to rush QB, because on
the HATS plays he can still get in. This can throw guys off that try to use
these plays to target players like Wayne Haddix.
-------
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
defenders 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 RILB
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 (sometimes
even the nose tackle can get in there), but most of
the time you have to pursue him and then take him down.
You can also just work these with the LCB or SS, any
defender away from the point of attack, and will often
find success.
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
/------RILB
(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.
The NTD can work on this play but it's not reliable
necessarily. 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
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
WR#2
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 RCB. Sometimes he gets blocked and
sometimes he doesn't so take him into consideration
as you run. 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. Even in FB Offtackle L the
left end can still work well. Just watch out for the
MAN reversing the play.
-------
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 (A 2x) and RB #1
(A 4x). This is one play that you can effectively QB
run with in this formation, so keep that in mind as well.
Make sure that if you throw to WR #1 in particular,
that you throw it to him outside of his breaks; otherwise
you can easily lead him out of bounds.
Call-Safe Receivers:
RB#2 (A 2x)
RB#1 (A 4x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
RB#2
TE
RB#1
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
WR#2
Defense: You can nose tackle dive this play. Also,
the three-receiver nest is easily handled if you stand
in the middle of it, closer to the short men than the
long, so you can come back and cover them. The key here
is not to miss an open man in the mess of people.
Early pressure works well with this play because it's
slower to develop than most passing plays.
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 run the QB 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, or sometimes you can
curl-pass with this play.
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#2 (A 2x)
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.
Stick with the WR as he begins his curl then move
back away towards the TE if you have to cover both.
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.
You can cut back inside the pulling blockers with a
fast RB.
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 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. The LILB can do this pretty well too, and
the LOLB is OK at it, but those guys, especially the
LOLB, can get caught up in traffic.
Another great tactic to use is with the ROLB. Directly
after the snap, just move straight past the guy across
for from you (don't hit him), moving to the outside, so
you will be between the WR and the RB #1, on the side of
the RB #1. If you do this the blockers will never even
see you and you will end up right in the backfield all
alone with the RB. This is what it looks like:
WR#1
Die!<---------
O RB#1 \ROLB
/ LT
/ LG
O QB C
RG
RT
TE
WR#2
The SS can also move up at the snap and
find himself with a pretty clean shot at the back,
although if he is slow he will give up some yards thus.
If even 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 SS and the
lower linebackers, if you want to be conservative then,
but a lot of times with a great RCB you can destroy
this play by moving inside the gut of the line and
screwing up the RB's motion in the backfield.
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.
LILB is best defender on average. "Reasons":
RILB and LILB are useless in R&S Z Fly.
RILB covers on R&S Flare C. (Note: also a good player to cover runs to top
by passing off your blocker, you just give up that open man on R&S Flare C)
LILB is best player to defend R&S Sweep L.
Doesn't use any safeties or corners.
However, you should use RILB if he's significantly better, or if the opponent
is being disciplined and using a lot of R&S Sweep R. Even though RILB draws a
blocker, you can shed him on the RCB.
Typical complements in R&S:
RE:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep L
- Pass emphasis
NT:
- Complements any playcall (but is typically weak for any playcall)
LE:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
- Pass emphasis
ROLB:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep L
- Pass emphasis
RILB:
- Balanced defense, but weaker against pass
- Against very good players, bait play
LILB:
- Balanced defense, but weaker against run
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
LOLB:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
- Pass emphasis
RCB:
- Can go any direction (particularly if the RCB is fast) but is often a run
sellout
LCB:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
FS:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
- Pass defense and allow R&S Sweep R (since is so strong against R&S Sweep L)
SS:
- Run sellout with R&S Sweep R
- Pass defense (FS is stronger for this so typically this is a choice to use a
very good SS) and allow R&S Sweep R
More explanation on R&S defensive complement tipping:
FS: very strong R&S Sweep R tendency, probably selling out run
- If you see this e.g. Erik McMillan, you have to pass your way out.
SS, LCB, LOLB: very strong R&S Sweep R tendency, probably selling out run
RCB: can be any tendency. Have to review opponent's calls to understand if
trying to protect (R&S Sweep L) or selling out run (R&S Sweep R + grapple),
or even trying to hard pass defense, but the lattermost shouldn't be an issue
because all your pass plays should target him. Can also R&S QBSneak into him.
LILB: shows slight R&S Sweep R tendency, but is really intended to target
R&S Sweep L without playcalls, and therefore is really aimed at the passing
game. You have to pound this guy with R&S Sweep R and R&S QBSneak to get the
MAN off him. One option is to start R&S QBSneak to keep picking up yards and
then get the MAN to start calling that play.
RILB: shows slight R&S Sweep L tendency, but not really. Because he can shed his
blocker in R&S Sweep L, he can be an all-purpose defender in addition to using
him just because he's good e.g. Keith Millard. What you really want to do is
pound R&S Flare C; you should be aware that a very good oppponent knows that
RILB at the snap means R&S Flare C is a money play, and so you might see the
MAN even more likely to sit on R&S Flare C to defend his guy (a situation where
you call pass to cover up your run defense strategy). So the best strategy if
you see this, particularly if you call R&S Sweep L and you see good run defense
technique, is to use your Pass 2,3,4 plays more, particularly 3 and 4 since the
MAN is likely to toggle between the two R&S passes. Also don't give up on the
run, keep using it to get yards.
ROLB: This is a power play against R&S Sweep R without a run call, which means
the MAN is probably going pass. However, ROLB is killed by R&S Sweep L, so the
MAN is far more likely than usual to call R&S Sweep L. The best bet is to throw
R&S Sweep Ls in enough that you put it in the MAN's rotation. If you never see
him calling R&S Sweep R, just stick on that. The ideal situation for you is to
get the MAN to sell out on run and then you can burn him cross-field over the
top, e.g. on R&S Z Fly WR #2. The other thing you can do is to use R&S Flare C
and make him cover RB #1 while you roll out opposite side or look for the TE,
which is on the opposite side of the field.
LE: Very strong R&S Sweep R tendency. You can see this in passing downs as well,
in which case you can kill him with a fast RB. This is very likely a sellout
play,and probably won't be repeated, but again points to the need to keep
passing even when you see this. Sometimes guys will use Reggie White or others
and try to cover R&S Sweep R without a playcall against it, but if you see
that, you just want to ram it down their throats. Also, if you see the MAN
doing desperate things like that, you also want to use Pro T Flare C and Redgun
Z Slant in order to see if you can make the MAN switch to the wrong personnel
matchup. Typically if somebody is trying to sell out with the LE, that means
that they don't believe in their other defenders vs. the pass, which, for most
teams with the LE, is not a true statement. So punish them for their ignorance.
NT: You can see a lot of different tendencies with this one. Any number of plays
can work against this one (again assuming no NTD).
RE: This is a similar concept to the ROLB, except that he won't get destroyed
by the R&S Sweep L and can hand off his assigned blocker. In this case the
R&S Sweep L tendency is not as strong, so you want to be much closer to
balanced; he's probably going pass most of the time and so you want to make him
show you he can stop your run.
As the offense, your best runs are typically:
ROLB/RE/RILB/RCB: R&S Sweep L
FS/SS/LCB/LILB/LOLB/LE: R&S Sweep R
NT: equal for those two
R&S QBSneak: any LB but particularly LILB, DLs
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, and you
don't have many short options. Call-safe men are RB #1
(A 2x) and RB #2 (A 3x).
Call-Safe Receivers:
RB#1 (A 2x)
RB#2 (A 3x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
RB#1
RB#2
TE
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
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. If there is just
one man covering the WR #2 and the TE, then you should
often gamble and just leave them alone out there, trying
to stop the short pass. If the QB rolls up top, then
definitely break away from that single coverage. That
can't be a consistent throw from that position with most
QBs.
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.
But that's not all: if this play is called, with some
combinations of QB and WR #1, the QB can throw a
curl-pass to the WR, right before the WR breaks into
the curl, and there will be no coverage
anywhere close to the WR. Furthermore, if this play
is called, the defense pulls back away from WR #1 and
the TE, so you can throw to them short if you can
stay upright long enough. Just don't abuse
it, you can be picked off trying this, especially
when you don't have a great QB.
Progression:
- LBs always stay tight on LOS so the coverage almost always winds up being on
levels. That is, if you see corners move down or safeties move up after the
snap, you know the receiver they are going to match up against. If a defender
goes in, you know at least one player on that side of the LOS will be open.
If it's a deep receiver, move to that side, and if it's a short receiver, move
to the opposite side.
- If you don't see anyone open right away, the play will be to the TE, as his
man will abandon him. You just have to stay alive for the 5 seconds required
for him to get far enough away for you to complete that pass.
- You have to move through the C gap or outside the pocket to run, since LBs
are close up.
- Most reliable play for iffy QBs is the WR #1 and run down low if he's open.
The TE also enables the reverse side, but CPU defenders will trail on him, so
the play takes longer to develop and you need to watch out for the pass rush
while you delay.
- WR speed doesn't seem to actually matter for matchup selection. The speed
differences are not good enough for you to get extra throws, more than you
would for any other play.
QB Positioning:
If they pick a DB you know that one receiver on that side is open. If you have a
good QB, you want to roll opposite to maximize the number of QB rushing
yards. If not, you want to roll same side.
If they pick a LB or DL, you want to level read and react - typically that
means finding the open man and running opposite side, or defaulting to the top
(because the TE comes open late in plays)
Call-Safe Receivers (later in the play):
WR#1
TE
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
RB#2
TE
Bomb Threats:
RB#2
WR#2
Defense: Either pursue the QB or go out and cover
whichever man happens to be open. If you call this
play, then WR #1 may be able to get a
call-safe curl-pass. If the opposing QB is fast,
both the TE and WR #1 will be open later in the
play. Don't go cover long - here's what to do:
Take your guy. Move him into the line between the
QB, and the receiver's curl target. Then, when the
pass comes, move yourself into position, close to
the WR, so that you can go up for the jump ball.
This way, you will not have to worry about the WR
catching it too much, you can tip the ball, and if
neither one catches it, your DBs can get a chance
for an easy pick. The CPU may take control of you,
be warned. Stay close to the WR but always on that
line.
After the WR curls, then cover short, closer to the
target on the side of the QB.
This is not foolproof but it's pretty close,
especially compared to other tactics like throwing
it into coverage or trying for a deep bomb jump ball.
Any front seven is OK to cover.
You should also be looking to bait more than usual
with this play. As all of the receivers are at 10
yards or more out, if the MAN is trying to play games
and get you out deep so he can check down, you can
just wait on it if your pass rush is going to confine
the MAN behind the line of scrimmage.
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 (A 2x) is usually still standing. Sometimes
RB #1 (A 1x) is available. A lot of times, you can throw
a pass to WR #2 on the called play and get the catch,
but this is unreliable.
However, there is a risk of getting picked off if you
throw and RB #2 is knocked down near the line.
Progression:
- Read the RILB. If he stays put, he's going to cover RB #2, and it's
almost certainly a pass defense. If not, it's a run defense and RB #2 will
be open, leading to the two-man game of either WR #1->RB #2 or RB #2->WR #2.
You can also jam it into RB #2 if you have a good QB and the MAN is not
tight on that area.
- If RILB stays put, read deep receivers quickly; if you don't see them open
then shove it into RB #1 on goal line. Good QBs can use TE, bad ones can use
him to throw away while TE is still moving towards his spot. You can use
level read on this, but it's hard to do if you are keying on the RILB. Plus
WR #1 can't get thrown to until relatively late in the play anyway. The
WR #1 is not 100% reliable on level read, sometimes the RCB ignores him.
Neither is WR #2, especially on called plays.
- If you aren't right up on the goal line and aren't going against a safety
defender (where you might want to use the RB #1 guaranteed with iffy QBs,
decent RBs, and relatively short yardage), you are likely going to run bottom
and target on RB #1, forcing the MAN to pick. Sometimes RB #1 will pick up RCB
or even FS, which both you and the MAN can anticipate. In this case you want
to go to the TE if he's open, probably still running on bottom as the TE is
out about 12->15 yards. You can throw it to him cross-field with a good QB,
but make sure to wait for him to stop in that case, as he will lead the QB to
throw it deeper. Usually the SS picks up the TE and you can see that motion
early in the play if you are doing a full-field read. If you see the two
defenders on the WR #2, then you know the TE is going to be open.
- With a bad QB, usually it's better to throw from the bottom side towards the
TE, the cross field throw is notoriously inaccurate and is easily tipped or
picked.
- If you want to hit TE or any of the short receivers, make sure to be
patient. Bad QBs love to overthrow the TE on this play and will throw the
ball out of bounds or away from the RBs.
On Called Play:
You want to hold the D-Pad diagonal down and then directly down. The reason
is because the LOLB takes a roundabout to the pass rush, and you will have
a window where you move to right before the LOLB upends you. Your second read
after seeing the LBs collapse is to the SS. With a superior QB-WR combo, you
would like to throw it to WR #2 no matter what, but with the iffier ones, if
the SS pulls up, you know you are going to get single coverage on the WR #2,
and if shifted to the top, he's probably wide open. At that point you are
reading the offensive line and seeing how many CPU drones bust through. If
you get major heat, you are going to throw it to RB #1 and hope. If you see
the MAN is not over the middle, you can hit A again and throw it to RB #2
for a possible gain or at least a safe throw-away most of the time. If you
have the time and you like the matchup, you then proceed to WR #2. If you
make a mistake, you can throw it to the TE and out of bounds.
QB Positioning:
If they go RILB you know you have RB #2 open, rush to the top.
If they go DB then you know you have an open receiver on that side. Roll to
bottom no matter what b/c if the CB or FS follows on the deep receiver,
you're trapped.
If they go LB or DL, just play fundamental and find the open man. Run with
QB if necessary.
Call-Safe Receivers:
RB#2 (A 2x)
RB#1 (A 1x) - draw the defense at you if you can, the longer you wait the
better
WR#2 (A 3x) - late in play
Passing Order:
WR#1
RB#1
RB#2
WR#2
TE
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
WR#2
Defense: The deep routes are slow to develop, so just circle in the middle and
make the MAN deal with the pass rush. He is going to wait a while to throw
most of the time, so you can set up a bait or a marker timing (i.e. leave a
man to jump the current receiver) play if you watch the backfield action. If
the play is called, there are a lot of receivers who can get thrown to
(including WR #2) so keep eyes open across the field.
On the goal line you have to watch out for RB #1 and RB #2, but the other
receivers you can probably just let go free.
Avoid using RILB on this play because he will cover short receivers.
If you have to leave someone open, leave the TE until 4 or 5 seconds into the
play.
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). Follow your blockers and
be creative with this play. If you see the CPU defender
or even the MAN defender fly in at you, just diagonal
cut; it's usually a dive tackle situation and the diagonal
down cut is what you want.
Defense: Just get the quarterback down, either with a
defensive back 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 in many cases, and thus you can get
yourself in more risky situations than you could with
a decent running back. Do not underestimate, however,
the power of this play. It can get short yardage
consistently and there isn't a lot a DB can do about
it; by the time you get down there he's already taken
off. It also has some of the most screwed up blocker
dynamics of any play in this game. Sometimes your line
will evaporate before this play with free blockers
running everywhere. Other times the NT or LE will slide
tackle and take down the QB behind the LOS. Sometimes
it's worth it to call this play, it's that ugly. The
LILB often is unblocked on this play, but sometimes he
is also annihilated. Sometimes people try to use this
as an attack against the LILB; it's hit or miss.
Often as the LILB, it's best to just fly in at the QB.
One way to hedge on this is to call a pass against it;
for some reason pass calls seem to get more effective
penetration against the QB than run calls.
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 bottom defensive back or a bottom linebacker
and smack the quarterback down. Hitting Power differences
are useful here for you, so pick a strong one, if your FS
is strong he can really blow this play up. You must
be careful against the blockers if your opponent has a
good A button. Again, you may have to call this play in
some situations. The final blocker who comes out, you can
usually keep yourself out of his "vision" so don't worry
too much about him. If you have a decent LOLB, you can also
come up in the backfield by going through the hole vacated
by the RG, that will snuff this play out pretty easily.
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 guy and just
struggle him down. All in all, you should have no
problems with this play. Just don't overpursue it and
get stuck in the backfield.
Run And Shoot Sweep Left
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
Offense: Sweep up top, get your yards quickly, try to
cut back against your blockers (who stop and don't seem
to engage anyone at that point!) in front of
you for some guaranteed yards. Call-safe with a very
fast runner, but you usually have to be shifted to the
bottom.
Your usual reads:
ROLB/RILB: Run as designed
Lower LBs or LE: press middle, press upper blockers, consider reverse.
FS: Diagonal reverse or middle penetrate. If you think
you can win solo grapple, then run diagonally to the sidelines
and bait the dive tackle. If he engages you, then you have a
chance to evade the drones.
SS: Read the motion, press if tentative, reverse if not
- Follow-on: R&S Sweep R, possibly R&S QB Sneak
LCB: probably just hard press it
RCB: Difficult read. If you think you can win solo grapple
you probably want to fight the guy. If you don't think you
can win, but you think the MAN is going to avoid the blocker,
then run to that side. Otherwise just hard diagonal cut
to the bottom for 5 yards.
Defense: R&S Sweep L is a weak run. The RCB can
stop it if he can blow up WR#1, the FS can easily
take it away, etc. There are a lot of things you
can do against it - just don't run into the blockers
the RB will get. Sometimes you can get caught up and
blocked by them if the RB moves their way. However
they aren't known for pursuit (they usually stop) so
don't worry much about that. Just don't use the ROLB,
the RILB, or the RE and you will basically be fine.
Note that if the two players "ghost" each other, you
can run right through them to the MAN.
If you get caught using the ROLB, move down and away to
move the blockers out of the way, then combo tackle with
one of the CPU drones.
You can "pass off" the RILB or RE blocker to your RCB if
you want to solo grapple the MAN.
One way you can do things is, move the LILB right into
the C-RG gap, he will not get touched (thanks, Matt
Knobbe). You can also smash through the LILB's struggle
with the RG, using the LOLB, and you will come up thus
in the backfield also.
Offensive blocking assignments (pass call):
LILB and LOLB are free, everyone else in front 7 has a blocker.
ROLB draws a combo block.
WR #1 takes on the RCB.
WR #2 looks for a block in the deep middle, but no specific target.
Run And Shoot Sweep Right
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.
You can usually get two or three yards at least
with this. Note that since the guards come
out and block on R&S Sweep R, this play is more
effective and powerful than R&S Sweep L.
If you see the MAN try to come through the blockers
shallow, you typically just want to get close to your
own guards, and then have them bump the defender off you.
If you see the MAN set up past the LCB, he's trying to
contain or even dive tackle, and in this case you should
look to see if you have a running lane right up against
your offensive line. If you have this, you should be able
to gain several yards and maybe even break out.
Note that on this play, if you have a guy like Bo
Jackson in EXCELLENT, the pitch will actually take him
out of bounds! Beware of this if you are shifted to
the bottom especially.
Defense: Take someone and move through the
blockers (or around if you have yards to spare) and
slide tackle or struggle the runner down. The right end is
free on R&S Sweep R, so you can use him pretty easily.
However, he can get seen by the pulling linemen so
keep a look out.
The ROLB can run right next to the line, going down,
possibly freeing up one of his boys along the way, then
getting a clean shot at the RB. This is not guaranteed
but it happens a decent amount of the time. You can do the
same thing with the RCB or FS depending on the relative speed
of the players.
If you go in too quickly, you can get manhandled by the
pulling blockers if the opposing runner moves into
them. A middle to slow speed RB will try to run with the
guards as long as possible; this may be an opportunity
for a slide tackle.
Sometimes you will only see one guard pull on this play,
typically when you call a run against it.
WR #2 can start cut blocking, so try to obliterate
him early in the play if you have a powerful run
defender. Top defenders are much better than bottom
ones.
You can use the LCB to "pass off" your assigned defender,
e.g. if you are using the LILB and the C is assigned to block
you. If you have a strong player, you can then re-free the LCB
by bumping the blocker off him.
With a very fast LOLB (e.g. Kevin Greene) or LCB, you can go for
a dive tackle against the RB while he is getting control of the
ball. However, this is a sell-out and often fails. You can also
try for a solo grapple if you have thumb advantage and the pulling
guards have low HP. Your read in this case is the TE. If you see him pull
diagonal up, you go towards the RB and mash B. If you see him go straight for
you, pull up and away, it's not this play.
Defensive situation (vs. pass call):
ROLB truly free
RILB available
RE available (he normally goes in and blocks)
RCB available (WR #1 is looking for a block in deep middle)
LILB pulls center
LOLB pulls TE
RE pulls a lineman
NT pulls a lineman
FS is free, so is SS, but WR #2 goes into their area with a cut block
LCB is in the path of the two pulling guards
-----------------------------
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.
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
O/------ RT---O
| 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 an ok 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 big gain. 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. The best way to stop this, however,
is to take the bottom two linebackers and then go
through the gap between the guard and the center on
the bottom. You can also do this with the left end,
but you will also have to fight off a guard in this
case. Then you can just drop the QB (or RB) from the
get-go.
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: This play is not as good as a power dive,
you get no one out in front of you. 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
or even inside linebacker and tackle the runner. Watch
for the RB reversing the play as always. The ROLB is
a good choice when multiple plays run out of this
formation, but he will be pursued. The MAN will try to
delay at the LOS. Pass your blocker to a drone. If
you see this play without any other plays, take the
SS instead.
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 can be an effective run play if you can
throw off the MAN without any blockers.
Not ultra-reversible.
Defense: Take a man in from the secondary or the
linebackers and take down the runner. It's that simple.
ROLB is good when you see this with other plays, but
you have other options as well. Key thing to remember
is the shove is straight in front. You can throw the
blockers if the RB is slow, otherwise the safeties are
a conservative option.
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
O/------ RT---O
| 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: If your opponent has Roll Out
R in, you can take care of both by penetrating the
backfield through the gap that opens between the
guard and center, then smashing the person who ends
up getting the ball. You can do this with either the
left end (dangerous, because the guard will see you)
or with the LILB or LOLB. You should be safe going
through the line with the linebackers. If you wind
up using ROLB, just pass off blockers.
-----------------------------
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 running,
move toward the line as soon as you get the ball.
-------------
Formation 1
Shotgun X Curl
------RB#1 O-------------------|
/ 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.
The progression I use is as follows:
If you watch the LCB, sometimes he will twitch his
shoulders about a half second into the play. If he
does this, he will certainly bail on his assignment,
WR #2, who will be open about 3 seconds into the play.
Basically any QB can hit him from the top of the screen
in the flat area without getting the ball tipped. That
should set up at least a QB run short-long.
You will often see a player on the top of the screen
pull up to the flat. That gives you the option for
another QB run on the bottom of the screen, and likely
also gives you the option of staying in the pocket and
rotating cursor to get the open man.
You can flatten out either WR #1 or WR #2's curl route
with an early throw. You can also jump ball them on the
curl motion.
The way the defense reacts is that the secondary will
"jump" on their receivers about 1 1/2 seconds into the
play, so you can't do much anticipation past the above.
This basically means you have to wait to be sure about
where you're going with the ball. However, I still
recommend moving to the top or bottom if the defense
reacts with either key weakness.
If you see the FS or SS turn off to cover WR #1 or
WR #2, you can probably throw it in to them with a good
QB, as long as you are roughly in the tackle box.
The other factor you should remember is that if RB #1
is open, you can do an opposite field throw to him and
open up the QB run. This gives you a short option if
one of the WRs are open.
Reaction to the MAN:
If the MAN uses a DB, you know you have an open receiver
on that side; you just have to be patient. The MAN should
use a DL or a LB to stop this - although if the man uses
the RILB, he can wind up leaving RB #1 open. If he does
use the front seven player, you want to look deep and try
to get a throw off by flattening out the WR's route before
he can recover to those players.
On Called Play:
Typically you would tend to pull to the bottom. This frames
the two call-safe receivers, the TE and the RB #1, in a way
that the MAN can't cover both of them. The MAN should want
to sit on RB #2 and try to bait you into the TE. You mostly
just want to default to RB #1 and play it safe. If you have
a good secondary matchup, you can throw to either WR #1 or
WR #2 on a gamble play. In 3rd or 4th down, you probably
always want to throw to your best receiver going deep, unless
the MAN just abandons the short ball. If you get one of those
deep gamble plays to work, you can possibly pull the MAN off
the short options and get some space for the check-down to RB #1.
If you have a fast QB, WR #1 and WR #2 will be completely
uncovered if you can stay alive long enough. With the MAN
likely to use a DL or LB, you can probably force the ball in
to your best receiver in that situation.
Call-Safe Receivers (may get knocked over):
RB#2 (A 1x)
TE (A 2x)
RB#1 (A 4x) - you can throw him out of bounds with an
early throw, or you can complete the ball if you hold
it a bit longer.
Passing Order:
WR#1
RB#2
TE
WR#2
RB#1
Defensive Matchups:
RILB: RB #1
RCB and FS: WR #1, RB #2, even pull up to RB #1?
LCB and SS: TE, WR #2, LCB sometimes goes deep
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. One thing that your opponent
will try is to run his QB and then throw over your head
to the short player farthest away from you. There isn't much
you can do about that, just be decisive in whatever you
try and remember that you can tip a pass if you are on
the line of flight of the ball.
If you see the LCB tip or the RCB/FS go to the flat, you
know you have to cover deep.
