__________ _______ _______ _____ _____ __________ /___ ___/ / ____/ / ____/ / | / | / ____ / / / / /__ / / / /| | / /| | / / / / / / / ___/ / / / / | |/ / | | / / / / / / / /___ / /___ / / |_____/ | | / /___/ / /__/ /______/ /______/ /__/ |__| /_________/ _______ ___ ___ _________ _______ _________ / ____/ / / / / / ___ / / ____/ / ___ / / /___ / / / / / /__/ / / /__ / /__/ / /___ / / / / / / ______/ / ___/ / ___/ ____/ / / /__/ / / / / /____ / /\ \ /______/ /________/ /__/ /_______/ /__/ \__\ _______ _________ __ ___ ___ / __ | / ___ / | | / / / / / /_/ / / / / / | | _____ / / / / / __ \ / / / / | | / | / / / / / /__/ / / /__/ / | |/ /| |/ / / /___ /________/ /________/ |_____/ |_____/ /______/ Tecmo Super Bowl for NES Guide Version 2.0 (6-28-00) Written by Paul Schulzetenberg a.k.a. Mosi Tatupu (edgarffvi@yahoo.com) Table of contents: I. Introduction A. Abbreviations and Terms B. History of the Versions II. Team and Individual Rankings A. Team Rankings 1. Overall i. Subjectively ii. COM iii. MAN 2. Offense i. Subjectively ii. COM iii. MAN iv. QB Points v. Difference Between Starting and Backup QBs vi. Running Back Speed vii. Average Wide Receiver Points viii. Total Tight End Points ix. Total Offensive Line Points 3. Defense i. Subjectively ii. COM iii. MAN iv. Defensive Line Points v. Linebacker Points vi. Secondary Points 4. Strength of Schedule B. Individual Rankings 1. Quarterbacks i. Total Points ii. Passing Speed iii. Pass Accuracy iv. Maximum Speed v. Facts Worth Noting 2. Running Backs i. Feature Backs ii. Fullbacks iii. Hitting Power iv. Receptions v. Facts Worth Noting 3. Wide Receivers i. Wide Receiver Points ii. Maximum Speed iii. Receptions iv. Facts Worth Noting 4. Tight Ends i. Total Points ii. Receptions iii. Maximum Speed iv. Facts Worth Noting 5. Kickers i. Total Points ii. Kicking Ability iii. Avoid Kick Block iv. Facts Worth Noting 6. Punters i. Total Points ii. Kicking Ability iii. Avoid Kick Block iv. Facts Worth Noting 7. Defensive Linemen i. Total Points ii. Maximum Speed iii. Hitting Power iv. Quickness v. Facts Worth Noting 8. Linebackers i. Total Points ii. Maximum Speed iii. Hitting Power iv. Quickness v. Facts Worth Noting 9. Defensive Backs i. Total Points ii. Maximum Speed iii. Pass Interceptions iv. Facts Worth Noting III. Schedule A. Week-by-week Schedule B. Explanation IV. Scouting Reports A. Buffalo Bills 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary B. Indianapolis Colts 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary C. Miami Dolphins 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary D. New England Patriots 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary E. New York Jets 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary F. Cincinnati Bengals 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary G. Cleveland Browns 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary H. Houston Oilers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary I. Pittsburgh Steelers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary J. Denver Broncos 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary K. Kansas City Chiefs 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary L. Los Angeles Raiders 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary M. San Diego Chargers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary N. Seattle Seahawks 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary O. Washington Redskins 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary P. New York Giants 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary Q. Philadelphia Eagles 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary R. Phoenix Cardinals 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary S. Dallas Cowboys 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary T. Chicago Bears 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary U. Detroit Lions 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary V. Green Bay Packers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary W. Minnesota Vikings 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary X. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary Y. San Francisco 49ers 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary Z. Los Angeles Raiders 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary AA. New Orleans Saints 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary AB. Atlanta Falcons 1. Points and Rankings 2. Roster 3. Schedule 4. Scouting Report and Commentary AC. AFC Pro Bowl Team AD. NFC Pro Bowl Team IV. Miscellaneous A. Tecmo Codes B. Other Tecmo Documents C. Acknowledgements ####################################################################### Introduction ####################################################################### Welcome! You have reached utopia, otherwise known as the Tecmo Super Bowl Guide. I have never before seen a guide to this game, so I said to myself, "Paul, you should write one, both to show old players that Tecmo Super Bowl is still fun, even after collecting several layers of dust, and also to introduce some new players to the glories of this underappreciated game." Well, that and I had too much time on my hands. You may be wondering which Tecmo I am covering in this FAQ. The only Tecmo this covers is Tecmo Super Bowl for the old Nintendo. This means there is no information on Tecmo Bowl for NES, Tecmo Super Bowl I, II, or III for SNES or Genesis, and certainly no info on that crapfest that has Tecmo's name on it for the PSX. For all you lovers of the other Tecmos out there, I'm sorry. I don't have the time nor the passion to write guides to all the other versions of Tecmo Super Bowl. I am nearing the end of my sojourn into Tecmo Guide country. There probably will be a Version 3, but right now I can't come up with much to put in it. It will cover the cinemas and cutscenes at the beginning of the game and at the end, and also expanded scouting reports, but that more than likely will be the last version, unless I can get some good ideas on what else I should put in this guide. I've been toying with the idea of putting professional football stats from 1991, but I need to know if anybody is interested in that. If I get no feedback, I'll assume nobody cares. I've done most of what I could think of to do, and anything I haven't done is included in Leif Powers' guide, which can be found at GameFAQs.com. So, if anybody out there in Tecmoland has any great suggestions, feel free to email me at edgarffvi@yahoo.com and I'll see if I want to put it in my guide. Abbreviations and Terms ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This guide uses many abbreviations, both relating to Tecmo specifically, and to football in general. This is a listing of the abbreviations I used in this guide. O-offense QB-quarterback RB-running back HB-halfback FB-fullback WR-wide receiver TE-tight end OL-offensive line or offensive lineman T-offensive tackle G-offensive guard C-center D-defense DL-defensive line or defensive lineman DE-defensive end NT-nose tackle LB-linebacker ILB-inside linebacker OLB-outside linebacker DB-defensive back CB-cornerback S-safety SS-strong safety FS-free safety NFL-National Football League AFC-American Football Conference NFC-National Football Conference In this guide I also use the terms top and bottom to specify which player I am talking about if there happens to be more than one. T and B represent top and bottom. For instance, I will use TOLB to represent the outside linebacker closest to the top of the screen. The game uses right and left, but that situation can change depending on what goal you are facing. TSB or Tecmo-Tecmo Super Bowl for NES making popcorn-When a player throws off a defender with minimal grappling while running with the ball. When a player has extremely high hitting power, they can often throw off would be tacklers without significant slowdown. possessed-When a computer controlled defensive lineman or linebacker breaks through the line of scrimmage on every or nearly every play. Usually happens when the defender is in excellent condition. Tecmo legend-A player who is a virtual unknown in real life, but is one of the best on Tecmo. A good example is Bob Nelson. Has anybody actually heard of this guy? Yet he is a force on defense. He even has the capability to become possessed. glitch-A problem in gameplay that is obviously unintentional. Common glitches in TSB include the fumble glitch, the bouncing punt, and the inability of a man controlled player to recover a fumble. nosetackle dive-The single cheapest move in the game. The move where the nosetackle dives at the quarterback through the line. There is no defense against it, other than a fast quarterback or choosing a different play. Also called: the lurch, the bitch move, the low blow. (Thanks to M.E.Z. AKA Haddix4475) "playing above his stats"-This is a term for when a player seems to be going much faster or hitting much harder than his stats indicate. One of my favorite players, Mosi Tatupu, fits this definition because he is able to return kickoffs much better than his stats would have you think. If a player is performing better than should be possible according to his stats, he is "playing above his stats. Abbreviations ralating to individual players- rushing speed (RS)-How fast a player accelerates. Found at all positions. rushing power (RP)-This one is something of an enigma. I think it has something to do with how well a player can block. Found at all positions. maximum speed (MS)-How fast a player's top speed is. Found at all positions. hitting power (HP)-How well a player hits. This also determines the player's ability to make popcorn (see above). Found at all positions. passing speed (PS)-How fast a quarterback's pass travels in the air. Found only at QB. pass control (PC)-This is another one I'm unsure of. According to beernut from the Tecmo Message Board (address at the end of this guide) it is how well a quarterback can throw into coverage and not get intercepted. Found only at QB. accuracy of pass (AP)-How well a quarterback can hit his receiver without overthrowing, underthrowing, or otherwise throwing the ball badly. Found only at QB. avoid pass block (APB)-Duh. Found only at QB. ball control (BC)-How well a player can hold onto the ball; how little he fumbles. Found at RB, WR, and TE. receptions (RC)-How well a player catches. Found at RB, WR, and TE. kicking ability (KA)-How well a player kicks, both in terms of accuracy and distance. Found at K and P. avoid kick block (AKB)-The ability to avoid having a kick blocked. Found at K and P. pass interceptions(PI)-The ability to intercept a pass. Found at all defensive positions. quickness (QC)-This has something to do with pass rushing. I think that it controls how fast a player gets off the snap. According to Jeff Gaffney of the Tecmo message board, quickness also determines how fast a defender can change direction. Found at all defensive postions. C5, C6, C7, and C8-Category 5, 6, 7, and 8. I use these when referring to multiple positions. These four categories differ from position to position. For example, the fifth category for a quarterback is passing speed, while for a running back it is ball control. Perc.-Percentile. If you want more information, look under the Scouting Reports area. Wk.-Week. Opp.-Opponent. !-Pro Bowler. *-Starter. T-Tied. sic-Spelling incorrect. Amazingly, Tecmo missepelled quite a few names. History of the Versions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.0 (12-31-99) Team and individual rankings written. Intro and Miscellaneous written.2.0 (6-28-00) Scouting Reports written. Schedule and Schedule Strength sections added. Several mistakes corrected. Updates to the definitions of individual statistics made. Several small things added to the terms and abbreviations and acknowledgements sections. Other Tecmo Documents section added. Tecmo Codes section written ####################################################################### Team and Individual Rankings ####################################################################### The title pretty much sums up what this section includes. I have ranked all the teams in term of offense and defense. Also covered are all the individual players at each position. At the beginning of each section, I have included the major factors in my decisions. I have ranked each team three different ways. The first is subjectively, which is just my opinion. The second is the "COM" version, using every individual player's percentile. (Finding percentiles is covered in the scouting reports section.) I took all the starters, added them together, added five times the average of the OL and backups, and added half the sum of the punter and kicker. All values are rounded to the nearest whole number. The final way is the "MAN" version, using a team's stars. I only used the percentiles of the key positions. I took the best starting RB, QB, receiver (WR or TE), DL, LB, and DB. I added all those percentiles together and came up with the third number. As a general rule, the better the MAN value, the better the team when controlled by a player. For COM value, it applies more to the computer. Team Rankings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall-Subjective 1. San Francisco 49ers 2. New York Giants 3. Buffalo Bills 4. Houston Oilers 5. Los Angeles Raiders 6. Chicago Bears 7. Philadelphia Eagles 8. Cincinnati Bengals 9. Denver Broncos 10. Miami Dolphins 11. Kansas City Chiefs 12. New York Jets 13. Washington Redskins 14. Los Angeles Rams 15. Minnesota Vikings 16. Detroit Lions 17. Dallas Cowboys 18. New Orleans Saints 19. Atlanta Falcons 20. Pittsburgh Steelers 21. San Diego Chargers 22. Cleveland Browns 23. Seattle Seahawks 24. Green Bay Packers 25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26. Phoenix Cardinals 27. Indianapolis Colts 28. New England Patriots Overall-COM Rank Team Points 1. New York Giants 1614 2. San Francisco 49ers 1598 3. Pittsburgh Steelers 1581 4. Los Angeles Raiders 1502 5. Houston Oilers 1469 6. Miami Dolphins 1466 7. Minnesota Vikings 1422 8. Kansas City Chiefs 1418 9. Dallas Cowboys 1396 10. Chicago Bears 1378 11. Washington Redskins 1365 12. San Diego Chargers 1360 13. Buffalo Bills 1324 14. New Orleans Saints 1290 15. Philadelphia Eagles 1236 16. Denver Broncos 1175 17. Cincinnati Bengals 1157 18. Phoenix Cardinals 1107 19. Los Angeles Rams 1103 20. Detroit Lions 1095 21. New York Jets 1076 22. Seattle Seahawks 1057 23. Atlanta Falcons 1012 24. Green Bay Packers 991 25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 955 26. Cleveland Browns 910 27. New England Patriots 856 28. Indianapolis Colts 824 Overall-MAN Rank Team Points 1. San Francisco 49ers 549 2. Buffalo Bills 541 3. Houston Oilers 532 4. Minnesota Vikings 520 5. Los Angeles Raiders 519 6. Pittsburgh Steelers 515 7. Kansas City Chiefs 514 8. Philadelphia Eagles 508 9. New York Giants 505 10. San Diego Chargers 504 11. Detroit Lions 499 12. Dallas COwboys 497 13. Miami Dolphins 492 14. Cincinnati Bengals 473 15. Chicago Bears 459 16. New York Jets 457 17. Washington Redskins 450 18. Denver Broncos 447 19. New Orleans Saints 445 20. Green Bay Packers 439 21T. Phoenix Cardinals 437 21T. Atlanta Falcons 437 23. Los Angeles Rams 429 24. Seattle Seahawks 410 25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 406 26. Cleveland Browns 393 27. New England Patriots 381 28. Indianapolis Colts 316 Offense-Subjective 1. San Francisco 49ers 2. Houston Oilers 3. Buffalo Bills 4. New York Giants 5. Miami Dolphins 6. Los Angeles Raiders 7. Chicago Bears 8. Philadelphia Eagles 9. Denver Broncos 10. Los Angeles Rams 11. Detroit Lions 12. New York Jets 13. Cincinnati Bengals 14. Kansas City Chiefs 15. Atlanta Falcons 16. Washington Redskins 17. Dallas Cowboys 18. Minnesota Vikings 19. New Orleans Saints 20. San Diego Chargers 21. Seattle Seahawks 22. Cleveland Browns 23. Phoenix Cardinals 24. Green Bay Packers 25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26. Indianapolis Colts 27. Pittsburgh Steelers 28. New England Patriots Offense-COM Rank Team Points 1. Houston Oilers 830 2. San Francisco 49ers 823 3. Los Angeles Rams 785 4. Washington Redskins 778 5. New York Giants 769 6. Miami Dolphins 768 7. Los Angeles Raiders 758 8. Cincinnati Bengals 715 9. Minnesota Vikings 692 10. Pittsburgh Steelers 671 11. Kansas City Chiefs 660 12. Dallas Cowboys 648 13. Denver Broncos 636 14. Buffalo Bills 627 15. New Orleans Saints 614 16. Green Bay Packers 607 17. San Diego Chargers 592 18. Detroit Lions 575 19. New York Jets 566 20. Atlanta Falcons 563 21. Chicago Bears 555 22. Philadelphia Eagles 549 23T. Seattle Seahawks 544 23T. Phoenix Cardinals 544 25. Cleveland Browns 517 26. Indianapolis Colts 501 27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 499 28. New England Patriots 388 Offense-MAN Rank Team Points 1. Buffalo Bills 282 2. San Francisco 49ers 280 3T. Cincinnati Bengals 272 3T. New York Giants 272 5. Denver Broncos 268 6T. Los Angeles Raiders 260 6T. Dallas Cowboys 260 8. Houston Oilers 261 9. Kansas City Chiefs 260 10. Los Angeles Rams 258 11. San Diego Chargers 245 12. Miami Dolphins 244 13. Detroit Lions 243 14. Green Bay Packers 242 15. Philadelphia Eagles 240 16. Washington Redskins 237 17. Minnesota Vikings 236 18. Pittsburgh Steelers 232 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 231 20. Atlanta Falcons 224 21. New York Jets 223 22. New Orleans Saints 220 23. Cleveland Browns 218 24. Seattle Seahawks 205 25. Phoenix Cardinals 195 26. Indianapolis Colts 180 27. Chicago Bears 174 28. New England Patriots 141 Total QB Points SP-starting QB points BP-backup QB points SP+BP=Points Rank Team SP BP Points 1. S.F. 419 338 757 2. Buf. 419 270 689 3. Phi. 421 265 686 4. Hou. 408 277 685 5. Mia. 395 283 678 ... 28. N.E. 232 265 497 Biggest Difference between starting and backup QBs SP-starting player BP-backup player SP-BP=Points Rank Team SP BP Points 1. Phi. 421 265 156 2. Buf. 419 270 149 3. Hou. 408 277 131 4. Gia. 377 258 119 5. Mia. 419 283 112 ... 28. N.E. 232 265 -33 Running Back Speed RB1-first RB's MS RB2-second RB's MS etc. RB1+RB2+RB2+RB4=Points Rank Team RB1 RB2 RB3 RB4 Points 1. Det. 69 31 56 38 194 2. Rai. 75 56 25 31 187 3. Rams 50 38 44 44 176 4. Chi. 25 63 31 56 175 5. Phx. 50 38 38 38 164 ... 28. N.E. 25 31 31 31 118 Average Wide Receiver Points Wide Receiver points equal MS+RC. WR1-first WR's points WR2-second WR's points etc. Note: Only Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta have fifth and sixth WRs. Rank Team WR1 WR2 WR3 WR4 WR5 WR6 Average 1. Hou. 131 125 138 69 113 88 110.67 2. S.F. 119 150 69 94 108.00 3. Rams 150 131 69 75 106.25 4. Rai. 113 119 106 82 105.00 5. Was. 112 107 125 69 103.25 ... 27T. Pit. 89 63 69 75 73.50 27T. Chi. 81 81 63 69 73.50 Total Tight End Points Note: Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta don't have tight ends. SP-starting player BP-backup player Rank Team SP BP Total 1. Pit. 313 288 601 2T. Mia. 288 288 576 2T. Dal. 326 250 576 4. Gia. 307 256 563 5. Phi. 320 236 556 ... 25. Phx. 245 226 471 Total Offensive Line Points Rank Team C G1 G2 T1 T2 Points 1. Mia. 194 188 195 207 175 959 2. Was. 201 188 188 194 182 953 3. Chi. 207 207 182 175 175 946 4T. K.C. 201 182 175 194 188 940 4T. Min. 195 213 169 194 169 940 ... 28. T.B. 163 157 163 169 157 809 Defense-Subjective 1. Pittsburgh Steelers 2. New York Giants 3. Chicago Bears 4. Philadelphia Eagles 5. Buffalo Bills 6. Kansas City Chiefs 7. San Francisco 49ers 8. Los Angeles Raiders 9. Minnesota Vikings 10. New York Jets 11. Washington Redskins 12. Denver Broncos 13. Cincinnati Bengals 14. Miami Dolphins 15. Dallas Cowboys 16. New Orleans Saints 17. Houston Oilers 18. Cleveland Browns 19. Green Bay Packers 20. Los Angeles Rams 21. San Diego Chargers 22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23. Detroit Lions 24. Atlanta Falcons 25. Phoenix Cardinals 26. New England Patriots 27. Seattle Seahawks 28. Indianapolis Colts Defense-COM Rank Team Points 1. Pittsburgh Steelers 855 2. Chicago Bears 802 3. New York Giants 766 4. San Francisco 49ers 737 5. Los Angeles Raiders 699 6. San Diego Chargers 693 7T. Dallas Cowboys 689 7T. Minnesota Vikings 689 9. Kansas City Chiefs 688 10. Philadelphia Eagles 662 11. Buffalo Bills 660 12. Miami Dolphins 620 13. New Orleans Saints 608 14. Houston Oilers 600 15. Washington Redskins 531 16. Phoenix Cardinals 507 17. Detroit Lions 484 18. Seattle Seahawks 470 19. Denver Broncos 467 20. New England Patriots 432 21. New York Jets 420 22. Atlanta Falcons 399 23. Cleveland Browns 389 24. Cincinnati Bengals 387 25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 381 26. Green Bay Packers 348 27. Los Angeles Rams 308 28. Indianapolis Colts 273 Defense-MAN Rank Team Points 1. Chicago Bears 285 2. Minnesota Vikings 284 3. Pittsburgh Steelers 283 4. Houston Oilers 271 5. San Francisco 49ers 269 6. Philadelphia Eagles 268 7T. Buffalo Bills 259 7T. San Diego Chargers 259 9. Los Angeles Raiders 257 10. Detroit Lions 256 11. Kansas City Chiefs 254 12. Miami Dolphins 248 13. Phoenix Cardinals 242 14. New England Patriots 240 15. Dallas Cowboys 235 16. New York Jets 234 17. New York Giants 233 18. New Orleans Saints 225 19T. Washington Redskins 213 19T. Atlanta Falcons 213 21. Seattle Seahawks 205 22. Cincinnati Bengals 201 23. Green Bay Packers 197 24. Denver Broncos 179 25T. Cleveland Browns 175 25T. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 175 27. Los Angeles Rams 171 28. Indianapolis Colts 136 Total Defensive Line Points Rank Team DE1 NT DE2 Total 1. Rai. 307 237 313 857 2. Chi. 307 232 276 815 3. Phi. 263 219 319 807 4. Pit. 232 282 266 780 5. Min. 294 239 231 764 ... 28. Cin. 188 176 188 552 Total Linebacker Points Rank Team LB1 LB2 LB3 LB4 Total 1. Gia. 356 307 252 270 1185 2. K.C. 332 263 281 220 1096 3. Buf. 270 219 269 302 1060 4. Pit. 307 282 226 226 1041 5. S.F. 257 201 270 301 1029 ... 28. G.B. 276 174 168 187 725 Total Secondary points Rank Team CB1 CB2 SS FS Total 1. Pit. 382 306 257 301 1246 2. Chi. 313 289 338 244 1184 3. Min. 251 326 245 345 1167 4. S.F. 257 226 363 333 1154 5. Gia. 276 295 275 287 1133 ... 28. Ind. 194 194 226 220 838 Strength of Schedule 1-hardest 28-easiest Rank Team 1. Phoenix Cardinals 2. Cincinnati Bengals 3. Kansas City Chiefs 4T. Cleveland Browns 4T. Seattle Seahawks 6. San Diego Chargers 7. Washington Redskins 8. Houston Oilers 9. New England Patriots 10. Pittsburgh Steelers 11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12. Los Angeles Raiders 13. New Orleans Saints 14. New York Giants 15. Dallas Cowboys 16. Los Angeles Rams 17. Green Bay Packers 18. San Francisco 49ers 19. Detroit Lions 20. Philadelphia Eagles 21T. Chicago Bears 21T. Atlanta Falcons 23. Indianapolis Colts 24. Miami Dolphins 25. Buffalo Bills 26. New York Jets 27. Minnesota Vikings 28. Denver Broncos Individual Rankings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points are the numbers listed in the individual player data screen. These points are also broken down into 6 or 7 point units called increments. For example, a player can have 50 ball control or 56 ball control, but no numbers in between 50 and 56 are possible. All points were taken while the players were in average condition. For breakdowns of the distribution of points, see the team area, where every player's stats are listed. Quarterbacks Every team has two quarterbacks. Total Points *-denotes starter !-Pro Bowler Rank Name Team Points 1. QB Eagles [Randall Cunningham] Phi. 421*! 2T. QB Bills [Jim Kelly] Buf. 419*! 2T. Joe Montana S.F. 419*! 4. Warren Moon Hou. 408*! 5. Dan Marino Mia. 395* 6. Boomer Esiason Cin. 389* 7. Phil Simms Gia. 377* 8. John Elway Den. 357* 9. Dave Krieg Sea. 352* 10. QB Browns [Bernie Kosar] Cle. 345* 11T. Steve De Berg K.C. 338* 11T. Steve Young S.F. 338 13. Jim Everett Rams 333* 14. Jay Schroeder Rai. 327* 15. Don Majkowski G.B. 320* 16T. Bubby Brister Pit. 314* 16T. Troy Aikman Dal. 314* 18. Vinny Testaverde T.B. 313* 19. Ken O.Brien [O'Brien] Jets 308* 20. B.J.Tolliver [Billy Joe] S.D. 307* 21. Steve Walsh N.O. 302* 22. Wade Wilson Min. 290* 23. Andre Ware Det. 289 24T. Eric Wilhelm Cin. 284 24T. Mark Rypien Was. 284* 26. Scott Mitchell Mia. 283 27. Kelly Stouffer Sea. 278 28T. Mike Pagel Cle. 277 28T. Cody Carlson Hou. 277 28T. John Fourcade N.O. 277 31T. Rodney Peete Det. 276* 31T. Chris Miller Atl. 276* 33. Hugh Millen Atl. 272 34T. Gary Kubiak Den. 271 34T. Mike Elkins K.C. 271 34T. Steve Beuerlein Rai. 271 34T. Stan Humphries Was. 271 34T. Tom Tupa Phx. 271 34T. Babe Laufenberg Dal. 271 34T. Anthony Dilweg G.B. 271 34T. Jeff Carlson T.B. 271 34T. Chuck Long Rams 271 43T. Frank Reich Buf. 270 43T. Jack Trudeau Ind. 270 43T. Timm Rosenbach Phx. 270* 43T. Jim Harbaugh Chi. 270* 47T. Marc Wilson N.E. 265 47T. Rick Strom Pit. 265 47T. Mark Vlasic S.D. 265 47T. Jim McMahon Phi. 265 51T. Tony Eason Jets 264 51T. Mike Tomczak Chi. 264 53. Jeff Hostetler Gia. 258 54. Jeff George Ind. 257* 55. Rich Gannon Min. 239 56. Steve Grogan N.E. 232* Passing Speed Rank Name (Team) Points 1T. Marino (Mia.) 81 1T. Tolliver (S.D.) 81 3T. Brister (Pit.) 75 3T. Elway (Den.) 75 5T. Moon (Hou.) 69 5T. Schroeder (Rai.) 69 ... 56. Grogan (N.E.) 19 Accuracy of Pass Rank Name (Team) Points 1T. Bills (Buf.) 81 1T. Montana (S.F.) 81 3. Moon (Hou.) 75 4T. Esiason (Cin.) 69 4T. Elway (Den.) 69 4T. Krieg (Sea.) 69 ... 50T. Reich (Buf.) 25 50T. Mitchell (Mia.) 25 50T. Wilson (N.E.) 25 50T. Eason (Jets) 25 50T. Strom (Pit.) 25 50T. Vlasic (S.D.) 25 50T. Gannon (Min.) 25 Maximum Speed Rank Name (Team) Points 1. Eagles (Phi.) 56 2T. Peete (Det.) 31 2T. Testaverde (T.B.) 31 4T. Browns (Cle.) 25 4T. Pagel (Cle.) 25 4T. Elway (Den.) 25 4T. Hostetler (Gia.) 25 4T. Ware (Det.) 25 4T. Majkowski (G.B.) 25 4T. Young (S.F.) 25 ... 52T. George (Ind.) 6 52T. Marino (Mia.) 6 52T. Grogan (N.E.) 6 52T. De Berg (K.C.) 6 52T. McMahon (Phi.) 6 Facts Worth Noting Indianapolis, New England, Pheonix, and Detroit all have backups with better total point values than their starters. In fact, Grogan on New England is the worst QB in the league, with George from Indianapolis close behind at third worst. Both of these abysmal quarterbacks start. 49ers backup Steve Young is better than 17 starters, and he is also 49 points better than the next best backup, Andre Ware for Detroit. The AFC has 7 of the top 10 best QBs. Every QB has 25 running speed, 69 rushing power, and 13 hitting power. The default for quarterbacks seems to be 25 running speed, 69 rushing power, 13 maximum speed, 13 hitting power, 44 passing speed, 38 pass control, 31 pass accuracy, and 38 avoid pass block; for a total of 271 points. Nine quarterbacks have these exact stats, and all of them are backups. My guess is that Tecmo gave these stats to anyone they didn't know very well. To put QB Eagles' 56 maximum speed into perspective, he is faster than four-fifths of the starting running backs. Running Backs Feature Backs Note-In running backs, the most important asset is maximum speed. All the other stats are not nearly as important. With this in mind, I ranked the running backs by maximum speed, with total points as a tiebreaker. I felt that total points was not an accurate representation of how good a back was. Total points gave an advantage to fullbacks. I think most readers of this guide will agree that Bo Jackson is a better feature back than Tony Paige, even though Paige has a 13 point advantage in total points. *-Denotes Starter !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team MS Total Points 1. Bo Jackson Rai. 75 313*! 2. Barry Sanders Det. 69 314*! 3. Neal Anderson Chi. 63 332*! 4. Thurman Thomas Buf. 63 320*! 5. Bobby Humphrey Den 63 296*! 6. Marion Butts S.D. 63 283* 7. David Meggett Gia. 56 307* 8T. James Brooks Cin. 56 282*! 8T. Emmitt Smith Dal. 56 282*! 8T. Mel Gray Det. 56 282 11. Johnny Bailey Chi. 56 276 12. Marcus Allen Rai. 56 269* 13. Ottis Anderson Gia. 50 369* 14. Christian Okoye K.C. 50 351* 15. Earnest Byner Was. 50 301*! 16. Johnny Johnson Phx. 50 283* 17. Gary Anderson T.B. 50 282* 18. Roger Craig S.F. 50 276* 19. Cleveland Gary Rams 50 271* 20. Mike Rozier Atl. 50 263* 21. Dalton Hilliard N.O. 50 257* 22. Herschel Walker Min. 44 308* 23. Albert Bentley Ind. 44 295* 24. Kelvin Bryant Was. 44 289 25. Buford McGee Rams 44 282 26. Keith Woodside G.B. 44 263* 27. Dexter Carter S.F. 44 258 28T. Blair Thomas Jets 44 257* 28T. Harry Sydney S.F. 44 257 28T. Reuben Mayes N.O. 44 257 28T. Gil Fenerty N.O. 44 257 32. Lorenzo White Hou. 44 252* 33. Gaston Green Rams 44 251 34. Johnny Hector Jets 44 245 35. Merril Hoge Pit. 38 308* 36. Warren Williams Pit. 38 301* 37. Sammie Smith Mia. 38 289* 38T. Tim Worley Pit. 38 282 38T. Brian Mitchell Was. 38 282 40. Alonzo Highsmith Dal. 38 277 41T. Eric Metcalf Cle. 38 276* 41T. Allen Pinkett Hou. 38 276 41T. Victor Jones Hou. 38 276 41T. Doug Lloyd Hou. 38 276 45. Marc Logan Mia. 38 270 46. Todd McNair K.C. 38 264 47T. Troy Stradford Mia. 38 258 47T. Ron Wolfley Phx. 38 258 47T. Anthony Thompson Phx. 38 258 47T. Herman Fontenot G.B. 38 258 47T. Rick Fenney Min. 38 258* 52. Vai Sikahema Phx. 38 257 53T. Harold Green Cin. 38 251 53T. James Jones Sea. 38 251 53T. Chris Warren Sea. 38 251 53T. Robert Drummond Phi. 38 251 53T. Curt Warner Rams 38 251* 53T. Steve Broussard Atl. 38 251 53T. Keith Jones Atl. 38 251 60T. Ken Clark Mia. 38 245 60T. S.[Stanford]Jennings Cin. 38 245 60T. Heath Sherman Phi. 38 245* 60T. Darrell Thompson G.B. 38 245 60T. John Harvey T.B. 38 245 65T. Freeman McNeil Jets 38 239* 65T. Willie Green Det. 38 239 67T. Tony Paige Mia. 31 326* 67T. Kevin Mack Cle. 31 326* 69. Ickey Woods Cin. 31 306* 70. Keith Byars Phi. 31 295* 71. Barry Word K.C. 31 294* 72. Rodney Hampton Gia. 31 277 73. John Stephens N.E. 31 275* 74T. Ivy Joe Hunter Ind. 31 263* 74T. Richard Bell Pit. 31 263 74T. Ronnie Harmon S.D. 31 263 74T. Tracy Johnson Atl. 31 263 78. Gerald Riggs Was. 31 255 79T. Greg Bell Rai. 31 251 79T. Anthony Toney Phi. 31 251 79T. Robert Perriman Dal. 31 251 82. Brad Baxter Jets 31 250 83T. George Adams N.E. 31 244 83T. Mosi Tatupu N.E. 31 244 83T. James Wilder Det. 31 244 83T. Jessie Clark Min. 31 244 83T. Alfred Anderson Min. 31 244 83T. Bruce Perkins T.B. 31 244 89T. Anthony Johnson Ind. 31 238 89T. Mark Green Chi. 31 238 91T. Brad Muster Chi. 25 338* 91T. Tom Rathman S.F. 25 338* 93. Reggie Cobb T.B. 25 326* 94. Craig Heyward N.O. 25 313* 95T. Jamie Mueller Buf. 25 301* 95T. Michael Haddix G.B. 25 301* 97. Derek Fenner Sea. 25 300* 98. John L.Williams Sea. 25 289* 99T. Melvin Bratton Den. 25 270 99T. Tommie Agee Dal. 25 270* 101. Steve Smith Rai. 25 269 102. Bill Jones K.C. 25 258 103T. Steve Sewell Den. 25 257* 103T. Maurice Carthon Gia. 25 257 105T. Marvin Allen N.E. 25 251* 105T. Brent Fullwood Cle. 25 251 105T. Rod Bernstine S.D. 25 251* 105T. Joe Caravello S.D. 25 251 109T. Leroy Hoard Cle. 25 244 109T. Sammy Winder Den. 25 244 111T. Kenneth Davis Buf. 25 232 111T. Don Smith Buf. 25 232 Fullbacks However, just to be fair to the fullbacks like Paige, I also created a category for fullbacks. In order to qualify for this category, a minimum of 69 hitting power is needed. I found the fullback points by using the following equation: 2MS+2HP+RC=Fullback points *-Denotes Starter Rank Player (Team) FP 1T. Okoye (K.C.) 307* 1T. Anderson (Gia.) 307* 3T. Muster (Chi.) 294* 3T. Rathman (S.F.) 294* 5T. Paige (Mia.) 282* 5T. Mack (Cle.) 282* 5T. Cobb (T.B.) 282* 8. Heyward (N.O.) 269* 9. Haddix (G.B.) 263* 10. Woods (Cin.) 255* 11. Mueller (Buf.) 251* 12. Riggs (Was.) 243 13. Word (K.C.) 231* 14. Fenner (Sea.) 225* Hitting Power Rank Player (Team) Points 1T. Okoye (K.C.) 94 1T. Muster (Chi.) 94 1T. Haddix (G.B.) 94 1T. Cobb (T.B.) 94 1T. Rathman (S.F.) 94 1T. Heyward (N.O.) 94 ... 111. Green (Det.) 13 Receptions Rank Player (Team) Points 1. Byars (Phi.) 69 2T. Bentley (Ind.) 63 2T. Williams (Sea.) 63 4T. Metcalf (Cle.) 56 4T. Muster (Chi.) 56 4T. Rathman (S.F.) 56 ... 106T. Okoye (K.C.) 19 106T. Word (K.C.) 19 106T. Jackson (Rai.) 19 106T. Bell (Rai.) 19 106T. Riggs (Was.) 19 106T. Thompson (G.B.) 19 Facts Worth Noting Indianapolis, Miami, New England, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, the Rams, and New Orleans all have starters that are slower than one of their backups. However, half of these slow starters are fullbacks. The Bills have both of the worst two running backs in the league,so if Thomas gets injured, the running attack is severely crippled. San Diego has Rod Bernstine listed at running back, but he starts at wide receiver. His stats are more like a running back's, but his number is 82, a wideout's number. Lions' backup Willie Green is listed as a running back, but his statistics and his jersey number (86) lead me to believe that he is a wide receiver and Tecmo wanted to make sure that every team had four backs on it. He is the only running back with 13 hitting power. All the rest of the RBs have at least 19. Just about all wide receivers, however, have only 13. Christian Okoye is the only position player to have anything other than 69 rushing power. He has 75. Almost all backs have 50 ball control and 38 running speed. Even though Bo Jackson is the best pure runner, he is tied for the worst receiver out of the backfield. Wide Receivers Wide Receiver Points The equation for WR points is as follows. MS+RC=WRP If there was a tie between two or more receivers, I used total points as a tiebreaker. *-Denotes Starter !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team WRP Total Points 1. Jerry Rice S.F. 150 357*! 2. Henry Ellard Rams 150 326* 3. Drew Hill Hou. 138 345*! 4. Andre Rison Atl. 138 314*! 5. Ernest Givins Hou. 131 338*! 6T. Anthony Carter Min. 131 307* 6T. Willie Anderson Rams 131 307* 8T. Haywood Jeffries [sic-Jeffires] Hou. 125 326* 8T. Gary Clark Was. 125 326*! 10T. Stephone Paige K.C. 125 295* 10T. Sterling Sharpe G.B. 125 295*! 12. Andre Reed Buf. 125 288*! 13. John Taylor S.F. 119 302* 14. Willie Gault Rai. 119 295* 15. Curtis Duncan Hou. 113 314* 16. Mervyn Fernandez Rai. 113 296* 17T. Mark Duper Mia. 113 283* 17T. Mark Jackson Den. 113 283* 17T. Anthony Miller S.D. 113 283*! 17T. Robert Clark Det. 113 283* 21T. Mark Clayton Mia. 113 276* 21T. Al Toon Jets 113 276* 23. Ricky Sanders Was. 112 319* 24. Stephen Baker Gia. 112 307* 25. Art Monk Was. 107 333* 26T. Bill Brooks Ind. 107 277* 26T. Mark Carrier T.B. 107 277* 28. Eric Martin N.O. 107 270* 29. Mark Ingram Gia. 106 295* 30. Tim Brown Rai. 106 282 31. Vance Johnson Den. 106 276* 32. Jessie Hester Ind. 101 277* 33. W.[Webster]Slaughter Cle. 101 264* 34. Shawn Collins Atl. 100 276* 35. Roy Green Phx. 100 270* 36T. Michael Irvin Dal. 94 264* 36T. Mike Sherrard S.F. 94 264 38T. Irving Fryar N.E. 94 257* 38T. Eddie Brown Cin. 94 257* 38T. Tommy Kane Sea. 94 257* 38T. Fred Barnett Phi. 94 257* 38T. Ernie Jones Phx. 94 257* 38T. Kelvin Martin Dal. 94 257* 38T. Hassan Jones Min. 94 257* 45T. James Lofton Buf. 94 251* 45T. Richard Johnson Det. 94 251* 47. Gerald McNeil Hou. 88 288 48T. Don Beebe Buf. 88 245 48T. Ricky Proehl Phx. 88 245* 50. Louis Lipps Pit. 87 281* 51. Tim McGee Cin. 87 250* 52. Sam Graddy Rai. 82 258 53. Clarence Verdin Ind. 82 252 54T. J.J.Birden K.C. 82 245 54T. Jeff Chadwick Sea. 82 245 56T. Hart Lee Dykes N.E. 81 244* 56T. Rob Moore Jets 81 244* 56T. Brian Blades Sea. 81 244* 56T. Calvin Williams Phi. 81 244* 56T. Ron Morris Chi. 81 244* 56T. Wendell Davis Chi. 81 244* 56T. Perry Kemp G.B. 81 244* 56T. Jeff Query G.B. 81 244 56T. Cris Carter Min. 81 244 65. Dwight Stone Pit. 75 269 66T. Wayne Walker S.D. 75 238 66T. Mike Quick Phi. 75 238 66T. James Dixon Dal. 75 238 66T. Terry Greer Det. 75 238* 66T. Willie Drewry T.B. 75 238 66T. Aaron Cox Rams 75 238 66T. Floyd Turner Atl. 75 238* 66T. George Thomas Atl. 75 238 74T. Tony Martin Mia. 75 232 74T. Reggie Langhorne Cle. 75 232* 74T. Michael Young Den. 75 232 74T. Robb Thomas K.C. 75 232* 74T. Emile Harry K.C. 75 232 74T. J.T.Smith Phx. 75 232 74T. Charles Wilson G.B. 75 232 74T. Bruce Hill T.B. 75 232* 74T. Brent [sic-Brett] Perriman N.O. 75 232* 74T. Michael Haynes Atl. 75 232* 74T. Floyd Dixon Atl. 75 232* 85. Quinn Early S.D. 75 226* 86T. Tony Jones Hou. 69 257 86T. Derek Hill Pit. 69 257* 86T. Joe Howard Was. 69 257 89T. Stanley Morgan Ind. 69 226 89T. Greg McMurty [sic-McMurtry] N.E. 69 226 89T. Sammy Martin N.E. 69 226 89T. Kendal Smith Cin. 69 226 89T. Mike Barber Cin. 69 226 89T. Ricky Nattiel Den. 69 226 89T. Nate Lewis S.D. 69 226 89T. Paul Skanski Sea. 69 226 89T. Stacey Robinson Gia. 69 226 89T. Odessa Turner Gia. 69 226 89T. Kenny Jackson Phi. 69 226 89T. Alexander Wright Dal. 69 226 89T. Dennis Gentry Chi. 69 226 89T. Aubrey Matthews Det. 69 226* 89T. Jeff Campbell Det. 69 226 89T. Mike Farr Det. 69 226 89T. Mike Wilson S.F. 69 226 89T. Derrick Faison Rams 69 226 107. Chris Calloway Pit. 63 251 108T. Al Edwards Buf. 63 220 108T. Fred Banks Mia. 63 220 108T. Terance Mathis Jets 63 220 108T. Jojo Townsell Jets 63 220 108T. Vernan Joines Cle. 63 220 108T. Brian Brennan Cle. 63 220 108T. Glen Kozlowski Chi. 63 220 108T. Leo Lewis Min. 63 220 108T. Danny Peebles T.B. 63 220 108T. Lonzell Hill N.O. 63 220 118. Gary Wilkins Atl. 56 250 Maximum Speed Rank Name (Team) Points 1T. Jerry Rice (S.F.) 69 1T. Henry Ellard (Rams) 69 3T. Drew Hill (Hou.) 63 3T. Willie Gault (Rai.) 63 3T. Sam Graddy (Rai.) 63 3T. Andre Rison (Atl.) 63 ... 102T. Al Edwards (Buf.) 19 102T. Fred Banks (Mia.) 19 102T. Greg McMurtry (N.E.) 19 102T. Terance Mathis (Jets) 19 102T. Jojo Townsell (Jets) 19 102T. Vernan Joines (Cle.) 19 102T. Brian Brennan (Cle.) 19 102T. Tony Jones (Hou.) 19 102T. Chris Calloway (Pit.) 19 102T. Ricky Proehl (Phx.) 19 102T. Glen Kozlowski (Chi.) 19 102T. Dennis Gentry (Chi.) 19 102T. Aubrey Matthews (Det.) 19 102T. Richard Johnson (Det.) 19 102T. Leo Lewis (Min.) 19 102T. Danny Peebles (T.B.) 19 102T. Lonzell Hill (N.O.) 19 Receptions Rank Player (Team) Points 1T. Jerry Rice (S.F.) 81 1T. Henry Ellard (Rams) 81 3T. Ernest Givins (Hou.) 75 3T. Haywood Jeffries (Hou.) 75 3T. Drew Hill (Hou.) 75 3T. Stephone Paige (K.C.) 75 3T. Gary Clark (Was.) 75 3T. Richard Johnson (Det.) 75 3T. Sterling Sharpe (G.B.) 75 3T. Anthony Carter (Min.) 75 3T. Willie Anderson (Rams.) 75 3T. Andre Rison (Atl.) 75 ... 108. Sam Graddy (Rai.) 19 Facts Worth Noting Art Monk for Washington and Gary Wilkins for Atlanta are the only WRs with anything other than 13 hitting power. Monk has 38 points, and Wilkins has 31. Wilkins is actually a tight end, which explains his higher hitting power. Every receiver has 69 rushing power and 13 hitting power, and most have 50 ball control. Good ball control seems to depend on the team. There are 20 WRs that have more than 50 ball control, but these 20 are spread throughout only 7 teams. Houston has six, and Pittsburgh and Washington both have four apiece. Every team has four wide receivers except Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta. These teams run a run and shoot offense, so they don't use tight ends. They substitute wideouts for the two tight end positions. They also substitute a starting WR in a starting running back's position, but a backup WR position is filled by a running back as well. The NFC has 6 of the top nine WRs. Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Seattle are the only teams with backup wide receivers that are better than their starters. Tight Ends Total Points *-denotes starter !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Points 1. Jay Novacek Dal. 326* 2T. Keith Jackson Phi. 320*! 2T. Brent Jones S.F. 320* 4. Eric Green Pit. 313* 5T. Marv Cook N.E. 307* 5T. Rodney Holman Cin. 307*! 5T. Mark Bavaro Gia. 307* 5T. Steve Jordan Min. 307*! 9T. Ferrell Edmunds Mia. 288*! 9T. Jim Jensen Mia. 288 9T. Mike Mularkey Pit. 288 12T. Keith McKeller Buf. 282* 12T. Ethan Horton Rai. 282* 14T. Mark Boyer Jets 275* 14T. Clarence Kay Den. 275* 14T. Pete Holohan Rams 275* 17. Ron Hall T.B. 270* 18. Jimmie Johnson Was. 269 19T. Ozzie Newsome Cle. 263* 19T. Derrick Walker S.D. 263* 19T. Don Warren Was. 263* 19T. Ed West G.B. 263* 23T. Pat Beach Ind. 257* 23T. Arthur Cox S.D. 257 23T. James Thornton Chi. 257* 26. Howard Cross Gia. 256 27T. Eric Sievers N.E. 250 27T. Rob Awalt Dal. 250 27T. Jessie Anderson T.B. 250 30T. Tim Jordan Phx. 245 30T. Hoby Brenner N.O. 245* 32T. Orson Mobley Ind. 244 32T. Alfredo Roberts K.C. 244* 32T. Jonathan Hayes K.C. 244 32T. Travis McNeal Sea. 244 32T. Jackie Harris G.B. 244 37T. Pete Metzelaars Buf. 238 37T. Eric Kattus Cin. 238 37T. Paul Green Den. 238 37T. Ron Heller Sea. 238* 37T. Harper Le Bel Phi. 238 37T. Cap Boso Chi. 238 37T. Mike Jones Min. 238 37T. Damone Johnson Rams 238 45T. Doug Wellsandt Jets 232 45T. Jamie Williams S.F. 232 45T. John Tice N.O. 232 48T. John Talley Cle. 226 48T. Mike Dyal Rai. 226 48T. Tim Jorden Phx. 226 Receptions Rank Player (Team) RC 1T. Jim Jensen (Mia.) 69 1T. Jay Novacek (Dal.) 69 1T. Brent Jones (S.F.) 69 4T. Marv Cook (N.E.) 63 4T. Keith Jackson (Phi.) 63 ... 46T. John Talley (Cle.) 25 46T. Mike Dyal (Rai.) 25 46T. Harper Le Bel (Phi.) 25 46T. Tim Jorden (Phx.) 25 46T. Mike Jones (Min.) 25 Maximum Speed Rank Player (Team) MS 1. Keith Jackson (Phi.) 50 2T. Marv Cook (N.E.) 44 2T. Ethan Horton (Rai.) 44 2T. Jay Novacek (Dal.) 44 2T. Steve Jordan (Min.) 44 ... 28T. 23 Players Tied 19 Facts Worth Noting Every TE has 25 running speed except for Clarence Kay for Denver. I'd just like to know: Why Clarence Kay? He's not real good. He's only an average starting tight end. Every TE has 69 rushing power. Offensive Linemen Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Pos. Points 1. Randall McDaniel Min. G 213! 2T. Richmond Webb Mia. T 207 2T. Anthony Munoz Cin. T 207! 2T. Bruce Matthews Hou. G 207 2T. Tunch Ilkin Pit. T 207 2T. Steve Wisniewski Rai. G 207! 2T. Luis Sharpe Phx. T 207 2T. Jay Hilgenberg Chi. C 207! 2T. Mark Bortz Chi. G 207! 2T. Stan Brock N.O. T 207 11T. Kent Hull Buf. C 201! 11T. Bruce Armstrong N.E. T 201! 11T. Mike Webster K.C. C 201 11T. Jeff Bostic Was. C 201 15T. Harry Galbreath Mia. G 195 15T. Kirk Lowdermilk Min. C 195 15T. Jesse Sapolu S.F. C 195 15T. Doug Smith Rams C 195 19T. Jeff Uhlenhake Mia. C 194 19T. John Alt K.C. T 194 19T. Bruce Wilkerson Rai. T 194 19T. Jim Lachey Was. T 194! 19T. John [Jumbo] Elliott Gia. T 194 19T. Nate Newton Dal. T 194 19T. Gary Zimmerman Min. T 194 19T. Jim Dombrowski N.O. G 194 19T. Chris Hinton Atl. T 194 28T. Keith Sims Mia. G 188 28T. Bruce Reimers Cin. G 188 28T. Mike Munchak Hou. G 188! 