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 the LOLB, swing around into the middle,
and wait for him. You can even go inside, but that
gets risky because he can simply run out around you
and you can get engaged or knocked over by a blocker.
However, with the LOLB move, you shouldn't have too
many worries about rogue blockers getting to you. Just
make sure you don't overpursue and get yourself
stranded, because the other players on your team will
probably be blocked. If you have to stand your ground,
you can gamble by taking (in order of preference) the
LILB, the NT, the RILB, the ROLB, and some other people
if you can manage to squeeze them in there.
-------------
Formation 2
Shotgun Z S-In
RB#1 O---------------->WR#1
|
| O---------------\
| RB#2
O 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 WR #2
about five or so yards out. These two give you nice
alternatives to the two men who go long, and the
intermediate running back. If every man is covered,
you might 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 (A 4x).
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#1 (A 4x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
TE
WR#1
RB#2
RB#1
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
TE
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. Don't lose track
however of the RB out past 10 yards.
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: The benefit of this play is that WR #1 sometimes goes wide open with
no warning. The disadvantage is that it's easy to get trapped behind the line
of scrimmage with no options, and you have to make sure to keep your QB's feet
alive.
Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (A 3x), but the better play against a
MAN is RB #1 out of bounds or on a delay. There's also a game you can play
with good receivers and QB.
Progression:
- Read ROLB. If he stays in position maybe RB #1 will get open, but likely you
will have to run the football.
- Otherwise do level read, and know that WR #1 sometimes gets left wide open.
- With a high PC or PS QB, you can throw a number of off-angle passes to the
RB #1.
- In theory you can throw WR #2, but a lot of times that's just an
incompletion. The best way to handle this one is if you see the MAN is
playing off him and you know the WR #2 will clearly outrun the defender,
wait until the WR #2 starts his turn inside and then throw the ball while
the defender is not following it.
- Don't be afraid to just throw a bomb on this play, especially if you have a
good WR #1.
The ILBs will hang out in the A gaps; you can exit the pocket from the B
gaps and induce some really poor CPU dives to open up your longer-distance QB
run.
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#2 (A 3x) - you can throw him out of bounds with timing as well
RB#1 (A 4x) - pull towards him and give time for the pass to be completed. You
can also throw it out of bounds if you throw it quickly.
TE (A 1x) - the technique you use here is:
- Put a good WR #2 and fast TE in the lineup
- If you see the bottom defenders playing soft, throw to WR #2 right before he
enters his break. This will set up a bail-out jump ball opportunity.
- If you see the SS hold, wait until he enters curl of death. Once he starts it,
switch-pass to the TE. The LCB will stop on the play and the TE will run past
both defenders. It's tough for the QB to consistently complete, but if he does,
it will be for 20+ yards.
- Throw this route combination from the top hash.
Passing Order:
WR#2
TE
WR#1
RB#2
RB#1
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
TE
Defense: Don't cover with the ROLB, he plays a key role in this coverage.
Watch for RB #1 who comes out, because as soon as he passes RB #2 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 (A 3x).
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.
-------------
-----------------------------
Strong-I 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 (A 3x). You can throw a curl-pass to WR #1
move straight out if you pass 50%-80% of the way
through his motion, when he gets about 6-8 yards
out. Know that RB #2 is going to be thrown to a lot
because the MAN can often use the Circle of Death
technique to cover both the RB #1 and the WR #1 and
go for the INT on both. You can often get the auto-dive
if you go to RB #2 whilst the MAN is circling.
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#2 (A 3x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
RB#1
RB#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#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. You would rather
get all three short receivers covered than just the
RB #1 and the WR #1, but if you have a good coverage
or a good pass rush, you definitely want to blanket
those two receivers and try for the INT or sack.
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------------------/
RB #1 is a roving blocker.
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 an ROLB moving in on you is to alternate this
with FB Power Dive to confuse your opponent. Running
your QB is surprisingly effective (though not very
effective compared to other plays).
Passing Order:
WR#1
RB#2
WR#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
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. Unless you feel your
opponent is going to heave the ball instead of running
it with the QB, I wouldn't pass rush because of the
complicating blocker and also because only three
receivers exist, with only one long. If you want to
go after the QB, the ROLB will be able to get in,
but your opponent may still be able to get a pass off. The diagonal rush is
the best in the case - you just have to recover if they wind up running FB
Power Dive.
Toss Sweep R:
O----
\
\
LT WR#1 (blocks)
LG
O QB C
\ RG
\ RB#1 RT
\ TE (all these but RB#2 block)
--------RB#2
WR#2
Offense: This is a great play, with lots of low
blockers. It can be close to invincible in certain
situations, such as when you are shifted toward the
bottom. Staying behind the blockers is a good idea on
this one. It can be reversed to some extent as well.
Defense: If you take a hard inside cut against the
grain of the play, you may be able to get around the
edge with an ROLB or RILB without the blockers
seeing you, but this can be risky, especially if the
play is reversed. The key is to watch the pulling
guard motion - he has to get about 3 yards up before
he won't target you. There are a few holes in the line;
if you can avoid the C coming down, you can get inside
the play with the ROLB or RILB if you can catch the back.
If you use the RILB for this, you must circle away from
the C so that he does not see you.
You can take the nose tackle inside, moving at a
diagonal, and follow the runner, but you have to slide
tackle and this method is not consistent even with a
good nose tackle. Otherwise, take a higher
defensive back or a higher linebacker and move
through or around the blockers at the first
opportunity. Moving around the whole line is also
possible with a good linebacker, but not recommended
otherwise. You can try and free up your LOLB with the
left end right after he gets blocked and then he will
come free to rush the RB, but it won't work every time;
however, it can be good if you can dominate down low
with the LE. You can also engage with the LOLB and then
come free after the blockers pass; this is worth trying
if the RB is not that fast and your opponent also has
FB Power Dive in.
FB Power Dive
O---
\
\
LT WR#1 (blocks)
LG (all the top offensive linemen shift up)
O--QB-------O-C----->RB#2-->RB#1 (blocks)
/ RG
RB#1 RT
TE
O----------WR#2 (blocks)
Offense: This is a dive play which means that you
can either take it through the middle for almost
guaranteed yards, or, move to the top or bottom
around the blockers (usually the top for this one) and
move out from there. This play has a great
reversibility, like almost all runs through the middle,
and has a blocker through the middle as well. Couple
this with Play Action if you can. If your opponent
tries to use the ROLB, just move straight through the
line and don't look back behind you at the ROLB chasing.
Defense: Nose tackle dives kill this play instantly. If
this is not allowed, take one of the defensive backs
(because the linebackers have to take care of the
blocker) and tackle the runner. However, this will only
work if you can get the linebackers to take on the blocker
that comes through the middle. If you have a fast
and powerful ROLB, you can run around the line and catch
the runner from behind. Another way to stop this play is
to free up your boys from the top of the line with the ROLB,
and those boys you free up will go tackle the ballcarrier.
When the ball is snapped, free up the two boys struggling
right next to the hole, first the top one, then the one
next to the hole. At the snap, the RILB engages the LT and
the RE engages the LG, and the NT engages the C. You are
going to free up the RE and NT. Then they will maul the
ballcarrier. This is how it looks:
ROLB
LT</--RILB
LG<|--RE
O--QB---------C<--NT
/ RG
RB#1 RT
TE
Still another way to stop this play is to use the left end.
It turns out that the guy right next to where the hole
opens up (the RG) is invisible at the snap, so you can go
right through him with the left end, and, if he does end up
hitting you, you are on his backside, so A button smashing
will get rid of him easily. Then you can take on either
the FB or the RB. Here's how it looks:
LT
LG
O--QB---------C<--NT
Die!--RG\
RT \--LE
TE
You can also use the LOLB dive against this play, provided
that the RB isn't too fast. Likewise, taking on the RG with
the LILB can also work. The main difference between
FB Power Dive and T Power Dive is that in the FB Power Dive,
the ROLB is truly free.
-----------------------------
One Man Shift Formation
WR#1
---O
| RB#2
| LT
| LG
RB#1 | QB C
| RG
| RT
| TE
|
WR#2
General Comments: These plays, for the most part,
can be taken out easily if your opponent knows what
you called or has called a play that defends against an
unexpected play (for instance, if he thinks you'll call
Roll Out L, he'll call Weakside Open so that when he
runs in to take out your quarterback, he doesn't have
to worry about a run to the bottom). So, mix up the
plays and don't have any pattern about them at all.
Roll Out L, in particular, is a good play, but it can be
taken out like all the rest, in fact, more easily, if your
opponent is watching for it. Watch the tight end: if he
goes forward, the play is Roll Out L. Watch the right
tackle; if he goes down, the play is FB Offtackle R.
Otherwise, the play is either Flea Flicker if the QB
goes straight back and otherwise it is Weakside Open.
A good trick here is to set up Roll Out L with the running
plays, provided the opponent doesn't use a top-side defender
to stop them.
One great thing to do with the running plays is to "send"
WR #2 into the RG/RT/TE area, this way you can get an
extra blocker to help you out at the point of attack,
should the MAN try and beat it down by freeing up some
boys.
FB Offtackle R:
WR#1 (blocks)
---O
QB | RB#2 (blocks straight out)
| | LT
| | LG
O ----|---O C
\ / | RG
\ | O
\----|---O\->RB#1
|\---RT--TE(block)
WR#2---------/
The tight end first takes some steps back, and then
moves forward again to block, coming all the way
around the right tackle, not through the gap. The
right tackle moves diagonal downward to make the hole.
Offense: There are two main routes you can take on
this play: one through the gap in the line, and the
other moving around the whole line altogether.
Usually, you want to move through the line if that
will put you closer to a decent opening, or all
the way around if that will. If you move through the
line, watch out for a slide tackle, and don't go all the
way around if you don't have a fast enough back to
make it before the secondary or your opponent can
stop you. You can reverse the play, but I don't
recommend it in most situations.
Defense: If you think this one is coming, take the FS
or RCB or ROLB and just move in to tackle the runner.
Watch out for any unexpected blockers that may
break out. The ROLB is guaranteed in many cases but no
other LB necessarily.
Also, you can use the RILB to free up your boys, then
tackle the ballcarrier with your horde. The LILB can
do this as well, hitting the LOLB's man, but it's much
riskier.
In addition, you can take the LOLB, engage his
man (the RT), then after you throw him, the RB will be
in your lap.
Weakside Open:
WR#1 (blocks)
---O
QB | RB#2 (blocks straight out)
| | LT
| | LG
O ----|---O C <- variable motion
\ / | RG
\ | RT (blocks)
\ |TE-O (the tight end moves like FB Offtackle R)
----|-->RB#1 (blocks)
WR#2---------/
The tight end first takes some steps back, and then
moves forward again to block, coming all the way
around the right tackle, not through the gap. The
right tackle moves diagonal downward to make the hole.
Offense: This is a play which you need to use with
discretion. Make sure you stay behind the blockers
and don't move around too much. It is more
reversible than FB Offtackle R, but it's not that good
of an idea unless your opponent is hurtling straight
for the spot where you will end up if you use the play
normally.
Sometimes you will see a hole open up in the middle,
which is an option depending on how the defense is set
up. I tend to use the middle hole more frequently in
goal line and short yardage, as the press up to the line
will either confuse someone coming from down low, or
can bait a top side defender into trying and pursuing
you through that hole, and then you can bounce back
outside.
You can use the WR #2 to cut block the defenders
by running him through the RG.
If you have a pesky SS or LCB you are worried about,
this play can really cut through those positions,
provided you can hold out with your A button; the SS is
particularly vulnerable if you let your WR #2 go down
to the bottom of the formation, as he will then become
a cut blocker in various situations as far as the SS
is concerned. If you can then hold out against the SS,
(and the SS doesn't just blow up your guy), then this
play can really work for you, because the cut blocker
will throw off the SS on you, and, since it is a MAN,
you can spring a big play off this if the cut blocker
stays with the SS.
Defense: The key with this play, as it is with several
sweep plays that go to the bottom, is to get out of the
way of the blockers. You can either move through the
blockers, if you have a strong player who can end
things quickly, or you can bide your time and move
around the whole group and tackle the ball carrier
from behind.
As far as tactics are concerned, if you use any DB
but the LCB, or the ROLB, you can cut in close to the
line blocking and out of the "vision" of the CPU
blockers. Then you will have a clean shot at the
ballcarrier. If you use the SS for this, you have to
move up into the middle of the field, then move back
down to make this play. Also, you can use the RILB
or the LILB to free up your RE and LOLB on the bottom
of the blocking, this works pretty well as well.
You can also engage the RT (NOT the TE, who is on the
bottom, he pulls back) with the LOLB, throw him, then
the blockers will have passed you and, provided you
did that quickly enough and you have a fast enough
LB, you can liquidate the RB right there.
Also, you can use a shortcut that uses the LOLB (and
also the left end or the LILB, depending on how
good they are) to move in between the line and the
blockers when they first materialize and throw down
the back before the play gets going. That, however, is
more than a tad risky; the key to tell if you can't
do this on that play is to watch the center; if he moves,
then you can't perform this trick successfully, at least
with the LILB, whereas if he stays in, you have a clean
lane to the RB. If this play is shifted to the bottom
though, you cannot perform this trick consistently with
the LILB. However, the LILB (maybe others) can go around
the initial wave of blockers and never be "seen" if the
center stays in, even if the play is shifted to the
bottom. The center stays in during run calls, often
those out of Run 1 and Run 4 (I think); however, he will
stay in during Run 3 as well sometimes. However, with
pass play calls, he usually jumps out at you.
If you have a fast ROLB compared to the RB, you can just
go straight around the line and bring him down from
behind. I personally like to use the RCB to defend this
play. This play can be confused with Flea Flicker.
Roll Out L:
O----RB#2--------------->WR#1
---O /
QB | RB#2---
| | LT
| | LG TE
O --------O C /
\ / | RG / --------WR#2
\ | RT / /
RB#1 | O----- /
| /
-------------
Offense: You need to make sure your opponent does
not know you're going to call this play. Predictability
is disaster, because if your opponent knows what's
going on, he can make you lose nine or ten yards no
problem. This is the weakest one-man-shift play
against a good defense. Look for both short and long
receivers developing as your quarterback moves up and
throw right after you gain control of your
quarterback. This play is not call-safe at all (except
for one or two notable instances in which the
quarterback gained control of the pass before the
defenders caught up with him, then threw it to RB #2
right away). You won't have much time with
this, so think about to whom you're going to pass as
the your QB moves into position.
Passing Order:
RB#2
TE
WR#2
WR#1
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
Defense: This play has a simple and deadly defense.
Take a free safety, the RCB, the ROLB, or the RILB
and move around the offensive line, moving straight
for the quarterback, like this:
WR#1
------O--------X (Die, QB, die!!!)
/ | RB#2
/ | LT
(get him)| LG
RB#1-----|--QB C
| RG
| RT
| TE
|
WR#2
Since the quarterback cannot pass or move outside of
the track until disturbed or until he finishes his
movement, simply slide tackle him or struggle him
down when he looks to have moved back around ten
yards. Voila. Free loss. You can tell if this is a
Roll Out L because the tight end will come forward,
leaving you plenty of time to kill the QB.
Flea Flicker:
O---RB#2------
---O / |
| O---- WR#1
| LT
| LG
QB ----|---O C
\ / | RG
\ | RT
\ |--O (moves out and blocks)
RB#1|\------TE ->WR#2
-----------------/
The tight end first takes some steps back, and then
moves forward again to block, coming all the way
around the right tackle, not through the gap. The
right tackle moves diagonal downward to make the hole.
This motion is similar to that of FB Offtackle R and
Weakside Open.
Defensive Shifts:
Flea Flicker - Any Play in Slots 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8
Offense: Pass quickly when you gain possession of the
ball. This play is not call-safe (unless you get very
lucky, and it does happen, in which case you pass to
whomever, who usually ends up being WR #2, who is
uncovered). If your opponent has a defensive shift, just
pass as soon as you can, if possible, and hit A otherwise
if you manage to get the ball. Make sure to be ready to
cover a fumble if there's a defensive shift.
Passing Order:
WR#2
RB#2
WR#1
Defense: This play can easily be defended by simply
covering the three receivers. Also, you can take a
defender inside and tackle the man tossing the ball
back or take out the QB and cause a fumble. You can
tell that this is a Flea Flicker because the quarterback
moves straight back into a passing position whereas
the run plays don't have this feature. If you see
a defensive shift, then this is the play, and you
can just take someone inside for a fumble. Consider
calling defenses that will reveal this play. This is a
twin of Weakside Open.
-----------------------------
Shotgun 3-Wing Formation:
WR#1
LT
LG
QB C
RG
RB#1 RT
TE
RB#2
WR#2
General Comments: This formation is handy if you have
a fast quarterback, but a little predictable. You can
usually get at least a few yards using its two plays.
Shotgun 3-Wing (Pass):
->WR#1
O-----------/
LT
LG
QB C TE
RG /
O RT /
\ O------
\ O-----------RB#2 WR#2
\----------RB#1 /
O----------------
Offense: This play is good, with five receivers. The
concentration short-range could be better, but this is
pretty nice. Move your quarterback down to stifle
defenders on one man from moving to the one you
pass to before the ball gets there. You have a
possibility of a RB #1 catch if this play is called
(A 4x).
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#1 (A 4x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
TE
RB#2
RB#1
Defense: Make sure that the two longer receivers are
covered, and then put yourself in a position where
you can move to any of the uncovered short-range
receivers when the pass comes off.
Shotgun Sweep L:
-------(LG & RG & TE block)----->QB
/ / WR#1 (blocks straight out)
/ | LT
| |-O
O | C (block straight out)
/|-O
RB#1 | RT
|-O
RB#2 (these three block)
WR#2
RB#1 stays put. The guards and the tight end
make a column that moves up the line behind the
blocking tackles and the center and WR #1 following
the path of the QB and blocking him thereby.
Offense: Simply run it the way it looks. You have a
good number of blockers on the play and people get
caught if they move into your line. Just run as usual
and you'll come out well. This play can't easily be
reversed, but you can move the other way if you are
really in danger.
Defense: If you see this shotgun formation, and you
must stand your ground, don't think about taking
the nose tackle. Take the ROLB, the RILB, or even
a fast free safety, so that you can run around the
sweep and slide tackle the QB as he runs. If you
try to struggle with him, you probably won't succeed
because blockers will knock you off him. You may have
to mash the B button if you use the linebacker, because
Tecmo does not respond well to that move. Alternatively,
you can take the strong safety or lower linebackers and
move through the sweep, then struggle the man down. If
you have strong people, then often the slide tackle
isn't necessary. Using the top guys ends up being
a gamble. If you want more of a contain,
particularly when you call a passing play, use the
LCB and move up around the sweep. You should be
able to keep the QB to five yards or less if he's
not a rushing quarterback. Calling a running play
against this often seals up the hole, but it gets
the QB more guaranteed yards.
-----------------------------
Slot Formation:
WR#1
WR#2
O------- LT
\ LG
| QB C
| RG
| RT
RB#2 | TE
|
RB#1
General Comments: This is not the best formation,
since the run play is not terribly good, but the pass is
a pretty decent move. Only use the run if you want to
surprise your opponent, because the run can be killed
quite easily if you do it regularly. The pass, however,
can be abused.
Slot L Z Drive:
O------------>WR#1
O------
\
O------- LT \
\ LG \
QB|---O C WR#2
| RG
| RT
O | O----| ->RB#1
\ | TE /
----------RB#2----------
Offense: This is a pretty good play, with five
decently and non-regularly spaced receivers. If it did
not have this irregular formation, it would be great.
Still, you can tag good receivers at any length. You
should run to the top in order to make your opponent
come up to you if he wants to stop your run.
Call-safe receiver is RB #2 (A 3x).
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#2 (A 3x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
TE
RB#2
RB#1
WR#1
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
Defense: This play is a tough sucker, largely because
it has a good mix of ranges. Just cover whoever
would cause the most damage if two or more men are
uncovered. If you are trying to stop a short-range
pass, move into the bottom. You can use the nose
tackle dives and other usual tactics here as well.
Slot Offtackle:
WR#1 (blocks straight)
WR#2 (blocks straight)
----------->RB#2
O-----/- LT
/ \ LG
/<-----QB C
/ | RG
| | RT
O | TE (blocks straight)
|
O ----RB#1 (blocks straight)
Offense: You don't really have a lot of blockers on
this play. The only thing it really does is disable most
of the defensive line. You should choose whatever
path you think will get the most yards and incur the
least defenders, which depends on what player your
opponent is controlling (in the case of a man vs. man
game). This play is somewhat reversible.
Defense: Simply take the ROLB or RILB and pursue the
running back by attacking from a diagonal position
into the path of his run. You can also use the RCB to
decent effect.
WR#1
WR#2
(attack)<------X (Eat turf, sucker!)
O------- LT
\ LG
| QB C
| RG
| RT
RB#2 | TE
|
RB#1
You can struggle if you're fast enough at bringing
him down, or just slide tackle and that will finish
it quite nicely.
-----------------------------
WTE Formation:
WR#1
RB#2
LT
LG
RB#1 QB C
RG
RT
TE
WR#2
General Comments: This is the worst possible
formation to have in your playbook because whether
you choose the passing WTE Flea Flicker or the
running WTE Offtackle R, both plays can be almost
instantly stopped with a slide by a lower linebacker
or the left end. Not only that, but both these plays
aren't very good in their own right.
WTE Offtackle R:
WR#1-----
\
RB#2 (blocks)
LT
LG
O--QB---O C
\ RG
\-----O-----RB#1
RT/O (blocks)
TE-/ /
WR#2-----
Offense: This play should be used with discretion and
only if the defense slide is disallowed. You can
usually get a few yards on it with a decent running
back, but there's only two blockers that come out to
help you, leaving you at the mercy of the secondary,
and a human player will catch up with you. This play
is mildly reversible, but is not call-safe at all.
Defense: This play has an incredibly easy
defense. Simply pick the left end or a lower
linebacker and move into the running back, then
struggle or slide tackle, like this:
WR#1
RB#2
LT
LG
RB#1 QB C
(slide)RG
<--------X (Getting a free five yard loss!)
RT
TE
WR#2
If this is forbidden, take one of the safeties or
cornerbacks and move into the fray.
WTE Flea Flicker:
WR#1---------->
RB#2
LT
LG
O<-----QB C
\ \ RG
\RB#1 O
RT/O
TE-/
WR#2---------->
Offense: Only if you can find an open man out of
only two receivers, both of whom go long, do you
stand much of a chance. This is a surprise play and
little else. Run early and run often.
Passing Order:
WR#1
WR#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
WR#2
Defense: You can use the same tactics as for the run
and slide in or you can simply take a linebacker or
lineman and cover the two men who go long. Not
much else about it, or to it. One odd thing that you
can try if you're really bored is to see if you can
disturb the QB during the flick to cause a fumble
by using a linebacker or cornerback. That tactic
isn't terribly useful, however.
-----------------------------
Formation/Play Oneback Z Cross
O -->WR#1
| /
|---------
TE
LT
LG
RB#1 QB---O C --WR#2
| RG /
| LT /
\-------|--O-----|
| | |
O | RB#1
-------------->RB#2
General Comments: A first grader could spot this
particular play, but the receivers will give almost
anyone trouble for a few plays. This play has an
automatic defensive shift on defensive pass play
calls that must be taken into account.
Defensive Shifts:
Oneback Z Cross - Any (Pass) Play in Slots 5, 7, and 8
Offense: Don't call this play very often, because its
best feature, the erratic paths of the receivers, is
weakened by frequent use. Other than that, you might
want to move your quarterback lower to take
advantage of the three receivers on the bottom. Don't
forget that you can move the receivers somewhat by
changing the time of your snap to coincide with
particular movements. There are no truly call-safe
men on this one: RB #1 (A 1x) and RB #2 (A 2x) are
only partially call-safe. The pass trajectory
determines whether they are or not. If your opponent's
LCB shifts up to match your WR #2's movement, then your
opponent has called a pass play and you must get rid of
the ball quickly before everyone is covered. If he
doesn't, he's either called your play or he's called a run.
Call-Safe Receivers:
RB#1 (A 1x)
RB#2 (A 2x)
Passing Order:
WR#1
WR#2
RB#2
RB#1
Defense: Nose tackle dives and pursuing the QB are
decent here, but you might want to take a man and
cover the lower receiver nest. One thing to remember
however is that WR #1 is the top receiver on this play
and pinned quarterbacks may default to him. Your LCB
will shift up if you called a pass
play against this (except for this play itself).
-----------------------------
Formation/Play No Back X Deep
-----RB#1---------|
--------| | | WR#1
| | | |
| ----|-O----|
O | | LT
| | LG
QB-|---|-O C
| | RG -------->RB#2
| | RT |
O---| | TE |
| O |
--|--------|
O------------->WR#2
General Comments: This is another unique play that
can be seen by any decent Tecmo player (since there
is literally No Back), though it is harder to tell it from
others with teams like Washington as opposed to the
Redgun of Denver. It has good short and long pass
opportunities.
Defensive Shifts:
No Back X Deep - Any Play in Slots 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7
Offense: The short receiver on the top is a good one
to go for. Watch out for the receiver in the middle,
because he can be quickly covered by any wandering
defender out there for the top or bottom long
receivers. Since this play shifts, you can change the
destinations of your receivers by hiking the ball at
different times before they get set. Call-safe passes
are to RB #1 (A 2x) and to RB #2 if you let him move
all the way down to the bottom of the screen before
hiking the ball (A 3x).