28T. Rich Baldinger K.C. T 188 28T. David Richards S.D. G 188 28T. Andy Heck Sea. T 188 28T. Russ Grimm Was. G 188 28T. Raleigh McKenzie Was. G 188 28T. Eric Moore Gia. G 188 28T. Lomas Brown Det. T 188 28T. Steve Wallace S.F. T 188 28T. Jackie Slater Rams T 188! 28T. Bill Fralic Atl. G 188 41T. Jim Ritcher Buf. G 182 41T. John Davis Buf. G 182 41T. Dermontti Dawson Pit. C 182 41T. Doug Widell Den. G 182 41T. David [Dave] Szott K.C. G 182 41T. Courtney Hall S.D. G 182 41T. Joel Patten S.D. G 182 41T. Ed Simmons Was. T 182 41T. Bart Oates Gia. C 182 41T. Tom Thayer Chi. G 182 41T. Bubba Paris S.F. T 182 41T. Irv Pankey Rams T 182 53T. Bruce Kozerski Cin. C 181 53T. Max Montoya Rai. G 181 53T. Frank Cornish S.D. C 181 53T. Grant Feasel Sea. C 181 53T. William Roberts Gia. G 181 58. Joel Hilgenberg N.O. C 180 59T. Howard Ballard Buf. T 176 59T. Zefross Moss Ind. T 176 59T. Jim Sweeney Jets C 176 59T. Mike Baab Cle. C 176 59T. B.Blankenship Pit. G 176 59T. Terry Long Pit. G 176 59T. Keith Kartz Den. C 176 59T. Jim Juriga Den. G 176 59T. Edwin Bailey Sea. G 176 59T. Rich Moran G.B. G 176 59T. Tony Mandarich G.B. T 176 70T. Mark Dennis Mia. T 175 70T. Dave Cadigan Jets G 175 70T. Brian Blados Cin. G 175 70T. Ralph Tamm Cle. G 175 70T. Jay Pennison Hou. C 175 70T. Darrell Hamilton Den. T 175 70T. David Lutz K.C. G 175 70T. Don Mosebar Rai. C 175 70T. B.[Broderick]Thompson S.D. T 175 70T. Brian [sic-Bryan] Millard Sea. G 175 70T. Ron Mattes Sea. T 175 70T. Doug Riesenberg Gia. T 175 70T. Derek Kennard Phx. G 175 70T. Tootie Robbins Phx. T 175 70T. Crawford Ker Dal. T 175 70T. Jim Covert Chi. T 175 70T. Keith Van Horne Chi. T 175 70T. Eric Andolsek Det. G 175 70T. Guy McIntire S.F. G 175 70T. Harris Barton S.F. G 175 70T. Tom Newberry Rams G 175 70T. Bern Brostek Rams G 175 70T. Steve Trapilo N.O. G 175 70T. Kevin Haverdink N.O. T 175 94T. Brian Baldinger Ind. G 170 94T. Paul Fairchild N.E. C 170 94T. Mark Stepnoski Dal. C 170 94T. James Campen G.B. C 170 98T. Will Wolford Buf. T 169 98T. Ray Donaldson Ind. C 169 98T. Randy Dixon Ind. G 169 98T. Kevin Call Ind. T 169 98T. Mike Haight Jets G 169 98T. Jeff Criswell Jets T 169 98T. Brett Miller Jets T 169 98T. Joe Walter Cin. T 169 98T. Gregg Rakoczy Cle. G 169 98T. Paul Farren Cle. T 169 98T. Tony Jones Cle. T 169 98T. Don Maggs Hou. T 169 98T. Dean Steinkuhler Hou. T 169 98T. John Jackson Pit. T 169 98T. Ken Lanier Den. T 169 98T. Rory Graves Rai. T 169 98T. Ron Heller Phi. T 169 98T. R.Singletary Phi. T 169 98T. John Gesek Dal. G 169 98T. Kevin Gogan Dal. T 169 98T. Kevin Glover Det. C 169 98T. Harvey Salem Det. T 169 98T. Ron Hallstrom G.B. T 169 98T. Alan Veingrad G.B. T 169 98T. Todd Kalis Min. G 169 98T. Tim Irwin Min. T 169 98T. Paul Gruber T.B. T 169 125T. Chris Gambol N.E. G 163 125T. Damian Johnson N.E. G 163 125T. Danny Villa N.E. T 163 125T. David Alexander Phi. C 163 125T. Mike Schad Phi. G 163T. Bill Lewis Phx. C 163 125T. Lance Smith Phx. G 163 125T. Ken Dallafior Det. G 163 125T. Randy Grimes T.B. C 163 125T. Ian Beckles T.B. G 163 125T. Jamie Dukes Atl. C 163 125T. Mike Kenn Atl. T 163 137T. Carl Bax T.B. G 157 137T. Rob Taylor T.B. T 157 137T. Houston Hoover Atl. G 157 140. Ron Solt Phi. G 151 Rank Player (Team) Points 1. Jay Hilgenberg (Chi.) 207 2T. Kent Hull (Buf.) 201 2T. Mike Webster (K.C.) 201 2T. Jeff Bostic (Was.) 201 5T. Kirk Lowdermilk (Min.) 195 5T. Jesse Sapolu (S.F.) 195 5T. Doug Smith (Rams) 195 ... 25T. David Alexander (Phi.) 163 25T. Bill Lewis (Phx.) 163 25T. Randy Grimes (T.B.) 163 25T. Jamie Dukes (Atl.) 163 Guards Rank Player (Team) Points 1. Randall McDaniel (Min) 213 2T. Bruce Matthews (Hou.) 207 2T. Steve Wisniewski (Rai.) 207 2T. Mark Bortz (Chi.) 207 5. Harry Galbreath (Mia.) 195 ... 56. Ron Solt (Phi.) 151 Tackles Rank Player (Team) Points 1T. Richmond Webb (Mia.) 207 1T. Anthony Munoz (Cin.) 207 1T. Tunch Ilkin (Pit.) 207 1T. Luis Sharpe (Phx.) 207 1T. Stan Brock (N.O.) 207 ... 56. Rob Taylor (T.B.) 157 Maximum Speed Rank Player (Position,Team) Points 1T. Bruce Wilkerson (T,Rai.) 50 1T. Luis Sharpe (T,Phx.) 50 1T. Jay Hilgenberg (C,Chi.) 50 1T. Randall McDaniel (G,Min.) 50 5T. Bruce Matthews (G,Hou.) 44 5T. Tunch Ilkin (T,Pit.) 44 5T. Doug Widell (G,Den.) 44 5T. Steve Wisniewski (G,Rai.) 44 5T. Andy Heck (T,Sea.) 44 5T. Mark Bortz (G,Chi.) 44 5T. Joel Hilgenberg (C,N.O.) 44 5T. Stan Brock (T,N.O.) 44 5T. Bill Fralic (G,Atl.) 44 ... 128T. Howard Ballard (T,Buf.) 19 128T. Zefross Moss (T,Ind.) 19 128T. Kevin Call (T,Ind.) 19 128T. Chris Gambol (G,N.E.) 19 128T. Danny Villa (T,N.E.) 19 128T. John Alt (T,K.C.) 19 128T. Mike Schad (G,Phi.) 19 128T. Ron Solt (G,Phi.) 19 128T. Kevin Gogan (T,Dal.) 19 128T. Tony Mandarich (T,G.B.) 19 128T. Bubba Paris (T,S.F.) 19 128T. Jamie Dukes (C,Atl.) 19 128T. Houston Hoover (G,Atl.) 19 Hitting Power Rank Player (Position,Team) Points 1. John Alt (T,K.C.) 81 2T. Richmond Webb (T,Mia.) 75 2T. Anthony Munoz (T,Cin.) 75 2T. John Elliott (T,Gia.) 75 2T. Nate Newton (T,Dal.) 75 ... 140. Randy Grimes (C,T.B.) 31 Facts Worth Noting All OLs have 25 running speed and 69 rushing power except for Denver guard Doug Widell, whose numbers are nearly the inverse. He has 69 running speed and 31 rushing power. I can't see any difference, even after watching him closely in a preseason game. Guards as a whole tend to have high maximum speed and low hitting power, tackles have low MS and high HP, and centers are moderate in both categories. This makes sense, because guards do a lot of pulling, while tackles specialize in pass blocking. 13 of the worst 16 linemen are in the NFC. Kickers Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Points 1. Nick Lowery K.C. 411! 2T. Pete Stoyanovich Mia. 393 2T. Pat Leahy Jets 393 2T. Steve Christie T.B. 393 5. Chip Lohmiller Was. 380 6T. John Carney S.D. 374 6T. Morten Andersen N.O. 374! 8. Gary Anderson Pit. 362 9T. Jeff Jaeger Rai. 361 9T. Mike Cofer S.F. 361 11T. Jason Staurovsky N.E. 356 11T. Matt Bahr Gia. 356 11T. Fuad Reveiz Min. 356 14. David Treadwell Den. 349 15T. Jim Breech Cin. 343 15T. Chris Jacke G.B. 343 17T. Scott Norwood Buf. 337 17T. Ken Willis Dal. 337 17T. Kevin Butler Chi. 337 20. Norm Johnson Sea. 331 21. Eddie Murray Det. 330 22. Dean Biasucci Ind. 325 23T. Roger Ruzek Phi. 324 23T. Al Del Greco Phx. 324 23T. Greg Davis Atl. 324 26T. Jerry Kauric Cle. 318 26T. Tony Zendejas Hou. 318 28. Mike Lansford Rams 293 Kicking Ability Rank Player (Team) KA 1. Nick Lowery (K.C.) 81 2. Pat Leahy (Jets) 75 3T. Pete Stoyanovich (Mia.) 69 3T. David Treadwell (Den.) 69 3T. Steve Christie (T.B.) 69 ... 27T. Al Del Greco (Phx.) 19 27T. Mike Lansford (Rams) 19 Avoid Kick Block Rank Player (Team) AKB 1T. Nick Lowery (K.C.) 81 1T. Chip Lohmiller (Was.) 81 3T. Pete Stoyanovich (Mia.) 75 3T. Steve Christie (T.B.) 75 5T. Pat Leahy (Jets) 69 5T. Morten Andersen (N.O.) 69 ... 28. Mike Lansford (Rams) 25 Facts Worth Noting All kickers have 56 running speed, 81 rushing power, 81 maximum speed, and 31 hitting power. If you know your stats at all, you'll realize that these values are abnormally high. I bet that this was done because every other player seems to get faster on kick returns. You never really notice how fast your kicker is until you recover a blocked field goal. Then you realize just how fast he is. It's not completely unheard of to score a TD after recovering a block. Kickers really run the gamut in both the other categories. Kickers have anywhere between 81 and 19 kicking ability and 81 and 25 avoid kick block. Punters As if anybody cares about this category. Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Points 1. Sean Landeta Gia. 318! 2T. Mike Horan Den. 312 2T. Rich Camarillo Phx. 312 4. Joe Prokop Jets 300 5. Scott Fulhage Atl. 288 6T. Rohn Stark Ind. 287! 6T. Mike Saxon Dal. 287 8T. Greg Montgomery Hou. 281 8T. John Kidd S.D. 281 10T. Reggie Roby Mia. 269 10T. Lee Johnson Cin. 269 12T. Mark Royals T.B. 263 12T. Tommy Barnhardt N.O. 263 12T. Rick Donelly Sea. 263 15. Jim Arnold Det. 262 16. Bryan Barker K.C. 250 17. Dan Stryzinski Pit. 244 18. Rick Tuten Buf. 238 19. Jeff Feagles Phi. 237 20T. Kelly Goodburn Was. 231 20T. Don Bracken G.B. 231 22T. Jeff Gossett Rai. 225 22T. Harry Newsome Min. 225 22T. Keith English Rams 225 25. Brian Hansen N.E. 218 26. Barry Helton S.F. 213 27. Maury Buford Chi. 212 28. Bryan Wagner Cle. 200 Kicking Ability Rank Player (Team) KA 1T. Mike Horan (Den.) 81 1T. Sean Landeta (Gia.) 81 3T. Rohn Stark (Ind.) 75 3T. Reggie Roby (Mia.) 75 3T. Rich Camarillo (Phx.) 75 ... 26T. Rick Tuten (Buf.) 19 26T. Barry Helton (S.F.) 19 26T. Keith English (Rams) 19 Avoid Kick Block Rank Player (Team) AKB 1T. Sean Landeta (Gia.) 81 1T. Rich Camarillo (Phx.) 81 3T. Joe Prokop (Jets) 75 3T. Mike Horan (Den.) 75 3T. Mike Saxon (Dal.) 75 ... 28. Bryan Wagner (Cle.) 19 Facts worth noting Punters all have 25 running speed, 56 rushing power, 44 maximum speed, and 31 hitting power. 44 is a decent amount of maximum speed, but it seems extremely slow when covering punts. The only time your punter makes the tackle on a punt is when the returner manages to get by the first wave of potential tacklers. The computer never seems to have a slow punter,though, as the COM punter is usually one of the first people down to tackle the returner. You're probably wondering why punters have an avoid kick block value. To tell you the truth, I'm not completely sure. Punters hardly ever get a punt rush, since a player doesn't control anybody until the punt returner gets the ball. I've only seen two people get a punt rush: Derrick Thomas and Lawrence Taylor. This isn't a coincidence. These two are the fastest linebackers in the game. Occasionally when one of two are in excellent condition, they will tackle the punter. There are also a VERY, VERY rare times when the punt acts like it got blocked. This is so rare that I have only heard about it, never seen it myself. As I understand it, the punter gets hit just as he kicks the ball, after the punting cutscene. The punt acts the same way as a blocked field goal. It's anybody's guess as to whether it is intentional or just a glitch. I am of the opinion that it is intentional. I think that originally Tecmo was planning to let the player rush the punt, but ran out of time to program it in, or encountered problems in the testing stage after trying to put it in. (As a side note, you can punt rush on later versions of Tecmo on SNES and Genesis.) Rather than try to fix it, they probably just decided not to put it in. The block is just something they never took out because it never came up during testing. Defensive Linemen Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Points 1. Bruce Smith Buf. 350! 2. Reggie White Phi. 319! 3. Howie Long Rai. 313 4T. Greg Townsend Rai. 307! 4T. Richard Dent Chi. 307 6. Jacob Green Sea. 295 7. Chris Doleman Min. 294! 8. Ray Agnew N.E. 287 9T. Jeff Cross Mia. 282 9T. Gerald Williams Pit. 282 11T. Trace Armstrong Chi. 276 11T. Jerry Ball Det. 276! 13. Sean Jones Hou. 275 14. Renaldo Turnbull N.O. 270 15. Jim Wilks N.O. 269 16. Keith Willis Pit. 266 17T. Neil Smith K.C. 263 17T. Charles Mann Was. 263 17T. Clyde Simmons Phi. 263 17T. Daniel Stubbs Dal. 263 17T. Bob Nelson G.B. 263 17T. Pierce Holt S.F. 263 23. Burt Grossman S.D. 257 24T. Lee Williams S.D. 256 24T. Freddie Joe Nunn Phx. 256 26. Mike Gann Atl. 250 27. William Fuller Hou. 244 28. Henry Thomas Min. 239 29. Michael Carter S.F. 238 30. Bob Golic Rai. 237 31T. Donald Evans Pit. 232 31T. Tony Woods Sea. 232 31T. William Perry Chi. 232 34. Al Noga Min. 231 35T. Sam Clancy Ind. 226 35T. Les Miller S.D. 226 35T. Danny Noonan Dal. 226 38T. Dan Saleaumua K.C. 225! 38T. Leonard Marshall Gia. 225 38T. Dan Owens Det. 225 41T. Leon Seals Buf. 219 41T. Mike Golic Phi. 219 41T. Tony Tolbert Dal. 219 41T. Tim Green Atl. 219 45. Bill Maas K.C. 214 46T. Karl Wilson Mia. 213 46T. Ron Stallworth Jets 213 46T. Erik Howard Gia. 213 46T. Rod Saddler Phx. 213 46T. Tory Epps Atl. 213 51. Markus Koch Was. 208 52T. Doug Smith Hou. 207 52T. Darryl Grant Was. 207 52T. Eric Dorsey Gia. 207 52T. Kevin Fagan S.F. 207 56. Garin Veris N.E. 206 57T. Al Baker Cle. 201 57T. Jim Wahler Phx. 201 57T. Matt Brock G.B. 201 57T. Rueben Davis T.B. 201 57T. Doug Reed Rams 201 57T. Wayne Martin N.O. 201 63. Tim Newton T.B. 200 64T. Robert Banks Cle. 195 64T. Robert Brown G.B. 195 64T. Warren Powers Den. 194 66T. Alvin Wright Rams 194 68T. Jason Buck Cin. 188 68T. Skip McClendon Cin. 188 68T. Ron Holmes Den. 188 68T. Joe Nash Sea. 188 68T. Jim Skow T.B. 188 73. Jon Hand Ind. 187 74. Brian Smith Rams 182 75T. Shawn Lee Mia. 181 75T. Jeff Lageman Jets 181 75T. Scott Mersereau Jets 181 75T. Chris Pike Cle. 181 75T. Greg Kragen Den. 181 80. Tim Krumrie Cin. 176 81. Jeff Wright Buf. 175 82T. Harvey Armstrong Ind. 169 82T. Tim Goad N.E. 169 84. Keith Ferguson Det. 162 Maximum Speed Rank Player (Team) MS 1. Bruce Smith (Buf.) 69 2. Jacob Green (Sea.) 63 3T. Jeff Cross (Mia.) 56 3T. Ray Agnew (N.E.) 56 3T. Sean Jones (Hou.) 56 3T. Greg Townsend (Rai.) 56 3T. Howie Long (Rai.) 56 3T. Reggie White (Phi.) 56 ... 84. William Perry (Chi.) 19 Hitting Power Rank Player (Team) HP 1. Bruce Smith (Buf.) 75 2T. Bob Golic (Rai.) 69 2T. Howie Long (Rai.) 69 2T. Reggie White (Phi.) 69 2T. William Perry (Chi.) 69 2T. Chris Doleman (Min.) 69 2T. Pierce Holt (S.F.) 69 ... 83T. Keith Ferguson (Rams) 31 83T. Jim Skow (T.B.) 31 Quickness Rank Player (Team) QC 1. Bruce Smith (Buf.) 81 2T. Gerald Williams (Pit.) 75 2T. Reggie White (Phi.) 75 2T. Richard Dent (Chi.) 75 5T. Jeff Cross (Mia.) 69 5T. Greg Townsend (Rai.) 69 5T. Howie Long (Rai.) 69 5T. Jacob Green (Sea.) 69 5T. Clyde Simmons (Phi.) 69 5T. Daniel Stubbs (Dal.) 69 5T. Trace Armstrong (Chi.) 69 5T. Jerry Ball (Det.) 69 5T. Chris Doleman (Min.) 69 5T. Jim Wilks (N.O.) 69 ... 79T. Jeff Wright (Buf.) 19 79T. Harvey Armstrong (Ind.) 19 79T. Shawn Lee (Mia.) 19 79T. Tim Goad (N.E.) 19 79T. Tim Krumrie (Cin.) 19 79T. Chris Pike (Cle.) 19 Facts Worth Noting Bruce Smith is so dominant that he leads defensive linemen in four separate categories. He isn't even tied in these four categories. The two he doesn't lead are the two least important, since pass interceptions are rarely a factor on the line, and rushing power has little discernable effect. Bob Nelson, the Green Bay nosetackle, is one of those Tecmo legends. He's somebody that virtually nobody has heard of but excels on TSB. His stats are a little strange as well. While most linemen's stats are greatest at HP or QC, Nelson's are greatest at RP. No other lineman has his greatest value at RP. Linebacker Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Points 1. Lawrence Taylor Gia. 356! 2. Derrick Thomas K.C. 332! 3. Mike Singletary Chi. 319! 4. Keith Millard Min. 313 5T. Dennis Byrd Jets 307 5T. Greg Lloyd Pit. 307 5T. Pepper Johnson Gia. 307! 8. C.[Cornelius]Bennett Buf. 302! 9T. Charles Haley S.F. 301! 9T. Kevin Greene Rams 301 11T. Ray Childress Hou. 295 11T. Leslie O.Neal [O'Neal] S.D. 295 11T. Jerome Brown Phi. 295 14T. Seth Joyner Phi. 294 14T. M.[Mike]Merriweather Min. 294 16. David Little Pit. 282! 17T. Percy Snow K.C. 281 17T. Michael Cofer Det. 281 19T. James Francis Cin. 276 19T. Mike Johnson Cle. 276 19T. Ken Harvey Phx. 276 19T. Tim Harris G.B. 276 23T. Darryl Talley Buf. 270 23T. Simon Fletcher Den. 270 23T. Carl Banks Gia. 270 23T. Matt Millen S.F. 270 23T. Pat Swilling N.O. 270 28T. Shane Conlan Buf. 269 28T. John Offerdahl Mia. 269! 28T. Kyle Clifton Jets 269 31T. Karl Mecklenburg Den. 263 31T. Dino Hackett K.C. 263 33. Scott Davis Rai. 258 34. Bill Romanowski S.F. 257 35T. Eugene Lockheart Dal. 256 35T. Jimmie Jones Dal. 256 37. Gary Reasons Gia. 252 38. Chris Spielman Det. 250 39. Gary Plummer S.D. 239 40T. Andre Tippett N.E. 238 40T. Michael Brooks Den. 238 40T. Vaughan Johnson N.O. 238 43. Dan Hampton Chi. 232 44T. David Griggs Mia. 226 44T. Hardy Nickerson Pit. 226 44T. Brian Hinkle Pit. 226 44T. Rufus Porter Sea. 226 48. Wilber Marshall Was. 225 49. Tony Blaylock Cle. 221 50T. Chris Martin K.C. 220 50T. Ken Norton Dal. 220 52. Ray Bentley Buf. 219 53T. Andre Collins Was. 214 53T. Jessie Tuggle Atl. 214 55T. Hugh Green Mia. 213 55T. Henry Rolling S.D. 213 55T. Cortez Kennedy Sea. 213 55T. Byron Evans Phi. 213 55T. Jim Morrissey Chi. 213 55T. Ron Rivera Chi. 213 61T. Duane Bickett Ind. 207 61T. Cliff Odom Mia. 207 61T. Tracy Rocker Was. 207 61T. Broderick Thomas T.B. 207 61T. Sam Mills N.O. 207 61T. Rickey Jackson N.O. 207 67. Jeff Herrod Ind. 206 68T. Clay Matthews Cle. 202 68T. Al Smith Hou. 202 70T. Leon White Cin. 201 70T. David Grayson Cle. 201 70T. Riki Ellison Rai. 201 70T. Jerry Robinson Rai. 201 70T. Jessie Small Phi. 201 70T. Keith DeLong S.F. 201 76T. Garth Jax Phx. 200 76T. Anthony Bell Phx. 200 78T. Junior Seau S.D. 195 78T. Jack Del Rio Dal. 195 80T. Chip Banks Ind. 194 80T. Carl Zander Cin. 194 80T. Johnny Meads Hou. 194 83T. Aaron Wallace Rai. 189 83T. David Wyman Sea. 189 85. Greg Manusky Was. 188 86T. Scott Stephen G.B. 187 86T. Winston Davis T.B. 187 88T. Ed Reynolds N.E. 182 88T. Chris Singleton N.E. 182 88T. Kevin Walker Cin. 182 88T. John Grimsley Hou. 182 88T. Marc Munford Den. 182 88T. Eric Hill Phx. 182 88T. Mike Wilcher Rams 182 88T. Darion Conner Atl. 182 88T. John Rade Atl. 182 88T. Michael Reed Atl. 182 98T. Joe Kelly Jets 181 98T. Joe Mott Jets 181 100T. Terry Wooden Sea. 176 100T. Fred Strickland Rams 176 102. Richard Harvey N.E. 175 103T. Fredd Young Ind. 174 103T. Johnny Holland G.B. 174 105T. Kevin Murphy T.B. 169 105T. Frank Stams Rams 169 107T. Brian Noble G.B. 168 107T. Scott Studwell Min. 168 107T. Ray Berry Min. 168 110T. Dennis Gibson Det. 162 110T. Eugene Marve T.B. 162 112. George Jamison Det. 156 Maximum Speed Rank Player (Team) Points 1. Lawrence Taylor (Gia.) 69 2T. C.Bennett (Buf.) 63 2T. Derrick Thomas (K.C.) 63 4T. John Offerdahl (Mia.) 56 4T. Dennis Byrd (Jets) 56 4T. Ray Childress (Hou.) 56 4T. Greg Lloyd (Pit.) 56 4T. David Little (Pit.) 56 4T. Simon Fletcher (Den.) 56 4T. Percy Snow (K.C.) 56 4T. Leslie O.Neal (S.D.) 56 4T. Pepper Johnson (Gia.) 56 4T. Jerome Brown (Phi.) 56 4T. Ken Harvey (Phx.) 56 4T. Mike Singletary (Chi.) 56 4T. Michael Cofer (Det.) 56 4T. Tim Harris (G.B.) 56 4T. Keith Millard (Min.) 56 4T. Charles Haley (S.F.) 56 4T. Kevin Greene (Rams) 56 ... 84T. 19 tied 31 Hitting Power Rank Player (Team) HP 1T. Lawrence Taylor (Gia.) 75 1T. Mike Singletary (Chi.) 75 3T. Dennis Byrd (Jets) 69 3T. James Francis (Cin.) 69 3T. Mike Johnson (Cle.) 69 3T. Derrick Thomas (K.C.) 69 3T. Gary Plummer (S.D.) 69 3T. Pepper Johnson (Gia.) 69 3T. Jerome Brown (Phi.) 69 3T. Keith Millard (Min.) 69 3T. Kevin Greene (Rams) 69 ... 112. George Jamison (Dal.) 25 Quickness 1T. Derrick Thomas (K.C.) 81 1T. Lawrence Taylor (Gia.) 81 1T. Mike Singletary (Chi.) 75 1T. Keith Millard (Min.) 75 5T. Seth Joyner (Phi.) 75 5T. Charles Haley (S.F.) 75 ... 92T. Aaron Wallace (Rai.) 25 92T. Riki Ellison (Rai.) 25 92T. Jerry Robinson (Rai.) 25 92T. Terry Wooden (Sea.) 25 92T. Dennis Gibson (Det.) 25 92T. George Jamison (Det.) 25 92T. Johnny Holland (G.B.) 25 92T. Kevin Murphy (T.B.) 25 92T. Eugene Marve (T.B.) 25 92T. Fred Strickland (Rams) 25 92T. Frank Stams (Rams) 25 Facts Worth Noting If you see a linebacker on Tecmo who you thought was a defensive lineman, you're probably right. Every team has a 3-4 (3 linemen, 4 linebackers) defensive formation on TSB, but in real life, many pro teams start four linemen and and only three linebackers. In order to make every team have four linebackers on Tecmo, many teams had a linemen moved to linebacker. One big benefactor of this move is the Philadelphia Eagles. All you Jerome Brown fans can thank Tecmo for moving him from defensive tackle to TILB. To make things even stranger, Cleveland even has a corner, Tony Blaylock, at LB. A few others that I know of are Dennis Byrd (Jets), Ray Childress (Oilers), Scott Davis (Raiders), Leslie O.Neal (Chargers), Cortez Kennedy (Seahawks), Tracy Rocker (Redskins), Jimmie Jones (Cowboys), Keith Millard (Vikings), and Kevin Greene (Rams). Even though you probably think of the NFC central as the black and blue division with strong defenses year after year, eight of the worst nine LBs hail from that division. However, the NFC central also has the third and fourth best as well. Defensive Backs Total Points !-Pro Bowler Rank Player Team Pos Points 1. David Fulcher Cin. S 388! 2. Rod Woodson Pit. CB 382! 3T. Wayne Haddix T.B. CB 363 3T. Ronnie Lott S.F. S 363! 5T. Richard Johnson Hou. CB 345 5T. Gill Byrd S.D. CB 345 5T. Joey Browner Min. S 345! 8T. Erik McMillan Jets S 338 8T. Mark Carrier Chi. S 338 10. Deion Sanders Atl. CB 337 11T. Eddie Anderson Rai. S 333 11T. Dave Waymer S.F. S 333 13. Carl Lee Min. CB 326! 14. Tim McDonald Phx. S 319 15. Lemuel Stinson Chi. CB 313 16T. Ronnie Lippett N.E. CB 307 16T. Issiac Holt Dal. CB 307 18T. Louis Oliver Mia. S 306 18T. Jarvis Williams Mia. S 306 18T. Dwayne Woodruff Pit. CB 306 18T. William White Det. S 306 22T. Carnell Lake Pit. S 301 22T. Eric Allen Phi. CB 301 24T. Dennis Smith Den. S 295 24T. Mark Collins Gia. CB 295 24T. Manny Hendrix Dal. CB 295 27T. Albert Lewis K.C. CB 294! 27T. Darrell Green Was. CB 294! 