The defensive shift here isn't very important. If you
want to see it, you should give enough time for RB #2
to move around and draw the cornerback.
Call-Safe Receivers:
RB#1 (A 1x)
RB#2 (A 3x)
Passing Order:
WR#2
WR#1
RB#1
RB#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#2
Defense: Don't let this play confuse you with the shift
or the funky receiver paths. Just move long in the
middle, since that receiver doesn't get covered often,
and, as always, make sure someone has that short
man obstructed. A nose tackle dive or any defensive
lineman or linebacker rush can also work for this
play. You don't really need to care if your cornerback
moves, because if you can't see this play without a
defensive shift, there's little chance that you will
be able to tell this play with the shift. However, if
you want your opponent to see that you called one of
the plays that shift, you need to switch around your
cursor and change defensive players long enough to
delay the snap so that the motion will draw off the
cornerback.
-----------------------------
Formation/Play Run And Shoot 3-Wing
O------------->WR#1
LT
LG
O QB---O C ----TE--->RB#2
\ RG | |
\RB#1 RT | |
O--------- |
O--------------|
O------------->WR#2
General Comments: An easy play to spot, R and S 3-
Wing gets its strength from the four longer-range
receivers, one of whom turns up short for a ten-yard
pass. It does have a nice call-safe receiver though.
Offense: Pick your best long opportunity and
go for it. If you want to go short, make sure you pass
quickly before your competitor can spot your open
man. Call-safe receiver is RB #2 in the middle (A 1x).
Call-Safe Receiver
RB#2 (A 1x)
Passing Order:
WR#1
RB#2
TE
WR#2
Bomb Threats:
WR#1
WR#2
Defense: Rushing the QB does well here, with either
nose tackle dives or just general pressure tactics. This
is because the play doesn't really develop until the
receivers move several yards out. If you want to go
out into the field, just go long as soon as the man in
the middle is taken care of.
-----------------------------
Formation/Play Redgun Z Slant
|-O------RB#1----->TE
/| O----------
/ O------ \
/ LT \ \
| LG \ \
QB | C WR#1 RB#2
| RG
O RT
O-------------->WR#2
General Comments: A good play, lots of receivers,
but everyone knows this play when they see the
formation since it is unique. This play is very
popular in Madison tournaments.
Defensive Shifts:
Redgun Z Slant - Any Play in Slots 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7
Offense: Timing the throw to the TE is critical
because defenders will peel one way or the other,
and you want to get the ball in the window before
your opponent also sees which way the drones cover.
Call-safe receiver is RB #1 at the top, short range (A 4x).
If you can avoid the blitz, WR #1 will also come open.
This is a deadly situation with QB Eagles or other fast QB,
because you can also run the QB to the bottom and put
marker on RB #1.
Progression:
- If top corner follows WR #1 pre-snap, you definitely have either RB #2 or TE.
(depends on several factors which) In this case your likely play is to run to
the top and have RB #1 come out of the backfield for the 8-10 yard gain.
- If both corners go in, the TE and WR #1 are open, and you should play from the
pocket.
- If the bottom corner and the bottom safety go in, WR #2 is open and the
play is to either go RB #1 or run the QB down bottom (watch out for all the
LBs in the area).
- If no DB goes into the middle, WR #1 is open and the play is either the 2-man
game of RB #1 and WR #1 from the pocket, or QB running the football up top.
- If the bottom corner goes in and top corner does not follow WR #1, WR #1 is
open.
- You can tell if RB #1 is open based on RILB motion, but your eyes should be
downfield.
- Don't use RILB to cover, as sometimes he pulls up to catch RB #1. However,
he also tends to trail RB #1 and so a QB run through middle with option to
RB #1 is effective on the goal line.
- On the goal line you can run the QB through those big splits that open up.
- If you need a play and you have a team like the Oilers with a fast RB #2, you
have a window to throw it to RB #2 as he crosses the shoulder of the FS.
However, this play only works with accurate QBs and decently fast RB #2.
Either the FS or the SS can make the "turn of death" if they wind up
matched against the TE and WR #2, respectively. That is, if you stay in
the pocket, you can time a throw to either of them as the FS or SS
curl back towards their target. Rolling to one side gives the S a chance
to tip the pass.
vs. MAN:
If you see him use the RILB, RB #1 is open at any time.
If you see him use the LCB or SS, and the RCB doesn't follow
WR #1, you probably have one of your WRs open. Stay in the pocket
and also look for the RB #1.
If you see him use the RCB or FS, you know you have a throw to the
top of the screen and you roll to the top of the screen. Another good
opportunity to dump to RB #1.
If you see him use a front seven player and the play is called,
you have a better than normal chance of buying enough time for the
WR #1 to stop, allowing you to complete a pass to him.
Call-Safe Receiver:
RB#1 (A 4x)
WR #1 (A 0x, or one A tap after RB #1) (late in play). Recommend to
mark RB #1 - if you can't buy time, throw it to him, otherwise freeze
the MAN and throw to whichever one seems more open.
Passing Order:
WR#1
WR#2
TE
RB#2
RB#1
Bomb Threats:
TE
WR#2
Defense: This is essentially another shotgun play.
Make sure all the receivers going long are covered
and catch them if they aren't, and otherwise, watch
for the short pass and QB sneak. A good place to put
yourself is in the middle of the field if you have to
guard both short receivers. Don't use the RILB, he will
sometimes cover RB #1.
-----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Passing
There are several concepts you want to master here:
The Short-Long Game
When you have one receiver long and one short, you wait long enough in the
pocket, moving yourself in position for an accurate deep throw (behind the
receiver). You make the MAN commit to either short or long, then switch to the
other side. The marker should generally be on the long receiver because that
means your bail-out against the pass rush will be a bomb. (but that's
situationally dependent). The same concepts apply when the QB is running and
you just have the long receiver.
The Top-Bottom Receiver Game
When the two open receivers are both short, you position yourself in the
middle and wait for the MAN to commit to one or the other, or to go in
no-man's land. You hold marker on one and wait for the circling MAN to make
a mistake. Note that you should try to put marker on the one with fewer taps
to the other.
The Short-QB Run Game
When you only have one short receiver, you run the QB to the other side with
marker on the receiver, forcing the MAN to commit to one or the other.
The Quick-Hitter Game
This is play-dependent, but on some plays you have targets (e.g. RB #2 on Pro
T Flare C) that, if your opponent chooses certain players, that they can't
possibly cover. This is a component of goal-line play when using certain
plays, like Pro T Flare C, that don't work very well on the goal line.
Leading Receivers Open/Flattening Out Routes
On some plays (e.g. Pro T Flare C) you can change a receiver's route by
throwing to them prior to a curl or other motion.
JJing from Curls
On any play with a cut-in (e.g. R&S Z Fly) or a curl action, you can throw
a pass that will cause the receiver to jump if you throw it to them right after
they cut. Just like dive tackling, the throwing targeting lags the receiver
route slightly.
Window Throws Available Because of CPU Defensive Technique
On certain plays (e.g. Redgun Z Slant RB #2) you can complete passes to that
receiver as they cross the shoulder of the defender (often the FS for
Redgun Z Slant). The defender won't recover because they are standing still
and you are throwing the ball at the point of maximum speed delta.
Another situation that you see frequently is on R&S Y Up, where many players
will throw to RB #1 out of the backfield, and it works because the covering
defender is stopped while the receiver is in the flat area.
Another common situation is when you have a FS or SS covering a deep route.
What they will do is bail out in a curve to the sideline, allowing the
receiver to momentarily get behind them. If you throw from the middle of the
field while the defender is adjusting, the WR will be open.
Window Throws Available Because of Mismatch
On pretty much any route, when you see a receiver and a defender with a big
difference in speed, then you may be able to throw it to the receiver, who
gets behind the defender and remains uncovered. This is a primary skill to
master if you want to be successful as the Dolphins.
Throwing Proper Jump and Deep Balls
With high PS and PC QBs, this can be throwing on an
offset angle. With typical iffy Tecmo QBs, this is
typically rearing back on the direct line to the
receiver and throwing it (because they will be quite
inaccurate enough as it is).
Time your pass so that the person
who needs to be catching the ball is still moving.
This increases the chances of the ball overshooting
the receiver, making it more possible for him to
have an opportunity to jump. This also hinders the
efforts of defenders, because a defender farther away
from the receiver will jump and miss or not jump at
all, and one on the "X" for the pass will not even
get a chance to intercept or interrupt the pass if
the receiver jumps and picks up the ball. It also
prevents the receiver from becoming lost in a clump
of defenders who zero in on a stationary man in no
time at all. The second way to do this is to juke
your QB backwards a bit so that the pass goes awry.
This gives more movement and more freedom
to the receiver. The third way is to attempt to loft
only when a receiver has no definite target. If he
does, oftentimes he will stop and either be too slow
to catch the pass, or the pass will go straight to
him, AND the defenders that move in on the target
point. I must emphasize that using your best
receivers in jump ball makes things much easier
because they have higher probabilities of catching
a difficult pass. Bo Jackson types need not apply.
Some players also like to throw the ball off-line,
that is they will stay in the middle of the field
and throw to either side. I tend not to use this
technique because it makes the throws significantly
less accurate, but it does help with players who
know how to get in passing lanes and deflect. The
one situation where this clearly outperforms is when
you may have the defender beat with WR speed. In
that case, going on an angle allows the receiver to
possibly catch it on the X.
Shifting to Pocket Presence to Extend Time
Particularly on certain called plays, like Redgun Z Slant, where you get
late-developing open receivers that can put your opponent in a no-win
situation. Same technique as dodging defenders normally, but you have to put
your eyes back to the pocket from downfield. Once you beat the defenders, then
you can set back up to deliver the pass.
Throwing Through Passing Lanes
You have to avoid the ILBs if you want be successful throwing the ball with
mid-to-low tier QBs. You also want to avoid throwing with guys in your face,
you get incompletions that should have been first downs.
Hitting the correct receivers on called plays. You should almost never throw a
garbage ball on a called play - only an over or undertap.
Make sure you have your marker switches solid. Switch pass (A then B) is
helpful on called plays or 2-man games. (But if you have an iffy controller
then slow down marker technique.)
Remember to switch to your high-frequency tap technique when you let go of
the ball.
If the MAN is circling and trying to cover the passing lane on the further
target, you want to try and time against his circle so that he's on his
near-swing, forcing him to slow down and opening up the passing lane for the
longer-distance throw. Even Rod Woodson will go at about 1/4 of the
edge-to-edge distance per second or less if you throw it behind him. The key
is to avoid throwing the ball in the same direction that the MAN is going.
This is when the speed of the elite DBs comes into play, or even the
not-so-elite LBs.
Don't Run the QB Too Much
If you run the QB a lot, you are not
going to get what you want out of the play most of the time. It's one
thing to run on 4th and 1, but running on 3rd and 8 can often result
in not picking up the first down. You must be disciplined and fake the
QB run, while relying on it only if your QB is fast and/or you are in
a key situation, your RBs can drop the ball, or you need to mentally
relax. In order to force the MAN out of run calls/air patrol schemes,
you must be able to exploit the wide-open receivers deep and not allow
him to get picks or fumbles off you. This means not only going out of
bounds when your receiver or QB runs with the ball, but also not taking
sacks by fooling around too close to the LOS where the CBs and LBs are.
As the quarterback, you can choose to use the dupe pass (A after B) to induce
your opponent to take a bad angle to the ball and lose his speed, but I find
it a waste of time. You should have burned your opponent with technique, and
he should be watching the ball out of the QB's hands. With that said, it does
work, even against good players.
Remember, particularly with iffy QBs, to get rid of the ball before you
get high defensive pressure. If you have only one guy, make him dive before
you throw, or directly engage him.
If you see that all the receivers are covered, and you don't have a viable
deep throw under coverage, you can throw the ball to a
player that is running a route towards the sideline. Most of the time, that
ball will go straight out of bounds.
Against a called play or a nose tackle dive, hold a direction at the snap.
If you see the MAN blitzing at you, just run straight back and find your
receiver. It is possible to pull up, grapple, then have the OL knock him
off you, but the QB tends to be slow and is vulnerable to dive tackles.
In theory you can use the "Dave Krieg play" by engaging the man that is
covering your short target, but it's very risky because the LBs shed their
blockers and tackle you.
----------------------------------------------------------------
6. Pounding the Rock
The keys when running are:
- Don't get too far away from your blockers unless you intend to solo grapple
the MAN.
- Don't run in one straight line for too long close to the MAN, otherwise you
become vulnerable to the dive tackle. If you see the MAN circling on a line,
this is a clear indication he may be looking to dive at you.
- Switch thumb technique to your high-speed move.
- Remember to vertical cut as well as diagonal zig-zag. Vertical cutting is
the best way to deal with high-speed CPU defenders, and also against MAN
players that like to dive tackle.
Mostly just practice.
Some specific pointers follow:
Runner Types
Runner Tips
The Triangle Dodge
The Sine Dodge
The Circle Move
Free Form Advance
Move To The Middle
When Not The QB, Hit A
Attack Drone Players
----------------------
Runner Types
When you get control of your runner, you have to
consider a) your runner's speed and b) your runner's
hitting power.
If your runner is slow, you should probably go for
guaranteed yards and stay behind the blockers.
Reversing the run play is not a good idea with a
slow fullback like Ickey Woods, because the defense
will advance upon you, breaking through the offensive
line and causing you big problems with slide tackles,
struggles, and assisted tackles (struggle+slide or
struggle+defender who moves in on your struggle).
Breaking out is very hard with slow people. As your
speed increases (with different runners or with
the same runners in better condition), you want to
take more chances, move between more defenders, and
go for the holes in the defense, even if they are
far away, so that you can break out and get the
big yardage.
If your runner has little hitting power, you can't
engage in struggles beyond one-man with the
computer, and don't engage at all with a MAN if
your thumb isn't good (although if your thumb is
good, you will want sometimes to advance upon a
human player if you can win consistently, because
getting rid of the MAN is a big bonus in Tecmo).
As your hitting power increases, you can take more
chances on struggles, which means that you should
go for a hole that's almost open, but blocked by,
say, a defensive back that you would have to
engage. With a decent hitting power, you can go
for him and knock off people who attempt to
interfere in your struggle, and once you've
beaten him, you can continue on to a touchdown,
instead of taking only two more guaranteed yards
that would be your only recourse if you had low
hitting power. If your runner has high hitting
power, what you should do is actually go for the
weak defenders head-on. If a defender is weak
enough, and your hitting power is high enough,
you can knock over the defender with little
difficulty, which can open up new routes for
you, since you don't have to worry about the
defender in the middle of your path. Moreover,
that defender won't get up for two or three
seconds. This tactic is quite effective when you
scout your opposing defenses' weaker players. If
you have a powerful back like Christian Okoye,
you can emphasize routes that go by weak corners
or safeties, or know that you can move up into
a limp linebacker squad to dodge a powerful
secondary.
So I will now recap: what do you do for certain
types of runners?
----------
The Limp Noodle (slow and weak): With this
character, you should simply focus on just getting
yards. Stay behind/inside the blockers and don't reverse.
A good way to describe this play style would be
computer-esque. Don't be innovative because you
have enough problems with rushing as it is.
----------
The Slow Fullback (slow but powerful): With a
slow fullback, you should mainly follow the play,
but you will also want to note whom you can bowl
over when your blockers dissipate. Get into
struggles if you must, but be wary of doing so
in crowds.
----------
The Flash (fast but weak): Press the hole,
but reverse the play or move laterally if you
have space.
----------
The Running Jack (mildly fast and with a
dose of hitting power): When you run with this
person, you have a greater advantage over the
Flash in a man-to-man situation, because your
higher hitting power gives you more ability to
cope with the likes of Singletary and Taylor.
However, you still want to follow the play,
though you can reverse and go for holes if
those options are viable.
----------
The Demon (fast and powerful): This runner is
the best of all worlds. You should be aggressive
in seeking to break out because that is something
which a Demon can do very easily. You should
adopt the Flash's "hole-seeking" strategy, but
you must also remember that with a high hitting
power, a Demon can make holes through lesser
defenders. If someone is between you and the
clear beyond, and you know that you can knock
them down, go for the hole and ram through that
player. You can be especially effective if you
watch the defenders as the play develops,
because you can keep track of the strong people
that you have to avoid and the weak people that
you can move through.
You can apply this rushing knowledge to receivers
and tight ends after they get a pass as well.
In addition to the knowledge above, generally, with
a tight end, you just want to get your yards, since
there usually aren't many holes with linebackers
behind you, corners near your sides and ahead, and
safeties on the horizon. As regards wide receivers,
you want to dodge and outwit the usually-powerful
secondary that is after you. When a running back
acts as a receiver, he's either short, which means
he needs more of a tight end strategy, or long,
which entails a wide receiver approach.
----------------------
Runner Tips
Also, when you get behind your blockers, try to
move yourself into a position to set up
opponents in their paths. For instance, if you've
got a human Mike Singletary running after you and
you run Pitch L Open, if Singletary comes up
behind you, move down and force the defender to
move into your blockers to get at you or force him
to move around and slow down his tackle. The ideal
would be to force the MAN to either bail out of
pursuit or force him to make a sharp cut to avoid
a blocker, causing him to lose his speed.
When you do this, try to take a sharp angle to
dodge a dive tackle.
One move that you can try when you're desperate is
to move inside the offensive line and try one of
the holes there. Most of the time, you won't want
to do this since you can bounce off the line and
essentially stop your advance. However, if you
need a reverse and if you see the defense plugging
up your hole, go through the line, in between the
linemen (obviously), and try to break out from there.
Another move that you can use if you have a power
back is to smash into struggling players to open
up a hole. For example, if you are trying to cut
back inside, you can smash your center in the
back to try and knock off the tackle. The good thing
about this tactic is that unlike on defense, where
you will fall down if you don't have enough hitting
power, you will just bounce off a little bit. You
can then use this bounce to move into a hole on
either side of your center, since you just smashed
into him. However, the big drawback on this move
is that if it fails, you will have lost a lot of
time and gained no yardage. Make sure to scout
the matchups on the line and the anticipated
matchups of your other blockers and their targets
before trying to do this methodically.
Whenever a run play is called, there's always a best
direction you can go in to minimize your losses.
Find it and go for it. Sometimes, there will be a
gap between one group of defenders and another.
Move through this gap; it often allows you to
escape if you have a fast back. Don't give up just
because the play gets called.
----------------------
----------------------------
The Triangle Dodge
This is the classic way to avoid getting tackled.
Whenever you get the ball and are in front of all your
pursuers, simply move up and down like this:
\ /\ /\ /
\ / \ / \ /
\/ \/ \/
When you do this, your computer controlled
opponents will attempt to slide tackle you, but will
miss. Also, when the defenders change direction, they
will slow down in many cases.
----------------------------
The Sine Dodge
The Sine Dodge is like the Triangle Dodge, but used
whenever you have men in front and men behind.
What you do is simply maneuver in the spaces in
between players and then, when you get significantly
past the player in front in the y-direction (up and
down), you move past the player in front. It looks
somewhat like this:
| ___
\ / \ /
\ X / X \ X /
\___/ \___/
This is useful when you escape the initial defenders
on a punt return and also when you are using a run
play or short pass.
----------------------------
The Circle Move
"The circle move is like...the extreme...corner move."
Really, it's like...the extreme...MAN defender
speed-draining move. When the MAN comes close to you and
is almost about to catch up to you, pull the circle
move by moving in a circle (so you avoid him), first in
the direction that he was heading, then come back around
into the direction that you were going previously before
the MAN entered the picture, like so:
____
/ \
-----------/->MAN O
\
\
\
YOU
In this way hopefully he will make a turn too sharp and
lose his speed, or get a bad angle to take towards you.
Keep in mind that this won't always work, especially if
your opponent is wise to this and goes straight for you
or moves in a big circle. Also if the defender is too
fast you may not see any gains out of it because they
won't lose enough speed to allow you to gain yardage.
There is a variation of this that doesn't circle, but
hard cuts against a MAN who is pulling even with you.
If the MAN instinctively reacts, he will lose his speed
by trying to stay with your cut.
----------------------------
Free Form Advance
The best Tecmo dodging strategy combines the above
three with a few twists:
1. Try to change directions whenever someone is
about to slide tackle for best results.
2. If you have a computer or human opponent that is
far ahead of all the others, and you know that player
poses the most threat to you, simply run up to him
and solo grapple. If you can throw him, it
makes it much easier to move upfield, especially
against a human who is much smarter than a drone.
3. Even moving backwards can help your advance,
because everyone will follow you back. If you have a
fast enough player, you can then move in a circle
around the mob and get everyone behind you, which
makes it easier to dodge people as they approach.
----------------------------
Move To The Middle
Whenever you use a run play or catch a short pass,
moving along either side is fine for getting
guaranteed yards, but you can often get cornered
before you can break out. One way to avoid this is to
move into the middle or 1/4 off the boundary early in
the run, so that you can dodge each defender in ones
or twos instead of fours and fives.
You can also use this tactic on defense if a
good running back is destined to advance ten or more
yards, because getting into the middle makes it
harder, especially for a human player, to completely
break away from you.
----------------------------
When Not The QB, Hit A
When you are not controlling the quarterback, you
are either a defender or a ballcarrier. A defender
should hit A prior to any contact to avoid getting
knocked over and to give oneself an advantage in
struggles (and even giving oneself enough power to
flatten an offensive player). An ballcarrier
needs to hit the button for the important struggle
advantage and to raise one's power enough to
flatten defenders. In either case, hitting A in
advance of contact is a good idea (except for your
poor wrists).
----------------------------
Attack Drone Players
The best way to attack drones is to hit them with a
high Hitting Power player, either on offense or defense.
If you have 50 more HP than the drone, they won't even
be able to make you struggle, and you will beat them down.
If you hit them from the sides or the back, you can get
away with 44 HP difference or maybe even less. However,
do note: conditions change before the game even begins
and continue changing during the game, so do know that
sometimes this won't work.
Another miscellaneous point is that drone contact
is irrespective of your movement. If you stand still
and do nothing, you can still take people down or
people will still bounce off you. As an example,
I ran over Phil Simms with Karl Mecklenberg
without hitting A at all, and I once stood in
the middle of the Indianapolis defense with about
6 people just bouncing off Tom Rathman. HOWEVER,
this does not apply for MAN contact.
Also, on many plays, players are controlled by the
computer until some specified point. For instance, on
handoffs, neither a runner nor a quarterback has any
player control until the handoff executes, and even
then, sometimes the quarterback is uncontrollable.
What you want to do is exploit these opportunities
and tackle or hit drone players to stop a play or
force the MAN to do something completely different.
----------------------------------------------------------------
7. Pass Defense
Notes on pass defense, especially manually rushing
the passer:
Coverage Tips
Rushing The Passer
----------------------
Coverage Tips
Many times, you will be faced with situations where
one or more deep receivers is open and you need to
cover all of them. The way to do this is to "split"
the two receivers (hopefully that's all you have open)
by running back in the middle of the field. When the
quarterback throws a pass, you can then easily move
to whatever side of the field the pass is going to.
One thing to remember about this is that even if
one of two deep guys is uncovered, for example, you
still want to remain in the middle to help the
coverage out on the other side of the field. You can
cheat a little, but don't sell yourself out just to
cover one receiver. In many instances, that works
against you because the receiver will jump for the
ball while you stand like a doofus on the 'X' on
the field - you can get there too quickly. So make
full use of the time it takes the quarterback to
get the deep ball to the receivers by running in
the middle and thus covering everyone who is deep.
Many times, you end up in a situation where you
have multiple receivers to cover short, and you
don't have any help. One way to contain this
situation is to run around in circles between the
players you want to cover. This allows you to
maintain a high speed while still remaining able
either to tackle the receiver who gets the ball
or to cover them before the ball gets there.
If you stand still, you won't get where you want
to be as quickly as you would if you ran around.
Locate your circle in either a) the closer of the
two receivers if you are covering 2 or more short
ones or b) the far side of the short receiver if
you are covering one short and one longer.
Know that a great opponent can try and time your
circle move in a way that will cause you to autodive.
Prefer the pass tip to getting on the X to mitigate
this. Also try varying the size of your circles or
change pattern shape.
If you know you aren't going to be able to get to the
receiver, then don't get too close to them. The game
can make you "autodive" and you will totally miss them
and the ballcarrier will get 20 additional yards while
you pick yourself up off the ground.
Sometimes, you end up covering receivers (and good
passing games) with only LBs, for instance. In these
cases, you can try to cover by using tipped balls.
To tip a pass, get into the line of the pass, and
trail the receiver by about 3 player lengths. If the
pass is high, hump him. Thus, you can make plays
without having to take chances on the receiver winning
the battle for the ball.
----------------------
Rushing The Passer
These tips do not address tactics that are
suited to particular plays - only the nose tackle
dive is really touched on.
Linemen
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Safer Blitzing (DLs & LBs)
----------
Linemen
The linemen are the hardest to get a clean, pure
rush at the quarterback with. This is because they
absorb the offensive linemen and get pursued by
them in many cases. The first and by far the
easiest way to attack the quarterback are the
various dives, most nefariously the nose tackle
dive, but also the left and right ends can do
damage of their own if they can get inside without
being engaged. These must be used with a little
caution, however, as a good quarterback can simply
dodge or escape them, not to mention the perils
involved in using a lineman to dive when a Pitch
L Open starts breaking. About 19 MS for the quarterback
is when the nose tackle dive loses its effectiveness.