29T. Martin Mayhew Was. CB 289 29T. Donnell Woolford Chi. CB 289 31. Lonnie Young Phx. S 288 32. Greg Jackson Gia. S 287 33T. Barney Bussey Cin. S 282 33T. Steve Atwater Den. S 282! 35. Everson Walls Gia. CB 276 36. Myron Guyton Gia. S 275 37T. Nate Odomes Buf. CB 270 37T. L.Washington Rai. CB 270 37T. Terry McDaniel Rai. CB 270 37T. Sam Seale S.D. CB 270 37T. Ben Smith Phi. CB 270 42T. Ray Crockett Det. CB 269 42T. Mark Robinson T.B. S 269 42T. Robert Massey N.O. CB 269 45T. Tim McKyer Mia. CB 263 45T. Frank Minnefield Cle. CB 263 45T. Terry Kinard Hou. S 263 45T. Kevin Ross K.C. CB 263 49T. Leonard Smith Buf. S 257 49T. Thomas Everett Pit. S 257 49T. Ray Horton Dal. S 257 49T. James Washington Dal. S 257 49T. Don Griffin S.F. S 257 49T. Brett Maxie N.O. S 257 55. Nesby Glasgow Sea. S 256 56T. Maurice Hurst N.E. CB 251 56T. Vencie Glenn S.D. S 251 56T. Reggie Rutland Min. CB 251 59T. Dwayne Harper Sea. CB 250 59T. Mike Harden Rai. S 250 59T. Harry Hamilton T.B. S 250 59T. Vince Newsome Rams S 250 63T. Mark Kelso Buf. S 245 63T. D.[Darrell]Fullington Min. S 245 65T. J.B.Brown Mia. CB 244 65T. Fred Marion N.E. S 244 65T. Martin Bayless S.D. S 244 65T. Shaun Gayle Chi. S 244 69T. Kirby Jackson Buf. CB 238 69T. Bubba McDowell Hou. S 238 69T. Deron Cherry K.C. S 238 72T. Cris Dishman Hou. CB 237 72T. Bobby Humphery Rams CB 237 74T. Mark Murphy G.B. S 232 74T. Gene Atkins N.O. S 232 76T. Mike Prior Ind. S 226 76T. Brian Washington Jets S 226 76T. Felix Wright Cle. S 226 76T. Bennie Blades Det. S 226 76T. Jerry Holmes G.B. CB 226 76T. Darryl Pollard S.F. CB 226 82T. Tyrone Braxton Den. CB 225 82T. Todd Bowles Was. S 225 84T. Keith Taylor Ind. S 220 84T. Eugene Robinson Sea. S 220 86T. Kevin Porter K.C. S 214 86T. Patrick Hunter Sea. CB 214 86T. Toi Cook N.O. CB 214 89T. Cedric Mack Phx. CB 213 89T. Ricky Reynolds T.B. CB 213 91. Wes Hopkins Phi. S 212 92T. James Hasty Jets CB 207 92T. Chuck Cecil G.B. S 207 94T. Alvin Walton Was. S 206 94T. Anthony Newman Rams S 206 96. Rod McSwain N.E. S 205 97. Jerry Gray Rams CB 201 98T. Tony Stargell Jets CB 200 98T. Thane Gash Cle. S 200 98T. Scott Case Atl. S 200 101T. Eugene Daniel Ind. CB 194 101T. Chris Goode Ind. CB 194 101T. Frank Minnefield Cle. CB 194 101T. Jay Taylor Phx. CB 194 101T. Leroy Irvin Det. CB 194 101T. Mark Lee G.B. CB 194 101T. Brian Jordan Atl. S 194 108. Charles Dimry Atl. CB 193 109. Wymon Henderson Den. CB 182 110. Lewis Billups Cin. CB 181 111. Carl Carter Cin. CB 175 112. Andre Waters Phi. S 150 Maximum Speed Rank Player (Pos.,Team) MS 1T. Rod Woodson (CB,Pit.) 75 1T. Darrell Green (CB,Was.) 75 1T. Wayne Haddix (CB,T.B.) 75 1T. Deion Sanders (CB,Atl.) 75 5T. David Fulcher (S,Cin.) 69 5T. Ronnie Lott (S,S.F.) 69 ... 110T. Wymon Anderson (CB,Den.) 19 110T. Wes Hopkins (S,Phi.) 19 110T. Andre Waters (S,Phi.) 19 Pass Interceptions Rank Player (Pos.,Team) PI 1. Mark Carrier (S,Chi.) 81 2T. Richard Johnson (CB,Hou.) 75 2T. Wayne Haddix (CB,T.B.) 75 4T. Gill Byrd (CB,S.D.) 69 4T. Martin Mayhew (CB,Was.) 69 4T. Lemuel Stinson (CB,Chi.) 69 4T. David Fulcher (S,Cin.) 69 4T. Joey Browner (S,Cin.) 69 4T. Dave Waymer (S,S.F.) 69 ... 111T. Nesby Glasgow (S,Sea.) 25 111T. Andre Waters (S,Phi.) 25 Facts Worth Noting Pheonix safety Lonnie Young has an astounding 69 running speed. Every other defensive back has between 25 and 44 running speed. Safeties tend to have better hitting power than corners. Nine of the twelve worst defensive backs are corners. The safeties in Tecmo are divided into two categories. The top safeties are free safeties, the bottom are strong safeties. In real football, the strong safeties cover people like tight ends or third wide receivers on man coverages. Free safeties will help with receivers that go deep. I can't tell any difference on Tecmo, either in coverage or any other behavior. The best five safeties in the league are free safeties. ####################################################################### Schedule ####################################################################### Simply, this is where the schedule for all 17 weeks is listed. If you are looking for team-by-team schedules, they are in the scouting reports section. The games in each week will not necessarily follow this order. The game rearranges the schedule each week when that week arrives. The rearranging seems to follow no discernible order. These games are listed in the default order, which is in order by the first team. Week 1 Buf. vs. Mia. | Cle. vs. Dal. | Sea. vs. N.O. | Phi. vs. G.B. Ind. vs. N.E. | Hou. vs. Rai. | Was. vs. Det. | Chi. vs. Min. Jets vs. T.B. | Pit. vs. S.D. | Gia. vs. S.F. | Phx. vs. Rams Cin. vs. Den. | K.C. vs. Atl. | Week 2 Buf. vs. Pit. | Cin. vs. Hou. | Was. vs. Dal. | Chi. vs. T.B. Ind. vs. Mia. | Den. vs. Rai. | Gia. vs. Rams | Det. vs. G.B. N.E. vs. Cle. | K.C. vs. N.O. | Phi. vs. Phx. | Min. vs. Atl. Jets vs. Sea. | S.D. vs. S.F. | Week 3 Buf. vs. Jets | Cin. vs. Cle. | Was. vs. Phx. | G.B. vs. T.B. Ind. vs. Rai. | Hou. vs. K.C. | Gia. vs. Chi. | Min. vs. S.F. N.E. vs. Pit. | Den. vs. Sea. | Phi. vs. Dal. | Rams vs. N.O. Mia. vs. Den. | S.D. vs. Atl. | Week 4 Buf. vs. T.B. | Jets vs. Chi. | Den. vs. S.D. | Min. vs. N.O. Ind. vs. Det. | Cin. vs. Was. | K.C. vs. Sea. | Rai. vs. Atl. Mia. vs. G.B. | Cle. vs. Gia. | Phx. vs. Dal. | S.F. vs. Rams N.E. vs. Hou. | Pit. vs. Phi. | Week 5 Buf. vs. Chi. | Den. vs. Min. | Gia. vs. Dal. | BYES Ind. vs. Sea. | K.C. vs. S.D. | Det. vs. T.B. |Cin., Cle., Pit., Mia. vs. Jets | Rai. vs. S.F. | G.B. vs. Rams |Hou. N.E. vs. Phx. | Was. vs. Phi. | N.O. vs. Atl. | Week 6 Buf. vs. K.C. | Cin. vs. Sea. | Gia. vs. Phx. | BYES Ind. vs. Pit. | Hou. vs. Den. | Phi. vs. T.B. |S.F., Rams, N.O. Mia. vs. N.E. | Rai. vs. S.D. | Dal. vs. G.B. |Atl. Jets vs. Cle. | Was. vs. Chi. | Det. vs. Min. | Week 7 Buf. vs. Ind. | Cle. vs. Was. | Phi. vs. N.O. | BYES Mia. vs. Hou. | Pit. vs. Gia. | Phx. vs. Min. |N.E., Den., Chi., Jets vs. K.C. | Rai. vs. Sea. | S.F. vs. Atl. |T.B., Det., G.B. Cin. vs. Dal. | S.D. vs. Rams | Week 8 Buf. vs. Cin. | Cle. vs. S.D. | Phx. vs. Atl. | BYES Ind. vs. Jets | Pit. vs. Sea. | Chi. vs. G.B. |Was., Gia., Phi., Mia. vs. Hou. | Den. vs. K.C. | Det. vs. S.F. |Dal. N.E. vs. Min. | Rai. vs. Rai. | T.B. vs. N.O. | Week 9 N.E. vs. Den. | S.D. vs. Sea. | Dal. vs. Det. | BYES Cin. vs. Hou. | Was. vs. Gia. | Chi. vs. N.O. |Buf., Ind., Mia., Cle. vs. Pit. | Phi. vs. S.F. | G.B. vs. T.B. |Jets K.C. vs. Rai. | Phx. vs. Min. | Rams vs. Atl. | Week 10 Buf. vs. N.E. | Hou. vs. Was. | Chi. vs. Det. | BYES Ind. vs. Mia. | Pit. vs. Den. | Min. vs. T.B. |K.C., Rai., S.D., Jets vs. G.B. | Gia. vs. Phi. | S.F. vs. Atl. |Sea. Cin. vs. Cle. | Phx. vs. Dal. | Rams vs. N.O. | Week 11 Buf. vs. G.B. | Cle. vs. Phi. | S.D. vs. Sea. | Chi. vs. Min. Ind. vs. Jets | Hou. vs. Dal. | Was. vs. Atl. | Det. vs. T.B. Mia. vs. N.E. | Den. vs. Rai. | Gia. vs. Phx. | S.F. vs. N.O. Cin. vs. Pit. | K.C. vs. Rams | Week 12 Buf. vs. Mia. | Cle. vs. Hou. | S.D. vs. N.O. | Det. vs. Rams Ind. vs. Chi. | Pit. vs. Was. | Gia. vs. Dal. | G.B. vs. Min. N.E. vs. Jets | Den. vs. K.C. | Phx. vs. S.F. | T.B. vs. Atl. Cin. vs. Phi. | Rai. vs. Sea. | Week 13 Buf. vs. N.E. | Cin. vs. Rai. | Was. vs. Dal. | Det. vs. Min. Ind. vs. G.B. | Cle. vs. K.C. | Gia. vs. T.B. | S.F. vs. Rams Mia. vs. Chi. | Hou. vs. Pit. | Phi. vs. Phx. | N.O. vs. Atl. Jets vs. S.D. | Den. vs. Sea. | Week 14 Buf. vs. Jets | Cin. vs. Gia. | Rai. vs. S.D. | S.F. vs. N.O. Ind. vs. Cle. | Pit. vs. Det. | Was. vs. Rams | BYES Mia. vs. T.B. | Hou. vs. Phi. | Chi. vs. Det. |Min., Phx. N.E. vs. Den. | K.C. vs. Sea. | G.B. vs. Atl. | Week 15 Buf. vs. Rai. | Cle. vs. Den. | Was. vs. Phx. | Chi. vs. G.B. Ind. vs. N.E. | Hou. vs. Pit. | Gia. vs. Phi. | Min. vs. T.B. Mia. vs. Cin. | K.C. vs. S.D. | Dal. vs. N.O. | Rams vs. Atl. Jets vs. Det. | Sea. vs. S.F. | Week 16 Buf. vs. Ind. | Cle. vs. Hou. | Sea. vs. Atl. | Chi. vs. T.B. Mia. vs. S.D. | Den. vs. Phx. | Was. vs. Gia. | Det. vs. G.B. N.E. vs. Jets | K.C. vs. S.F. | Phi. vs. Dal. | Min. vs. Rams Cin. vs. Pit. | Rai. vs. N.O. | Week 17 Buf. vs. Det. | Cle. vs. Pit. | Sea. vs. Rams | Dal. vs. Atl. Ind. vs. T.B. | Hou. vs. Gia. | Was. vs. Phi. | Chi. vs. S.F. Mia. vs. Jets | Den. vs. S.D. | Phx. vs. N.O. | Min. vs. G.B. N.E. vs. Cin. | K.C. vs. Rai. | CAUTION! Extremely long, boring, and confusing explanation ahead! If you are bored easily or care nothing about why some schedules are designed the way they are, skip to the next section and save yourself a few minutes. There are a few oddities which exist in the schedule because of the divisions. Since four divisions have five teams and the two other divisions have only four teams, the schedule can get very convoluted. First of all, every team plays every other team in its division twice. Every team has a sixteen game schedule with one bye week in the middle of the season. Every team plays games against four teams in a single division from the other conference. If the other division has five teams, the team plays the four teams that have the regular schedule (see below). Most of the teams in the divisions with five teams have the basic schedule. The exceptions are New England, Denver, Pheonix, and Minnesota. The basic teams (I'll call them Type I teams) play every team in their division twice, which accounts for eight games. They also play two teams from each other division in their conference, which accounts for four more games. The last four games are played against four teams in a single division from the other conference. The teams in the divisions with four teams (Type II teams) have six divisional games and three games against the other two divisions in their conference. They also play four teams against four teams in a single division in the other conference. The odd teams out, the Type III teams, play the other four teams in their respective divisions twice. In addition, they play the other Type III team in their confence twice. They play the remaining two Type III teams once each. The last four games are played against the division in their conference with only four teams. ####################################################################### Scouting Reports ####################################################################### In this section I will go over each of the 28 teams in Tecmo in order of how they appear on the team data screen, plus the two Pro Bowl teams. Rankings, rosters, schedules, and analyses are included for each team. Each player is also covered, followed by their percentile at their position in the league. The percentile is computed by taking a the number of players at that position minus the player's rank at their position, then taking that number and dividing it by the total number of players at that position. Then multiply this by 100 to get a percentile. For example, let's take Dan Marino, who is ranked fifth at quarterback. Take the number of people at quarterback (56) and subtract Dan's rank (5) from it. This gives us 51. Divide this by the number of quarterbacks (51/56=.91). Multiply this by 100 and- Voila!- you have a players percentile. I also figured out the strength of each team's offense and defense using these percentiles. I ranked each team separately for a MAN controller and a COM controller. The computer controlls teams so much differently than a player does that I thought this was warranted. For each team's COM rating, I took all the starters besides offensive linemen and added their percentiles together. Then, I added five times the average of the offensive linemen and backups. I then added the average of the kicker and punter to find the final overall value. I did this because it gives the offense and defense equal value. The man value for offense can be found by taking the highest percentile among a team's running backs and adding it to the better QB and the best reciever (WR or TE). The defensive man rating is figured the same way, except with the best lineman, linebacker, and defensive back. Strength of schedule is found by ranking the schedule based on the sum of the subjective rankings of a team's opponents. The rankings are 1 to 28 where 28 is the easiest and 1 is the hardest. Buffalo Bills ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 3 - Offense 3 - Defense 5 - Man Overall 2 541 Offense 1 282 Defense 7 259 Computer Overall 13 1324 Offense 14 627 Defense 11 660 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. QB Bills [Jim Kelly] 0 QB 25 69 13 13 56 81 81 81 419 96! Frank Reich 11 QB 25 69 13 13 31 44 25 50 270 23 Thurman Thomas 34 RB 38 69 63 25 75 50 320 96! Jamie Mueller 41 RB 44 69 25 88 50 25 301 15 Kenneth Davis 23 RB 38 69 25 19 50 25 232 2 Don Smith 30 RB 38 69 25 19 50 25 232 2 James Lofton 80 WR 25 69 38 13 50 56 251 62 Andre Reed 83 WR 25 69 56 13 56 69 288 90! Don Beebe 82 WR 25 69 44 13 50 44 245 59 Al Edwards 85 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Keith McKeller 84 TE 25 69 38 50 50 50 282 76 Pete Metzelaars 88 TE 25 69 19 50 50 31 238 26 Kent Hull 67 C 25 69 38 69 201 92! Jim Ritcher 51 G 25 69 44 50 182 71 John Davis 65 G 25 69 25 63 182 71 Will Wolford 69 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Howard Ballard 75 T 25 69 19 63 176 58 Scott Norwood 11 K 56 81 81 31 44 44 337 39 Rick Tuten 10 P 25 56 44 31 19 63 238 36 Bruce Smith 78 DE 44 56 69 75 25 81 350 99! Jeff Wright 91 NT 25 31 31 50 19 19 175 51 Leon Seals 96 DE 25 31 38 44 31 50 219 4 Darryl Talley 56 LB 31 44 50 38 44 63 270 79 Ray Bentley 50 LB 25 31 38 38 31 56 219 54 Shane Conlan 58 LB 31 44 50 56 19 69 269 75 C.[Cornelius]Bennett 97 LB 38 50 63 63 19 69 302 93! Nate Odomes 37 CB 38 44 56 38 38 56 270 67 Kirby Jackson 47 CB 25 31 44 38 50 50 238 38 Mark Kelso 38 FS 31 38 50 38 44 44 245 44 Leonard Smith 46 SS 31 38 50 44 44 50 257 56 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Mia. 7. Ind. 13. N.E. 2. Pit. 8. Cin. 14. Jets 3. Jets 9. BYE 15. Rai. 4. T.B. 10. N.E. 16. Ind. 5. Chi. 11. G.B. 17. Det. 6. K.C. 12. Mia. Strength-25 The Bills are the most balanced team on the game. They've got excellent players at every position. Buffalo has five Pro Bowlers, the most of any team. The weak schedule is the icing on the cake. All in all, the Bills are the most powerful team in the AFC. On offense, this team is such a chameleon that you could put in almost any system and it would work. Thomas is one of the best running backs in the league, and it helps that he has an incredible line to run behind, not to mention FB Mueller. QB Bills has an excellent recieving corps. Even Thomas can catch out of the backfield if needed. The spots to watch are depth, especially at RB. If Thomas goes down, you'll be forced to run a smash-mouth running game with Mueller, who is tied for the slowest back on the game. Also Reich is not a very good backup, so protect QB Bills by running out of bounds if you must. If one of these two offensive cogs goes down, compensate with the other. If both go down, you're in trouble. On defense, this team has a couple stars, backed up by a solid unit. Bruce Smith is head and shoulders above any competition at the defensive line, and he can take over a game single-handedly if he becomes posessed. Buffalo has an excellent linebacking core, including OLB C.Bennett, who is the quicker picker upper for any mess Smith can't handle. The secondary is the only question mark, because it has no stars. To call it a weakness is insulting, because they have a decent unit. The only time it should come into play is if you must cover the pass, but that shouldn't be a problem if you pick a pass. Indianapolis Colts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 27 - Offense 26 - Defense 28 - Man Overall 28 316 Offense 26 180 Defense 28 136 Computer Overall 28 824 Offense 27 501 Defense 28 273 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Jeff George 11 QB 25 69 6 13 50 31 38 25 257 4 Jack Trudeau 10 QB 25 69 13 13 31 38 31 50 270 23 Ivy Joe Hunter 45 RB 38 69 31 50 50 25 263 34 Albert Bentley 20 RB 38 69 44 31 50 63 295 79 Anthony Johnson 23 RB 38 69 31 25 50 25 238 21 Ken Clark 32 RB 38 69 38 25 50 25 245 46 Bill Brooks 80 WR 38 69 38 13 50 69 277 78 Jessie Hester 84 WR 44 69 38 13 50 63 277 73 Clarence Verdin 83 WR 38 69 38 13 50 44 252 55 Stanley Morgan 88 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Pat Beach 81 TE 25 69 25 50 50 38 257 54 Orson Mobley 89 TE 25 69 19 50 50 31 244 36 Ray Donaldson 53 C 25 69 25 50 169 30 Randy Dixon 69 G 25 69 25 50 169 30 Brian Baldinger 62 G 25 69 38 38 170 33 Zefross Moss 73 T 25 69 19 63 176 58 Kevin Call 71 T 25 69 19 56 169 30 Dean Biasucci 4 K 56 81 81 31 38 38 325 21 Rohn Stark 3 P 25 56 44 31 75 56 287 79! Jon Hand 78 DE 25 31 31 56 19 25 187 13 Harvey Armstrong 79 NT 25 31 25 50 19 19 169 2 Sam Clancy 76 DE 25 31 38 50 19 64 226 58 Duane Bickett 50 LB 25 31 38 50 25 38 207 46 Fredd Young 56 LB 25 31 31 31 25 31 174 8 Jeff Herrod 54 LB 25 31 31 44 25 50 206 40 Chip Banks 51 LB 25 31 31 44 25 38 194 29 Eugene Daniel 38 CB 25 31 38 38 31 31 194 10 Chris Goode 37 CB 25 31 38 38 31 31 194 10 Mike Prior 39 FS 25 31 38 44 44 44 226 32 Keith Taylor 27 SS 25 31 44 38 38 44 220 25 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. N.E. 7. Buf. 13. G.B. 2. Mia. 8. Jets 14. Cle. 3. Rai. 9. BYE 15. N.E. 4. Det. 10. Mia. 16. Buf. 5. Sea. 11. Jets 17. T.B. 6. Pit. 12. Chi. Strength-23 The Dolts are one of the worst teams in the game without question. With a hideous defense and no strengths on offense, many Tecmoers rank these guys below even the lowly Patriots. The offense rides on the "back" of Bentley (pun intended), and the two starting WRs. These guys are really nothing special, they just are better than the rest of this pretty bad offense. The one strong point of this offense is a pretty good playbook. This default one can get pretty tough to stop with a lineman or linebacker. This defense is absolutely abominable. To put this in perspective, only DE Clancy is above average, and even then only by a hair. An awful secondary makes defending against the pass nearly impossible. All you can do with this defense is pray that the other team has mercy, because you won't be able to do anything to stop them. One of the great mysteries of Tecmo is why the developers chose to leave Eric Dickerson out of this game. He was not retired yet. The best explanation is that Tecmo couldn't use his name. If this were the case, common sense would dictate that they would still use "RB Colts" like they did with Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, and Randall Cunningham. Dickerson even appears in both Tecmo Bowl for NES and TSB I for SNES and Genesis, so why did they leave him out in this version? Miami Dolphins ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 10 - Offense 5 - Defense 14 - Man Overall 13 492 Offense 12 244 Defense 12 248 Computer Overall 6 1466 Offense 6 768 Defense 12 620 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Dan Marino 13 QB 25 69 6 13 81 69 63 69 395 91 Scott Mitchell 19 QB 25 69 13 13 44 44 25 50 283 54 Sammie Smith 33 RB 44 69 38 63 50 25 289 67 Tony Paige 49 RB 44 69 31 88 50 44 326 40 Marc Logan 20 RB 44 69 38 44 50 25 270 60 Troy Stradford 23 RB 38 69 38 25 50 38 258 58 Mark Clayton 83 WR 31 69 44 13 50 69 276 82 Mark Duper 85 WR 38 69 50 13 50 63 283 86 Fred Banks 86 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Tony Martin 89 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Ferrell Edmunds 80 TE 25 69 38 56 50 50 288 82! Jim Jensen 11 TE 25 69 31 44 50 69 288 82 Jeff Uhlenhake 63 C 25 69 31 69 194 86 Keith Sims 69 G 25 69 25 69 188 80 Harry Galbreath 62 G 25 69 38 63 195 89 Richmond Webb 78 T 25 69 38 75 207 99 Mark Dennis 74 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 Pete Stoyanovich 10 K 56 81 81 31 69 75 393 93 Reggie Roby 4 P 25 56 44 31 19 63 269 64 Jeff Cross 91 DE 38 50 56 50 19 69 282 89 Shawn Lee 98 NT 25 31 31 56 19 19 181 11 Karl Wilson 77 DE 25 31 38 50 19 50 213 45 Hugh Green 55 LB 25 31 38 44 25 50 213 51 Cliff Odom 93 LB 25 31 38 44 25 44 207 46 John Offerdahl 56 LB 38 50 56 44 31 50 269 75! David Griggs 92 LB 25 38 44 44 25 50 226 61 J.B.Brown 37 CB 25 31 44 50 44 50 244 44 Tim McKyer 22 CB 31 38 50 44 50 50 263 60 Louis Oliver 25 FS 38 44 56 56 56 56 306 84 Jarvis Williams 26 SS 38 44 56 56 56 56 306 84 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Buf. 7. K.C. 13. Chi. 2. Ind. 8. Hou. 14. T.B. 3. Det. 9. BYE 15. Cin. 4. G.B. 10. Ind. 16. S.D. 5. Jets 11. N.E. 17. Jets 6. N.E. 12. Buf. Strength-24 Miami is one of my least favorite teams, because it doesn't seem to be able to form a real feeling in the way it runs. The defense is a solid but unspectacular unit lacking flavor, and the offense seems to want to pass but lacks the superb reciever to make a truly great passing offense. The offense of Miami is anchored by the best offensive line in the NFL. QB Dan Marino is one of the best QBs in the league, and 81 passing speed gives him a tie for the fastest passer in the league. He does well, but he would do much better if he had a better supporting cast. The running game is dependent on the strong line and Paige's running and blocking. However, both backs are just a little too slow to be anything other than changes of pace and occasional receivers out of the backfield. I've always thought that Miami suffers because of a bad playbook for its style. A run and shoot or shotgun based offense is more tailored to Miami's strengths than the current T-formation system that runs sweeps and dives. Try putting backup TE Jensen in as a fourth receiver. He's got great hands and is wasted as a backup to pro-bowler Edmunds. The defense is pretty much a wash, and, like the offense, suffers from lack of a star. Cross and Offerdahl anchor the front seven, which gives way to decent corners and two very good safeties. All-in-all, a great team against the pass and tough enough against the run. New England Patriots ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 28 - Offense 28 - Defense 26 - Man Overall 27 381 Offense 28 141 Defense 28 240 Computer Overall 27 856 Offense 28 388 Defense 20 432 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Steve Grogan 14 QB 25 69 6 13 19 25 31 44 232 0 Marc Wilson 15 QB 25 69 13 13 38 44 25 38 265 16 Marvin Allen 39 RB 44 69 25 38 50 25 251 6 John Stephens 44 RB 44 69 31 50 50 31 275 35 George Adams 33 RB 38 69 31 31 50 25 244 26 Mosi Tatupu 30 RB 38 69 31 31 50 25 244 26 Irving Fryar 80 WR 31 69 31 13 50 63 257 68 Hart Lee Dykes 88 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Greg McMurty [sic-McMurtry] 19 WR 25 69 19 13 50 50 226 25 Sammy Martin 82 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Marv Cook 46 TE 25 69 44 56 50 63 307 90 Eric Sievers 85 TE 25 69 25 31 50 50 250 46 Paul Fairchild 66 C 25 69 38 38 170 11 Chris Gambol 74 G 25 69 19 50 163 11 Damian Johnson 68 G 25 69 25 44 163 11 Bruce Armstrong 78 T 25 69 38 69 201 92! Danny Villa 75 T 25 69 19 50 163 11 Jason Staurovsky 4 K 56 81 81 31 63 44 356 61 Brian Hansen 10 P 25 56 44 31 31 31 218 11 Garin Veris 60 DE 25 31 31 50 19 50 206 33 Tim Goad 72 NT 25 31 25 50 19 19 169 2 Ray Agnew 92 DE 38 50 56 56 31 56 287 90 Andre Tippett 56 LB 25 38 44 56 31 44 238 64 Ed Reynods 95 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 Richard Harvey 58 LB 25 31 31 38 19 31 175 9 Chris Singleton 55 LB 25 31 31 38 19 38 182 21 Maurice Hurst 37 CB 31 38 50 44 50 38 251 50 Ronnie Lippett 42 CB 38 44 56 50 63 56 307 86 Fred Marion 31 FS 25 31 44 50 50 44 244 42 Rod McSwain 23 SS 25 31 31 56 31 31 205 14 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Ind. 7. BYE 13. Buf. 2. Cle. 8. Min. 14. Den. 3. Pit. 9. Den. 15. Ind. 4. Hou. 10. Buf. 16. Jets 5. Phx. 11. Mia. 17. Cin. 6. Mia. 12. Jets Strength-9 The Patriots blow. I can't put it any more clearly. There's really nothing much else to say. The Patriots are absolutely horrible on offense. They have, without a doubt, the worst offense on the game, and probably even in all of recorded Tecmo history. Steve "Please intercept my horrible passes" Grogan should inquire about a job at NASA, because he seems to be able to launch footballs into the upper atmosphere. Marc Wilson is a hair better, but still a long way from All-Pro. The receivers are pretty bad, though TE Cook can be a weapon if not covered. The running game isn't going to help, because an awful back running behind a worse line adds up to "Let's depend on the passing game," which I've covered already. The defense is not as bad as the offense, but don't get the impression that it's good. DE Ray Agnew and CB Ronnie Lippett are the lone bright spots in an otherwise lackluster unit. Run defense can really be a problem, because the Pats' front seven is made up of weaklings after Agnew and LB Tippett. New York Jets ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 12 - Offense 12 - Defense 10 - Man Overall 16 457 Offense 21 223 Defense 16 234 Computer Overall 21 1076 Offense 19 566 Defense 21 420 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Ken O.Brien [O'Brien] 7 QB 25 69 13 13 56 50 44 38 308 66 Tony Eason 11 QB 25 69 13 13 44 44 25 31 264 9 Blair Thomas 32 RB 38 69 44 25 50 31 257 75 Freeman McNeil 24 RB 38 69 38 19 50 25 239 42 Brad Baxter 30 RB 44 69 31 31 50 25 250 27 Johnny Hector 34 RB 44 69 44 19 50 25 245 70 Al Toon 88 WR 31 69 44 13 50 69 276 82 Rob Moore 85 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Terance Mathis 81 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Jojo Townsell 83 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Mark Boyer 80 TE 25 69 25 56 50 50 275 72 Doug Wellsandt 86 TE 25 69 19 38 50 31 232 10 Jim Sweeney 53 C 25 69 38 44 176 58 Mike Haight 79 G 25 69 31 44 169 30 Dave Cadigan 66 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Jeff Criswell 61 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Brett Miller 72 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Pat Leahy 5 K 56 81 81 31 75 69 393 93 Joe Prokop 6 P 25 56 44 31 69 75 300 86 Jeff Lageman 56 DE 25 31 31 44 19 31 181 11 Scott Mersereau 94 NT 25 31 31 44 19 31 181 11 Ron Stallworth 96 DE 25 31 38 50 19 50 213 45 Joe Kelly 58 LB 25 31 31 44 19 31 181 13 Dennis Byrd 90 LB 38 50 56 69 25 69 307 96 Kyle Clifton 59 LB 31 44 50 50 50 44 269 75 Joe Mott 51 LB 25 31 31 44 19 31 181 13 James Hasty 40 CB 25 31 38 38 44 31 207 18 Tony Stargell 45 CB 25 31 38 31 44 31 200 13 Erik McMillan 22 FS 38 44 56 56 63 81 338 93 Brian Washington 21 SS 25 31 44 38 50 38 226 32 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. T.B. 7. Hou. 13. S.D. 2. Sea. 8. Ind. 14. Buf. 3. Buf. 9. BYE 15. Det. 4. Chi. 10. G.B. 16. N.E. 5. Mia. 11. Ind. 17. Mia. 6. Cle. 12. N.E. Strength-26 The Jets are a team that I like quite a bit, but they are not one of the league's premier teams. They get by, but mostly because of three stars on defense and controlling the ball on offense. The weak schedule is helpful too. The offense revolves around Blair Thomas, a good-but-not-great running back. Make sure you take the inept fullback McNeil out and replace him with Hector. Together, Thomas and Hector can make for a good one-two punch. If one is in bad condition, use the other. The passing game is not the greatest, but it can unfold if you use it strictly as a change of pace. After lulling the opponent into a run rhythm, spring the playaction pass for big yards. If you are forced to run a regular pass, throw it short, because O.Brien's arm is nothing special. The defense depends on big plays from ILBs Byrd and Clifton and S McMillan. If the offense takes these three out of the picture, it's lights out, because the Jets are pathetically weak everywhere else. In fact, only two other players on defense have percentiles above 20. Cincinnati Bengals ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 8 - Offense 13 - Defense 13 - Man Overall 14 473 Offense 3 272 Defense 22 201 Computer Overall 17 1157 Offense 8 715 Defense 24 387 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Boomer Esiason 7 QB 25 69 19 13 63 56 69 75 389 89 Erik Wilhelm 4 QB 25 69 25 13 44 44 38 38 284 57 James Brooks 21 RB 38 69 56 31 50 38 282 93! Ickey Woods 30 RB 44 69 31 81 50 31 306 38 Harold Green 28 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 S.[Stanford]Jennings 36 RB 38 69 38 25 50 25 245 46 Tim McGee 85 WR 31 69 31 13 50 56 250 57 Eddie Brown 81 WR 31 69 38 13 50 56 257 68 Kendal Smith 82 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Mike Barber 86 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Rodney Holman 82 TE 25 69 38 69 50 56 307 90! Eric Kattus 84 TE 25 69 25 38 50 31 238 26 Bruce Kozerski 64 C 25 69 31 56 181 62 Bruce Reimers 75 G 25 69 31 63 188 80 Brian Blados 74 G 25 69 25 56 175 50 Anthony Munoz 78 T 25 69 38 75 207 99! Joe Walter 63 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Jim Breech 3 K 56 81 81 31 63 31 343 46 Lee Johnson 11 P 25 56 44 31 44 69 269 64 Jason Buck 99 DE 25 31 38 50 19 25 188 19 Tim Krumrie 69 NT 25 31 38 44 19 19 176 5 Skip McClendon 72 DE 25 31 38 44 19 31 188 19 James Francis 50 LB 31 44 50 69 19 63 276 83 Kevin Walker 59 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 Carl Zander 91 LB 25 31 38 38 31 31 194 29 Leon White 51 LB 25 31 31 38 31 38 201 38 Carl Carter 45 CB 25 31 25 31 38 25 175 1 Lewis Billups 24 CB 25 31 25 31 44 25 181 2 Barney Bussey 27 FS 31 38 50 50 50 63 282 71 David Fulcher 33 SS 44 56 69 75 69 75 388 99! Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Den. 7. Dal. 13. Rai. 2. Hou. 8. Buf. 14. Gia. 3. Cle. 9. Hou. 15. Mia. 4. Was. 10. Cle. 16. Pit. 5. BYE 11. Pit. 17. N.E. 6. Jets 12. Phi. Strength-2 Cincinnati is a good team that's often forgotten because it stands in the looming shadow that the Oilers throw over the AFC Central. With an offense that can take over games, and possibly the best defender on TSB, Cincinnati can be a thorn in the side of even an excellent team. Of course, it has plenty of chances, because its schedule is the second toughest in the league, with two games against division rival Houston, as well as a game apiece against the Bills, Giants, and Raiders. The offense is pretty good. If this unit was supported by a dominating defense, Cincinnati could be one of the best teams in the game. The one weak link is the two wide recievers. Depth is excellent, especially at QB and RB. Cincinnati's default playbook is not the best fit for the Bengals, simply because it doesn't allow Pro Bowl TE Holman to get the receptions he deserves. When putting in a new playbook, make sure that Holman goes out on more routes. Emphasize the tight end, and deemphasize the WRs. The defense's heart and soul is found in David Fulcher, who is simply amazing. Once you get past him, things go sharply downhill. The defensive line is horrendous, and the linebackers, with the exception of Francis, aren't much better. The corners are second and third to worst among defensive backs. The safeties, of course, hold this otherwise weak defense together. Cleveland Browns ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 22 - Offense 22 - Defense 18 - Man Overall 26 393 Offense 23 218 Defense 25 175 Computer Overall 26 910 Offense 25 517 Defense 23 389 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. QB Browns [Bernie Kosar] 0 QB 25 69 25 13 44 75 50 44 345 82 Mike Pagel 10 QB 25 69 25 13 38 31 38 38 277 50 Kevin Mack 34 RB 44 69 31 88 50 44 326 40 Eric Metcalf 21 RB 38 69 38 25 50 56 276 63 Leroy Hoard 33 RB 44 69 25 31 50 25 244 4 Brent Fullwood 29 RB 44 69 25 38 50 25 251 6 W.[Webster]Slaughter 84 WR 31 69 38 13 50 63 264 73 Reggie Langhorne 88 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Vernan Joines 80 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Brian Brenner 86 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Ozzie Newsome 82 TE 25 69 31 50 50 38 263 62 John Talley 87 TE 25 69 19 38 50 25 226 4 Mike Baab 61 C 25 69 38 44 176 58 Ralph Tamm 65 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Gregg Rakoczy 73 G 25 69 25 50 169 30 Paul Farren 74 T 25 69 31 44 169 30 Tony Jones 66 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Jerry Kauric 2 K 56 81 81 31 38 31 318 7 Bryan Wagner 15 P 25 56 44 31 25 19 200 0 Robert Banks 97 DE 25 31 38 50 19 38 195 24 Chris Pike 75 NT 25 31 38 44 19 19 181 11 Al Baker 60 DE 25 31 38 50 19 38 201 32 Tony Blaylock 24 LB 25 38 44 38 38 38 221 56 David Grayson 56 LB 25 31 38 38 31 38 201 38 Mike Johnson 59 LB 31 44 50 69 19 63 276 83 Clay Matthews 57 LB 25 38 44 38 19 38 202 39 Raymond Clayborn 26 CB 25 31 25 31 38 25 175 1 Frank Minnifield 31 CB 31 38 50 50 44 50 263 60 Thane Gash 30 FS 25 31 38 44 31 31 200 13 Felix Wright 22 SS 25 31 38 38 50 44 226 32 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Dal. 7. Was. 13. K.C. 2. N.E. 8. S.D. 14. Ind. 3. Cin. 9. Pit. 15. Den. 4. Gia. 10. Cin. 16. Hou. 5. BYE 11. Phi. 17. Pit. 6. Jets 12. Hou. Strength-4 (tied) There really is no way to get around saying this: Cleveland is a very weak team. With plenty of weaknesses and no big strengths, they are the laughingstock of the AFC Central. The offense depends on the Kosar to Slaughter connection, with the running game fueled by switching up Mack and Metcalf, two backs with very different styles. Depth on this unit is awful with the exception of solid backup QB Mike Pagel. Even most of the starters are below the average for starters. The defense isn't a whole lot better. LB Mike Johnson is the lone impact player on this defense, but even he's not very good. Tony Blaylock and Frank Minnifield are the only other solid players on this unit. After these three, the defense is one big weakness. Tony Blaylock is actually a third corner, though the game lists him as an OLB. This explains the number and somewhat strange stats. Regular starting CB Frank Minnifield had held out for the first four games of '90 and ended up playing in only nine games, so the game decided to put Blaylock in as well, because he got almost as much playing time as Minnifield. Houston Oilers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 4 - Offense 2 - Defense 17 - Man Overall 3 532 Offense 8 261 Defense 4 271 Computer Overall 5 1469 Offense 1 830 Defense 14 600 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Warren Moon 1 QB 25 69 19 13 69 75 75 63 408 93! Cody Carlson 14 QB 25 69 13 13 44 31 38 44 277 50 Lorenzo White 44 RB 38 69 44 38 19 44 252 71 Ernest Givins 81 WR 44 69 56 13 81 75 338 96! Allen Pinkett 20 RB 38 69 38 25 81 25 276 63 Victor Jones 37 RB 38 69 38 25 81 25 276 63 Haywood Jeffries [sic-Jeffires] 84 WR 38 69 50 13 81 75 326 93 Drew Hill 85 WR 44 69 63 13 81 75 345 97! Doug Lloyd 35 RB 38 69 38 25 81 25 276 63 Tony Jones 82 WR 25 69 19 13 81 50 257 27 Curtis Duncan 80 WR 38 69 50 13 81 63 314 87 Gerald McNeil 89 WR 25 69 44 13 81 44 288 60 Jay Pennison 52 C 25 69 31 50 175 50 Mike Munchak 63 G 25 69 31 63 188 80! Bruce Matthews 74 G 25 69 44 69 207 99 Don Maggs 78 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Dean Steinkuhler 70 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Tony Zendejas 7 K 56 81 81 31 38 31 318 7 Greg Montgomery 9 P 25 56 44 31 69 56 281 71 Sean Jones 96 DE 38 50 56 56 19 56 275 85 Doug Smith 99 NT 25 31 38 50 19 44 207 38 William Fuller 95 DE 25 38 50 56 19 56 244 68 Johnny Meads 91 LB 25 31 38 31 31 38 194 29 Al Smith 54 LB 25 38 44 38 19 38 202 39 John Grimsley 59 LB 25 31 38 31 19 38 182 21 Ray Childress 79 LB 38 50 56 63 19 69 295 90 Richard Johnson 23 CB 38 50 63 44 75 75 345 96 Cris Dishman 28 CB 25 31 44 31 56 50 237 36 Terry Kinard 27 FS 31 38 50 44 56 44 263 60 Bubba McDowell 25 SS 25 31 44 44 50 44 238 38 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Rai. 7. Jets 13. Pit. 2. Cin. 8. Mia. 14. Phi. 3. K.C. 9. Cin. 15. Pit. 4. N.E. 10. Was. 16. Cle. 5. BYE 11. Dal. 17. Gia. 6. Den. 12. Cle. Strength-8 Houston is an excellent team whose strength lies mainly in its incredible passing game. With a solid running game and a decent defense to back up the pass, Houston is a playoff regular. The passing game of Houston is the best in the NFL, and the aerial combination of Moon to Hill is beaten only by San Francisco's Montana to Rice. The other three receivers are almost as good as Hill. The above average line is anchored by its pair of stellar guards. The depth is some of the best to be found in the league. The running game is good enough to get by. One caution: White has the worst ball control in the entire game. This means a lot of fumbles, but it can be compensated for by running out of bounds if faced with a sure tackle. Otherwise, you can opt for the superior ball control of any one of the backups (they're all the same) at the cost of receptions, maximum speed, and hitting power. The defense's job is to hold its opponents to few enough points that the high-octane offense can outscore them. A solid line makes up for a weak linebacking squad, though Childress is quite good. CB Richard Johnson is good enough that offenses have to throw away from him. All- in-all, the defense is good enough to contain the opposition, but not good enough to dominate it. Pittsburgh Steelers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 20 - Offense 27 - Defense 1 - Man Overall 6 515 Offense 18 232 Defense 3 283 Computer Overall 3 1581 Offense 10 671 Defense 1 855 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Bubby Brister 6 QB 25 69 13 13 75 25 56 38 314 71 Rick Strom 11 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 25 38 265 16 Merril Hoge 33 RB 38 69 38 38 81 44 308 69 Warren Williams 42 RB 38 69 38 31 81 44 301 68 Tim Worley 38 RB 38 69 38 31 81 25 282 66 Richard Bell 21 RB 38 69 31 19 81 25 263 34 Louis Lipps 83 WR 31 69 31 19 81 56 281 58 Derek Hill 82 WR 25 69 25 19 81 44 257 27 Chris Calloway 88 WR 25 69 19 19 81 44 251 9 Dwight Stone 20 WR 31 69 31 19 81 44 269 45 Eric Green 86 TE 25 69 31 63 81 44 313 92 Mike Mularkey 84 TE 25 69 25 44 81 44 288 82 Dermontti Dawson 63 C 25 69 38 56 182 71 B.Blankenship 60 G 25 69 38 44 176 58 Terry Long 74 G 25 69 38 44 176 58 John Jackson 65 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Tunch Ilkin 62 T 25 69 44 69 207 99 Gary Anderson 1 K 56 81 81 31 63 50 362 71 Dan Stryzinski 4 P 25 56 44 31 38 50 244 39 Donald Evans 66 DE 25 38 44 50 19 56 232 63 Gerald Williams 98 NT 38 44 50 56 19 75 282 89 Keith Willis 93 DE 25 38 44 44 19 56 266 81 Greg Lloyd 95 LB 38 50 56 63 31 69 307 96 David Little 50 LB 38 44 56 50 31 63 282 86! Hardy Nickerson 54 LB 25 38 44 44 19 56 226 61 Brian Hinkle 53 LB 25 38 44 44 19 56 226 61 Rod Woodson 26 CB 44 56 75 69 63 75 382 98! Dwayne Woodruff 44 CB 38 44 56 56 56 56 306 84 Thomas Everett 27 FS 31 38 50 38 56 44 257 56 Carnell Lake 37 SS 38 44 56 50 50 63 301 80 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. S.D. 7. Gia. 13. Hou. 2. Buf. 8. Sea. 14. Dal. 3. N.E. 9. Cle. 15. Hou. 4. Phi. 10. Den. 16. Cin. 5. BYE 11. Cin. 17. Cle. 6. Ind. 12. Was. Strength-10 Pittsburgh gets by on its Steel Curtain defense and a bruising, ball control offense. The offense is all about long, time-consuming drives. Every position player on the offense has an astounding 81 ball control, which means that you can fight for every yard with little concern for the possibility of a fumble. The line is the only other strength on this team. The passing game stinks to high heaven and survives on short passes over the middle to TE Eric Green. Make sure you replace inept Derek Hill with the speedier Dwight Stone. When running with Hoge and Williams, make sure you run horizontally and not vertically. They aren't fast enough to get out of most jams and every yard is precious in this talent-starved offense. The defense is without peer. The only "weakness" that can be found is in the bottom linebackers, who have "only" 61 percentiles. Rod Woodson is a dominating corner and LB Greg Lloyd strikes fear into backs throughout the league. Everybody on this defense will cause problems for the opposition. Don't even dream about running on them, because they will swarm even the fastest back immediately. The only way to beat them is to take quick, short outlet passes to open TEs and RBs. Throwing into coverage is suicidal, because all the defensive backs can pick off an errant pass on a bad day and cause a fumble on a good one. Pittsburgh is one of the best returning teams. The question "Why?" puzzles even the most avid Tecmo expert. Only one thing is known, and that is that Pittsburgh and New Orleans are the two best return team in the league, with the Raiders and Bears close behind. Denver Broncos ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 9 - Offense 9 - Defense 12 - Man Overall 18 447 Offense 5 268 Defense 24 179 Computer Overall 16 1175 Offense 13 636 Defense 19 467 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. John Elway 7 QB 25 69 25 13 75 31 69 50 357 86 Gary Kubiak 8 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Bobby Humphrey 26 RB 38 69 63 38 50 38 296 96! Steve Sewell 30 RB 38 69 25 25 50 50 257 8 Sammy Winder 23 RB 44 69 25 31 50 25 244 4 Melvin Bratton 32 RB 44 69 25 44 50 38 270 12 Vance Johnson 82 WR 38 69 50 13 50 56 276 74 Mark Jackson 80 WR 38 69 44 13 50 69 283 86 Ricky Nattiel 84 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Michael Young 83 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Clarence Kay 88 TE 31 69 31 50 50 44 275 72 Paul Green 87 TE 25 69 19 44 50 31 238 26 Keith Kartz 72 C 25 69 38 44 176 58 Jim Juriga 66 G 25 69 38 44 176 58 Doug Widell 67 G 69 31 44 44 182 71 Darryl Hamilton 69 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 Ken Lanier 76 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 David Treadwell 9 K 56 81 81 31 69 31 349 50 Mike Horan 2 P 25 56 44 31 81 75 312 93 Ron Holmes 91 DE 25 31 38 44 19 31 188 19 Greg Kragen 71 NT 25 31 31 44 19 31 181 11 Warren Powers 91 DE 25 31 38 50 19 31 194 21 Karl Mecklenburg 77 LB 31 44 50 56 19 63 263 72 Michael Brooks 56 LB 25 38 44 56 19 56 238 64 Marc Munford 51 LB 25 31 38 31 19 38 182 21 Simon Fletcher 56 LB 38 50 56 38 19 69 270 79 Wymon Henderson 24 CB 25 31 19 38 38 31 182 3 Tyrone Braxton 34 CB 25 31 44 44 50 31 225 27 Steve Atwater 27 FS 31 38 50 69 31 63 282 71! Dennis Smith 49 SS 38 44 56 50 44 63 295 79 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Cin. 7. BYE 13. Sea. 2. Rai. 8. K.C. 14. N.E. 3. Sea. 9. N.E. 15. Cle. 4. S.D. 10. Pit. 16. Phx. 5. Min. 11. Rai. 17. S.D. 6. Hou. 12. K.C. Strength-28 Denver is another of my favorite teams, though there's little rational reason for this. They