However, if your nose tackle is bad, you can still end
up not being able to sack a 13 MS QB.
Look to the beginning of the play explanations section
(currently Section 4) for more info on the NTD.
The second way is to simply rush the QB with the
lineman. It's easiest to use the nose tackle, but
you can also use the others, especially if you
stunt them by moving them around another struggle.
With the nose tackle, you should move diagonally
up or down toward the line and then move more or
less straight in - a nose tackle dive, but without
the actual slide. Most of the time, the center won't
catch you, letting you advance. However, do take
note that the center then pursues you, and there
may be a running back or other blocker inside the
pocket.
With the ends, simply move towards the nose
tackle and then move in, or move in an arc around
the guard and then rush, with the same caveats as
for the nose tackle. However, if you have a strong
nose tackle, one thing you will be able to do is to
have the weaker guard bounce off the struggle and
be taken out of the play, since the guard wants to
go through the struggling nose tackle and center
to get to you. This stunt blitzing is good stuff
and you want to use it if possible when you rush
a lineman.
The third method is to take one lineman and
exchange him. To do this, one must take a
lineman who is not the best on the line (you can,
but that's counterproductive, as you shall see) and
ram him into the struggle between the best lineman
and his offensive counterpart, pressing A as you
do so to raise your power. You then cause the
struggle to break up and the lineman that you
freed to run straight for the quarterback
without any blockers to stop him. Sometimes you
will accompany him, but you often get caught up
with the offensive lineman that you ignored in
order to free your teammate.
----------
Linebackers
Linebackers have an easier job and can rush in
two ways.
The first is to simply move right through the
line. With an outside linebacker, you need to
make sure that the tackle for your position
doesn't get in your way. To avoid him,
use the gaps between the center and the guards
to move inside. The inside linebackers can use
those avenues as well, and would be best
advised to use them in any case.
You can also free up your boys with your LBs,
but linebackers often don't have the hitting
power and sometimes bounce off, especially when
the person rushing doesn't hit A enough. This
can be a very effective tactic, particularly if
you have an Interceptions linebacker and can
then drop back into coverage, but be
warned, you can get burned if you have too many
open receivers.
Another way in which linebackers can rush is by
moving around the pocket and hitting the QB from
the side or from behind. This is mainly limited to
faster outside linebackers and takes more time
than with the gap rush, but can yield results
if your opponent isn't watching the sides
(which happens a good deal; I myself scan the
pocket, then the middle (top and bottom), then
guess as to whether someone has gotten out of
coverage offscreen, but don't often look
directly at the quarterback). It works better
with certain formations that don't have as
many people dropping around a particular side,
like the formation for Offset Flare E.
----------
Defensive Backs
These guys don't have much of a role in
attacking the passer, though they sometimes can
help. The main places they fall into are the
tactics for certain plays, but they can also follow
a certain play that looks like a run, but
turns out to be a pass. In such cases, it's
simply a matter of following the QB. You want
to be as direct as possible because some
receivers aren't being covered when corners
and safeties go inside to hurt the QB.
Sometimes you also have situations where your
opponent loves to roll out to the side of a certain
receiver, or rolls out to one side to avoid the pass
rush on the opposite side. In these situations,
an occasional unexpected CB blitz on that side will
cause problems, especially for QBs who crumble under
pressure and extra movement. However, you must have
pass coverage behind it, and you have to have an
opponent who won't just stand in the pocket, seeing
that your guy is open, because you won't have enough
time to hit him. The problem is that the receiver
is usually going deep on your side, and those routes
are difficult for the CPU-controlled FS to pick up,
though the SS is sometimes surprisingly smart.
Therefore, it is only a measure to be used against
certain opponents in certain situations, not a general
move that can be applied against every player; I for
one never see when guys are trying CB blitzes because
I release the ball well before the impact would ever
come.
----------
Safer Blitzing (DLs & LBs)
Oftentimes your scouting report will tell you whether
the opposing QB is susceptible to the blitz in terms of
a) his ability to evade the blitz and b) his ability
to throw the ball while the blitz is coming, to a receiver
who can make a big play out of it. Typically, the receivers
are good enough to where you can give up humongous plays
if the QB delivers the goods, so the key focus is on
jarring the QB and forcing an errant pass to an open man,
or in forcing a situation where the QB doesn't have enough
time to get the ball to the open man. Few QBs in this game
are both slow enough and poor enough (Jeff George) to where
you can just go straight after him with bloodlust, provided
you called a pass play. Therefore, you must detect the amount
and depth of the pass coverage BEFORE you totally commit
yourself to a blitz; otherwise, you can end up with a deep
receiver like WR #1 on many plays, on whom the cursor initially
rests, and who will burn you for the TD if the QB can deliver
the ball. To do this, you must know the opposing plays possible;
then, when the receivers show the play, you must read _your_
defense, especially the corners, to find out whether or not
your guys have adequate coverage to hold the QB until you can
get your hands on him. If you can see that your defense will get
the primary receiver (usually WR #1) and then the primary
checkdowns from that receiver, you continue your blitz.
Mind you, you've already started your motion; ILBs blitz
off-center, DEs stunt around the NT, and OLBs begin evading the
tackle. In the first second of the blitz you determine if you
can proceed; if not, your ILB reverses direction, your DE peels
off, and your OLB cuts back outside into coverage. Even LT can
be beat if he has nothing but air behind him, so be responsive
to what your defense is doing for you to keep the ball out of
the hands of the receivers.
----------
----------------------------------------------------------------
8. Run Defense
There are three main ways of handling runs:
Confrontation
Gang Tackling
Tactics (not covered here)
----------------------
Confrontation
Confrontation is the best way to handle a CPU
with low hitting power or a MAN with low hitting
power and a bad thumb. Simply take your best guy
with good to great hitting power and just touch
the runner while hitting A, and, if necessary,
have a brief struggle. You can also have a kind
of confrontation with a slide tackle against
strong backs, through I would not recommend
using that against a human unless you are sure
that you can make the tackle. The best people to
do this with are linebackers, though you can
also do it with linemen (having circuitous
routes) and the secondary (risking breakouts).
Three ways that you can tag the runner are to
move around the play and hit him head on, or
to cut through the blockers and hit him on the
sides, or, in the case of certain sweep plays
and others where the player you use to stop
runs is at the tail end, is to go behind the
play and hit the runner from behind, which has
the added advantage of reducing the hitting
power needed for an instant tackle.
One key to remember if you get into the backfield
or you are all alone is that if your opponent
uses the circle move or something similar, they
may be able to make you lose your speed and thus
get past you. Another classic trick is to move
through their own blockers and thus tie you up.
In order to avoid this, run in circles if they are
trying to lead you into a trap, so that you can
keep the RB contained and let your boys help you,
and also don't pursue too quickly to the RB without
help, sometimes you can overpursue and end up
behind him, thus losing your speed. Only if you
must make the stop should you take risks like that
in the backfield.
If you are playing against a tapper, sometimes
you can bait the tapper into going lateral as he
tries to seek you out. Don't make it too obvious
though.
----------------------
Gang Tackling
If this is not feasible because the runner has
a high hitting power or he has a lot of friends
around him to smash you to kingdom come, then
you can use a gang tackle.
The traditional way of gang tackling is that, you
let the play draw out, then, once the blockers
are engaged and can't hit you, go for the runner
and keep struggling until you either tackle him
or your drones help you make the tackle by
hitting the running back. One thing to remember
is that once your opponent is tied up, you can
slide tackle into the struggle and bring down the
runner. This won't help you much in short yardage
necessarily. The key here is to contain the big play
that you know you will get toasted on if you try and
confront the runner.
One easy way to get some guys to help you take
down the MAN is to free up some boys. Also, if
you have to use this strategy, calling runs
gives you a lot more support.
----------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
9. Playbooks/Playcalling (needs update)
This part has information about having certain
formation combinations in your playbook as well
as amalgamated playbooks, good and bad. Note
for defense that, if your opponent is calling a
lot of runs or passes, you should adjust your
play calling accordingly.
Index:
Slot Recommendations
Good Playbooks And How To Shut Them Down
Vs. MAN Playcalling
CPU Playcalling
-----------------
Slot Recommendations
These are some general feelings I have about the plays
in each slot and which ones you should choose for each.
More specific recommendations are in the Good Playbooks
section. When I say a play has good compatibility, I
mean that several other plays also run from that
formation and that this is a good fit for those plays.
I have ranked them in categories and within categories:
the higher up it is, the more I like it.
-------
Slot 1:
Great Choices:
15: Toss Sweep R - Strong-I Formation: This is a great
run to just knock people away with. Smash-mouth
football should not be played without this run.
Other Choices:
12: Run And Shoot Sweep L - Run And Shoot Formation:
This is a great run, not as good as R&S Sweep R, but
very compatible and a little effective.
17: T Power Sweep R - T Formation: This is a nice,
solid run, but it does nothing particularly great,
especially since it's not hard to stop.
14: FB Open L - Shifting Onesetback Formation: This
run has good compatibility, but it lacks blockers.
13: FB Offtackle R - One Man Shift Formation: This
one has pretty good blocking, but it lacks
compatibility. It's also (almost) mirrored by a play
in Slot 2, so you want to think twice about this
one.
11: Onesetback L - Onesetback Formation: This one is
a decent play, but it can be shut down with certain
tactics and has a (almost) mirror in Slot 2.
Bad Choices:
16: T Fake Sweep R - T Formation: You can get wiped
out in several ways with this play. Only good as a
surprise play.
10: WTE Offtackle R - WTE Formation: This is the worst
play you could possibly put in this slot. Don't do it.
-------
Slot 2:
Other Choices:
25: T Sweep Strong - T Formation: This is just another
solid run play.
24: T Offtackle R - T Formation: You get a good push
with this that can beat up linemen and linebackers, but
you are pretty defenseless against the secondary.
23: Weakside Open - One Man Shift Formation: This play
has only a few blockers, but it has fair compatibility.
Not that that's of any use as all the One Man Shift
pass plays suck.
22: Oneback Sweep R - Shifting Onesetback Formation:
The compatibility on this is iffy and it has an (almost)
mirror in Slot 1, but it has really good blocking in
the front seven. However, it can be weak if your
opponent doesn't sell himself out trying to take you
down behind the line.
27: FB Offtackle L - Onesetback Formation: This play
is (almost) mirrored in Slot 1 and can be shut down, but
it does give you a decent shove.
26: T Power Dive - T Formation: This dive has someone
clearing the way for you, but it has a race defect,
so it isn't terribly optimal. If NTD is banned it
becomes a lot more viable.
Bad Choices:
21: Pitch L Fake - Onesetback Formation: This is
pretty weak. It takes a long time and it doesn't
come out strong.
20: Run And Shoot Draw - Run And Shoot Formation:
This play just reeks. You can see it coming so
easily and stop it almost as readily. Choose any
play but this for this slot.
-------
Slot 3:
Great Choices:
37: Run And Shoot Sweep R - Run And Shoot Formation:
Great compatibility and decent blocking on a
direct route with no holes make this the best one
for this slot.
Other Choices:
33: Pitch L Open - Onesetback Formation: This run
will bash the bones out of the secondary on top.
32: Cross Offtackle - T Formation: This one can
stuff an ROLB very well and gives you a good shove
off the snap.
30: T Cross Run L - T Formation: This play is not
that good, but it is mostly useful and compatible.
36: Shotgun Draw - Shotgun Formation: This is
a quick shot off that can get you yards, but if
your opponent is awake, you may not be able to get
very far. This is one to go for if you have
Shotguns though - but watch that race defect.
31: Slot Offtackle - Slot Formation: This play is
not very good because it has little compatibility
and because you get thrown out in between the
defensive backs and the linebackers with no one to
block for you. It can work with fast runners,
though.
Bad Choices:
35: WR Reverse L - Shifting Onesetback Formation:
This is only a little better than the worst play
for this slot. Your opponent will nail you unless
blockers can somehow miraculously intercede
between the two of you.
34: WR Reverse R - Onesetback Formation: This is
the worst play because it operates out of an
even worse sequence (Top Handoff) than WR Reverse
L. It's just as bad in effectiveness as well.
-------
Slot 4:
Great Choices:
43: FB Power Dive - Strong-I Formation: This is a
RB #2 blocking dive that works decently on the
reversal to the top.
47: Shotgun Sweep L - Shotgun 3-Wing Formation: This
is brutally effective with several blockers and
play reversal ability. Its only flaw is its low
compatibility.
40: Run And Shoot QB Sneak - Run And Shoot Formation:
This will get you only a few yards usually, but it
does well against players who like to take
defensive backs.
Good Choices:
42: Pro T Dive - T Formation: You go in alone on
this one, but it can be reversed to either side.
41: Onesetback Dive - Shifting Onesetback Formation:
This one can't be reversed as well as Pro T Dive,
and its compatibility is not as good.
Other Choices:
46: Run And Shoot QB Run - Run And Shoot Formation:
This play will only work if your QB has feet and
your opponent is in the blocking path of this.
Otherwise, you're probably dead, unless your
opponent is weak enough that he can't flatten your
QB with one touch.
Bad Choices:
45: Reverse Pitch R - T Formation: A wide receiver
reverse is bad news, and this is no better. Too
slow and too weak.
44: Shotgun C Draw - Shotgun Formation: This is
obvious from the get-go. If your opponent is watching
your running back, you're gone. If you're showing
him the race defect, you're really gone.
-------
Slot 5:
Great Choices:
57: Run And Shoot Flare C - Run And Shoot Formation:
Nice receiver spread and great compatibility.
Other Choices:
54: Pro T Screen L - T Formation: This is a pretty
decent play, but you will get nailed almost
automatically if it's called.
53: T Play Action D - T Formation: This play gives
you decent receivers, but loses time in the handoff.
55: Play Action - Strong-I Formation: There aren't
too many receivers here. Get this only if you've
got other Strong-I plays.
Bad Choices:
51: Roll Out R - Shifting Onesetback Formation:
The receiver spread is pretty decent, but you are
in a formation where your opponent will be looking
at the QB, and you have a lot of lag time before
you can pass on this one.
52: Roll Out L - One Man Shift Formation: You can
snooker people with this, but you will get totaled
if your opponent is wise to it and/or uses a
top-side defender.
56: Pro T Waggle L - T Formation: You have three
receivers at three different ranges, but you will
get waxed if your opponent is looking at your
QB.
50: Pro T Waggle R - T Formation: All of your
receivers are within ten yards, and your QB is a
sitting duck for a defensive back as he rolls out
ever so slowly.
-------
Slot 6:
Great Choices:
61: Run And Shoot Z Fly - Run And Shoot Formation:
Someone is almost always going to be open. What
more can you ask for?
60: Shotgun X Curl - Shotgun Formation: You get
one running back beside you, two short options,
and two medium options, with no NTD possibility.
This is a great insurance play. But note it is
a Shotgun, so it has a race defect.
62: Pro T Flare D - T Formation: Three call-safe
receivers, short, medium, and long options, plus
five wideouts, with your running backs on either
side ready to take off. It doesn't get much
better than this.
Other Choices:
63: Offset Flare E - Strong-I Formation: This
play is a little compatible and you get a nice
range of receivers.
65: Oneback Flare A - Onesetback Formation:
You don't have many receivers, but they come at
good ranges.
66: Power Fake Z Post - Onesetback Formation:
You don't get a lot of options, but you get
decent compatibility.
64: Formation/Play Oneback Z Cross: This play
has no compatibility, but otherwise it offers
lots of receivers on good paths.
Bad Choices:
67: WTE Flea Flicker - WTE Formation: This play
gives you two easily-covered long receivers and
huge weaknesses otherwise. Don't make yourself
suffer with this one.
-------
Slot 7:
Great Choices:
70: Shotgun X Drive - Shotgun Formation: This is
not the best play, but you get a good range of
receivers with a running back at your side.
Take care about the race defects.
Other Choices:
72: Playaction Z In - Shifting Onesetback Formation:
Good receiver spread and good compatibility.
74: Pro T Flare C - T Formation: You get a slanting
tight end, but everyone is rather distant.
77: Power Fake X Fly - Onesetback Formation: Four
receivers, but all go medium to long.
75: Shotgun 3-Wing - Shotgun 3-Wing Formation: This
gives you five wideouts, but three of them are
clustered close.
71: Formation/Play Run And Shoot 3-Wing: Everyone
goes medium to long on this and you have no
compatibility.
Bad Choices:
76: T Flea Flicker - T Formation: This one can
get you a fumble if it's called. Don't be so hard
on yourself.
73: Flea Flicker - One Man Shift Formation: This
one is a flea flick on top of an obvious formation.
Really, don't waste your time. The only good thing
about this play is that RB #2 has a tendency to
get open on it. It also has a defensive shift that
shows your opponent what play it is.
-------
Slot 8:
Great Choices:
84: Shotgun Z S-In - Shotgun Formation: RB #1
curls on the top, WR #2 curls in the middle,
RB #2 curls off the screen, and WR #1 and the TE
go long. This is a great spread to have.
Just watch the race defects.
87: Run And Shoot Y Up - Run And Shoot Formation:
You get a close running back and a man in the
middle in addition to three long men.
80: X Out And Fly - Onesetback Formation: Two
go long and three cluster in the middle in a
very compatible package.
85: Formation/Play Redgun Z Slant: You get
RB #1 on your left and a moving target in the
middle, plus three long bombs. However, there
is no compatibility to speak of.
Other Choices:
82: Slot L Z Drive - Slot Formation: Little
compatibility, but great receiver spread,
including one on the bottom that comes out and
WR #2 in the middle.
83: Formation/Play No Back X Deep: No
compatibility, but a fair spread across the field.
Bad Choices:
86: Shotgun XY Bomb - Shotgun Formation: Your
shortest man is off the screen and most everyone
is long gone and covered after two seconds. I
wouldn't even call this as a desperation play
because there will be all kinds of coverage.
You can use this to clear out for QB run,
and it works pretty well for that. The race
defects don't matter so much for this, but
it is a weak play nonetheless.
81: Reverse-Fake Z Post - Onesetback Formation:
Two wideouts (one of them is your running back
who wades through the entire defense) on top of
a ball-switching frenzy that takes five seconds
makes this clearly inferior to any other play in
this slot.
-----------------
Playbooks
On this rev I've tried to cover more common playbooks
and give some more indication of when you are likely
to see each/when they are useful.
Note that for many playbooks, due to the fact that I
typically play no-holds-barred, you don't see the
Pro T Flare C and Redgun Z Slant mentioned as much.
I do try to give some detail on those, but it could
certainly stand improvement.
Also note that I haven't had the experience with the
coverage schemes in some of the playbooks I give below,
most of them I am not sure of. It's something you can
figure out though, and if by experience you do manage
to work out what does what then by all means contact
me with your results, and I'll credit you in here for
them.
The Defensive Play vs. Offensive Play is by slot,
where say, for Draft Standard Playbook Z Fly, R&S Z Fly
is 6, and the play that heads them is the defensive call.
However for similar playbooks, I reversed the two so that
I wouldn't be wasting space and time.
Herein are some playbooks. I rank them according to
a one to ten system, where ten is the highest value
that a playbook could have and one is the least.
Example Formation - Balance Of Formation - Ranking
Play in Run Slot 1
Play in Run Slot 2
Play in Run Slot 3
Play in Run Slot 4
Play in Pass Slot 1
Play in Pass Slot 2
Play in Pass Slot 3
Play in Pass Slot 4
--------------
Good Playbooks And How To Shut Them Down
Draft Standard Playbook Z Fly | 3-2-2-1 | 8/10
Best with 2 RBs
This playbook is designed so that the runs
are going to be very difficult to stop with
just one player. The passes are not complete
yet as I haven't analyzed the coverages but
this at least seems to be the best what I can
muster up as far as runs are concerned.
People will typically use a playbook like this
when they feel confident in their red-zone
passing, as the passes tend to be pretty tough
to complete down in the red area.
Also note that this playbook does better in
no-lurch formats; otherwise the Strong I plays
are fairly useless.
Toss Sweep R
Weakside Open
R&S Sweep R
FB Power Dive
Play Action
R&S Z Fly
Shotgun X Drive
Shotgun Z S-In
Defense: Call Toss Sweep R, then NTD away
FB Power Dive and Play Action. Alternatively
you can LOLB dive and react to the Toss Sweep,
or bring the ROLB down.
Call R&S Sweep R, then use the ROLB tactic
for the FB Power Dive in order to give you
a chance there, and play Toss Sweep R as you
go. However I wouldn't call it unless you are
really certain that you are going to be in good
shape because you aren't going to get any coverage
vs. the pass with R&S Sweep R.
Beat down Weakside Open with simple
tactics, try and get good anticipation of
run vs. pass, you'll need it.
Either shotgun will stand you in good stead
when it comes to the pass but will get you
blown up on the run. Play Action is at least
a better all-around defensive call.
Defensive Play vs. Offensive Play:
Toss Sweep R vs:
Toss Sweep R - Called play.
Weakside Open - Pretty good defense.
R&S Sweep R - Shut-down defense.
FB Power Dive - Room to run, blocker often is free.
Play Action - SS sets up 10-yard zone, FS drops low and deep, everyone open.
R&S Z Fly - Now and then SS sets up 10-yard zone.
Shotgun X Drive - Unpredictable coverage, at least two guys open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable, often RCB on RB #2 and SS in medium zone.
Weakside Open vs:
Toss Sweep R - Defense gives no room to run.
Weakside Open - Called play.
R&S Sweep R - Defense gives a lane alone the sideline.
FB Power Dive - Random DBs descend on the hole, decent defense here.
Play Action - Corners pick up WRs, sometimes a guy tries to cover the RB #1.
R&S Z Fly - SS sets up a 10-yard zone.
Shotgun X Drive - Unpredictable, but at least 2 receivers will be open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable, but at least 2 receivers will be open.
R&S Sweep R vs:
Toss Sweep R - Defense gives a little room at the bottom.
Weakside Open - Defense gives a little room at the bottom.
R&S Sweep R - Called play, RB can escape out wide now and then.
FB Power Dive - DBs mostly converge on hole.
Play Action - Sometimes the corners pick up the WRs.
R&S Z Fly - LCB picks up WR #2.
Shotgun X Drive - No coverage.
Shotgun Z S-In - SS drops deep.
FB Power Dive vs:
Toss Sweep R - Bad defense.
Weakside Open - Shutdown defense.
R&S Sweep R - Pretty good defense.
FB Power Dive - Called play.
Play Action - SS sets up 10-yard zone, FS drops low and deep, everyone open.
R&S Z Fly - RCB picks up WR #1 usually, LCB picks up WR #2.
Shotgun X Drive - FS sometimes sets up 10-yard zone.
Shotgun Z S-In - SS sometimes sets up 12-yard zone to the bottom.
Play Action vs:
Toss Sweep R - Terrible defense.
Weakside Open - Decent but thin layer of defense - easy to break out.
R&S Sweep R - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
FB Power Dive - Defenders come in the area and contain.
Play Action - Called play.
R&S Z Fly - Unpredictable, but at least 1 receiver will be open.
Shotgun X Drive - Unpredictable, but at least 1 receiver will be open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable, but at least 1 receiver will be open.
R&S Z Fly vs:
Toss Sweep R - Terrible defense.
Weakside Open - Terrible defense.
R&S Sweep R - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
FB Power Dive - Defenders come in the area and contain.
Play Action - Wildly unpredictable coverage.
R&S Z Fly - Called play.
Shotgun X Drive - Great defense, often only 1 receiver open, sometimes none.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable, but usually 1 receiver will be open.
Shotgun X Drive vs:
Toss Sweep R - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
Weakside Open - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
R&S Sweep R - Terrible defense.
FB Power Dive - Stationary contain, can run right through it.
Play Action - Unpredictable, but at least 1 receiver will be open.
R&S Z Fly - Great defense, often 1 receiver open.
Shotgun X Drive - Called play.
Shotgun Z S-In - Great defense, often 1 receiver open.
Shotgun Z S-In vs:
Toss Sweep R - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
Weakside Open - Defense gives a lane along the sideline.
R&S Sweep R - Terrible defense.
FB Power Dive - Stationary contain, can run right through it.
Play Action - A guy often tries to cover RB #1, WR #1 covered, WR #2 often
covered.
R&S Z Fly - Unpredictable, but at least 1 receiver will be open.
Shotgun X Drive - Great defense, often 1 receiver open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Called play.
Draft Standard Playbook Flare E | 3-2-2-1 | 8/10
Best with 2 RBs
This playbook is designed so that the runs
are going to be very difficult to stop with
just one player. The passes are not complete
yet as I haven't analyzed the coverages but
this at least seems to be the best what I can
muster up as far as runs are concerned.
This one changes Play Action for Offset
Flare E so that the NTD won't be so brutal,
provided your QB has good feet.
Toss Sweep R
Weakside Open
R&S Sweep R
FB Power Dive
R&S Flare C
Offset Flare E
Shotgun X Drive
Shotgun Z S-In
Defense: Call Toss Sweep R, then NTD away
FB Power Dive and possibly Offset Flare E.
Can also LOLB dive or LILB absorb, or use
ROLB. You can use the RCB to some extent on
this one because the top receiver doesn't
go deep.
Call R&S Sweep R, then use the ROLB tactic
for the FB Power Dive in order to give you
a chance there, and play Toss Sweep R as you
go. However I wouldn't call it unless you are
really certain that you are going to be in good
shape because you aren't going to get any coverage
vs. the pass with R&S Sweep R.
Beat down Weakside Open with simple
tactics, try and get good anticipation of
run vs. pass, you'll need it.
Either shotgun will stand you in good stead
when it comes to the pass but will get you
blown up on the run. R&S Flare C is at least
a better all-around defensive call.
Offensive Play vs. Defensive Play: Here it is
reversed since there are only a few changes. I just
put down the stuff that isn't in the other
playbook of this type.
R&S Flare C vs:
Toss Sweep R - FS sometimes sets up a 10-yard zone.
Weakside Open - FS sometimes sets up a 10-yard zone.
R&S Sweep R - Unpredictable coverage, at least 3 receivers open.
FB Power Dive - Unpredictable coverage, at least 3 receivers open.
R&S Flare C - Called play.
Offset Flare E - Unpredictable coverage, at least 1 receiver is open.
Shotgun X Drive - Unpredictable coverage, at least 1 receiver is open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable coverage, at least 1 receiver is open.
Offset Flare E vs:
Toss Sweep R - SS drops into 17-yard zone, everyone is open.
Weakside Open - SS drops into 17-yard zone, everyone is open.
R&S Sweep R - SS drops into 17-yard zone, unpredictable coverage,
2 men open.
FB Power Dive - SS drops into 17-yard zone, unpredictable coverage,
2 men open.
R&S Flare C - Unpredictable coverage, RB #2 usually open.
Offset Flare E - Called play.
Shotgun X Drive - Unpredictable coverage, RB #2 usually open.
Shotgun Z S-In - Unpredictable coverage, RB #2 usually open.
Power + Cover Playbook | 4-4 | 7/10
Maxes RB #2
This playbook puts in the powerful
Toss Sweep R and FB Power Dive to
enhance the strength of the run,
specially with less able players. This
covers the new additions by complementing
them with pass plays. It also adds the
superb Pitch L Open to further make
FB Offtackle L viable and to enhance the
running game generally. It also introduces
a race defect in Pitch L Open, so watch
your backs and make sure they are of
the same color.
This is a typical playbook against a strong
RCB like Wayne Haddix or Deion Sanders, when
the opposing team doesn't have many good
alternatives.
Note also you have substantial weaknesses
against NTD in this set; better for no-lurch
rules.
Toss Sweep R
FB Offtackle L
Pitch L Open
FB Power Dive
Play Action
Offset Flare E
Power Fake X Fly
X Out And Fly
Defense: Call Toss Sweep R, then nose tackle
dive everything in the Strong-I form. Call
X Out And Fly, and skewer the runs with the
left end. Not much to this one. Get caught
by the Onesetback form, and go to the left
end to stop the run if he can also cover the
pass, otherwise use the SS or LCB. Get caught
by the Strong-I form, and defend against Toss
Sweep R.
If you have to use the RCB, try running him
down whenever the opponent runs at you, then
after the blockers have found targets, come
back up to make the tackle.
No-Lurch Run & Shoot | 6-2 | 7/10
Maxes RB #1
This is a common playbook used by non-lurchers.
It still has a number of opportunities for
counterplay, but is a good way to take advantage
of players like Bobby Humphrey.
This playbook is especially good to use if your
RB has 56+ MS, as the LOLB dive becomes less
effective at higher MS.
R&S Sweep L
T Power Dive
R&S Sweep R
R&S QB Sneak (or QB Run if fast QB)
R&S Flare C
R&S Z Fly
Pro T Flare C
R&S Y Up
Defense: When you see the T formation, you
know the only run is going to be T Power Dive.
Refer to the section on that specific play for
defenses. Unless you are going to get wrecked
on tapping or are in short yardage with no
options I recommend never calling it; players
get away from the dive too easily, even if they
are successful with it. Mainly this is
because of the fumble factor, but also because
players get discouraged by having to run, and
using a fairly complicated run with high
volatility.
Otherwise the only run worth calling is R&S
Sweep R, which has the usual caveat about no
pass defense. Against the R&S QB Sneak call a
pass, against the QB Run defend it the way you
would typically do R&S Sweep L.
When you see this playbook and a < 56 MS
RB, expect a lot of passing.
No-Lurch Conventional Power | 3-2-2-1 | 7/10
Best with 2 RBs
This is a fairly common configuration in
no-lurch as well. If you are skilled in the
power dive and have reasonably fast backs
going against weak defenses, this will
outperform the R&S heavy playbooks. The
Redgun Z Slant sometimes gets abused, although
more typically with high PS QBs.
Toss Sweep R
T Power Dive
R&S Sweep R
FB Power Dive
R&S Flare C
Offset Flare E
Pro T Flare C
Redgun Z Slant
Defense: The key to stopping this playbook
is to stay in Offset Flare E calls instead
of Toss Sweep R, since you cannot NTD away
the power dives. This requires game-specific
strategy, but here are some suggestions:
- Good ROLB against both runs
- Quick adjust LOLB to handle both runs
- Great RCB hard down
- Blow up blockers
On the T set, follow previous suggestions.
The Redgun will also be challenging against
a skilled human opponent because you will
probably wind up doing some R&S Sweep R
calls. I suggest just bailing out if you
are not in a pass call; the WR #1 in the
low flat is too far away from the RB #1
that comes out to really deal with both
without help over the top. Another, far
risker, option is to try and bait a throw
to the deep receivers and get either the
tip or the incomplete. I only really
recommend this against moderate PS QBs
and a player with good Interceptions.
--------------
Older Playbooks And How To Shut Them Down
Shotgun 2 & 2 Playbook | 4-4 | 5/10
This playbook takes the 2 & 2 and puts in
some non-race defective shotguns in order to
stop any persistent nose tackle diving.
Run And Shoot Sweep Left
T Sweep Strong
Run And Shoot Sweep Right
Pro T Dive
Run And Shoot Flare C
Pro T Flare D
Shotgun X Drive
Shotgun Z S-In
Defense: Call R&S Sweep R, when you get
them into an obvious passing situation,
call anything but Pro T Flare D (it is too
call-safe).
2 & 2 Playbook | 4-4 | 5/10
I really don't believe I missed this one
for so long. This playbook has three 5-receiver
plays in it and two-way runs for two formations
(you have to reverse and go up for Pro T Dive).
The biggest asset of these plays is the balance
of options. R&S goes Left and Right, T Sweep
Strong goes south, and Pro T Dive goes through
the middle and can be reversed to go in any
direction. One nice thing about putting in Pro
T Dive instead of R&S QBSneak is that it puts
a person with actual Hitting Power (and no,
Dan Marino, you do not have Hitting Power in this
game, sorry) on the run through the middle, and it
makes problems for the top linebacker, who can
run around T Sweep Strong and also rush the QB,
but will get into a struggle if he runs straight in
or downward, causing him to stall on the other T
formation plays. The R&S passes are good for
short and long opportunities, Pro T Flare D needs
no explanation, and Pro T Flare C has the moving
tight end that causes big problems. You also have
good flash opportunities on Y Up and D, as well
as good field saturation on the other two. This, my
friends, is (nearly) boss.
Run And Shoot Sweep Left
T Sweep Strong
Run And Shoot Sweep Right
Pro T Dive
Run And Shoot Flare C
Pro T Flare D
Pro T Flare C
Run And Shoot Y Up
Defense: Call R&S Sweep R, bye bye run (provided you
use the LOLB or somesuch). Then you can use whatever
pressure tactics you want in obvious passing downs.
2 Shotgun Playbook | 4-2-2 | /10
If the nose tackle dive is allowed, this
gives you five plays immune to its effects
instead of three as 2 & 2 does, and
sacrifices some unpredictability thereby,
but not too much, since there are still passes
for every run. This does have a race defect,
though, so you need to take that into
consideration as well.
Run And Shoot Sweep Left
T Sweep Strong
Run And Shoot Sweep Right
Pro T Dive
Run And Shoot Flare C
Shotgun X Curl
Pro T Flare C
Shotgun Z S-In
Defense: Call R&S Sweep R and you should have
no problems with the run if you are going to
play it with the LILB or a DB, for instance.
Against Shotgun X Curl, call R&S Flare C to
get good coverage.
Redgun T: This one has 7 T Formation plays and
Redgun Z Slant for two-minute offense. It's
decently strong, but it is susceptible to tactics,
especially if the opponent has good linebackers or
a good RCB.
T Power Sweep R
T Offtackle R
Cross Offtackle
T Power Dive
Pro T Screen L
Pro T Flare D
Pro T Flare C
Redgun Z Slant
Defense: Call T Offtackle R and then use the RILB
to throw this running game down, or call a pass and
use your best DB to stop the runs before they can
get any yards. Don't call Pro T Flare D, it is
not easy to stop even if you do call it.
Power: This playbook's strength is the number of
blockers and receivers that come out, but its
weakness is its three-formation split and
predictability, not to mention a race defect.
Toss Sweep R
FB Offtackle L
Pitch L Open
FB Power Dive
Play Action
Shotgun X Curl
Power Fake X Fly
X Out And Fly
Defense: Use the LE against the Onesetback plays,
call Play Action if Shotgun X Curl is being abused,
but otherwise, call either Strong-I running play.
T Run Playbook | 6-2 | 5/10
This offers the balance and power
of Run And Shoot without the lousy Draw
(there are more appropriate vulgarities
for that horrid play, but I'll simply
leave it at this) and the predictable
3-Wing.
Run And Shoot Sweep Left
T Sweep Strong
Run And Shoot Sweep Right
Run And Shoot QBSneak OR QB Run
Run And Shoot Flare C
Run And Shoot Z Fly
Pro T Flare C
Run And Shoot Y Up
Defense: Call R&S Sweep Right, use the ILBs
against the T, pressure the passer as you
desire, there should be no real problems here.
Power Shoot Playbook | 5-3 | 5/10
One of the great things about Onesetback
plays is that they break through the
defense very well in many cases. This
playbook substitutes Run And Shoot Y
Up with X Out And Fly to offer the ability
to have HATS Plays without having to
worry about an impudent defender slide tackling
the running back or the quarterback all of the
time.
Run And Shoot Left
FB Offtackle L
Run And Shoot Right
Run And Shoot QBSneak OR QB Run
Run And Shoot Flare C
Run And Shoot Z Fly
Power Fake X Fly
X Out And Fly
Defense: Against the pass, call X Out And Fly,
then NTD. R&S Z Fly will do well if you can't
NTD the QB because he's too fast, so long as
you remember the curl-pass defense. If you
are thinking run, call R&S Sweep R, that will
screw them up good, and defense the Onesetback
form as you normally would, while defending the
other two plays with, say, the LILB (though many
other positions will work as well). Overall this
is just not strong at all.
Shift And Shotgun Playbook | 6-2 | 6/10
The Shifting Onesetback is also a very
respectable formation, not least for the
ability to shift receivers. This playbook
provides Shotguns to fill in the gaps in
the playbook where no original formation
play exists. It does introduce a Shotgun
race defect though.
FB Open L
Oneback Sweep Right
WR Reverse L
Onesetback Dive
Roll Out R
Shotgun X Curl
Playaction Z In
Shotgun Z S-In
No defenses for this one, haven't seen it
much at all, got pretty good at shutting
the Washington offense down and this is
basically a slightly upgraded Washington
system.
Total Power Playbook | 4-2-2 | 4/10
(this is one to use on the computer)
This is a tested playbook that I have
used on the computer for quite some time.
Since the computer has no real intelligence,
it doesn't really care a whole lot what
plays you call and it doesn't have a good
idea of how to kill some plays. Thus, this
playbook sacrifices predictability for the
advantage of increased yardage gains due to
the power of the individual plays chosen.
Toss Sweep R
FB Offtackle L
Pitch L Open
FB Power Dive
Run And Shoot Flare C
Run And Shoot Z Fly
Power Fake X Fly
X Out And Fly
--------------
-----------------
Other Tricks/Pointers in Vs. MAN Playcalling
A little trick you can use is to open up the menu by
pressing A when you are going to call a
pass. Your opponent may then think you were trying
to call a run and thus will call a run. Of course,
like anything else on the play menu, your opponent
may be wise to this and crush you.
Likewise, if you DID accidentally open the play
menu, you can try and go to "Change" to make it
appear as if you didn't screw up so badly.
Defensively of course you can't go into Change. :)
Defensively, if you are getting beaten a little by
a particular play that isn't a threat to break out,
let the MAN use it a little bit. Then, start calling
it on a key play and then return to normal playcalling.
Always remember defensively that if you have already
called a given play out of a formation, don't bother
about trying to defend it, because you should have it
shut down (most of the time anyway). There are a couple
exceptions, mainly involving fast QBs, but you can
react to those on the fly.
-----------------
CPU Playcalling
The computer, being plain silly, always chooses
to return the ball if it wins the coin toss.
The computer's patterns are set before the end of
the first half, at least. It may also switch
in the fourth quarter. Once you find these
patterns, it becomes much easier to exploit the
computer, on both offense and defense. The defense
especially benefits from knowledge of patterns.
The easiest way to do that is to keep track of
what plays the computer calls, even in your head,
because that aggregate probability is what usually
determines what the computer is going to do.
Sometimes, you'll light upon a computer doing the
same things it did in a previous drive, and you
can exploit that, playing just as you did on that
drive to beat the computer down.
CPU Playcalling On Fourth Down:
If the computer is behind the fifty-yard line
and it isn't fourth quarter, the computer will
almost always punt. It will also punt in front
of the fifty-yard line if the kicker is not all
that good - how bad determines where the computer
will kick a field goal. During the fourth quarter,
if the computer is losing, it will keep the
ball, but if not, it will punt it as normal.
If it is past the fifty yard line and it isn't
fourth quarter, the computer will kick a field
goal. During the fourth quarter, if the
computer is losing by seven points or more, it
will almost always try for the touchdown/first
down and call a play. If it is losing by
few enough points such that a field goal will
win it for the computer, the computer will
kick a field goal. Its behavior in the
intermediate range I have not yet determined,
since I either blow the computer out or am
worried about losing so much I don't give it
much heed (if I am less than 7 points ahead).
I believe, however, that it will go for the
touchdown or first down if the point
difference is more than 3. I don't think it is
entirely predictable, certainly not to the
degree that the others are.
-----------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
10. Tweaking The Tecmo
"Just a few more adjustments, and your Tecmo will
be better than ever."
Herein are some nice tips and tricks, some obvious
and known, others obscure, that generally help your
game.
Index:
Call-Safe Your Playbook
Call Plays That Cover For Others
Watch For Blocking
Intending To QB Run From The Beginning
Watch The Shift
Use Different Players On Defense
Freeing Up Your BOYZ
Run Along The Sidelines To Suppress Fumbles
Cover A Fumble Behind The Line
Cover A Fumble With A Slide Tackle
Two-Tap Field Goals And Punts
Check Your Returner's Condition
Set Your Backups To The Return (Season Mode)
Change Your Lineup
Vary Your Hike Time With Shifting Plays
Coach Mode for Training
*FORBIDDEN*
Look At Your Opponent's Controller
Hide Your Controller
Look At A Play You're Not Picking
Look At Your Opponent's Face/Eyes (with XRayMind)
Skip The Coin Toss If You Lose
----------------------------
Call-Safe Your Playbook
One thing that will improve your game drastically is
a play that you can use even when your opponent
calls it. How about having several of those? What
you want to do is stack your playbook with pass
plays that have call-safe receivers and run plays that
running backs like Bo Jackson can get out of, such as
Run and Shoot Sweep Right. Not only is it
demoralizing for your opponent, it also can gain you
five or more yards.
As the defender, this is an opportunity to bait the
QB if you have a good Interceptions player.
----------------------------
Call Plays That Cover For Others
On some plays, especially passes, people move in
ways that either hurt or help your defense. One
thing that they do is that they move up to the
line (like cornerbacks). Another is that they
spread out over the field. What you should do is
watch how your defenders move on certain plays and
take that into account as you call your plays. If
your corners always move up on one pass play when you
really need them, or your safeties are contracting,
call another pass play to get better coverage, or if
one run play call is really getting you pounded,
call another that allows you to contain better.
Pass #1 (Slot 5) is a common play used in this role;
sometimes guys will just sit on this play if you
aren't hurting them that much in the passing game.
----------------------------
Watch For Blocking
On some plays that begin alike, one way that you
can tell whether the play action ends in a run
or a pass is to look at whether wide receivers
and others are making contact with defenders. If
they are, then it's a run, and if they are passing
through, then it's a pass.
----------------------------
Intending to QB Run from the Beginning
One particularly effective tactic when you are on
offense is to be able to both run and pass with one
play. Pro T Flare D can do this a little bit, with the
two running backs on either side of the pocket, but
it's not really that sound given that the back has to
catch the ball (they don't always do this), be
uncovered, and that everyone on the opposing team
goes after him. In certain short and medium-yardage
situations, it makes more sense to just run the QB
without ever intending to throw. Partially this is
because your QB-target combination has poor ability to
complete passes. Sometimes it just helps your QB to
have some advantage against a MAN defender who is
primarily concerned with covering open receivers; you
can start your QB rush before the MAN gets into his
short-yardage loops and traps. Remember that the QB
only has 44 Ball Control, so you don't want to do this
with the intention of getting tackled unless you need
to cross the marker.
----------------------------
Watch The Shift
When a player gets tackled on the top or the bottom
of the field, the ball will be shifted to that particular
side. What this does is it makes it harder for a player
to run to the particular side the ball is shifted to, and
easier for the other side. On a pass, it concentrates
receivers on one side or the other. What you want to
do is take this into account when you call your plays
(mainly for runs though - the pass shift is usually
insignificant). If you think there's going to be a run
play called, and your opponent (Player 1) is shifted to
the top, and he has both Run And Shoot Right and
Left, you want to call Run And Shoot Right to cover
your weaker side, letting the blockers that are already
going to be close for the run take care of a run to the
top. Because of the bias, those blockers will be
concentrated more heavily at the top than at the
bottom, and will make it harder for the runner to the
top to try to make it out. It usually won't completely
eliminate yardage gains, but it does reduce their
magnitude.
----------------------------
Use Different Players On Defense
Sometimes on defense your opponent will try and key in
on a particular player that you are using with success.
To combat this remember that if you have two or more
viable players, you should try and attack the opponent's
play which is attacking the player the MAN hates. Of
course, if you are fully dominating with that player or
if you wouldn't do any better using a different player,
don't switch up.
----------------------------
Freeing Up Your BOYZ
If you are playing as a strong linebacker and a
run play is happening behind the line of scrimmage
(as with wide receiver reverses, for instance), what
you can do to increase the efficacy of your run
defense is to hit the struggling linemen. That way,
your defensive linemen will be freed up to start
roaming and your opponent's offensive linemen will
be lying on the ground, not only taking them out of
the blocking picture, but also opening up holes for
you and your fellow defenders to run after ballcarriers
behind the line. However, if the run is going straight
out from the line, don't waste your time getting extra
run blockers that will never arrive in time to catch
the runner.
On a power dive, you can also use safeties to achieve
the similar effect.
You can also use this tactic to get a pass rush.
And also remember conditions change during a game, so
you might go back to a matchup that you abandoned
earlier in the game.
It seems that this is more effective with higher
HP/MS players, and against a matchup where your player
has a clear advantage. With a strong player, it seems
to be about an 85% chance that you will roll the
CPU blocker. With a weaker player, it seems more like
50%.
----------------------------
Run Along The Sidelines To Suppress Fumbles
If you don't want to lose yards and possession of
the ball to fumbles, moving along the sidelines ensures
that nearly half of the fumbles that occur will go out
of bounds. In addition, if you really want to ward off
fumbles, simply run out of bounds to avoid the tackle.
----------------------------
Cover A Fumble Behind The Line
Because a MAN-controlled player cannot pick up a
fumble in most cases, what usually ends up
happening in situations where a fumble occurs behind
the offensive line or close to it is that the computer
for the offense will get a man down there, pick it up,
and start running for yardage, sometimes getting first
downs, or, occasionally, touchdowns. Therefore,
when a fumble happens, you should either, if you
think your players might be able to recover the ball,
struggle off your opponent's men and keep them
away from the ball, or, if you don't think you can
recover the ball, move away from it somewhat and
tackle the person who picks up the ball to end the
play. Also, make sure to slide tackle through the
opposing players.
----------------------------
Cover A Fumble With A Slide Tackle
One nice thing about Tecmo is that when you hit the
slide tackle button, the ball is the target. So, when
the ball gets loose and opposing players are all around
it, slide tackle through them to knock them down
and keep them from gaining possession and/or tackle one
who may come up with the ball.
----------------------------
Two-Tap Field Goals And Punts
Don't take chances with your playcalling. When you
choose either a punt or a field goal, only tap
twice - that is, tap twice downward to punt, and
tap twice upward to kick. There are several
advantages to this, the principal one being that
you can't go over or under your choice and choose
a field goal or a punt that you don't want and that
can kill your game. Moreover, if you under-tap, then
you will either use a timeout or you will go into
the change menu - two quite harmless actions
compared with kicking a punt from your opponent's
thirty-yard line or kicking a field goal from your
own.
----------------------------
Check Your Returner's Condition
Ball Control is crucial to successful kick and
punt returning. If you don't have a lot, then
you will put the ball on the grass, which means
excellent field position should your opponent
recover a fumbled kickoff and a free touchdown
on a fumbled punt. To avoid this, if you have a
returner who only has 50 Ball Control, even in
a Preseason game, check his condition during the
game to make sure he doesn't drop below 50 by
changing condition. If he does, put in someone
else. You simply cannot afford fumbles on the
return. Conditions change after every quarter.
----------------------------
Set Your Backups To The Return (Season Mode)
Returners have a tendency to get injured because
because they take at least three or four tackles a
game, and sometimes, if you set one person to both
kick and punt returning, that can increase to eight
or ten a game. So, don't set your starters,
especially your good starters, to returns in Season
games because they can get injured quite easily.
----------------------------
Change Your Lineup
One good way to screw with your opponent, if it is
allowed, is to change your offensive lineup once
or twice every drive. One thing this does is it
makes it harder to exploit race defects.
Another thing it does is to add one more layer of
paranoia and guessing to the play. If you shift
a receiver into the fullback slot and you have
Pitch L Open in your playbook, your opponent may
think, "Gee, I wonder what play he's going for.",
and call Pitch L Open. In the meantime, you've
called X Out And Fly, leaving two open receivers,
one of whom is your substitution. Or maybe it's
the other way around! Maybe he thinks it will be
X Out And Fly, then you call Pitch L Open to
drive him into the turf. It's one more dimension
of Tecmo.
----------------------------
Vary Your Hike Time With Shifting Plays
If you switch around your snap time with plays that
have motion, you can deceive your opponent and
just generally annoy him/her. For example, with a
Shifting Onesetback formation, you can let the
motion end for, say, FB Open L, and hike quickly
for Playaction Z In. Then, you hike quickly for
your next FB Open L and your opponent can lose
a second on the play from the general disorientation,
especially if you've been using that shift pattern
for a quarter or more. You can also just randomly
hike the ball to keep your opponent focused on when
the snap will come (since the motion distracts from
readiness). Another trick you can use is to snap
the ball so that a wide receiver or other player
will come out of the formation and get in the way
of an opposing human player.
----------------------
Pick Up The Interceptor's Fumble By Tackling Him In Bounds
Unlike most situations, you CAN pick up a fumble if a
defender who intercepts the ball then fumbles it on the
tackle. Therefore, be persistent about tackling the defender
in bounds and not allowing him to save the ball for the
offense.
----------------------------
Coach Mode for Training
Useful in particular for practicing how to score
and move the ball even when your opponent has
picked your play.
----------------------------
*FORBIDDEN*
These are some tactics that most people don't allow,
but which do belong in your arsenal if you have
a no-holds-barred game.
Look At Your Opponent's Controller -
If you know what play your opponent has called by
doing this, it makes your game easier for obvious
reasons.
Hide Your Controller -
If you have a game where you can look at your
opponent's controller, you need to do this in some
way.
Look At A Play You're Not Picking -
If you can look at your opponent's face and eyes,
you will want to deceive him like this. Also, you
can look at the play you're going to call, get it
called, then look at another play that you
haven't called, and fake out your opponent.
Look At Your Opponent's Face/Eyes (with XRayMind) -
This can do the same thing as looking at your
opponent's controller. Watch out though - your
opponent may try to deceive you and look at one
he/she is not calling.
Skip The Coin Toss If You Lose -
This gives you a chance to reset the flip on the
initial kickoff. Pretty much angling in my opinion,
you shouldn't be worried about the chance to put your
opponent behind 7 points to start the game.
----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
11. The Pro Bowl
"Tecmo Super Bowl should only be attempted by
trained professionals."
This is in three sections now:
Pro Bowl Game And Roster Data
Gaffney's Pro Bowl Even Teams
Training Exercises (Best & Worst Teams)
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Pro Bowl Game And Roster Data
In this mode, injured players are playable (in Bad
condition). Also, there seems to be some sort of
operation which Tecmo performs on the players:
many times it will take players' stats down a
notch for all the players, or sometimes some of
the players. This seems to turn off if you then
enter Team Data and look at the affected players.
Also, some of the worse players will move up in
terms of stats when in the Pro Bowl rosters.
It's quite strange. Conditions also shift in this
mode as in Preseason.