are misused by the computer, which means that they are overlooked by many Tecmophiles. Humphries is a better back than anyone gives him credit for. One of the problems is that he doesn't have a bruising fullback to clear the way for him. The other three running backs are bumbling morons who can't outrun Elway, so don't even try to involve any of them in the ground game. WRs Johnson and Jackson (not to be confused with corporate medical giant Johnson & Johnson) along with TE Kay are capable receivers, though they aren't superstars. The defense is dependent on its linebackers and safeties to hold up an otherwise weak squad. The line is one of the worst in the league. Fletcher is the speedy linebacker who provides the pass rush, while the slower but stronger duo of Mecklenburg and Brooks provide the run support. The corners are just plain bad, but the safeties are a crutch for them to lean on. Kansas City Chiefs ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 11 - Offense 14 - Defense 6 - Man Overall 7 514 Offense 9 260 Defense 11 254 Computer Overall 8 1418 Offense 11 660 Defense 9 688 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Steve De Berg 17 QB 25 69 6 13 50 63 56 56 338 80 Mike Elkins 10 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Christian Okoye 34 RB 63 75 50 94 50 19 351 88 Barry Word 23 RB 50 69 31 75 50 19 294 37 Todd McNair 48 RB 38 69 38 25 50 44 264 59 Bill Jones 43 RB 38 69 25 38 50 38 258 9 Robb Thomas 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Stephone Paige 83 WR 38 69 50 13 50 75 295 92 J.J.Birden 88 WR 31 69 38 13 50 44 245 54 Emile Harry 86 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Alfredo Roberts 87 TE 25 69 19 50 50 31 244 36 Jonathan Hayes 85 TE 25 69 19 50 50 31 244 36 Mike Webster 53 C 25 69 38 69 201 92 David Szott 79 G 25 69 38 50 182 71 David Lutz 72 G 25 69 25 56 175 50 John Alt 76 T 25 69 19 80 194 86 Rich Baldinger 77 T 25 69 25 69 188 80 Nick Lowery 8 K 56 81 81 31 81 81 411 96! Bryan Barker 4 P 25 56 44 31 31 63 250 43 Bill Maas 63 DE 25 38 44 44 19 44 214 46 Dan Saleaumua 97 NT 38 31 25 56 19 56 225 55! Neil Smith 90 DE 31 44 50 63 19 56 263 80 Derrick Thomas 58 LB 44 56 63 69 19 81 332 98! Dino Hackett 56 LB 31 44 50 63 19 56 263 72 Percy Snow 59 LB 38 50 56 56 31 50 281 85 Chris Martin 57 LB 25 38 44 50 19 44 220 55 Kevin Ross 31 CB 31 38 50 44 56 44 263 60 Albert Lewis 29 CB 31 38 50 56 50 69 294 76! Deron Cherry 20 FS 25 31 44 38 50 50 238 38 Kevin Porter 27 SS 25 31 44 38 38 38 214 23 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Atl. 7. Mia. 13. Cle. 2. N.O. 8. Den. 14. Sea. 3. Hou. 9. Rai. 15. S.D. 4. Sea. 10. BYE 16. S.F. 5. S.D. 11. Rams 17. Rai. 6. Buf. 12. Den. Strength-3 Kansas City is a powerful team that can give the powerful Raiders a run for their money for the divisional crown. They have a great defense and a running game that pounds the opponent into submission. Okoye is an astounding back. For many Tecmoers, he beats out the faster Bo Jackson, just because he can make popcorn. Barry Word also can make popcorn, though he doesn't have the combination of speed and power that makes Okoye such a force of nature. Their one weakness is in their passing game. De Berg is good, but he only has one good reciever to throw to in Paige. The short passing game suffers especially. TE Roberts would not be a starter on most other teams, and Okoye and Word are tied for two of the worst catching backs in the league. This can be remedied by taking out word for McNair, who can catch better and run faster, but then Word's hitting power must be sacrificed. Also, WR Robb Thomas' one increment better receptions is not worth his horrible speed. Put in Birden, who can run much faster. The defense is better than solid, especially with the playmaking skills of OLB Derrick Thomas. The line is anchored by end Neil Smith, even though less talented NT Saleaumua is the Pro Bowler. LB Thomas is the second best linebacker in the game, so the rest of the LBs tend to get overshadowed. In reality, they are the best linbacking squad in the conference. The secondary is dependent on the two above average corners to cover for the less-than-stellar safeties. Los Angeles Raiders ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 5 - Offense 6 - Defense 8 - Man Overall 5 519 Offense 6 262 Defense 9 257 Computer Overall 4 1502 Offense 7 758 Defense 5 699 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Jay Schroeder 13 QB 25 69 13 13 69 31 44 63 327 75 Steve Beuerlein 7 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Bo Jackson 34 RB 38 69 75 31 81 19 313 99! Marcus Allen 32 RB 38 69 56 25 50 31 269 89 Steve Smith 35 RB 44 69 25 50 50 31 269 10 Greg Bell 28 RB 44 69 31 38 50 19 251 29 Mervyn Fernandez 86 WR 38 69 50 13 63 63 296 86 Willie Gault 83 WR 44 69 63 13 50 56 295 88 Tim Brown 81 WR 44 69 56 13 50 50 282 75 Sam Graddy 85 WR 44 69 63 13 50 19 258 56 Ethan Horton 88 TE 25 69 44 50 50 44 282 76 Mike Dyal 84 TE 25 69 19 38 50 25 226 4 Don Mosebar 72 C 25 69 31 50 175 50 Steve Wisniewski 76 G 25 69 44 69 207 99! Max Montoya 65 G 25 69 31 56 181 62 Bruce Wilkerson 68 T 25 69 50 50 194 86 Rory Graves 60 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Jeff Jaeger 18 K 56 81 81 31 56 56 361 68 Jeff Gossett 6 P 25 56 44 31 31 38 225 21 Greg Townsend 93 DE 38 50 56 63 31 69 307 95! Bob Golic 79 NT 25 31 31 69 25 56 237 64 Howie Long 75 DE 38 50 56 69 13 69 313 96 Aaron Wallace 51 LB 25 38 44 38 19 25 189 26 Scott Davis 70 LB 25 68 44 63 25 63 258 71 Riki Ellison 50 LB 25 31 38 38 44 25 201 38 Jerry Robinson 57 LB 25 31 38 38 44 25 201 38 L.Washington 48 CB 38 44 56 44 38 50 270 67 Terry McDaniel 36 CB 38 44 56 44 38 50 270 67 Eddie Anderson 33 FS 38 50 63 69 50 63 333 90 Mike Harden 45 SS 25 31 44 50 50 50 250 47 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Hou. 7. Sea. 13. Cin. 2. Den. 8. Rams 14. S.D. 3. Ind. 9. K.C. 15. Buf. 4. Atl. 10. BYE 16. N.O. 5. S.F. 11. Den. 17. K.C. 6. S.D. 12. Sea. Strength-12 The Raiders are the proud owners of the best pair of running backs in the league, and also the best defensive line. Together, these two factors make them a team to be feared. The offense is better all-around than many Tecmo players give it credit for. The running game tends to overshadow the passing game. Bo Jackson is the best back in the league alone, but when combined with his running mate Marcus Allen, the Raiders running game is unstoppable. Schroeder is an average starting QB who is lucky enough to throw to a superb group of WRs. Fernandez and Gault are two receivers who more than get the job done, and backup Tim Brown could start on most teams. Graddy has more speed than he knows what to do with, but can't catch at all. Still, put him in at returner and he'll tear up the field. The line is the cornerstone of the defense. It seems one of them will be possessed nearly every game. This line is easily the best in the game. Unfortunately, the LBs are the achilles heel in this defense. None of them are awful, its just that all but Scott Davis (ironically, a DT in real life) are below average. Most of them are better at intercepting passes than at defending the run or rushing the passer. The secondary is quite good, with S Anderson as its heart. San Diego Chargers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 21 - Offense 20 - Defense 21 - Man Overall 10 504 Offense 11 245 Defense 7 259 Computer Overall 12 1360 Offense 17 592 Defense 6 693 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. B.J.[Billy Joe] Tolliver 11 QB 25 69 13 13 81 31 31 44 307 64 Mark Vlasic 13 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 25 38 265 16 Marion Butts 35 RB 38 69 63 38 50 25 283 95 Rod Bernstine 82 RB 44 69 25 44 50 19 251 6 Joe Caravello 46 RB 38 69 25 44 50 25 251 6 Ronnie Harmon 33 RB 38 69 31 25 50 50 263 34 Quinn Early 87 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 226 28 Anthony Miller 83 WR 38 69 44 13 50 69 283 86! Nate Lewis 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Wayne Walker 80 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Derrick Walker 89 TE 25 69 31 50 50 38 263 62 Arthur Cox 88 TE 25 69 19 63 50 31 257 54 Frank Cornish 63 C 25 69 31 56 181 62 Courtney Hall 53 G 25 69 38 50 182 71 David Richards 65 G 25 69 25 69 188 80 Joel Patten 78 T 25 69 25 63 182 71 B.[Broderick]Thompson 76 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 John Carney 3 K 56 81 81 31 75 50 374 79 John Kidd 10 P 25 56 44 31 69 56 281 71 Burt Grossman 92 DE 31 44 50 50 19 69 257 73 Les Miller 69 NT 25 38 44 56 19 44 226 58 Lee Williams 99 DE 31 44 50 56 19 56 256 71 Leslie O.Neal [O'Neal] 91 LB 31 50 56 63 19 69 295 90 Junior Seau 55 LB 25 31 38 44 19 38 195 30 Gary Plummer 50 LB 25 38 44 69 19 44 239 65 Henry Rolling 57 LB 25 31 38 38 31 50 213 51 Sam Seale 30 CB 38 44 56 38 50 44 270 67 Gill Byrd 22 CB 38 50 63 50 69 75 345 96 Vencie Glenn 25 FS 31 38 50 44 44 44 251 50 Martin Bayless 44 SS 25 31 44 56 44 44 244 42 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Pit. 7. Rams 13. Jets 2. S.F. 8. Cle. 14. Rai. 3. Atl. 9. Sea. 15. K.C. 4. Den. 10. BYE 16. Mia. 5. K.C. 11. Sea. 17. Den. 6. Rai. 12. N.O. Strength-6 The San Diego Chargers are better than they seem. Unfortunately, they are only the fourth best team in their division, so they tend to get overlooked. The offense is a bit warped. This team has no business with the system that they have in. First of all, Rod Bernstine is listed as a running back but lines up as a wide receiver. He never touches the ball in the ground game unless the plays are changed. On top of that, he really can't play either position well. Do yourself a favor and put Harmon in his spot, no matter how you use him. Backup WR Walker is better than Early, so make that substitution at the beginning of the year. Even with these substitutions, this offense should not run a one-back system. Tolliver isn't a good enough quarterback to feature in a pass oriented offense. Excepting Anthony Miller, the receivers are all pretty shoddy. The offense should rely on RB Butts to gain the yards needed. Try a two back system more like the Bills' for better results. With a surprisingly good O-line, Butts should be able to run his way to daylight. The defense is better than solid. The line is able to hold its own, and the linebackers have the run stuffing skills of Plummer with the pass rushing skills of O.Neal and the coverage skills of Rolling. CB Byrd is the spice in an otherwise vanilla secondary. Seattle Seahawks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 23 - Offense 21 - Defense 27 - Man Overall 24 410 Offense 24 205 Defense 21 205 Computer Overall 22 1057 Offense 23 544 Defense 18 470 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Dave Kreig 17 QB 25 69 13 13 25 69 69 69 352 84 Kelly Stouffer 11 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 38 38 278 52 John L.Williams 32 RB 44 69 25 38 50 69 289 13 Derrick Fenner 44 RB 56 69 25 75 50 25 300 13 James Jones 30 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 Chris Warren 42 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 Brian Blades 89 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Tommy Kane 81 WR 31 69 38 13 50 56 257 68 Paul Skanski 82 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Jeff Chadwick 88 WR 31 69 38 13 50 44 245 54 Ron Heller 85 TE 25 69 19 44 50 31 238 26 Travis McNeal 86 TE 25 69 25 44 50 31 244 36 Grant Feasel 54 C 25 69 31 56 181 62 Edwin Bailey 65 G 25 69 38 44 176 58 Brian [sic-Bryan] Millard 71 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Andy Heck 66 T 25 69 44 50 188 80 Ron Mattes 70 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 Norm Johnson 9 K 56 81 81 31 44 38 331 29 Rick Donelly 3 P 25 56 44 31 44 63 263 57 Tony Woods 57 DE 25 38 44 50 19 56 232 63 Joe Nash 72 NT 25 31 38 44 19 31 188 19 Jacob Green 79 DE 38 50 63 56 19 69 295 93 Rufus Porter 97 LB 25 38 44 44 19 56 226 61 Cortez Kennedy 96 LB 25 31 38 56 19 44 213 51 David Wyman 92 LB 25 31 38 38 19 38 189 26 Terry Wooden 51 LB 25 31 38 38 19 25 176 11 Patrick Hunter 27 CB 25 31 38 38 38 44 214 23 Dwayne Harper 29 CB 31 38 50 31 50 50 250 47 Eugene Robinson 41 FS 25 31 38 38 50 38 220 25 Nesby Glasgow 22 SS 31 38 50 56 25 56 256 51 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. N.O. 7. Rai. 13. Den. 2. Jets 8. Pit. 14. K.C. 3. Den. 9. S.D. 15. S.F. 4. K.C. 10. BYE 16. Atl. 5. Ind. 11. S.D. 17. Rams 6. Cin. 12. Rai. Strength-4 (tied) Bad offense plus bad defense equals bad team, a theory reinforced by the Seattle Seahawks. A tough schedule and a bad team make for a lethal combination that most Tecmoers are wise to stay away from. The offense coulde be better if it better utilized its players. Neither Williams nor Fenner deserve to be a featured running back. My advice is to put either James "Earl" Jones or Chris Warren in as the halfback, and keep Fenner as the fullback. However, don't waste Williams' awesome receptions by keeping him out. Replace TE Heller with him. Williams is only one increment worse in hitting power, and he's better in running speed, maximum speed, and receptions. The backfield is still bad, but at least it can get a few more yards. Krieg is a good starting quarterback, but he lacks anybody to catch his passes. Even with the addition of Williams, the receiving corps is awful. The defense's only strength is found in Jacob Green. With him, the line is a little better than average. The linebackers, led by Porter, are horrible. The secondary is pretty awful, with even the best defensive back only average in terms of the league. Washington Redskins ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 13 - Offense 16 - Defense 11 - Man Overall 17 450 Offense 16 237 Defense 19 213 Computer Overall 11 1365 Offense 4 778 Defense 15 531 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Mark Rypien 11 QB 25 69 13 13 38 44 44 38 284 57 Stan Humphries 16 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Earnest Byner 21 RB 38 69 50 25 81 38 301 87! Ricky Sanders 83 WR 44 69 56 13 81 56 319 80 Gerald Riggs 37 RB 44 69 31 81 81 19 255 30 Kelvin Bryant 24 RB 38 69 44 19 81 38 289 79 Art Monk 81 WR 38 69 44 38 81 63 333 79 Gary Clark 84 WR 38 69 50 13 81 75 326 93! Brian Mitchell 30 RB 38 69 38 31 81 25 282 66 Joe Howard 80 WR 25 69 25 13 81 44 257 27 Don Warren 85 TE 25 69 19 38 81 31 263 62 Jimmie Johnson 88 TE 25 69 25 38 81 31 269 64 Jeff Bostic 53 C 25 69 38 69 201 92 Russ Grimm 68 G 25 69 38 56 188 80 Raleigh McKenzie 63 G 25 69 38 56 188 80 Jim Lachey 79 T 25 69 31 69 194 86! Ed Simmons 76 T 25 69 25 63 182 71 Chip Lohmiller 8 K 56 81 81 31 50 81 380 82 Kelly Goodburn 2 P 25 56 44 31 25 50 231 29 Markus Koch 74 DE 25 38 44 44 19 38 208 39 Darryl Grant 77 NT 25 31 38 50 19 44 207 38 Charles Mann 71 DE 31 44 50 56 19 63 263 80 Wilber Marshall 58 LB 25 31 38 50 31 50 225 57 Greg Manusky 91 LB 25 31 38 44 19 31 188 24 Tracy Rocker 99 LB 25 31 38 50 19 44 207 46 Andre Collins 55 LB 25 38 44 38 19 50 214 53 Darrell Green 28 CB 44 56 75 44 44 31 294 76! Martin Mayhew 35 CB 38 50 63 31 69 38 289 74 Todd Bowles 23 FS 25 31 44 44 50 31 225 27 Alvin Walton 40 SS 25 31 44 31 44 31 206 17 Schedule7 Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Det. 7. Cle. 13. Dal. 2. Dal. 8. BYE 14. Rams 3. Phx. 9. Gia. 15. Phx. 4. Cin. 10. Hou. 16. Gia. 5. Phi. 11. Atl. 17. Phi. 6. Chi. 12. Pit. Strength-7 Washington is my least favorite team. The computer always seems to do well with them, but my experiences are disappointments, without exception. There are no superstars to carry the load on this team. The offense is not that good, but at least the system fits superbly. QB Rypien is a horrible passer. It's a shame that wide receivers the caliber of these are wasted on a quarterback like him. Byner is good, and the Redskins could even run a two-back system if they wanted to, with Riggs as the fullback or Bryant as another speed back. If you keep a system with a tight end, take Warren out and replace him with Johnson. The line is good and depth is excellent. Every time I see the Redskins' offense, I look at Rypien and think of what could have been. The defense is very weak. It doesn't have a star to anchor it. Nobody is better than the 80th percentile. Mann heads an otherwise weak line, and the linebackers are average. You can run fairly well on the Redskins. The defense's strength is found in the cornerbacks. Green is very fast, but can't intercept much. Mayhew is the more balanced corner. The safeties are pathetic losers who can be wiped up with a damp rag. New York Giants ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 2 - Offense 4 - Defense 2 - Man Overall 9 505 Offense 3 272 Defense 17 233 Computer Overall 1 1614 Offense 5 769 Defense 3 766 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Phil Simms 11 QB 25 69 13 13 50 63 63 81 377 88 Jeff Hostetler 15 QB 25 69 25 13 38 31 38 19 258 5 Ottis Anderson 24 RB 56 69 50 88 75 31 369 88 David Meggett 30 RB 38 69 56 19 75 50 307 94 Maurice Carthon 44 RB 44 69 25 44 50 25 257 8 Rodney Hampton 27 RB 38 69 31 38 63 38 277 36 Mark Ingram 82 WR 44 69 56 13 63 50 295 75 Stephen Baker 85 WR 44 69 56 13 69 56 307 80 Stacey Robinson 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Odessa Turner 83 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Mark Bavaro 89 TE 25 69 31 69 69 44 307 90 Howard Cross 87 TE 25 69 19 56 56 31 256 48 Bart Oates 65 C 25 69 38 50 182 71 William Roberts 66 G 25 69 31 56 181 62 Eric Moore 60 G 25 69 31 63 188 80 John Elliott 76 T 25 69 25 75 194 86 Doug Riesenberg 72 T 25 69 31 50 175 50 Matt Bahr 9 K 56 81 81 31 44 63 356 61 Sean Landeta 5 P 25 56 44 31 81 81 318 96! Leonard Marshall 70 DE 25 31 38 56 19 56 225 55 Erik Howard 74 NT 25 31 38 50 19 50 213 45 Eric Dorsey 77 DE 25 31 38 50 19 44 207 38 Lawrence Taylor 56 LB 44 56 69 75 31 81 356 99! Pepper Johnson 52 LB 38 44 56 69 31 69 307 96! Gary Reasons 55 LB 25 38 44 38 63 44 252 67 Carl Banks 58 LB 38 44 50 63 19 56 270 79 Everson Walls 28 CB 38 44 56 31 63 44 276 69 Mark Collins 25 CB 31 44 56 50 44 63 295 79 Myron Guyton 29 FS 31 38 50 56 44 56 275 68 Greg Jackson 47 SS 31 38 50 56 56 56 287 71 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. S.F. 7. Pit. 13. T.B. 2. Rams 8. BYE 14. Cin. 3. Chi. 9. Was. 15. Phi. 4. Cle. 10. Phi. 16. Was. 5. Dal. 11. Phx. 17. Hou. 6. Phx. 12. Dal. Strength-14 Ah, the Giants. One of the powerhouses of the league, and some would argue the best team around. They have a good offense, and an excellent defense, especially with LB Lawrence Taylor. The offense is anchored by its two running backs. Anderson is one of an elite class of running backs that are both fast and can make popcorn. Meggett runs a fine counterpoint, as he is a bit speedier and can double as a receiver out of the backfield. The passing game is better than adequate, although it would be better with a great wide receiver. Bavaro is a great blocking tight end, and his catching is good enough to get by. The weak link in this offense is the depth at quarterback and at running back. QB Hostetler is awful, and though Hampton is a decent back, almost anything will fell like a drop-off after Meggett and Anderson. Backup RB Carthon is just plain bad. The Giants' defense is good all around. The line is a bit below average, but not much. The linebackers are incredible. Hands down, they have the best set in the league. Taylor and Johnson are demons that can take over games, and Reasons can pick off almost any pass thrown over the middle. It's really sickening. Many a time I've been playing the Giants and I have seen a wide open tight end in the middle of the field. I throw it and... Reasons jumps about 20 feet in the air and intercepts what I thought would be a sure seven yard gain. The secondary has four very solid cover guys, though none of them really stand out. Philadelphia Eagles ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 7 - Offense 8 - Defense 4 - Man Overall 8 508 Offense 15 240 Defense Computer Overall 15 1236 Offense 22 549 Defense 10 662 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. QB Eagles [Randall Cunningham] 0 QB 25 69 56 13 63 69 63 63 421 98! Jim McMahon 9 QB 25 69 6 13 38 38 38 38 265 16 Keith Byars 41 RB 38 69 31 38 50 69 295 38 Heath Sherman 23 RB 38 69 38 38 31 31 245 46 Anthoney Toney 25 RB 38 69 31 38 50 25 251 29 Robert Drummond 36 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 Fred Barnett 86 WR 31 69 38 13 50 56 257 68 Calvin Williams 89 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Mike Quick 82 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Kenny Jackson 85 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Keith Jackson 88 TE 25 69 50 63 50 63 320 96! Harper Le Bel 87 TE 25 69 19 50 50 25 238 26 David Alexander 72 C 25 69 31 38 163 11 Mike Schad 79 G 25 69 19 50 163 11 Ron Solt 66 G 25 69 19 38 151 0 Ron Heller 73 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 R.Singletary 68 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Roger Ruzek 7 K 56 81 81 31 50 25 324 18 Jeff Feagles 5 P 25 56 44 31 50 31 237 32 Clyde Simmons 96 DE 31 44 50 50 19 69 263 80 Mike Golic 90 NT 25 31 38 50 31 44 219 51 Reggie White 92 DE 38 50 56 69 31 75 319 98! Jessie Small 52 