There's one bug that's unique to this section,
which I will get more into in a second: the
fourth player on the third AFC Central Team
(Ernest Givins/Oilers in Tecmo 1991) is in the Pro
Bowl roster as the fourth WR (unless you've
changed that position). However, if you
switch him out, you cannot put him back as
a WR, but only as a RB! Be careful.
When you use the AFC/NFC All Stars rosters, you
can choose from only the categories that are
listed for each position. However, this doesn't
work like you would think it would. It goes down
the list of offensive players in a similar fashion
to the OF Starters menu. This is how it works:
QBs - Put in any QB in either of the slots.
RBs - The players that you can use here are the
four that are listed after the QBs (3-6). Most
of the time these are running backs, but they
can also be wide receivers (like Ernest Givins).
WRs - You can use the players from the 7th-10th
slots here. These are usually WRs, but there are
also some running backs here that you can put in.
TEs - You use the players from the 11th through
12th slots here (the ones right before the center
in the list). There are tight ends, and also some
WRs.
C - Self-explanatory.
G - You can put either left or right tackles in
either of the slots.
T - You can put either left or right tackles in
either of the slots.
DE - You can put any defensive lineman (left end,
right end, or nose tackle) in these slots.
NT - You can put any defensive lineman in this
slot.
LB - You can put any linebacker in these slots,
irrespective of their original position.
CB - You can put any cornerback wherever you
like here.
S - You can put any safety in any combination
in these slots.
K - Self-explanatory.
P - Self-explanatory.
The Ernest Givins bug occurs because the game
does not select players based on their position,
but rather their place in the rosters. I suspect
this was done to make the roster more ergonomic,
but it kind of backfired with three or four WR
offenses. So, you ask, how were they able to get
Ernest in the roster? They could get Ernest in
there because Tecmo stores the information in
the rosters with pointers. Instead of duplicating
even all the name data, the game simply "points"
to where the information is stored on the normal
rosters. What I suspect they did was to enter
in Ernest manually with the default information
into the fourth WR slot without using the normal
mechanism, the menu that we use, which filters
out the 3rd-6th slots for that position. That
also means that you can put other players that
don't belong in that slot if you put other data
in there.
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Gaffney's Pro Bowl Even Teams
These teams were hammered out by Jeff Gaffney to give
each side an equal team. As he says on his webpage:
"There are only three dissimilarities in the teams...
The first is that Maury Buford has slightly less Avoid
Punt Block than Brian Hansen. Of course, punts cannot be
blocked in this version of Tecmo (go ahead and try, you
either get tackled or get the punt away, there is no
blocking), so this difference is essentially non-existent
in gameplay. The other two differences kind of balance
each other out. Tim McKyer and Don Griffen have identical
stats, except McKyer has 44 Hitting Power, while Griffen
has only 38. Brian Washington is identical to Mark Murphy,
except he has 38 hitting power and Murphy has 44. Thus,
they essentially cancel each other out - sure one could
argue that the hitting power is better served in the safety
position, but over the course of a game, the difference
is really negligible.
Anyway, as far as I could tell, this is as close as you
can get. If you find any better plan, please let me know,
especially if I overlook a pairing. For the most even
results, plug the players into the positions defensively
in the order listed for both teams. To add more of a
managerial aspect, you can allow players to use only the
given players, but switch around where on defense they
play to best defend their opponents offensive style.
I'm sure you can tell the QB's and LB's suck, but the
DB's, WR's and RB's aren't half bad. It makes for some
pretty interesting gameplay, I must say."
Here goes nothing:
AFC
QB #1: Steve Beuerlein (Rai.)
QB #2: Gary Kubiak (Den.)
RB #1: James Brooks (Cin.)
RB #2: Blair Thomas (Jets)
RB #3: Chris Warren (Sea.)
RB #4: S.Jennings (Cin.)
WR #1: Haywood Jeffires (Hou.)
WR #2: Stephone Paige (K.C.)
WR #3: Mark Jackson (Den.)
WR #4: Irving Fryar (N.E.)
TE #1: Ozzie Newsome (Cle.)
TE #2: Paul Green (Den.)
C: Paul Fairchild (N.E.)
G #1 (top): Gregg Rakoczy (Cle.)
G #2 (bottom): Randy Dixon (Ind.)
T #1 (top): Will Woolford (Buf.)
T #2 (bottom): Jeff Criswell (Jets)
DE #1: Doug Smith (Hou.)
NT: Ron Stallworth (Jets)
DE #2: Lee Williams (S.D.)
LB #1: Kevin Walker (Cin.)
LB #2: Ed Reynolds (N.E.)
LB #3: Chris Singleton (N.E.)
LB #4: Terry Wooden (Sea.)
CB #1: Raymond Clayborn (Cle.)
CB #2: Tim McKyer (Mia.)
S #1: Brian Washington (Jets)
S #2: Jarvis Williams (Mia.)
K: Pete Stoyanovich (Mia.)
P: Brian Hansen (N.E.)
NFC
QB #1: Stan Humphries (Was.)
QB #2: Anthony Dilweg (G.B.)
RB #1: Emmitt Smith (Dal.)
RB #2: Harry Sydney (S.F.)
RB #3: Robert Drummond (Phi.)
RB #4: John Harvey (T.B.)
WR #1: Gary Clark (Was.)
WR #2: Sterling Sharpe (G.B.)
WR #3: Robert Clark (Det.)
WR #4: Hassan Jones (Min.)
TE #1: Ed West (G.B.)
TE #2: Damone Johnson (Rams)
C: Mark Stepnoski (Dal.)
G #1 (top): Ron Hallstrom (G.B.)
G #2 (bottom): Todd Kalis (Min.)
T #1 (top): Tim Irwin (Min.)
T #2 (bottom): Ron Heller (Phi.)
DE #1: Darryl Grant (Was.)
NT: Erik Howard (Gia.)
DE #2: Freddie Joe Nunn (Phx.)
LB #1: Mike Wilcher (Rams)
LB #2: Darrion Conner (Atl.)
LB #3: Eric Hill (Phx.)
LB #4: Fred Strickland (Rams)
CB #1: Mark Lee (G.B.)
CB #2: Don Griffin (S.F)
S #1: Mark Murphy (G.B.)
S #2: William White (Det.)
K: Steve Christie (T.B.)
P: Maury Buford (Chi.)
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Training Exercises
I have to date found only one other use for the Pro Bowl
that develops your skills: use the Pro Bowl Change
Players option to choose any player from the
respective conferences (AFC and NFC) to stack the
deck against yourself with horrid players, like the
backup receivers of Chicago and Hugh Millen for the
NFC, or Steve Grogan and the whole defense of
Indianapolis for the AFC. Here are some of my
vile creations for this purpose, with a bad playbook
to give yourself headaches. Give your opponent
whatever playbook you have the most problems with.
Note that for the playbooks, there are several
alternate players with the same stats, who are just
as bad and can be substituted, and some other things
which I have noted.
Tips on making this harder for all teams: switch in
the pathetic WRs for the faster running backs or
even put them in at tight end if you can spare it.
For your opponent, put in the demons (Okoye and
Anderson) as the primary running backs and returners,
because those guys will give you no end of trouble;
Bo Jackson can't even compare.
AFC's Worst
Lots of people from Cleveland, Indianapolis, and New
England on this one, although Buffalo makes a good
showing, mainly because they had the first people
with the worst stats on the list. The Broncos and
Jets also show they've got the talent to be "Super
Bowl Champions".
QB #1: Steve Grogan (N.E.)
QB #2: Jeff George (Ind.)
RB #1: Kenneth Davis (Buf.)
RB #2: Don Smith (Buf.)
RB #3: Anthony Johnson (Ind.)
RB #4: Sammy Winder (Den.)
WR #1: Al Edwards (Buf.)
WR #2: Fred Banks (Mia.)
WR #3: Terance Mathis (Jets)
WR #4: Jojo Townsell (Jets)
TE #1: Mike Dyal (Rai.)
TE #2: John Talley (Cle.)
C: Paul Fairchild (N.E.)
G #1 (top): Damian Johnson (N.E.)
G #2 (bottom): Brian Baldinger (Ind.)
T #1 (top): Paul Farren (Cle.)
T #2 (bottom): Danny Villa (N.E.)
DE #1 (RE): Tim Goad (N.E.)
NT: Jeff Lageman (Jets)
DE #2 (LE): Harvey Armstrong (Ind.)
LB #1 (ROLB): John Grimsley (Hou.)
LB #2 (RILB): Fredd Young (Ind.)
LB #3 (LILB): Richard Harvey (N.E.)
LB #4 (LOLB): Chris Singleton (N.E.)
CB #1 (RCB): Carl Carter (Cin.)
CB #2 (LCB): Wymon Henderson (Den.)
S #1 (FS): Thane Gash (Cle.)
S #2 (SS): Kevin Porter (K.C.)
K: Jerry Kauric (Cle.)
P: Bryan Wagner (Cle.)
KR: try Kenneth Davis
PR: try Kenneth Davis
AFC's Best
This team has a very strong DL and QBs with
great Pass Speed, as well as a better running
game and receivers with massive ball control,
with a great secondary. The only thing this
team lacks in comparison to the NFC's best is
a rushing quarterback and a better linebacking
squad. Houston was the biggest because of
their WRs with 81 Ball Control and 75 Receptions
(no one in the AFC has 81 Receptions), but
the Bills, Raiders, and Chiefs make their mark with
stars on the run and on defense. Make sure to start
Drew Hill and Ernest Givins. Kendal Smith and
Dwight "hands of" Stone are there to return.
QB #1: Warren Moon (Hou.)
QB #2: Dan Marino (Mia.)
RB #1: Bo Jackson (Rai.)
RB #2: Christian Okoye (K.C.)
RB #3: Thurman Thomas (Buf.)
RB #4: Bobby Humphrey (Den.)
WR #1: Dwight Stone (Pit.)
WR #2: Drew Hill (Hou.)
WR #3: Kendal Smith (Cin.)
WR #4: Ernest Givins (Hou.)
TE #1: Rodney Holman (Cin.)
TE #2: Marv Cook (N.E.)
C: Kent Hull (Buf.)
G #1 (top): Bruce Matthews (Hou.)
G #2 (bottom): Steve Wisniewski (Rai.)
T #1 (top): Anthony Munoz (Cin.)
T #2 (bottom): Richmond Webb (Mia.)
DE #1 (RE): Bruce Smith (Buf.)
NT: Greg Townsend (Rai.)
DE #2 (LE): Howie Long (Rai.)
LB #1 (ROLB): Derrick Thomas (K.C.)
LB #2 (RILB): C. Bennett (Buf.)
LB #3 (LILB): Greg Lloyd (Pit.)
LB #4 (LOLB): Dennis Byrd (Jets)
CB #1 (RCB): Rod Woodson (Pit.)
CB #2 (LCB): Richard Johnson (Hou.)
S #1 (FS): Eddie Anderson (Rai.)
S #2 (SS): David Fulcher (Cin.)
K: Nick Lowery (K.C.)
P: Mike Horan (Den.)
KR: Dwight Stone (Pit.)
PR: Kendal Smith (Cin.)
NFC's Worst
These guys have a pathetic line and blocking
capability due to the fact that WRs are put in
for running backs and tight ends, with the
commensurate results. If you can get the ball
to the QB, though, you have extra Receptions of
the WR running backs and tight ends. This team
has an even worse defense than the AFC's Worst,
due in large part to a total lack of hitting
power. Four teams, Minnesota, Atlanta, Tampa
Bay, and Detroit make up most of the list,
with Detroit making its splash because of
low Hitting Power WRs in RB and TE slots, and
the rest because their players gimp around
for a living. Shame of the day goes to Barry
Helton, who disgraces the 49ers by appearing
on this list of grannies.
QB #1: Jeff Hostetler (Gia.)
QB #2: Hugh Millen (Atl.)
RB #1: Aubrey Matthews (Det.)
RB #2: Michael Haynes (Atl.)
RB #3: Jessie Clark (Min.)
RB #4: Alfred Anderson (Min.)
WR #1: Glen Kozlowski (Chi.)
WR #2: Leo Lewis (Min.)
WR #3: Danny Peebles (T.B)
WR #4: Lonzell Hill (N.O.)
TE #1: Mike Farr (Det.)
TE #2: Terry Greer (Det.)
C: Randy Grimes (T.B.)
G #1 (top): Carl Bax (T.B.)
G #2 (bottom): Ron Solt (Phi.)
T #1 (top): Rob Taylor (T.B.)
T #2 (bottom): Mike Kenn (Atl.)
DE #1 (RE): Brian Smith (Rams)
NT: Keith Ferguson (Det.)
DE #2 (LE): Jim Skow (T.B.)
LB #1 (ROLB): George Jamison (Det.)
LB #2 (RILB): Eugene Marve (T.B.)
LB #3 (LILB): Ray Berry (Min.)
LB #4 (LOLB): Dennis Gibson (Det.)
CB #1 (RCB): Mark Lee (G.B)
CB #2 (LCB): Leroy Irvin (Det.)
S #1 (FS): Scott Case (Atl.)
S #2 (SS): Andre Waters (Phi.)
K: Mike Lansford (Rams)
P: Barry Helton (S.F.)
KR: try Lonzell Hill
PR: try Lonzell Hill
NFC's Best
This team has all-around capability, from linebacker
interceptions to Boomers to Montana-Rice. The
running game isn't as strong as the AFC's Best, but
this team has QB Eagles, which is more than enough
to justify this team's superiority. If you think
the line needs more hitting power (such as if you
don't take the NT inside) then you can switch out
Bob Nelson with a guy like Pierce Holt. If you
don't like Gary Reasons because he lacks hitting
power, put Charles Haley in his place. Make sure
that when you use the OF Starters screen and
verify which backs run what that you don't get
confused between the Andersons. Ottis should be
the primary running back, with Neal doing
everything else. You might want to temporarily
switch in Sanders until you get things figured
out and then put in Neal.
QB #1: QB Eagles [AKA God, sharing duties with
Rod "God" Woodson] (Phi.)
QB #2: Joe Montana (S.F.)
RB #1: Neal Anderson (Chi.)
RB #2: Ottis Anderson (Gia.)
RB #3: Barry Sanders (Det.)
RB #4: Mel Gray (Det.)
WR #1: Jerry Rice (S.F.)
WR #2: Henry Ellard (Rams)
WR #3: Andre Rison (Atl.)
WR #4: Gary Clark (Was.)
TE #1: Jay Novacek (Dal.)
TE #2: Keith Jackson (Phi.)
C: Jay Hilgenberg (Chi.)
G #1 (top): Randall McDaniel (Min.)
G #2 (bottom): Mark Bortz (Chi.)
T #1 (top): Luis Sharpe (Phx.)
T #2 (bottom): Stan Brock (N.O.)
DE #1 (RE): Chris Doleman (Min.)
NT: Bob Nelson (G.B.)
DE #2 (LE): Reggie White (Phi.)
LB #1 (ROLB): Mike Singletary (Chi.)
LB #2 (RILB): Lawrence Taylor (Gia.)
LB #3 (LILB): Gary Reasons (Gia.)
LB #4 (LOLB): Pepper Johnson (Gia.)
CB #1 (RCB): Wayne Haddix (T.B.)
CB #2 (LCB): Deion Sanders (Atl.)
S #1 (FS): Ronnie Lott (S.F.)
S #2 (SS): Joey Browner (Min.)
K: Steve Christie (T.B.)
P: Sean Landeta (Gia.)
KR: Mel Gray (Det.)
PR: Mel Gray (Det.)
Pro Bowl Pussycat Playbook
(for the AFC's Worst and the NFC's Worst)
WTE Offtackle R
Pitch L Fake
WR Reverse R
Shotgun C Draw
Pro T Waggle R
WTE Flea Flicker
Flea Flicker
Reverse-Fake Z Post
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12. The Season Game
"How the seasons of Tecmo change! From fall to
winter to spring to summer, the fields of Tecmo are
always green (and the cheerleaders are always ugly)."
There are some things that deserve mention as
regards Season Game in Tecmo:
Injuries
Statistics
Tecmo QB Rating
Stat Limits
The Computer Adjusts Itself To Your Record
Controllers (1P vs. 2P)
----------
Injuries:
Injuries only happen when a person is tackled,
injuries can be avoided by simply running out of bounds
when a tackle is imminent.
The condition of a player does not really seem to affect
his injury rate.
A player's recovery from the given injury is at least
partially random. Sometimes you can get a guy back
in a week and other times you won't get him back for
five weeks, and if you reset and play the game again
the player may come back, or conversely, may not
come back. You usually won't have him out for more than
three weeks though.
Injuries seem to be mostly random, unaffected by
condition. The only reliable determinant of them
seems to be the number of tackles a person takes,
but no defender or offensive lineman or kicker or
punter can get injured.
According to the manual (which by the way I do not
endorse, since it's quite wrong about the team
assessments {take their comments about the
Indianapolis linebackers as an example}):
"There is a high probability that the Returner
will be injured."
"Some players will need three games to recover from
their injuries."
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Statistics:
It seems to me that the number of statistics that a
player racks up helps the performance of said player
ever so slightly, but this may just be psychosomatic.
In any case, watch your players' ability stats after
every game so that you can switch in other people if
necessary (you may want to check their conditions after
every quarter if you are really wanting to always have
the best guys in). However, sometimes I think the game
will downgrade your players' ratings behind the scenes
if you always switch out players like that.
You can stay on the leader board for QBs if you throw
7 or more passes a game (credit j<13 a's>y).
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Tecmo QB Rating
Courtesy of Matt Knobbe, here is the Tecmo QB rating
formula:
"It's much like the NFL formula except that your QB
rating can be a lot higher because it probably would
have taken a lot more programing space to code in the
limits that the NFL ratings have.
Tecmo QB Rating Formula
You need five numbers: Attempts, Completions, Yards,
Touchdowns, and Interceptions. I will abbreviate them
Att., Comp, YDs, TD, and INT.
Next you need to figure out 4 values: Percentage of
Completions, Average Yards Gained per attempt, Percentage
of Touchdown Passes, and Percentage or[of] Interceptions.
I will list the formulas, respectively, from A-D.
A. (Comp/Att)*5
B. (YDs/Att)*.25
C. (TD/Att)*20
D. 2.375 - ((Int/Att)*25)
Take those 4 values, add them together, divide by 6 and
multiply by 100.
Raw QB Rating = (A+B+C+D)/6*100
Tecmo does one more thing here: They subtract 37.6 from
this number to come up with the QB Rating. So, take
your Raw QB rating, subtract 37.6, and then round UP to
the nearest decimal point and you will have your Tecmo
QB Rating. (IE: 45.6544 = 45.7 and 45.6002213 = 45.7.)
Tecmo QB Rating = Raw QB Rating - 37.6
I have this on a spreadsheet @
http://www.knobbe.org/qbrating.zip"
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Stat Limits
Tecmo doesn't have infinite SRAM. Therefore, there are
limits to how much of a given stat you can have. The
carries/receptions max out at 255, the yards max out
at 4095...therefore if you are going for major stat
building with one player in a season game, watch out
for a stat limit in whatever you are going for.
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The Computer Adjusts Itself To Your Record:
As you win victory after victory, the computer opponent
gets more and more ratings until you lose a game
or two.
Per bruddog and the Tecmo community, the ratings the CPU
gains are:
Defensive Speed, Offensive Speed, Interceptions,
Pass Control, Receptions
The pass coverage also gets better as you win more games.
More detail available here:
http://tecmobowl.org/forum/topic/
68858-tsb%E2%80%99s-secret-%E2%80%9Cjuice%E2%80%9D/#comment-473798
This makes passing harder and running
without capable (i.e. fast) backs almost impossible. It
may actually be to your advantage, if you don't have
any pride, to lose a few games in the normal season
and forestall demonic computers in the playoffs. The
ultimate result of this is running backs that clear
ten yards in 1.5 seconds and linebackers that
immediately stuff you when you dare to run against the
God Machine. A point worth mentioning is that this
works in reverse: if you lose a ton of games, the
computer will get weaker. Probably the worst aspect of
the cheating will be the turnovers the computer will
force, especially fumbles, as a result of the stat
increases, for whatever reason. Some claim this is
a good argument for greater forced-fumbling ability by
high-hitting power players.
One note about this: in Coach Mode, the computer won't
get any easier or harder. That's not saying much,
though, seeing as how it's very tough to counter a
balanced opposing offense in Coach.
----------
Controllers (1P vs. 2P)
In the Season Mode, I believe that the teams for the
two controllers in a MAN game are decided by the order
in which the names appear on the schedule. For example,
if G.B. * T.B. is on the schedule, Player 1 will be
Green Bay and Player 2 will be Tampa Bay. However, keep
in mind that the order of the teams on the schedule
sometimes changes according to Tecmo's pseudo-random
schedule re-ordering, BUT, this does not change 1P vs. 2P.
In TSB 1991, BUF always has home-field because of this,
and ATL is always away (left, right sides) in a 2-player
game.
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13. Bugs And Weird Stuff
"Tecmo Super Bowl has some minor 'issues'."
The strange things in this section are ordered
by familiarity. The more something occurs, the
farther down it is. I only put in stuff I see
for this, though if I had multiple confirmations
of something, I might add it in.
Waters Broke The Ball: This has many variants,
under the heading of "super jump bug", including
different timings and scenes. During one of the most
slaughterfest games that I have ever played, Troy
Aikman passes to Michael Irvin, who is covered
by a computer-controlled Andre Waters. Waters
jumps up and smacks the ball, but as the ball is
coming to the ground, it shows the "double jump"
cinema, and then the ball flying right past the
hands of Michael Irvin. The game then returns to
the landing of the ball, which is nowhere near
Irvin. I guess Waters just sliced the ball in
half.
So That's How You Got The Pick: I had the
misfortune of passing with Jim Harbaugh, and, since
I was playing against the skilled Minnesota
secondary, they covered my men terribly well. So
well, in fact, that on one interception, a Chicago
black-and-white jerseyed player caught the ball -
everything else was the same, just that the uniform
was different, and the cinema was for a close catch
(not the jump ball). Those defensive backs sure know
how to bamboozle an offense (not to mention the
hapless human player involved).
Now That's An MVP: If a player catches a pass, and
he fumbles, and if another player recovers it and
scores a TD, then the player who recovered the ball
will run the "receiver" part of the passing TD
celebration. So if a QB recovers the ball, he will
not only be the jumping quarterback, he will
also be the running receiver! That's one way to get
a big payday - throw a TD to yourself. Not even
David Patten and Walter Payton have done that.
Frozen by Fear: Every now and then, when a turnover
occurs, the team that does not possess the ball will
have its MAN player frozen. Example: Washington throws
a pass which the receiver fumbles, then WAS recovers.
My MAN defender was frozen and could not move as the
WAS offensive lineman ran it in for a touchdown. In
that case, it was ever after called, "The Grim Reaper."
Lunatic: Now and then, on a caught pass, the defender
will actually dive, not before the pass is caught,
but AFTER the receiver clearly has the ball in his
hands. This happens with no intervention on the
human's part. Talk about bad coaching.
I Can See The Dementia: In one game I played, after
an opposing player made a pick, I lost control of
my quarterback to the computer, which promptly
proceeded, amazingly enough, to actually go after
the ballcarrier. This happened twice during that
game, which leads me to believe that turnovers
dazzle the brain-beaten quarterbacks in Tecmo so
much that they actually play properly.
They Named A Power Bar For You, Boomer: After
safetying Scott Mitchell (the Dolphins' backup QB),
by using the nose tackle dive tactic against a Pro
T Waggle L, the power bar came up and to the left
of it was a 7-. Boomer Esiason, the QB for the
Bengals, has number 7, and, as fate had it, I was
playing as the Bengals. This bug can be replicated
with any other quarterback as well - I did it with
Dave Krieg too.
Don't Hate Me Because I'm Perfect: I once had the
occasion to run a perfect 100 yards on a kickoff
return, all the way from one end zone to the other,
and celebrated my massive accomplishment. Well,
my friend Steven and I went after the game into
the Kickoff Returns stat menu, and guess what?
The 100 yards was NOWHERE! Somehow they just
didn't count it at all. I was so pissed.
What Are You Staring At Now, Rice?: During
the Tecmo Passing Study, I was tossing the ball to
Jerry Rice and was greeted by another odd little
error; instead of getting on the X, Rice moved
past it and stood there facing the other direction
as Montana's ball bounced off two defenders. Good
job! and I thought the 49ers were overrated. Who
knows what he was looking at? There's a variant
of this called, "I Guess You're Taking A Stroll,
Eh, Cornerback?"
Who's Got The Ball?: The notorious "fumble bug"
first manifested itself to me on a field goal
blocked by my Lawrence Taylor. The game said that
he gained possession of the ball, but in
actuality, the ball was sitting on the 20-yard line.
A HUGE kill-the-man-with-the-ball game emerged as
every player tried to get the ball in the middle
of the field. However, no one could actually pick
it up, except me. That didn't stop me from getting
knocked around for three minutes as I tried to
escape the mob. I finally did, and tried to see
whether I could run out of bounds or score a
touchdown or anything. No dice. So I had to fight
my way back in to go get the ball and end the play
as I was tackled on my fumble recovery to set up
a Giants possession.
I'm Getting There: It may not technically be a bug
per se, but one interesting thing that happens on
punt returns is the bouncing punt. If you have a
slow returner, sometimes he won't get to the X on
the field before the ball does, and the ball will
bounce once before the returner picks it up.
I See That Football Up Your Sleeve: On flea flicks
(especially T Flea Flicker) and occasionally on
punts, sometimes the ball doesn't even come close
to the person trying to catch it. Even so, the
person will still have a ball to carry or throw,
and there's even a healthy accompanying thump. I
think some of the offenses in the league have
been to Las Vegas for a little "spring training."
The Grass Gave Me Power: If an offensive blocker
hits a defender with something that looks like a
sliding cut block (which will knock him over) then
he will become a god for the rest of the play,
playing Tekken with every defender he meets, no
matter their Hitting Power (credit Paul).
They Must Be Really Hard Hits: Everybody knows that
you can hit a person who's scored a touchdown in
the end zone after they've scored, knocking them
down, and sometimes struggling with them. Well,
occasionally, if you get hit in the end zone, your
player will fumble the ball. In so doing, the yards
you've gained in getting the touchdown will be
lost, since the game erases the yardage from a
fumbled play. I think what must happen is that the
intransigent tackler hits the man so hard that
even the scorekeepers get amnesia.
Are These House Rules We're Playing By?: Everyone
at one point or another has had the chagrin or
joy of having a reception out of bounds, a running
back over the sideline, or even an interception
off the field and getting the yards and catches
counted. Not only that, but errant quarterbacks
throw passes into the stands that both receivers
and defenders run for, sometimes triggering
"dropped ball" cinemas. The classic is the Jerry
Rice catch of a ball above the line, then his
landing out of bounds for a first down. One
thing I would like to know: who gets sued when
players run over the cheerleaders and the people
in the "nosebleed" seats?
Tecmo Is So Realistic, They Even Got The
Refs Right: Tecmo has a tough time deciding
whether certain hits are one or the other. For
instance, you can slide tackle a QB in a flea
flick or a running back in Shotgun C Draw as he
gets the ball and the ball can pop, but the play
is over. But if you struggle with these same
people, the ball bounces off as a fumble. How
does this come about, I wonder? (see Mechanics
for Paul's explanation of this)
(no funny comment here): Every time a
player gets injured, no matter whether he is
black or white, he will always be represented
as a white player when he is lying injured on
the field (before the "Injured!" cutscene
appears on the screen).
It Isn't Over Yet: On many plays, if you get a
safety, the runner will continue to go if he
can get up. In addition, if you tackle the QB
on a pitch play and he gets up, he will "pass"
the ball to the running back downfield, and
sometimes he will miss him by ten yards! This
works with any pitch play and even people who
can't play QB (see Mechanics for why).
Tecmo End Zone Dances: One thing you can do in
Tecmo is get crazy things to happen to people
caught in the end zone. If you hold the button
in the opposite direction to the end zone, you
can make a receiver move out of the end zone
as soon as he catches the ball. In addition,
you can make your runners move out of bounds
and into the stands by holding the button in
the appropriate direction. Moreover, if you
have a defender who slides for a guy in the
end zone, he can slide for twenty yards or
even slide right off the screen. If a guy gets
in a struggle with someone who's in the end
zone, they can have it out, or in the best
tradition, the successful team's man starts
cheering and his antagonist keeps wrestling.
One that I haven't quite figured out how to
trigger yet is the moonwalk, where the player
runs in and then runs backward. Paul says it
happens sometimes when the player is hit as
he enters the end zone.
Is This A Comment?: The inability of a player
controlled by a human to pick up a fumble in
every situation but that of a dropped field goal
(and the botched pitch) is truly amazing. Not only
that, but the fact that a ball can be bouncing about
in a swarm of twelve big, muscular guys, and move
ten yards over out of bounds is stupefying. Is this
the ultimate meaning of Tecmo - a parody of football
players?
I Guess This Is What Quantum Theory Is All About:
No matter how many people stand between you and
a ball carrier behind the line, you can move
through all of them and just touch one pixel of
the holder to take him down. At the same time,
you can escape a slide tackle past the line if
the slider flickers, even if the guy half
engulfs you. In addition, if you end a struggle
and a man is in your midst while you do so, you
will be invincible against his attacks until you
part company.
And of course, the Ernest Givins Pro Bowl bug.
----------------------------------------------------------------
14. Mechanics
"Let's take a look at Tecmo 'under the hood'."
I put some interesting observations about the way
that Tecmo works in here. Most of these are just
the oddball tinkerings and curiosities of an
fanatic, but a few of these are actually useful
and/or interesting.
On The Field
Fumbles
Possession Of The Ball
Pitches
Menu Screens
Music And Sound
------------------
On The Field
The reason why some plays work better when people
are shifted to one direction is because not only
is there more (or less) room to run (in the cases
of few blocking and breaking out, and much blocking
and getting definite gains), but also because the
actual formation will shift a little. Players on
the compressed side will move closer together,
and players on the open side will move farther
away. There's something to consider.
Computer controlled players (the other 10 that
you don't control) have fixed coverage patterns
for one play vs. another. However, if one of
those plays changes, the coverage pattern will
change also.
Sometimes on certain plays (especially on T
Offtackle R), a computer controlled player will
do a lateral slide tackle/cut block and hit opposing
computer players. Us peon humans can't do it
(why can't you use Select?). Paul says with an
"Amazing, but true!" that if an offensive
player does this, he will be invincible for the
rest of the play and knock off defenders with
impunity as per a fullback, but against any
player for the defense.
If you decide to QB sneak, the computer players
will not catch on until you cross the line, so
you can take your time and get yourself lined
up for the greatest gain. Be aware, however,
that sometimes linebackers will start going
for you after a few seconds, so that may impede
your run somewhat.
------------------
Fumbles
Fumbles, are, as far as I can tell, dependent only
on ball control. I think that every time you are
tackled the game does a fumble check, and if you
get unlucky, you fumble. QBs and defenders have
44 BC, per bruddog/jstout et al.
There are two instances in which a human-controlled
player can pick up a fumble: if a field goal is
blocked; and if a pitch botches and falls to the
ground.
------------------
Possession Of The Ball
Thank Paul for this nice tip: The possession of
the ball is determined by who the number (1 or
2 depending on the player) is over. Whenever the
QB takes the snap, the number is over his head.
When he passes, the number switches to the receiver
(or another one if you use the dupe pass, but the
computer still recognizes it the same way). With a
pitch, the computer will switch the possession of
the ball from the pitcher to the pitchee about
halfway through the pitch. This accounts in large
part for one "fumble bug": Sometimes the computer
thinks that the person being pitched to has the
ball and sometimes it doesn't.
------------------
Pitches
A pitch in Tecmo is handled just the same way that
a pass is. Whenever a player pitches a ball, the
game does the same calculations that it would for
a pass, which means that a person can throw a bad
pitch just as they can a bad pass. So how can
WRs and RBs and TEs pass, you ask? I think that
there is a default value for people who don't
have QB stats, probably around 50 for each of
the categories, which would make the wildest
pitches believable. I don't think that a person
can drop a pitch, though. That much has been
taken care of.
------------------
Menu Screens
If you look closely at the background of the
NFL Leaders screens, you'll notice that the
motions on the cinemas therein are the same ones
as actual cinemas in the game, except that the
players change colors and there's no other
detail.
------------------
Music And Sound
Whenever you have the first down music playing, if
you enter the menu it shuts off. I guess the
menu noise is a little too much for the NES sound
system.
----------------------------------------------------------------
15. Reading Plays/Keys
These are a series of lists detailing how you can identify
particular plays and how then to destroy them, and what
players to use for the job. It is organized by formation.
I have not put in any of the single formation plays
because it would simply be redundant. This should be useful
for those of you who don't want to go and look through
that whole horrendous Section 4 for tactics. This may not
be entirely complete since I focused on tactics that usually
always work (to one degree or another). I didn't put in a
lot of personnel-dependent tactics.
Glossary:
Run stop - just do what you normally do to beat run plays.
Cover - cover open receivers
Blitz - go straight for the QB
NTD - nose tackle dive
Twin of - the play referred to has most of the same motions
as its twin
DB - defensive back
T Formation (16 plays)
(watch for a race defect to show T Power Dive)
IF: QB drops straight back
= Pass Set 1: Straight Back Plays
IF: No wideout is behind the line
= Pro T Flare C - 74
IF: The RBs both curl behind the line
= Pro T Flare D - 62
ELSE Pro T Screen L - 54
Kill with NTD, Blitz or mid-long coverage
IF: Blockers start moving up
IF: WRs start blocking or RB #2 starts juking
= T Cross Run L - 30
ELSE Pro T Waggle R - 50
Kill both with RILB or LILB or CB attack through
O-line. These two plays are twins.
IF: Blockers start moving down
IF: RB #2 does as well
= T Sweep Strong - 25 - Kill with man through
O-line hole or Run stop
ELSE IF: QB moves straight back
= T Flea Flicker - 76 - Kill with
Cover or Blitz
ELSE IF: WRs start blocking
= T Power Sweep R - 17 - Kill with
man thru
O-line or
Run stop
ELSE Pro T Waggle L - 56 - NTD,
Hit QB,
Cover,
O-line
hole run
Kill most of these with RILB or LILB or DB through
the O-line hole. Pro T Waggle L is the twin of
T Power Sweep R
IF: QB moves straight back for handoff
IF: RB #1 moves close to the QB
= T Power Dive - 26 - NTD or Run stop
ELSE IF: WRs don't block
= T Play Action D - 53 - NTD or
Cover
ELSE IF: RB #2 gets ball
= Pro T Dive - 42 - NTD or
Run stop
ELSE T Fake Sweep R - 16 -
NTD or
Run stop
Kill all of these with a NTD. All of these
except for T Power Dive are twins.
IF: WR #1 stays in place at top
= Reverse Pitch R - 45 - Hit WR #1
ELSE IF: RB #2 comes diagonally up to QB
= Cross Offtackle - 32 - RILB slide
or DB Run stop
ELSE T Offtackle R - 24 - LOLB slide
or DB Run
Stop
Onesetback Formation (10 plays)
(watch for a race defect to show Pitch L Open)
IF: QB trots and pitches the ball with WR remaining
at the top of the screen without blocking
= Set 1: Top Handoff Plays
IF: QB runs straight back
= Reverse-Fake Z Post - 81
IF: WR takes handoff
= WR Reverse R - 43
ELSE Pitch L Fake - 21
Kill with ROLB or RCB dive from top at RB #1
ELSE IF: QB moves for play action with RB #1
= Set 2: Handoff After The Snap Plays
IF: WR #1 cuts down without blocking
= Power Fake Z Post - 66
IF: TE goes out without blocking
= Power Fake X Fly - 77
IF: Right guard drops back
= Onesetback L - 11
ELSE FB Offtackle L - 27
Kill with left end dive, right end
dive, RILB attack, or secondary stop
or coverage, or for the runs, can also
use LE
ELSE IF: Tons of blockers come forth
= Pitch L Open - 33 - Left end move up
or wait and
then go for man
ELSE IF: RB #2 moves down into middle
= Oneback Flare A - 65 -
Cover or Blitz or NTD
ELSE X Out And Fly - 80 -
Cover or Blitz or NTD
Run And Shoot Formation (8 plays)
IF: RB #1 stays in place
= Run And Shoot Draw - 20 - Slide tackle or stop
ELSE IF: QB drops only a little and blocking starts
= Run And Shoot QB Sneak - 40 - Attack QB
maybe w/LILB
ELSE IF: QB starts to sweep with blocking
= Run And Shoot QB Run - 46 - Hit QB
or LOLB tactic
ELSE IF: QB pitches the ball
= Run And Shoot Left - 12
if runner goes to top;
= Run And Shoot Right - 37
if runner goes to bottom;
Kill both with slide tackles
and moving around the blockers
or LOLB attack for R&S Sweep L
ELSE: QB drops straight back
IF: RB stays inside
= Run And Shoot Z Fly - 61 - Cover or Blitz
or NTD
ELSE IF: RB moves up to the offensive line as WR
= Run And Shoot Flare C - 57 - Cover or
Blitz or
NTD
ELSE Run And Shoot Y Up - 87 - Cover or
Blitz or
NTD
Shifting Onesetback Formation (6 plays)
IF: The QB does play action with RB #1
IF: People block
= Onesetback Dive - 41 - NTD or Run stop
ELSE Playaction Z In - 72 - NTD or Cover
ELSE IF: Blockers move upward
IF: People block
= FB Open L - 14 - Run stop
ELSE Roll Out R - 51 - Hit QB or Cover
ELSE IF: WR #2 stays in place at the bottom
= WR Reverse L - 35 - Hit WR
ELSE Oneback Sweep R - 22 - Run
stop
Good strategy against these: Call Roll Out R and
attack runners with a strong defender. Roll Out R
is the twin of FB Open L.
Shotgun Formation (6 plays)
(watch for race defects to assist you)
IF: RB gets the ball right away
= Shotgun Draw - 36 - Slide tackle or stop
ELSE IF: RB stays by QB
= Shotgun C Draw - 44 - Slide tackle or stop
ELSE IF: RB goes straight out
= Shotgun XY Bomb - 86 - Cover and watch
for QB scramble
ELSE IF: RB goes directly up and curls
= Shotgun Z S-In - Cover
ELSE IF: RB goes diagonally after the snap
= Shotgun X Curl - 60 - Cover
ELSE Shotgun X Drive - 70 - Cover
Watch for a QB sneak on these.
Strong-I Formation (4 plays)
IF: QB pitches the ball down to RB #2
= Toss Sweep R - 15 - Run stop
ELSE IF: QB drops straight back
= Offset Flare E - 63 - NTD or cover
ELSE IF: WRs block and hook in
= FB Power Dive - 43 - NTD
ELSE Play Action - 55 - NTD
A good strategy is to call Toss Sweep R, then
NTD. FB Power Dive and Play Action are twins.
Can also free up RE and NT with LOLB on FB Power
Dive.
One Man Shift Formation (4 plays)
IF: TE moves forward
= Roll Out L - 52 - slam the QB
ELSE IF: The right tackle goes downward
= FB Offtackle R - 13 - Plug the hole
& Run stop
ELSE IF: QB moves straight back
OR WRs don't cut in or block
= Flea Flicker - 73 - Hit QB
or RB #1
ELSE Weakside Open - 23 - Run stop
A good way to stop these is to call Weakside Open
or, if that's not available, FB Offtackle R, and
cover the passes with a fast defender. Flea
Flicker and Weakside Open are twins.
Stop the runs by fighting the RT with the LOLB,
RILB attack for both, taking a hard angle to the
line with the ROLB, a FS or RCB, or the LILB freeing
up boys on Weakside Open only.
Shotgun 3-Wing Formation (2 plays)
IF: WRs block OR guards drop out
= Shotgun Sweep L - 47 - LOLB end-Run inside play
or DB Run Stop
ELSE Shotgun 3-Wing - 75 - Blitz, Cover
IF: WRs go out OR guards stay in place
= Shotgun 3-Wing - 75 - Blitz, Cover
ELSE Shotgun Sweep L - 47 - LOLB end-Run inside play
or DB Run Stop
Slot Formation (2 plays)
IF: WRs block OR QB slants downward
= Slot Offtackle - 31 - RILB rr defensive back Strike
ELSE Slot L Z Drive - 82 - Blitz or NTD
IF: WRs go out OR QB drops straight back
= Slot L Z Drive - 82 - Blitz or NTD
ELSE Slot Offtackle - 31 - RILB or defensive back Strike
A good strategy for these is to call the pass and cover the
run.
WTE Formation (2 plays)
IF: WRs block OR QB fades
= WTE Offtackle R - 10 - Left end dive or LOLB attack
ELSE WTE Flea Flicker - 67 - Left end dive or LOLB attack
IF: WRs move out without contact and QB stops running
= WTE Flea Flicker - 67 - Left end dive or LOLB attack
ELSE WTE Offtackle R - Left end dive or LOLB attack
I should think you can figure out what you should do for these.
These two plays are twins, but that's a bad thing rather than
a good thing.
----------------------------------------------------------------
16. Tactics List By Player (empty)
Here, for your convenience, is a list of tactics that each
player can execute, and the plays on which the player can
execute them. At least, that is what I would have done with
this section. :) I haven't seen much of a need for it, but I
am too lazy to just edit this out. So I will just go and
list the positions I like the most for putting great players
for tactics:
RCB
NT
FS
LILB
RILB
ROLB
LE
SS
LOLB
LCB
RE
----------------------------------------------------------------
17. What Your Opponents Will Do (and what you can do to them)
This section is kind of a cross between a "this is what you will
see out of elite players" and a self-improvement guide. What
follows is a list of priorities or hints that build up into you
playing like a high-level player. (Personally I would not call
myself an elite player at this point, so I don't make the promise
that you would become elite if you did all these things. You will
be pretty good, though.)
Note that unlike the tips in Tweaking the Tecmo, these tips don't
always apply to your play - you have to use them based on how your
opponent is reacting.
------------
Full-Random Playcalling
The basic strategy of football is to run the ball in relatively
short yardage and throw otherwise. However, this allows your
opponent to play original Tecmo Bowl against you, since you will
often only use 4 plays on 1st and 2nd downs. In full-random
playcalling, you call any play in almost any down and distance
(usual exception being running in long yardage and late downs).
You won't get the same yards per play, but you will have less
volatility, and you can march yourself down the field.
There's no real defense against this, but the way you play it
is to choose a play (like Pass 1/Slot 5) and use that as your
base defense. The idea is that you choose this play to give
yourself a decent coverage against whatever play comes out;
typically Pass 1 or Pass 2 do best, although sometimes you might
do Run 1 or Run 2. Then you play bend-don't-break, and wait for
your opponent to call your base defense play. Then you switch
off your base defense play (typically into a pass since you
just called his play) and then hope to get another called play,
and therefore to stop the drive.
The tricky counter-play is how the opponent reacts. Oftentimes,
in a called run situation, the player will want to stay in that
base defense, particularly on the goal line where you know that
a run is the most likely call. In a pass defense situation,
the opponent can either stay in it or go off. Here you will
sometimes see higher-level players adjust their next call based
on how tricky they think their opponent is. If they think their
opponent is tricky, or if they have been setting them up, they
will call the same play again, anticipating a shift off the base
defense. At that point it just comes down to luck of who is
playing on what level.
The other thing you can do is be stubborn and refuse to call
that play type or that particular play. In certain marginal
situations like a 56 MS RB running R&S Sweep L against an OK
defense and tapper, you can just run R&S Sweep L and other plays
like it over and over again, since you know the opponent is not
going off their base. The key here is to get out of bounds, since
your yards per play will typically go down as the opponent sees
that play again and again. (Also you tend to use mostly runs in
that spot.)
------------
Setting Up A Tendency
Naturally your tendency as a player is to run the plays that
have been doing well and avoid the ones that your opponent is
using. Some players will give you certain plays earlier in a
drive and then crack down on them in field goal range. The idea
is that they can't stop your defense on average, but they may be
able to get 1 or 2 stops if they can set you up into a predictable
pattern. You can do the exact same thing; this is particularly
effective in Season mode when you are playing lots of games
against the same players, as you can use the garbage time in one
game to set up the tendency for the next game.
The key to avoiding this is to reshuffle your strategy cards when
you get a called play. That is, if you were going full random,
switch to a pass-heavy or run-heavy alignment, and vice versa.
Also, smoothing your distribution if you have been going heavy
or being successful on one play by throwing in a couple other
plays can allow you to catch your opponent on the wrong play and
avoid the trap.
------------
Baiting Over-Use Of Pass Plays
This isn't a frequently used tactic, but can set up other
playcalling tactics. Good players know the passing order and can
get the ball out to the hot read fairly predictably. The idea
of this is not to smother the hot read, but instead
to let the hot read catch the ball, but then get tackled right
after the catch. You can use this to set up a trap to actually
pick off the pass, but the more subtle use is to keep your
opponent calling this particular pass play over and over again.
The key is that you have to set up 2nd and 5, 2nd and 3 type of
situations early in a drive. Once you have the opponent abusing
that particular play, you then start calling it all the time and
then stuff it every single time and/or shift defenders to
confuse the MAN's read. This winds up achieving the same effect
as a more conventional bend-don't-break, but may be easier to
execute against players who have very strong passing offenses
and aren't going away from the deep ball. You need to have a
decent Interceptions defender to smother the hot read though.
The defense is obvious, don't just keep calling picked plays.
Some players get overconfident with guys like Marino though, and
won't abandon their strategy card.
------------
Forcing Autodives and Speed Loss
In the situation where your deep receivers are covered and you
have a medium-speed defender, or one with low Interceptions, in
the 5-10 yard area covering two receivers, depending on the Pass
Speed of the QB and other factors, you can cycle between the two
receivers and force the circling defender to change position or
autodive on the other one.
You have to have mastery over the passing order in order to time
your opponent's circle at the apex. You also need to stop moving
in the backfield, as any inaccuracy is going to walk your receiver
into the defender.
There is a variation of this tactic based upon the opponent's
setup in the early part of the play. If you can recognize that a
receiver is going to come open earlier in the play, you can wait
until the MAN has begun to recognize this, and throw the ball right
then. If timed properly, the MAN will get just close enough to the
pass to autodive into it.
If your opponent's angle is on a diagonal, you want to set up a
hard cut backwards and then on the opposing vertical. The circle
move works better against CPU defenders, but is often too wide in
this situation against a fast MAN. You want to force the reaction
right before you would normally collide, so that you can ideally
force your opponent to get right into the spot where he is turning
parallel to you, and then would have to go backwards to make contact.
The defensive keys are to know when to bail out of a situation like
this, and to face directly onto the ballcarrier, so that you aren't
setting up extreme angles and can adjust to whatever the ballcarrier
tries. On the pass plays, you can also try to defend one player with
the passing lane (so jumping) and defend the other player on the
X. This of course requires that the opposing QB has set up in a place
where the two receivers are aligned, and so usually implies a QB run
is also an alternative.
------------
Off-Screen Baiting
You will see:
On-line to on-screen:
WR |> D WR
Has fastest time to trap and covers passing
lane on deep ball, but only works if QB is on that side of the field.
You can avoid this trap by running the QB the other way and setting
his feet if the trapper bails out. If you are on the same side of the
screen, just go deep if you are worried about this. The MAN is going
to have a very difficult time timing the tip anyway.
Divide and shift:
WR WR
|> D
WR
Used in jailbreak situations when the MAN thinks you are trying to
string him out deep.
Not that fast to the WR, but if the target is relatively close
to the edge of the screen, now and then the MAN may be able to jump
the route.
However, the main use of this is to stop the play before you can
get to the first down marker.
The key to breaking this is to have mastery of the passing order,
so that you can pull on and off of the short receiver in order to
try and influence the defender to pull to either side, or even to
come on screen. Also, make sure to throw it deep in this spot
sometimes, so you force the defender to stay honest. If you have a
very accurate QB you can go to the off side (where the WR is not
in this diagram) to force the DB to commit to the bottom WR.
------------
Exploiting Superior Tappers
Being unable to out-tap the opponent is always a problem in
Tecmo, but there are ways that you can mitigate that disadvantage.
The first insight is that a tapper will usually take a direct line
to the ballcarrier, instead of playing off. You then lead the tapper
back behind the line of scrimmage or into the middle of the field,
and force him into hard cuts, or even run right through your own
blockers and force him off his pursuit angle. With slow running
backs, this tends not to work, but with 50+ MS running backs against
iffy defenses, this can get you good yardage.
When running the ball, the tapper will seek open-field contact
against the MAN. Get up close enough to him for him to target you,
then start zig-zagging like against the CPU. This slows down his
pursuit, allowing the drones to help you take him down.
On certain runs, or on certain throws where you know where the
receiver is going to land, you can get the tapper into a narrow
situation and then dive tackle. This requires quite a bit of
practice but is generally useful, not just against players who
outtap you.
Any advanced rushing technique such as waiting for your own
blockers to throw their defensive players is also good as a change
of pace.
Don't shift too heavily into deep passes in order to avoid the
tapper. While it does mitigate the tapper's advantage, then you
will get killed by called plays.
As a tapper, don't get ultra-aggressive; if you see trouble when
defending the run, bail out. Also, force the issue when running
the football and stay north-south. If the other guy wants to run
away from your or do tricky stuff, let him. The further you can
run away from the MAN, the more likely you can get that 1-on-1 in
space.
------------
Extreme Pocket Discipline
This is just, pretend your QB is a ballcarrier and keep dodging
the pass rushers like they were in pursuit on a breakaway.
When is this useful?
When a fast defender goes up against a slow QB and multiple
receivers are open in relatively long yardage, you need to create
separation between the receivers in order to force the MAN to
commit.
You also have to buy time when you have successfully moved the
MAN to one side of the screen to stop a QB run, but then you need
to throw back the other way to the open receiver.
Also, when your play is called and you have a relatively fast
QB, you can buy an extra second or two by making some initial
dodges (or just outrunning everybody if you are QB Eagles). This
will get your receivers additional time to separate from the
defense.
------------
Recognizing Conditionally Open Receivers
Elite players know, based on their quarterback, their target, and
the likely defender on that player, that on certain routes,
particularly those coming out of the backfield, they can target
the receiver and get a catch. This typically requires some
combination of
- A decently high PS QB
- A decently fast RB
- A route that continues in bounds
- A angle to that route that doesn't pass directly over the
drone defender
Hence you rarely see me point out these opportunities in other
parts of this FAQ, as I rarely play with teams that are good
enough to consistently complete these passes.