LB 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 38 Jerome Brown 99 LB 38 50 56 69 19 63 295 90 Byron Evans 56 LB 25 31 38 44 31 44 213 51 Seth Joyner 59 LB 31 44 50 63 31 75 294 88 Eric Allen 21 CB 38 50 44 50 50 69 301 80 Ben Smith 26 CB 38 50 38 31 50 63 270 67 Wes Hopkins 48 FS 25 31 19 50 56 31 212 19 Andre Waters 20 SS 25 31 19 31 25 19 150 0 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. G.B. 7. N.O. 13. Phx. 2. Phx. 8. BYE 14. Hou. 3. Dal. 9. S.F. 15. Gia. 4. Pit. 10. Gia. 16. Dal. 5. Was. 11. Cle. 17. Was. 6. T.B. 12. Cin. Strength-20 Philly is my favorite team, so excuse me if I gush a bit. QB Eagles cannot be stopped, and the front seven of the defense is excellent. This makes for an excellent team. Philadelphia's offense IS QB Eagles, known in real life as Randall Cunningham. He can pass very well, and he can run the ball just as well. The problem is that he's easy to misuse if you use him like a regular quarterback. Don't retreat at all if you can help it. Instead, run to the outside near the line of scrimmage. Don't spend all day looking for open receivers. If you have open field in front of you, take off. Make sure you run out of bounds before getting tackled, because backup Jim McMahon is terrible, and an injury limits this offense's ability to function until QB Eagles comes back. This offense's playbook can be a lot better. Instead of the innefectual two-back system that is the default, put in a run and shoot system. This will spread the field and allow QB Eagles to run better. Put Sherman in as the featured back, and put Byars in as the second running back, which will become a wide receiver position. TE Jackson is the man to look for, as he is an excellent receiver. The front seven is the strength of this defense. DEs White and Simmons are incredible, and they are backed up by linebackers led by Jerome Brown and Seth Joyner. Running on these guys can be suicidal, and you'll want to smash your controller after Reggie White gets after your passer for the 58th straight time. However, if you can avoid the rush, the secondary is easy to pick apart. The corners are good, but the safeties are awful. At least Hopkins can hit and intercept the ball once in a while, unlike Waters, who can't do anything. CB Allen is good, but he's more than canceled out by the super-weak Andre Waters. Phoenix Cardinals ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 26 - Offense 23 - Defense 25 - Man Overall 21 437 Offense 25 195 Defense 13 242 Computer Overall 18 1107 Offense 23 544 Defense 16 507 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Timm Rosenbach 3 QB 25 69 19 13 31 44 38 31 270 23 Tom Tupa 19 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Johnny Johnson 41 RB 38 69 50 38 50 38 283 86! Roy Green 81 WR 38 69 44 13 50 56 270 70 Ron Wolfley 24 RB 38 69 38 38 50 25 258 58 Vai Sikahema 44 RB 44 69 38 25 50 31 257 54 Ricky Proehl 87 WR 25 69 19 13 50 69 245 59 Ernie Jones 86 WR 31 69 38 13 50 56 257 68 Darrell Thompson 34 RB 38 69 38 38 50 25 258 58 J.T.Smith 84 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Walter Reeves 89 TE 25 69 19 44 50 38 245 40 Tim Jorden 85 TE 25 69 19 38 50 25 226 4 Bill Lewis 51 C 25 69 31 38 163 11 Derek Kennard 70 G 25 69 25 56 175 50 Lance Smith 61 G 25 69 31 38 163 11 Luis Sharpe 67 T 25 69 50 63 207 99 Tootie Robbins 63 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 Al Del Greco 17 K 56 81 81 31 19 56 324 18 Rich Camarillo 16 P 25 56 44 31 75 81 312 93 Rod Saddler 72 DE 25 31 38 50 19 50 213 45 Jim Wahler 66 NT 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 32 Freddie Joe Nunn 78 DE 31 44 50 56 19 56 256 71 Ken Harvey 56 LB 31 44 56 63 19 63 276 83 Garth Jax 53 LB 25 31 38 31 31 44 200 32 Eric Hill 58 LB 25 31 31 38 19 38 182 21 Anthony Bell 55 LB 25 31 31 38 31 44 200 32 Jay Taylor 27 CB 25 31 38 19 50 31 194 10 Cedric Mack 47 CB 25 31 31 38 44 44 213 21 Lonnie Young 43 FS 69 31 44 44 56 44 288 72 Tim McDonald 46 SS 38 44 56 56 56 69 319 88 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Rams 7. Min. 13. Phi. 2. Phi. 8. Atl. 14. BYE 3. Was. 9. Min. 15. Was. 4. Dal. 10. Dal. 16. Den. 5. N.E. 11. Gia. 17. N.O. 6. Gia. 12. S.F. Strength-1 Yes, at one time they were called the Phoenix Cardinals, and no, they weren't very good then either. The 1991 version features the running of Johnny Johnson and the sheer crappiness of 29 other carbon-based life forms. The toughest schedule in the league doesn't help either. The offense relies on RB Johnson. After that, things go sharply downhill. QB Rosenbach should be replaced with Tupa, which means that you have a future punter at the helm. (Trust me, I'm not making this up. Tupa did become a punter soon after failing in the NFL as a quarterback.) The receivers are horrible, and three of them doesn't make any difference in how well the passing game does. Depth isn't bad, but don't expect the backups to galvanize the offense into a juggernaut. The defense is pretty awful. DE Freddie Joe Nunn and LB Ken Harvey are the only things that keep this front seven away from complete ineptitude. The corners are bad, but the safeties are very good, even if one of them is very warped in terms of statistics. FS Young has 69 running speed, a feat that is unequaled by any other player except Denver G Doug Widell. "Why?" is a mystery. Dallas Cowboys ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 17 - Offense 17 - Defense 15 - Man Overall 12 497 Offense 6 260 Defense 15 235 Computer Overall 9 1396 Offense 12 648 Defense 7 689 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Troy Aikman 8 QB 25 69 13 13 50 44 50 50 314 71 Babe Laufenberg 15 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Emmitt Smith 22 RB 38 69 56 31 50 38 282 93! Tommie Agee 34 RB 38 69 25 44 50 44 270 12 Alonzo Highsmith 32 RB 38 69 38 38 50 44 277 64 Robert Perryman 39 RB 38 69 31 38 50 25 251 29 Kelvin Martin 83 WR 31 69 38 13 50 56 257 68 Michael Irvin 88 WR 38 69 44 13 50 50 264 69 Alexander Wright 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 James Dixon 86 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Jay Novacek 84 TE 25 69 44 69 50 69 326 98 Rob Awalt 89 TE 25 69 19 56 50 31 250 46 Mark Stepnoski 53 C 25 69 38 38 170 33 Crawford Ker 68 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 John Gesek 67 G 25 69 31 44 169 30 Kevin Gogan 66 T 25 69 19 56 169 30 Nate Newton 61 T 25 69 25 75 194 86 Ken Willis 1 K 56 81 81 31 44 44 337 39 Mike Saxon 4 P 25 56 44 31 56 75 287 79 Tony Tolbert 92 DE 25 31 38 50 19 56 219 51 Danny Noonan 73 NT 25 38 44 50 19 50 226 58 Daniel Stubbs 96 DE 31 38 50 56 19 69 263 80 Ken Norton 51 LB 25 38 44 38 31 44 220 55 Eugene Lockhart 56 LB 31 44 50 56 19 56 256 69 Jimmie Jones 97 LB 31 31 50 56 19 69 256 69 Jack Del Rio 55 LB 25 31 38 38 19 44 195 30 Manny Hendrix 45 CB 38 50 63 50 44 50 295 79 Issiac Holt 30 CB 38 44 56 56 50 63 307 86 Ray Horton 20 FS 31 38 50 56 44 38 257 56 James Washington 37 SS 31 38 50 50 50 38 257 56 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Cle. 7. Cin. 13. Was. 2. Was. 8. BYE 14. Pit. 3. Phi. 9. Det. 15. N.O. 4. Phx. 10. Phx. 16. Phi. 5. Gia. 11. Hou. 17. Atl. 6. G.B. 12. Gia. Strength-15 Dallas suffers from being a mediocre team in an excellent division. It shows flashes of how it matured into a squad that won three out of four Super Bowls, but it hadn't jelled enough yet in 1991. The offense is average. There isn't a whole lot to say. RB Emmitt Smith is good, TE Jay Novacek is good, FB Tommie Agee is bad. Pretty much everything else is a wash. Take out Agee and replace him with Highsmith, who is much faster, but can't block quite as well. The defense is a strong unit, but it doesn't have the superstar required to bump it to the next level. DE Stubbs is good, and everyone else in the front seven is solid but not worth mentioning. The corners are a very good pair, and with strong safeties to back them up, they can cover any receiving corps that they are put up against. Chicago Bears ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 6 - Offense 7 - Defense 3 - Man Overall 15 459 Offense 27 174 Defense 1 285 Computer Overall 10 1378 Offense 21 555 Defense 2 802 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Jim Harbaugh 4 QB 25 69 13 13 44 25 56 25 270 23 Mike Tomczak 18 QB 25 69 13 13 44 31 31 38 264 9 Brad Muster 25 RB 44 69 25 94 50 56 338 19 Neal Anderson 35 RB 50 69 63 50 50 50 332 97 Mark Green 31 RB 38 69 31 25 50 25 238 21 Johnny Bailey 22 RB 38 69 56 25 50 38 276 90 Ron Morris 84 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Wendell Davis 82 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Glen Kozlowski 88 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Dennis Gentry 29 WR 25 69 19 13 50 50 226 25 James Thornton 85 TE 25 69 25 63 50 25 257 54 Cap Boso 86 TE 25 69 19 44 50 31 238 26 Jay Hilgenberg 63 C 25 69 50 63 207 99! Mark Bortz 62 G 25 69 44 69 207 99! Tom Thayer 57 G 25 69 38 50 182 71 Jim Covert 74 T 25 69 31 50 175 50 Keith Van Horne 78 T 25 69 31 50 175 50 Kevin Butler 6 K 56 81 81 31 38 50 337 39 Maury Buford 8 P 25 56 44 31 31 25 212 4 Richard Dent 95 DE 31 44 50 63 44 75 307 95 William Perry 72 NT 38 31 19 69 19 56 232 63 Trace Armstrong 93 DE 31 44 50 63 19 69 276 87 Jim Morrissey 51 LB 25 31 38 44 31 44 213 51 Dan Hampton 99 LB 25 31 38 56 19 63 232 62 Mike Singletary 50 LB 38 50 56 75 19 81 319 97! Ron Rivera 59 LB 25 31 38 44 31 44 213 51 Lemuel Stinson 32 CB 38 44 56 50 69 56 313 87 Donnell Woolford 21 CB 31 38 50 44 63 63 289 74 Mark Carrier 20 FS 38 44 56 50 81 69 338 93 Shaun Gayle 23 SS 25 31 44 44 56 44 244 42 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Min. 7. BYE 13. Mia. 2. T.B. 8. G.B. 14. Det. 3. Gia. 9. N.O. 15. G.B. 4. Jets 10. Det. 16. T.B. 5. Buf. 11. Min. 17. S.F. 6. Was. 12. Ind. Strength-21 (tied) 'Da Bears' are another one of those teams that relies on ball control offense and a demonic defense to play grind-it-out games with scores like 14-6. They do this well enough to make them far and away the best team in their otherwise weak division. The offense is very one-dimensional. Anderson is a great back, and he runs behind punishing fullback Brad Muster. Even if Anderson gets injured, Johnny Bailey can step in and still the offense will lose little. The middle of the offensive line will clear holes wide enough for a truck to drive through, so dives and other inside runs are a good idea. The passing game is bad beyond belief. Harbaugh is one of the worst starting QBs in the game, and backup Tomczak doesn't provide any relief. Both wide receivers just plain suck compared to most starters, and the tight end specializes in blocking. If you absolutely must pass, go to Muster or Anderson in the flat. They both are better than the receivers at catching. One option that will open up the passing game a lot at the cost of the running game is to put Anderson as a wide receiver and put Bailey in as starting running back. Anderson can't catch as well as many wide receivers, but he's either better or the same as the Bears' awful wideouts in every category. I still wouldn't recommend this unless you absolutely need a passing game. Another way to structure this offense is to put Bailey and Anderson in as starting backs, and move Muster out to tight end. Muster can catch, plus you can get him into the secondary, where he can make popcorn much easier. The defense has extraordinary players everywhere you look. The line has two pass-rushers in DEs Dent and Armstrong, and a solid run-stopper with William "the refridgerator" Perry. Singletary makes up for an otherwise blah linebacking squad. FS Carrier and two great cornerbacks limit passes to short stuff over the middle. This is a TOUGH defense to do much against. The best way to do anything is to wait for Harbaugh to make a mistake and then capitalize on it. Detroit Lions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 16 - Offense 11 - Defense 23 - Man Overall 11 499 Offense 13 243 Defense 10 256 Computer Overall 20 1095 Offense 18 575 Defense 17 484 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Rodney Peete 9 QB 25 69 31 13 38 44 31 25 276 45 Andre Ware 11 QB 25 69 25 13 44 38 31 44 289 59 Barry Sanders 20 RB 38 69 69 25 69 44 314 98! Aubrey Matthews 83 WR 25 69 19 13 50 50 226 25 James Wilder 34 RB 44 69 31 25 50 25 244 26 Mel Gray 23 RB 38 69 56 19 50 50 282 93 Richard Johnson 84 WR 25 69 19 13 50 75 251 62 Robert Clark 82 WR 38 69 44 13 50 69 283 86 Willie Green 86 RB 38 69 38 13 50 31 239 42 Jeff Campbell 87 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Terry Greer 89 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Mike Farr 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Kevin Glover 53 C 25 69 31 44 169 30 Eric Andolsek 65 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Ken Dallafior 67 G 25 69 31 38 163 11 Lomas Brown 75 T 25 69 38 56 188 80 Harvey Salem 73 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Eddie Murray 3 K 56 81 81 31 31 50 330 25 Jim Arnold 6 P 25 56 44 31 50 56 262 46 Dan Owens 70 DE 25 31 38 56 19 56 225 55 Jerry Ball 93 NT 31 44 44 69 19 69 276 87! Keith Ferguson 77 DE 25 31 25 31 19 31 162 0 Michael Cofer 55 LB 38 50 56 50 31 56 281 85 Dennis Gibson 98 LB 25 31 31 31 19 25 162 2 Chris Spielman 54 LB 31 44 50 56 19 56 250 66 George Jamison 58 LB 25 31 31 25 19 25 156 0 Leroy Irvin 47 CB 25 31 25 25 38 50 194 10 Ray Crockett 39 CB 31 38 50 50 50 50 269 63 Bennie Blades 36 FS 25 31 38 50 44 38 226 32 William White 35 SS 38 44 56 56 56 56 306 84 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Was. 7. BYE 13. Min. 2. G.B. 8. S.F. 14. Chi. 3. Mia. 9. Dal. 15. Jets 4. Ind. 10. Chi. 16. G.B. 5. T.B. 11. T.B. 17. Buf. 6. Min. 12. Rams Strength-19 It takes only two words to describe this team: Barry Sanders. As with most of the 90s, Barry was the team this year, with everybody else just trying to get him the ball. The offense is ill-designed. It was called the Silver Stretch offense, because it tried to subsist on long passes. As you can see, they didn't really have the receivers to run a good run-and-shoot attack. Peete is a good running quarterback, so I'd suggest keeping him in over Andre Ware, whose best strength is (Yippee!) avoid pass block. (Can you feel the sarcasm?) Make sure you aren't afraid to run with Peete. For instructions, see my comments on Philadelphia. The problem with these guys is trying to utilize their weapons without creating glaring weaknesses. My suggestion is not to let backup running back Mel Gray languish on the bench. If you like to pass, keep a run and shoot system in, but replace the pathetic WR Aubrey Matthews with Gray. Gray is actually better in nearly every aspect, especially speed. Even with this addition, your passing game will still be weak. If you like to run more, put a two back system in with Sanders and Gray as two very quick backs. The problem is who to put in at tight end. My best suggestion is RB James Wilder, who makes a pretty lame tight end, but at least he can block better than anyone else on the squad. The defense is pretty icky. It has a few good players, but it also has quite a few players that shouldn't be in the NFL. Ball, Cofer, Spielman, and Owens are the only pillars that support a front seven that can crumble at any time. White is the defensive back worth mentioning, as all the rest can't do a whole lot. Green Bay Packers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 24 - Offense 24 - Defense 19 - Man Overall 20 439 Offense 14 242 Defense 23 197 Computer Overall 24 991 Offense 16 607 Defense 26 348 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Don Majkowski 7 QB 25 69 25 13 38 50 50 50 320 73 Anthony Dilweg 8 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Keith Woodside 33 RB 38 69 44 31 50 31 263 77 Michael Haddix 35 RB 38 69 25 94 50 25 301 15 Darrell Thompson 39 RB 38 69 38 31 50 19 245 46 Herman Fontenot 27 RB 38 69 38 25 50 38 258 58 Sterling Sharpe 84 WR 38 69 50 13 50 75 295 92! Perry Kemp 81 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Charles Wilson 88 WR 25 69 25 31 50 50 232 37 Jeff Query 85 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Ed West 86 TE 25 69 31 50 50 38 263 62 Jackie Harris 80 TE 25 69 25 44 50 31 244 36 James Campen 63 C 25 69 38 38 170 33 Rich Moran 57 G 25 69 38 44 176 58 Ron Hallstrom 65 G 25 69 25 50 169 30 Alan Veingrad 73 T 25 69 31 44 169 30 Tony Mandarich 77 T 25 69 19 63 176 58 Chris Jacke 13 K 56 81 81 31 56 38 343 46 Don Bracken 17 P 25 56 44 31 25 50 231 29 Robert Brown 93 DE 25 31 38 38 19 44 195 24 Bob Nelson 79 NT 25 69 38 56 19 56 263 80 Matt Brock 62 DE 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 32 Tim Harris 97 LB 38 50 56 50 19 63 276 83 Johnny Holland 50 LB 25 31 31 31 31 25 174 8 Brian Noble 91 LB 25 31 31 31 19 31 168 4 Scott Stephen 54 LB 25 31 31 31 38 31 187 23 Jerry Holmes 44 CB 25 31 44 38 50 38 226 32 Mark Lee 22 CB 25 31 38 38 31 31 194 10 Chuck Cecil 26 FS 25 31 38 44 38 31 207 18 Mark Murphy 37 SS 25 31 44 44 50 38 232 34 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Phi. 7. BYE 13. Ind. 2. Det. 8. Chi. 14. Atl. 3. T.B. 9. T.B. 15. Chi. 4. Mia. 10. Jets 16. Det. 5. Rams 11. Buf. 17. Min. 6. Dal. 12. Min. Strength-17 Green Bay revolves around two players: on offense, WR Sterling Sharpe, and on defense, the anonymous Bob Nelson. Other than that, the Packers blow pretty bad on both sides of the ball. The offense holds its own, but not easily. The backfield is average, as is QB Majkowski. Sharpe is a Pro Bowler, but nobody else catches well on this team. The offensive line is a little weak, but the Packers counter that effect by having some of the best general depth in the league. NT Bob Nelson and OLB Tim Harris are the only glimmering points in this dismal defense. Offenses can have their way with the Green Bay D, because other than these two, every player is below average, and more than half are horrible. Minnesota Vikings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 15 - Offense 18 - Defense 9 - Man Overall 4 520 Offense 17 236 Defense 2 284 Computer Overall 7 1422 Offense 9 692 Defense 7 689 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Wade Wilson 11 QB 25 69 13 13 44 44 44 38 290 61 Rich Gannon 16 QB 25 69 13 13 25 38 25 31 239 2 Herschel Walker 34 RB 38 69 44 63 50 44 308 80 Rick Fenney 31 RB 38 69 38 38 50 25 258 58 Jessie Clark 33 RB 38 69 31 31 50 25 244 26 Alfred Anderson 46 RB 38 69 31 31 50 25 244 26 Hassan Jones 84 WR 31 69 31 13 50 63 257 68 Anthony Carter 81 WR 44 69 56 13 50 75 307 95 Leo Lewis 87 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Cris Carter 80 WR 31 69 31 13 50 50 244 53 Steve Jordan 83 TE 25 69 38 44 50 44 307 90! Mike Jones 82 TE 25 69 19 50 50 25 238 26 Kirk Lowdermilk 63 C 25 69 38 63 195 89 Randall McDaniel 64 G 25 69 50 69 213 99! Todd Kalis 69 G 25 69 25 50 169 30 Gary Zimmerman 65 T 25 69 31 69 194 86 Tim Irwin 76 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Fuad Reveiz 7 K 56 81 81 31 44 63 356 61 Harry Newsome 18 P 25 56 44 31 25 44 225 21 Chris Doleman 56 DE 31 44 50 69 31 69 294 92! Henry Thomas 97 NT 25 38 44 50 19 63 239 67 Al Noga 99 DE 25 31 38 50 31 56 231 60 M.[Mike]Merriweather 57 LB 31 44 50 56 44 69 294 88 Keith Millard 75 LB 38 50 56 69 19 81 313 96 Scott Studwell 55 LB 25 31 31 31 19 31 168 4 Ray Berry 50 LB 25 31 31 31 19 31 168 4 Reggie Rutland 48 CB 31 38 50 38 44 50 251 50 Carl Lee 39 CB 38 50 63 56 50 69 326 88! D.[Darrell]Fullington 29 FS 31 38 50 44 38 44 245 44 Joey Browner 47 SS 38 50 63 56 69 69 345 96! Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Chi. 7. Phx. 13. Det. 2. Atl. 8. N.E. 14. BYE 3. S.F. 9. Phx. 15. T.B. 4. N.O. 10. T.B. 16. Rams 5. Den. 11. Chi. 17. G.B. 6. Det. 12. G.B. Strength-27 Minnesota, my hometown team, traditionally duels it out with the Lions and Packers for second place in the division on Tecmo. It relies on its tough defense to force opponents to make mistakes. Once it does, the offense capitalizes with a few choice weapons. Minnesota's offense is not spectacular, but it gets the job done. The good offensive line is the foundation of the offense, providing Wilson with time to pass and Walker with holes to run through. Wilson is not the greatest, but he throws to WR Anthony Carter and TE Jordan, both of whom are great receivers. The other wideout, Jones, is adequate, and Chris Carter can fill in admirably. RB Walker could be a lot better, especially considering that Minnesota traded away half a team for him. That said, he manages to get the job done. The defense is one of the stronger ones in the league. DE Doleman teams up with two other linemen who are hardly slouches to form a good line. The top two linebackers are superb, though the bottom two are awful. The secondary is anchored by two, count-em, TWO Pro Bowlers. That means that they make up half the NFC Pro Bowl secondary. CB Rutland and FS Fullington are adequate. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 25 - Offense 27 - Defense 22 - Man Overall 25 406 Offense 19 231 Defense 25 175 Computer Overall 25 955 Offense 27 499 Defense 25 381 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Vinnie Testaverde 14 QB 25 69 31 13 31 56 44 44 313 68 Jeff Carlson 7 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Gary Anderson 40 RB 38 69 50 25 50 50 282 85 Reggie Cobb 33 RB 44 69 25 94 50 44 326 17 Bruce Perkins 32 RB 38 69 31 31 50 25 244 26 John Harvey 26 RB 38 69 38 25 50 25 245 46 Mark Carrier 88 WR 38 69 44 13 50 63 277 78 Bruce Hill 84 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Danny Peebles 83 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Willie Drewry 87 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Ron Hall 82 TE 25 69 38 44 50 44 270 66 Jessie Anderson 89 TE 25 69 31 44 50 31 250 46 Randy Grimes 60 C 25 69 38 31 163 11 Carl Bax 75 G 25 69 25 38 157 2 Ian Beckles 62 G 25 69 25 44 163 11 Paul Gruber 74 T 25 69 25 50 169 30 Rob Taylor 72 T 25 69 25 38 157 2 Steve Christie 2 K 56 81 81 31 69 75 393 93 Mark Royals 3 P 25 56 44 31 38 69 263 57 Jim Skow 71 DE 25 31 38 31 19 44 188 19 Tim Newton 96 NT 25 31 31 50 19 44 200 25 Reuben Davis 79 DE 25 38 31 50 19 38 201 32 Kevin Murphy 59 LB 25 31 38 31 19 25 169 6 Winston Davis 58 LB 25 31 31 31 31 38 187 23 Eugene Marve 99 LB 25 31 31 31 19 25 162 2 Broderick Thomas 51 LB 25 31 38 38 19 56 207 46 Wayne Haddix 45 CB 44 56 75 44 75 69 363 97 Ricky Reynolds 29 CB 25 31 38 31 50 38 213 21 Harry Hamilton 39 FS 25 31 44 44 56 50 250 47 Mark Robinson 30 SS 31 38 50 50 56 44 269 63 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Jets 7. BYE 13. Gia. 2. Chi. 8. N.O. 14. Mia. 3. G.B. 9. G.B. 15. Min. 4. Buf. 10. Min. 16. Chi. 5. Det. 11. Det. 17. Ind. 6. Phi. 12. Atl. Strength-11 Back in the day, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the perennial laughingstock of the league. This was before the logo change and subsequent regaining of pride that came with a dominating defense. Yes, back then you could count a game against the Buccaneers as a sure win. Okay, enough with the history lesson. Its all true, though less so in TSB. The defense is awful, and the offense is not a whole lot better. But at least they have a good kicker! (Sarcasm, again.) The offense is dependent on the ground game. (Yes, that probably is the 15th time I've said that, especially in this division.) RB Anderson follows FB Cobb through the lack of a whole that the horrible offensive line provides. QB Testaverde is a gritty scrambler, and if you're up on your football jargon, you know that gritty is a nice way to say "not very talented." For receivers, RBs Cobb and Anderson in the flat are good choices, and WR Carrier can hold his own. After that, it's slim pickings. If you want more speed, backup WR Drewry is a little faster than starter Hill, but can't catch quite as well. The defense ebbs and flows with CB Wayne Haddix, who is not to be confused with Green Bay fullback Michael Haddix. Both are excellent at their jobs, and both are in the NFC Central, but this one is the obvious captain of his unit. After Haddix, this defense is a morass of defenders writhing in a general direction toward the ball. Simply put, this defense blows. San Francisco 49ers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 1 - Offense 1 - Defense 7 - Man Overall 1 549 Offense 2 280 Defense 5 269 Computer Overall 2 1598 Offense 2 823 Defense 4 737 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Joe Montana 16 QB 25 69 19 13 56 81 81 75 419 96! Steve Young 8 QB 25 69 25 13 56 44 50 56 338 80 Roger Craig 33 RB 38 69 50 25 50 44 276 85 Tom Rathman 44 RB 44 69 25 94 50 56 338 19 Dexter Carter 35 RB 38 69 44 19 50 38 258 76 Harry Sydney 24 RB 38 69 44 25 50 31 257 75 John Taylor 82 WR 38 69 50 13 63 69 302 89 Jerry Rice 80 WR 44 69 69 13 81 81 357 99! Mike Wilson 85 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Mike Sherrard 88 WR 38 69 44 13 50 50 264 69 Brent Jones 84 TE 25 69 38 69 50 69 320 96 Jamie Williams 81 TE 25 69 19 38 50 31 232 10 Jesse Sapolu 61 C 25 69 38 63 195 89 Guy McIntire 62 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Harris Barton 79 G 25 69 25 56 175 50 Bubba Paris 77 T 25 69 19 69 182 71 Steve Wallace 74 T 25 69 31 63 188 80 Mike Cofer 6 K 56 81 81 31 56 56 361 68 Barry Helton 9 P 25 56 44 31 19 38 213 7 Kevin Fagan 75 DE 25 31 38 50 19 44 207 38 Michael Carter 95 NT 25 31 38 69 19 56 238 65 Pierce Holt 78 DE 31 44 50 69 19 50 263 80 Bill Romanowski 53 LB 31 44 50 50 19 63 257 70 Keith DeLong 59 LB 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 38 Matt Millen 54 LB 25 38 50 63 31 63 270 79 Charles Haley 94 LB 38 50 56 63 19 75 301 92! Don Griffin 29 CB 31 38 50 38 50 50 257 56 Darryl Pollard 26 CB 25 31 44 44 38 44 226 32 Ronnie Lott 42 FS 44 56 69 69 50 75 363 97! Dave Waymer 43 SS 38 50 63 50 69 63 333 90 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Gia. 7. Atl. 13. Rams 2. S.D. 8. Det. 14. N.O. 3. Min. 9. Phi. 15. Sea. 4. Rams 10. Atl. 16. K.C. 5. Rai. 11. N.O. 17. Chi. 6. BYE 12. Phx. Strength-18 San Francisco is an excellent team. Lucky for them, Tecmo fell right in the middle of their 15 year dynasty. In my opinion, they are the best team in the game. If you've ever played them in the playoffs, you know exactly what I'm talking about. San Francisco's offense is immortalized by one phrase: "Montana to Rice." Montana is tied for the best pure thrower in the game, and Rice is clearly the best wide receiver. Craig is a better than adequate running back who gets overshadowed by the passing game. FB Rathman opens the holes for him. Both Rathman and Craig can be used as good receivers out of the backfield. WR Taylor and TE Jones are both excellent players at their position. All these guys guarantee that San Francisco will never be out of weapons. The defense is not as shoddy as many claim. True, it isn't the dominating unit of Pittsburgh or the Giants, but it isn't that far behind either. The line is average, which makes it the weak point in this D. The linebackers are led by standout Charles Haley. The corners are pretty ehh, but the safeties are the best pair in the league, without a doubt. FS Lott can do everything, and Waymer is the picks specialist, though he he can do everything too, just not as well as Lott. Los Angeles Rams ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 14 - Offense 10 - Defense 20 - Man Overall 23 429 Offense 10 260 Defense 27 171 Computer Overall 19 1103 Offense 3 785 Defense 27 308 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Jim Everett 11 QB 25 69 13 13 56 63 50 44 333 77 Chuck Long 16 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 31 38 271 39 Cleveland Gary 43 RB 38 69 50 38 38 38 271 83 Curt Warner 21 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 Gaston Green 44 RB 38 69 44 25 50 25 251 71 Buford McGee 24 RB 38 69 44 31 50 50 282 78 Henry Ellard 80 WR 44 69 69 13 50 81 326 98 Willie [Flipper] Anderson 83 WR 44 69 56 13 50 75 307 95 Derrick Faison 89 WR 25 69 25 13 50 44 226 25 Aaron Cox 84 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Pete Holohan 81 TE 25 69 19 56 81 56 275 72 Damone Johnson 86 TE 25 69 19 44 81 31 238 26 Doug Smith 56 C 25 69 38 63 195 89 Tom Newberry 66 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Bern Brostek 61 G 25 69 25 56 175 50 Irv Pankey 75 T 25 69 25 63 182 71 Jackie Slater 78 T 25 69 31 63 188 80! Mike Lansford 1 K 56 81 81 31 19 25 293 0 Keith English 8 P 25 56 44 31 19 50 225 21 Brian Smith 96 DE 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 12 Alvin Wright 99 NT 25 31 38 50 19 31 194 21 Doug Reed 93 DE 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 32 Mike Wilcher 54 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 Fred Strickland 53 LB 25 31 38 38 19 25 176 11 Frank Stams 50 LB 25 31 38 31 19 25 169 6 Kevin Greene 91 LB 38 50 56 69 19 69 301 92 Bobby Humphery 48 CB 31 38 50 31 56 31 237 36 Jerry Gray 25 CB 25 31 38 31 38 38 201 13 Anthony Newman 26 FS 25 31 31 44 44 31 206 17 Vince Newsome 22 SS 31 38 50 31 56 44 250 47 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Phx. 7. S.D. 13. S.F. 2. Gia. 8. Rai. 14. Was. 3. N.O. 9. Atl. 15. Atl. 4. S.F. 10. N.O. 16. Min. 5. G.B. 11. K.C. 17. Sea. 6. BYE 12. Det. Strength-16 Los Angeles has one of the most underrated offenses in the league. Unfortunately, their defense is very iffy, so this team will get involved in a lot of shootouts. This offense is a poor man's San Francisco. The wide receivers are just as good, the ground game is just as good, and the offensive line is just as good. They lose a little bit of ground on the tight end speed, quarterback, and depth. QB Everett does his job, mostly thanks to the help of WRs Ellard and Anderson. TE Holohan can catch and block well, he just can't run. The ground game is pretty good, especially seeing as how it's three running backs deep. Take out Curt Warner (the running back, not the future league MVP quarterback) and replace him with Buford McGee, who has either the same or better statistics in every category, especially at receiving. The defense is the Achilles heel of this team. OLB Kevin Green is the only above average player on this entire defense, so take him out and it's clear sailing to the end zone. New Orleans Saints ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 18 - Offense 19 - Defense 16 - Man Overall 19 445 Offense 22 220 Defense 18 225 Computer Overall 14 1290 Offense 15 614 Defense 13 608 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Steve Walsh 3 QB 25 69 13 13 44 38 50 50 302 63 John Fourcade 11 QB 25 69 13 13 44 44 31 38 277 50 Craig Heyward 34 RB 44 69 25 94 50 31 313 17 Dalton Hilliard 21 RB 38 69 50 25 50 25 257 81 Reuben Mayes 36 RB 38 69 44 25 50 31 257 75 Gil Fenerty 22 RB 38 69 44 25 50 31 257 75 Eric Martin 84 WR 31 69 38 13 50 69 270 76 Brent [sic-Brett] Perriman 80 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Lonzell Hill 87 WR 25 69 19 13 50 44 220 8 Floyd Turner 88 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Hoby Brenner 85 TE 25 69 19 44 50 38 245 40 John Tice 82 TE 25 69 19 38 50 31 232 10 Joel Hilgenberg 61 C 25 69 44 50 180 59 Jim Dombrowski 72 G 25 69 31 69 194 86 Steve Trapilo 65 G 25 69 31 50 175 50 Kevin Haverdink 74 T 25 69 25 56 175 50 Stan Brock 67 T 25 69 44 69 207 99 Morten Anderson 7 K 56 81 81 31 56 69 374 79! Tommy Barnhardt 6 P 25 56 44 31 63 44 263 57 Renaldo Turnbull 97 DE 31 44 50 63 19 63 270 83 Jim Wilks 94 NT 31 44 50 56 19 69 269 82 Wayne Martin 93 DE 25 31 38 44 19 44 201 32 Pat Swilling 56 LB 31 44 50 63 19 63 270 79 Vaughan Johnson 53 LB 31 44 50 69 19 31 238 64 Sam Mills 51 LB 25 38 44 50 19 31 207 46 Rickey Jackson 57 LB 25 31 38 38 19 56 207 46 Toi Cook 41 CB 25 31 38 38 44 38 214 23 Robert Massey 40 CB 31 38 50 44 56 50 269 63 Gene Atkins 28 FS 25 31 38 44 44 50 232 34 Brett Maxie 39 SS 31 38 50 44 44 38 257 56 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. Sea. 7. Phi. 13. Atl. 2. K.C. 8. T.B. 14. S.F. 3. Rams 9. Chi. 15. Dal. 4. Min. 10. Rams 16. Rai. 5. Atl. 11. S.F. 17. Phx. 6. BYE 12. S.D. Strength-13 The 'Aints have a one-dimensional offense and a strong but not strong enough defense. They don't have any stars, and this hurts them greatly. The powerful offensive line opens holes, which FB Craig "Ironhead" Heyward blasts open even farther. Hilliard is a good back, and he's backed up by several other good backs. The running game is the only part of the offense to fear. The passing game is pathetic. Walsh is bad, and, to make matters worse, he only has one guy to throw to in WR Martin. The other wide receiver, Perriman, is crap, and neither the tight end nor the backs can catch well at all. Nothing much can be done about this, because the depth at wide receiver is nothing special. The defense, luckily, is much stronger than the offense. The strength is in the line, where DE Turnbull and NT Wilks provide both a pass rush and run support. The linebackers and secondary all even out to form an average unit. No one player is worth mentioning, either as a strength or as a weakness. Atlanta Falcons ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Points and Rankings Category Rank Points Subjective Overall 19 - Offense 15 - Defense 24 - Man Overall 21 437 Offense 20 224 Defense 19 213 Computer Overall 23 1012 Offense 20 563 Defense 22 399 Roster !-denotes Pro Bowler Name # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Chris Miller 12 QB 25 69 13 13 31 44 50 31 276 45 Hugh Millen 7 QB 25 69 13 13 38 38 38 38 272 41 Mike Rozier 30 RB 38 69 50 25 50 31 263 82 Michael Haynes 81 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Steve Broussard 34 RB 38 69 38 25 50 31 251 53 Keith Jones 38 RB 38 69 38 31 50 25 251 53 Floyd Dixon 86 WR 25 69 25 13 50 50 232 37 Andre Rison 80 WR 44 69 63 13 50 75 289 97! Tracy Johnson 43 RB 38 69 31 50 50 25 263 34 George Thomas 89 WR 31 69 31 13 50 44 238 44 Shawn Collins 85 WR 44 69 50 13 50 50 276 71 Gary Wilkins 87 WR 25 69 25 31 50 31 250 0 Jamie Dukes 64 C 25 69 19 50 163 11 Houston Hoover 69 G 25 69 19 44 157 2 Bill Fralic 79 G 25 69 44 50 188 80 Mike Kenn 78 T 25 69 31 38 163 11 Chris Hinton 71 T 25 69 31 69 194 86 Greg Davis 5 K 56 81 81 31 25 50 324 18 Scott Fulhage 17 P 25 56 44 31 63 69 288 82 Tim Green 99 DE 25 31 38 50 19 56 219 51 Tory Epps 97 NT 25 31 38 56 19 44 213 45 Mike Gann 76 DE 31 44 50 50 19 56 250 69 Darion Conner 56 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 John Rade 59 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 Jessie Tuggle 58 LB 25 38 44 38 19 50 214 53 Michael Reed 95 LB 25 31 38 38 19 31 182 21 Deion Sanders 21 CB 44 56 75 56 56 50 337 91 Charles Dimry 22 CB 25 31 31 31 50 25 193 4 Scott Case 25 FS 25 31 38 31 50 25 200 13 Brian Jordan 40 SS 25 31 25 44 50 19 194 10 Schedule Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. Wk. Opp. 1. K.C. 7. S.F. 13. N.O. 2. Min. 8. Phx. 14. G.B. 3. S.D. 9. Rams 15. Rams 4. Rai. 10. S.F. 16. Sea. 5. N.O. 11. Was. 17. Dal. 6. BYE 12. T.B. Strength-21 (tied) Overall, the Falcons are just a weak team. They have a couple stars, and that's just about all that keeps them from complete ineptitude. The Falcons' run-and-shoot system is not the best fit for them. Put in a featured back set, with Rozier as the main back and running three plays. Broussard fits as the other back. Put Rison and Collins in as wide receivers, and put RB Tracy Johnson in at tight end. Johnson can't catch well at all, but he can block. When you pass, go for the wideouts, because the other three potential receivers can't catch very well. The defense is gawdawful. The line is average, but it can't make up for the poor linebacking corps. The secondary is led by superstar (and superego) CB Deion Sanders. This defense won't soon win any awards. AFC Pro Bowl Squad ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Roster Name Team # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. QB Bills [Jim Kelly] Buf. 0 QB 25 69 13 13 56 81 81 81 419 96 Warren Moon Hou. 1 QB 25 69 19 13 69 75 75 63 408 93 Bo Jackson Rai. 34 RB 38 69 75 31 81 19 313 99 Thurman Thomas Buf. 34 RB 38 69 63 25 75 50 320 96 Bobby Humphrey Den. 26 RB 38 69 63 38 50 38 296 96 James Brooks Cin. 21 RB 38 69 56 31 50 38 282 93 Andre Reed Buf. 83 WR 25 69 56 13 56 69 288 90 Drew Hill Hou. 85 WR 44 69 63 13 81 75 345 97 Anthony Miller S.D. 83 WR 38 69 44 13 50 69 283 86 Ernest Givins Hou. 81 WR 44 69 56 13 81 75 338 96 Rodney Holman Cin. 82 TE 25 69 38 69 50 56 307 90 Ferrell Edmunds Mia. 80 TE 25 69 38 56 50 50 288 82 Kent Hull Buf. 67 C 25 69 38 69 201 92 Mike Munchak Hou. 63 G 25 69 31 63 188 80 Steve Wisniewski Rai. 76 G 25 69 44 69 207 99 Anthony Munoz Cin. 78 T 25 69 38 75 207 99 Bruce Armstrong N.E. 78 T 25 69 38 69 201 92 Nick Lowery K.C. 8 K 56 81 81 31 81 81 411 96 Rohn Stark Ind. 3 P 25 56 44 31 75 56 287 79 Bruce Smith Buf. 78 DE 44 56 69 75 25 81 350 99 Dan Saleaumua K.C. 97 NT 38 31 25 56 19 56 225 55 Greg Townsend Rai. 93 DE 38 50 56 63 31 69 307 95 Derrick Thomas K.C. 58 LB 44 56 63 69 19 81 332 98 David Little Pit. 50 LB 38 44 56 50 31 63 282 86 John Offerdahl Mia. 56 LB 28 50 56 44 31 50 269 75 C.[Cornelius]Bennett Buf. 97 LB 38 50 63 63 19 69 302 93 Rod Woodson Pit. 26 CB 44 56 75 69 63 75 382 98 Albert Lewis K.C. 29 CB 31 38 50 56 50 69 294 76 Steve Atwater Den. 27 FS 31 38 50 69 31 63 282 71 David Fulcher Cin. 33 SS 44 56 69 75 69 75 388 99 NFC Pro Bowl Squad ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Roster Name Team # Pos. RS RP MS HP C1 C2 C3 C4 Total Perc. Joe Montana S.F. 16 QB 25 69 19 13 56 81 81 75 419 96 QB Eagles [Randall Cunningham] Phi. 0 QB 25 69 56 13 63 69 63 63 421 98 Barry Sanders Det. 20 RB 38 69 69 25 69 44 314 98 Earnest Byner Was. 21 RB 38 69 50 25 81 38 301 87 Emmitt Smith Dal. 22 RB 38 69 56 31 50 38 282 93 Johnny Johnson Phx. 39 RB 38 69 50 38 50 38 283 86 Jerry Rice S.F. 80 WR 44 69 69 13 81 81 357 99 Andre Rison Atl. 80 WR 44 69 63 13 50 75 314 97 Sterling Sharpe G.B. 84 WR 38 69 50 13 50 75 295 92 Gary Clark Was. 84 WR 38 69 50 13 81 75 326 93 Keith Jackson Phi. 88 TE 25 69 50 63 50 63 320 96 Steve Jordan Min. 83 TE 25 69 44 63 50 56 307 90 Jay Hilgenberg Chi. 63 C 25 69 50 63 207 99 Randall McDaniel Min. 64 G 25 69 50 69 213 99 Mark Bortz Chi. 62 G 25 69 44 69 207 99 Jim Lachey Was. 79 T 25 69 31 69 194 86 Jackie Slater Rams 78 T 25 69 31 63 188 80 Morten Andersen N.O. 7 K 56 81 81 31 56 69 374 79 Sean Landeta Gia. 5 P 25 56 44 31 81 81 318 96 Chris Doleman Min. 56 DE 31 44 50 69 31 69 294 88 Jerry Ball Det. 93 NT 31 44 44 69 19 69 276 87 Reggie White Phi. 92 DE 38 50 56 69 31 75 319 98 Lawrence Taylor Gia. 56 LB 44 56 69 75 31 81 356 99 Mike Singletary Chi. 50 LB 38 50 56 75 19 81 319 97 Pepper Johnson Gia. 52 LB 38 44 56 69 31 69 307 96 Charles Haley S.F. 94 LB 31 44 50 50 19 63 257 92 Darrell Green Was. 28 CB 44 56 75 44 44 31 294 76 Carl Lee Min. 39 CB 38 50 63 56 50 69 326 88 Ronnie Lott S.F. 42 FS 44 56 69 69 50 75 363 97 Joey Browner Min. 47 SS 38 50 63 56 69 69 345 96 ####################################################################### Miscellaneous ####################################################################### Tecmo Codes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The sound test can be accessed from the tile screen, the screen with Tecmo Super Bowl in the foreground and the little globes floating behind it. To get the test, hold left on the control pad and hit B. You'll access every sound on the game, plus one that is a mystery (covered below). If you want to hear the full version of the injury theme, which you only hear part of, it is number 24. If you really want to find out who is the best Tecmoer, there is a code to make everyone in the playoffs the Buffalo Bills. Get to the very end of a season, right after the last game. If one of the divisions hasn't clinched yet, they will clinch immediately after the last game. Hit the reset button during one of these clinches and all the teams in the playoffs will be Buffalo. Set the Bills on MAN and everyone can play as the same team. Other Tecmo Documents and Websites ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First of all, there is another very well written Tecmo FAQ out there written by Leif Powers. You can email him at HWPOWERS@prodigy.net or you can get a copy at GameFAQs.com at any time. Where my guide covers teams and players, his covers plays and playbooks. I strongly recommend checking it out if you liked this guide. In addition, his can be used for any version of Tecmo, inluding Roms and patches. The Tecmo Message Board is great for true Tecmo diehards. It tends to be more alive during the pro football season, and the off- season can be disappointing. To see it at its best, check it out during the middle of the football season at www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb5589 The Virginia Tech Tecmo Football League has an excellent site out there. It's well-written and has some great humorous definitions. It can be found at www.vttfl.com. Lastly, I have written a small document named "You Know You Play Too Much Tecmo Super Bowl When..." It's a humorous document with symptoms to check for if you don't know if you're an addict or just a fan. You can get a copy by emailing me at edgarffvi@yahoo.com. Acknowledgements ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to Ben Ficek for introducing me to this game. Thanks to Robbie Jansen, Ricky Jansen, and Dan Trisko as well as Ben Ficek for being in Tecmo seasons with me, even if I did beat them most of the time. Thanks to Ben and Robbie for helping me with this guide. Thanks to the people who host and the people who visit the Tecmo message board. You inspired me to write this guide and made me realize that I was not the only TSB lover out there. Thanks to Tyranork, beernut, and Jeff Gaffney of the TSB message board for correcting a few errors in this guide. Thanks to DrLasker for the idea on how to rate teams. Thanks to Tecmo for making a game of such outstanding quality. Above all, thank you for reading this guide. This document written by and copyright 1999-2000 Paul Schulzetenberg (edgarffvi@yahoo.com). Feedback, corrections, and other e-mail are welcome. This guide is dedicated to the memory of Derrick Thomas, Jerome Brown, Sammie Smith, Eric Andolsek, Dave Waymer, Barney Bussey, and any other Tecmo players I may have missed. Your legacy lives on. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Quiet! There are ladies present." -Edgar, in Final Fantasy III for Super Nintendo