This tactic is somewhat opposed to the QB-run school of play, as
it works a lot better from the pocket, both because of passing
angles, and because when the QB moves, the throw becomes less
accurate. Consequently you tend to see this used a lot more when
the pass coverage is good, and less when the pass coverage is bad
and the MAN expects you will bail out to cover deep.
There is no obvious defense to this beyond double-covering, but
you can try to force the MAN to cycle back and forth between the
conditionally open receiver and the other open receiver, hoping
that in the process of cycling back and forth, the MAN will make
a mistake. If you have a fast defender, you can also try to cut
off the passing lane, since the pass will be low to the ground.
----------------------------------------------------------------
18. Basic Instructions
"Let me show you the Tecmo, kid."
This section is divided thus:
Sound Test
Preseason/Pro Bowl
Team Data
Season Mode
Playing the Game
------------
Sound Test
At the title screen, press Left and B to access the
sound test. The sounds are as follows (names mine,
and I know they're pathetic).
1. Tecmo "Killer Team" Intro Cinema (after
"Ready!") with an additional flourish at the end
(thank you Gaffney for pointing this out -
what a mental error for me to have made)
2. Tecmo "The World Is Watching" Cinema (until
"Ready!")
3. Tecmo "Killer Team" Intro Cinema
4. Pro Bowl - Theme Of Player 1
5. Pro Bowl - Theme Of Player 2
6. Postseason - Theme Of Player 1
7. Postseason - Theme Of Player 2
8. Season - Theme Of Player 1
9. Season - Theme Of Player 2
10. Preseason - Theme Of Player 1
11. Preseason - Theme Of Player 2
12. Super Bowl Finish Cinema #1: "Super
Champions" (until the roster starts scrolling)
13. Super Bowl Finish Cinema #2: "Tecmo's
Greatest" (when the roster starts scrolling)
14. Kickoff!
15. Theme Of Run Touchdown/Coin Toss - Kickoff
Or Return?
16. Safety!
17. Touchback!
18. Interception!
19. Turnover
20. Theme Of Player 1 First Down
21. Theme Of Player 2 First Down
22. "It's Good!" - Theme Of Successful Extra Point
And Field Goal Attempts
23. "No Good" - Theme Of Unsuccessful Extra Point
(it happened once to me) And Field Goal
Attempts
24. Injury!
25. "New Quarter" - The Theme That Plays When
The Scoreboard Appears After The First And Third
Quarters
26. Halftime
27. "Is It A First Down?" - Theme Of Measuring The
Position Of The Ball
28. Tecmo Sports News
29. Division Champions
30. Conference Champions
31. "The Playoffs Await" - Theme Of The NFL
Standings Sequence After Week 17
32. "Prophecy" (this theme is not used in the game,
but it seems to me from listening to it that maybe it
would have been used for a season cinema where a
player commits a crime and gets put in the clink, kind
of like an injury, but Nintendo didn't want to have to
kids frightened by the shady characters in the holding
pen, so Tecmo had to censor it out. However a much more
probable scenario is that it would have been used when
penalties were called, as there are some lines in the
code that indicate plans were underway for some simple
penalties like offsides)
33. Recovered! - Theme Of Injured Players' Return
To The Game (also known as the "we nurses don't
have anything better to do but stand up on the
hospital all day long and wave at departing football
players who don't have cars or changes of clothes and
have to run to the game in their jerseys and pads -
just what the doctor ordered for a guy who just got
out of the hospital" cinema theme)
34. Theme Of Pass Touchdown
35. QB Sack!
36. Fumble!
37. QB Throws The Ball
38. Hike! (??)
39. Player Catches The Ball - Kicker Kicks The Ball
40. Players Hit Each Other #1
41. Ball Thump #1
42. Whistle
43. Ball Thump #2
44. Two Minute Warning
45. "Time Is Running Out" - Noise Played When
Time Is Ticking Away At The End Of A Quarter
46. Gunshot - End Of Quarter
47. Ball Thumps Against The Uprights
48. "Press Start" - Noise When You Hit Start At The
Beginning Of The Game
49. "What Do You Want To Do?" - The
Unintelligible Muttering Of The Referee At The Coin
Toss
50. "Kickoff/Return" - The Even More Unintelligible
Muttering Of The Player Who States His Wish
51. Week Skip Selection Noise
52. Ball Is Punted Or Players Hit Each Other #2
53. Applause #1
54. Applause #2
55. Applause #3
56. Applause #4
57. Ready!
58. Down!
59. Hut!
60. Touchdown!
Once you've had your fun with this menu, hit Start.
To select, press A, and to cancel, press B.
------------
Preseason/Pro Bowl
This is a game where you can choose from a variety of
man, com(puter), and coa(ch - where you choose the
plays but don't actually control a player) games. The
Pro Bowl is the same, but you play with the Pro Bowl
people listed in the Pro Bowl menu under Team Data in
AFC All Stars and NFC All Stars. The players' data
that changes during a season also changes for the
Preseason; if someone is injured in the Season, they
won't be able to play in Preseason, and the condition
of the player affects their performance. The Pro Bowl
games will put all players who are injured into Bad
condition, but otherwise is the same as Preseason.
The AFC divisions are at the top and the NFC divisions
are at the bottom, starting with Eastern divisions in
the first column, Central in the second, and Western
in the third.
------------
Team Data
Team Data is where you find all the smatterings of
team data like names and numbers and stats and
plays.
Options:
Players Data
OF Starters
DF Starters
Play Book
Players Data
To take a look at the players, go into Players Data
and select the player you want to see. The positions
are indicated at the top right hand corner with
abbreviations. Here's a list of them:
QB=Quarterback
RB=Running Back
WR=Wide Receiver
TE=Tight End
C=Center
LG/RG=Left Guard/Right Guard
LT/RT=Left Tackle/Right Tackle
K=Kicker
P=Punter
RE/LE=Right End/Left End
NT=Nose Tackle
ROLB=Right Outside Linebacker
RILB=Right Inside Linebacker
LILB=Left Inside Linebacker
LOLB=Left Outside Linebacker
RCB=Right Cornerback
LCB=Left Cornerback
FS=Free Safety
SS=Strong Safety
Note that all the Right people are the top people and
all the Left people are the people closer to the
bottom for defense, and the reverse for offense.
For detailed explanations of the players' statistics
and conditions, go to the Roster section.
Offensive Starters
To change your offensive starters, go into OF Starters
and choose the position you want to fill and then fill
it with whoever is available. Players with red X's
beside their names are injured and can't be selected
unless they were just injured and need to be replaced.
To reset the starters, press A on Starters before you
go down into the actual starters and select Yes. If
you want to look at players' data in this section,
simply press Start when the cursor is next to the
desired starter to see that person's stats.
Defensive Starters
To view the defenders and their positions, go into DF
Starters. For those of you wondering where the top
of the screen players are, the left is the top of the
screen and the right is the bottom.
Play Book
You can change the plays by going into Play Book,
hitting A on the slot of the play you want to change,
and choosing from among the list. To reset the plays,
select Data Reset at the bottom. The red dots are
a pitch to a man, the red lines are either the path
of a runner or the paths of receivers, and white
dotted lines signify a shift before the play begins.
Note that some shifts are not shown on certain plays.
You have been warned. The names of the plays are
shown at the bottom and the names of the plays that
you can select from are shown on the menu bar (but
when you choose run plays, you can't see the name
of the play that is currently in the slot). The
runs are the top four slots and the passes are the
bottom four slots (to yet again state the obvious).
------------
Season Game
There are several options here:
Team Control
Schedule
Game Start
NFL Standings
Team Rankings
NFL Leaders
Team Data
Team Control
This lets you choose the type (man, com, coa, skp
(don't play this game, but if the other team has
an option set, this is com)) of control the team
will have.
Schedule
Schedule is the place where you look at the past
and upcoming games. Hitting the A button brings up
a menu:
Auto Skip - Choosing this lets you pick a week to
skip to. This will automatically skip to that week
and its games (if you choose Week 1, it will play
all the games to Week 2) when you choose Game Start,
unless you have man, com, or coa chosen for a team
playing in those weeks, in which case it will stop
skipping and return you to the Season Mode menu to
allow you to play the game currently up by selecting
Game Start. You can make the game stop Auto Skipping
by holding the B button, which will return you to
the Season Mode menu (thanks for reminding me, Paul).
You can also tap the B button repeatedly for the same
effect.
Playoffs - This allows you to view the Playoff
schedule as it is created through winning of division
championships, and also when the the regular season
is over, you can use it to go back to the Playoff
schedule.
Reset - If you choose this option, it will give you
two menus to confirm that you really want to clear
away all the season data. Selecting "Yes" for both
of these will reset the season to the beginning of
Week 1, change all the players' conditions to
Average, and clear away all the players' statistics.
During the Playoffs, the Schedule option will default
to the Playoff Screen that shows the results and the
upcoming games therein.
Game Start
Game Start plays or skips the games you've selected,
according to the options that you've chosen. Keep
in mind that if an option other than skp is chosen
for a game, the game will be played out in full
just like a Preseason game.
NFL Standings
NFL Standings shows the records and progress of
each team in the NFL with total points for and
against a team, as well as any wild card (noted with
a white circle doodad under the team's helmet) or
division champion status that team may have earned
(noted with a red star under a team's helmet). The
teams are listed by conference and division.
Team Rankings
This lists each team in the league or conference
by the total amount of yards gained in Offense or
the least amount of yards allowed in Defense,
depending on what list you chose. Once you are
in the ranking, you can then move the cursor right
or left to show the ranked yards gained or allowed
for passing only or rushing only.
NFL Leaders
This lists individual leaders in certain stats by
NFL, AFC, and NFC. In each menu except for Sacks,
you can press right and see another set of list
options for each one. This holds true for all of
the sub-menus as well. I have made a list of my own
that shows the options for ranking as
well as the initial ranking criterion:
<Category> - <ranked criterion>
<options>
Passing - Rating
Rating
Completion %
# Of Pass Attempts
# Of Completions
Total Yards Gained
Yards Per Attempt
# Of Touchdown Passes
Least Interception %
Receiving - # Of Receptions
# Of Receptions
Total Yards Gained
Yards Per Receptions
# Of Touchdowns
Rushing - Total Yards Gained
Total Yards Gained
Rushing Attempts
Yards Per Attempt
# Of Touchdowns
Scoring - Total Points
Total Points
# Of Touchdowns
# Of Extra Points
# Of Field Goals
Punting - Average Punt Yardage
Average Punt Yardage
Total # Of Punts
Interceptions - # Of Interceptions
# Of Interceptions
Total Yards Gained
# Of Touchdowns
Sacks - # Of Sacks
# Of Sacks
Punt Returns - Average Yards Gained
Average Yards Gained
Total Yards Gained
# Of Returns
# Of Touchdowns
Kickoff Returns - Average Yards Gained
Average Yards Gained
Total Yards Gained
# Of Returns
# Of Touchdowns
Team Data
This is the same Team Data that is in the first menu,
but duplicated for your convenience in the Season
Mode menu.
------------
Playing The Game
Table of Contents:
Other 1
Offense
Defense
Special Teams
Other 2
Other 1
In a game, pressing B will skip through the coin toss
and randomly assign a kicking and returning team. It
will also skip through halftime.
Offense
A struggles (or hits) and B does nothing for a plain
old vanilla-and-nothing runner or returner. On the play
formation screen, A brings up a menu where you can
call time outs, punt, kick a field goal, or change your
offensive lineup. To choose a play, hit the directional
arrow and button simultaneously that are shown
underneath the play you want to call. To hike the
ball, press A. For a run play, you only have to control
the runner. For a pass play, you change receivers with
A and pass with B. There are two more sophisticated
ways of passing. One of them is the switch pass, in
which you hit both buttons (A+B) at the same time, but
with A a little earlier, which switches the pass from
one receiver to the next in the order for the play.
The second is the dupe pass, in which you do the same
thing, but hit B first. This will shift the cursor to
the next receiver, but will throw the pass to the one
the cursor pointed to previously.
Defense
On defense, hitting A or B will move you
progressively through the people you can control, with
A moving forward and B moving backward through the
players. B slide tackles and A struggles as with
offense. You cannot change players during the course
of the play. In the play screen, you can call time
outs by bringing up the menu by pressing A.
Special Teams
Kicking a ball from a field goal position is done with
A, the direction being determined by an arrow. Kicking
off is done with A, with the power meter on top
determining the strength of the kick. The higher the
bar is when you hit A, the more powerful the kick will
be. Kicking when the meter is in the blue will cause
an onside kick. If you hit up or down when you kick,
the direction of the kick will change to move up or
down correspondingly. Punting is done the same way,
but you cannot change its direction and you cannot
"onside punt".
Other 2
Note that the numbers and names of the offensive and
defensive players are shown at the top (though often
not in full). Also, in the playbook screen, it shows
the person who runs the play atop the actual play for
the run plays.
At the end of the game, you can either hit A or B to
exit the score screen.
------------
That's about it for the serious stuff.
----------------------------------------------------------------
19. Press Conference
"I completely deny these false and Tecmo
allegations."
This is all the random thoughts I have (and others
have, hopefully) about Tecmo. (Note to future writers:
add your own below)
-------------------
Leif Powers -
Index: These names do not match the formal titles in
some cases; but this is the general order of my press
conference.
How do I make Tecmo harder/teach others how to play?
Do you run or pass?
Do you defend the run or the pass?
How do you measure your performance?
What do you think about tactics?
How long did it take to write this FAQ?
----------
I've beaten the computer for about the 10000th time,
259-0, 75 points 4th quarter, 500 yards passing,
500 yards rushing, 100% receptions with my backup
QB, the worst person on my team returning both
kicks and punts for a total of 300 yards, stopping
so that the rest of my team could get some action,
0 first downs for and against, no yards against me,
no one even shown for the computer on the game stats
screen, 95 QB sacks, 25 safeties, -367 yards rushing
for the computer (I was so bored I kept that stat
myself), and to top it all off, 1 successful
field goal for my 6 Kicking Ability (he was in Bad
condition) kicker from my 30 yard line. But I love
Tecmo so much, I don't want to stop playing, and
say, go into accounting. How can I make Tecmo harder?
Also, I want to teach my little sister how to play
too. She just turned 4, and I figure I could use some
competition. How can I?
Some ways in which you can make it harder to play
Tecmo are as follows:
1. Pick a horrible team and play against a great
team (one way you can do this is to use the
Pro Bowl options).
2. Set your slowest people to running backs,
and try to get them with low Hitting Power as
well.
3. Set your slowest/worst Receptions people to
WRs.
4. Set a low Hitting Power/slow/bad Receptions
guy to TE.
6. Put in your worst overall QB (low Pass Speed
and low other stats).
6. Play some games in Season and win with the
team you will want to play and lose with the one
you want to oppose.
7. Don't do anything that is unrealistic, like
nose tackle dives or other really, really,
physics-defying stunts.
8. Pick the worst defender for any play to play
as, or play games with whom you choose as your
controlled man. Even worse, let your opponent
select as whom you play.
9. Run straight out instead of using dodging
tactics when you break out.
10. Give yourself time consuming plays like
oneback reverses and low-receiver passes.
11. Give your opponent the plays and playbook
which give you the most trouble.
12. Don't kick punts or field goals (though the
latter may make it easier, depending on how
good you are).
And the worst way in which to make Tecmo harder
is...
13. Use Coach Mode.
Paul tells me that not hitting A in a struggle
is one thing you can also do, but I don't know
about that. As an equalizer of tapping, I like,
but kind of messes up a number of other situations.
You could also just stop whenever you
get the ball. I think it goes a little bit too
far, but you can try it if you like.
----------
Do you run or pass?
I personally like to run. However, if my opponent is
stacking up against my run, I look to go deep and let
my best receiver go up and get the ball against single
coverage, if the secondary is not good. Most of the
time, I look to pass to the open guy instead of taking
a risk, but if nothing is available short, I go long
and take my chances if I can't run the ball with my
quarterback. Throwing it up works better than one might
expect if the QB-WR tandem is decent on the receiver
side.
Note that this strategy is not optimal with many good
passing teams in Preseason. In those situations, you
can know what your matchups are likely to be, and can
throw into more dangerous situations than you would in
a Season game.
----------
Do you defend the run or the pass?
Right now, I have been looking to stop the run, and
take my best player to stop the pass. However, this
will not work if your opponent comes out throwing on
every down and knows how to move with the quarterback.
The opposing player doesn't necessarily have to be
a good runner with the quarterback, but the opponent
has to know where to move his QB to get himself in
position to "chicken" the MAN defender or to set up
a longer throw (not to mention avoiding the sack).
If he does those two things, I have to call passes
to get enough coverage to force the opponent to either
call runs or take a bunch of hits on his QB as I
slam into him when he tries to run.
In a no-lurch environment, you are basically forced to
defend the pass with playcalls and then deal wih the
run via tactics.
----------
How do you measure your performance?
Nowadays, there are a large number of live tournaments
in which to test your skills. Watching the current
players as of 2016, I'm about at the 50% - I haven't
mastered the Higgins tapping technique, am rusty,
definitely don't know how to play well with good teams,
and am still having to adjust to almost exclusively
defending the pass.
----------
What do you think about the scandalous nose
tackle dives and tactics so well documented
and perfected in your FAQ? Aren't they just
cheap excuses for gameplay, the Virginia Woolfs
of video game football, that only progeny
of John Wilks Booth use, revealing the ineptness,
juvenilinity, and Limburger-Brie-cheesiness
of the person who uses them?
About tactics...there are many people who play
Tecmo who think that things like the nose tackle
dive and a ton of the techniques listed in the
plays are cheap and shouldn't exist in Tecmo. I'm
not one of them. I look at it this way: if you're
going to play a game, you should play your hardest
(at least in most situations) or else you're not
really playing at all. Would you not attack the
castled king in chess because "it's cheap"? Would
you forbid the Dragon Punch in Street Fighter
because "the person who does it is invincible if
you're in the air"? Of course you wouldn't; that's
how those games work. To some extent, the NTDs and
unstoppable tactics like the left/right end dive on
HATS Plays are tough to handle. If people aren't
allowed to choose playbooks before a game or season,
then I can see full well how such tactics can be
forbidden, because some playbooks can be shut down
hard using tactics. But if people are allowed to
weed out weak plays and put in strong ones, then
they should be allowed to use whatever tactics they
see fit. Otherwise, you have situations where all
you can do against certain plays like Toss
Sweep R and FB Power Dive is to sit back and watch
as the fullback simply drives ahead for three or
five yards a play, because you can't stop the
passes with NTDs, and you can't call both FB Power
Dive and Toss Sweep R, making it nearly impossible
to halt the drive, even if you know what's coming.
It would be like boxers who are only allowed to
use one hand and could only hit the upper torso;
the fighter who has the better combination of the
punch and the body would win, with little room for
ingenuity, upsets, and the use of natural
strengths. Playing a game like 49ers-Oilers would
be meaningless, because the 49ers have a much
better defense as opposed to the Oilers, making
it impossible for the Oilers to win without having
some brains. But without tactics, how can those
brains be utilized? Games simply become seesaws
of offense followed by offense, each side scoring
touchdowns because there's nothing to stop the
advance of the runners or the bombs of the passers.
Luck would prevail rather than skill. If you got
two called plays in a four-down set, that would be
the only way to make the offense buckle in a
Preseason game. The person who got the most
interceptions and recovered the most fumbles would
be the winner. Tecmo becomes a coach game
with improved offense if tactics are not allowed.
So, for my part, I think anything you can do is
legal as long as there's a way for your opponent
to circumvent or defeat your actions. Have a
problem with nose tackle dives? Call Pitch L Open.
Gary Reasons covering all your men? QB sneak.
And on defense: if they're battering you with
runs, call runs and lurch. If they're
hitting you with passes, cover the run with your
best defender and call passes. Whatever you do,
though, don't knock the people who use the game
to their advantage. The only tactic that is
game-breaking is looking at the other person's
controller.
------------
How long did it take to write this FAQ?
Physically it probably took over 200 hours to write
out all the text and diagrams. Obviously in terms of research,
that also goes into hundreds of hours outside the game itself,
watching how the CPU is moving. Of course, I also spent a lot of
time taking advantage of the help from the community and the
information that folks have published on the forums over the years.
----------------------------------------------------------------
20. Rumors And Myths
------------------
Rumors
R=Rumor
O=My Take
R: People can catch blocked balls.
O: I believe that it could be true, because I
have seen people diving for the ball, but I have
never actually seen it in action. However, the
incidence of this phenomenon would be very rare.
It's only the intended receiver who could do such
a thing in any case, because they're the only offensive
players who slide for the balls.
R: Changing receivers a lot helps a QB's accuracy/receptions.
O: This one is speculative. Maybe it does and maybe it
doesn't. I might have seen some slight improvements with
Steve Grogan. I don't think it does anything much for any
decent passer though.
R: Getting mob tackled increases the rate of injury.
O: I studied this recently and it seemed as though tackles
involving two or more defenders produced more injuries.
However, I watch a lot of mob tackles that don't injure
anyone, and one day, I had two single-tackler injuries in two
games.
R: Getting hit by powerful defenders increases the chances
of a fumble.
O: Very possible, but not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
R: Making your receiver dive for the ball increases the
chances of a reception and decreases the chances of
interception.
O: Possible, certainly, but I am not at all sure about it.
One of the problems with this rumor is that when a player
makes a diving catch in coverage, you typically remember it
but the interception on that play, not so much. Tough to
say, but I have seen it happen a lot, that the defenders
will be all over the play, and then the receiver slides in
to make the catch.
R: Struggling a lot/not struggling at all makes a person
more fumble-prone.
O: I think I would need more study on this before I could
come to a real conclusion.
R: Punts can be blocked, however rarely.
O: This was probably a feature, like penalties, that the
programmers and developers were going to put in, but
never finished. Whether this can actually be activated
is doubtful. Extensive tests have turned up nothing, not
even a pressure.
R: Changing plays in the middle of a season helps your
ability to run them.
O: Don't think this one is quite the case.
------------------
Myths
M=Myth
R=Reason(s) Why It's Wrong
M: Quickness does anything significant.
R: Many hours of tests prove this wrong. The fact that no
one can agree on it is the most convincing argument.
M: Running in the opposite direction makes defenders more
likely to struggle with a runner instead of slide tackling.
R: I checked on this for a few games, and noticed nothing
significant.
------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
21. Taunts
"Ha."
Some of these taunts are lame, but some are all right.
General:
"With that kind of speed, you could play in Madden.
Maybe you're even Madden himself."
"O-ho! That's hitting power!"
Kick field goals from where you would punt and punt
from where you would kick field goals.
Kick the extra point at the last minute or even take
the tackle.
On interceptions:
Run the ball as if you were the intended receiver
towards a touchdown. For even greater effect, make it
into the end zone and start humming the pass touchdown
music.
"This is how <quarterback> got in the NFL, no doubt.
He passes the Grogan test with flying colors."
"It's too bad I can't set <interceptor> as a wide
receiver."
"Do you get bonuses for these?"
On fumbles:
"Couldn't hold your lunch, eh?"
"I didn't know <fumbler> could pass."
"If you keep behaving like Lorenzo White, you'll
never win this game."
"Thanks for giving me back my ball."
"Touchdown celebrations are done in the end zone."
On safeties:
"You're safe all right - from getting a touchdown."
"You ran to the wrong end zone."
"You're better at getting to your end zone than I
am."
"You should have punted."
"I don't have to play - you win this game for me."
"You could have made things easier for me and
kicked a field goal."
"That was an old-school 2-point conversion."
On BAD passes (credit Paul for some inspiration):
"In another era, you could have been an anti-aircraft
artillery piece/shuttle launching pad/flare gun."
"The geese are breaking formation almost as quickly
as you are."
"Do you hunt that way?"
"If you break the Tecmo blimp/scoreboard/uprights,
you're going to have to pay for it, and on the salary
you're getting next year, it'll be a tough buy - that
is, if they don't fire you for <insert other bad
quarterback here> and leave you totally destitute."
"Giving the fans balls is certainly generous of you."
"That's one way to avoid an interception."
"If you could kick as well as you pass, every team
in the league would want you. Are you trying to be
the next Tom Tupa?"
"The coaches don't need all this practice."
"I repeat: just because the cheerleaders are in red
doesn't mean they're your targets."
"If you keep throwing like that, the cheerleaders
are going to have to wear pads too."
"I guess cheerleaders get breast implants to absorb
your incoming passes."
"Getting revenge on the mute fans, I see."
"The parachutist only comes at halftime."
"Are you Groganing again?"
On dropped passes:
"Gee, that guy came straight from junior high."
"You have to catch the ball first to be able to
fumble."
"My linemen are better receivers."
"You're confusing football with hot potato."
"Gee, maybe I should have thrown it to the
bleachers. Someone might have caught it there."
"<dolt> isn't catching and he isn't blocking. Why
do you pay this guy?"
On missed field goals:
"The cheerleaders can kick better than you can."
"You wanted to be a sniper, but..."
"Too short to be a punter and too high to be a
soccer player..."
"<bad quarterback> gives away balls on passes and
<bad kicker> gives away balls on kicks."
On oafed kicks and punts:
"You're the argument for the thrown kickoff/punt."
"You could have just thrown <backup or bad player>
over the line with the ball and gotten more yards.
Or for that matter, you could have kicked him."
"In golf, that kind of thing is called a bogey.
In football, it's called pathetic."
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