This section will
provide two things:
- Facts about
Tecmo Super Bowl
(imagine that)
-
The method
with which I play
the game
Since I'm a wild
and crazy guy,
we'll do this
in reverse order.
method:
Many of the hardcore
Tecmoers might
look at my season
stats and laugh
at me for not
having an RB with
5000 yards or
a QB throwing
for 9000 yards...or
both. There are
a few reasons
for that. One
is I impose a
few rules on myself
to keep the stats
a bit more "realistic."
Another is I play
with a keyboard
instead of a typical
NES controller.
The final reason
is I'm not as
good as you are
at the game. One
end result of
not being as good
as you is I'm
better than you
at other games.
For example, NBA
Live '98. Or Baseball
Stars. Or another
pre-millennium
game. And chances
are, since I'm
not spending my
time perfecting
the best way to
return punts on
Tecmo Super Bowl,
I make much better
dice games than
you. So while
you're dominant
at TSB, you probably
blow at everything
else while I'm
mediocre at a
whole range of
things.
Anyway...
As you may have
noticed, I play
seasons with one
team and record
all the stats.
As exciting as
it sounds. Some
of you may have
even noticed that
I couldn't even
get the Phoenix
Cardinals' QB
to throw for 3000
yards. Here are
some of the rules
that keep me from
being looked at
as "The Wizard."
- I only allow
myself to do onsides
kicks twice per
game, once with
a minute or less
to go in the first
half or the end
of the game. If
I don't kick within
those timeframes,
I won't kick onsides
all game.
- I can't play
fulltime as either
a) the Nose Tackle
or b) the freak
OLB some teams
have (like Derrick
Thomas). I can
play as them,
but no more than
half the time.
I can, however,
monopolize control
on DBs all I want.
Primary reason
being I can rack
up over 100 sacks
a year as a lineman,
but I've never
gotten over 8
INTs in a season
with a DB.
- I don't know
Fred Savage, but
I did write an
article on his
younger brother
Cory Matthews.
- If the CPU picks
my play, I'm not
allowed to lay
down for the sack.
I *have* to either
throw it or, if
it looks possible,
scramble for positive
yardage.
- No FGs. Unless
there's only time
for one play and
kicking the FG
wins the game.
In five seasons,
it's only happened
once (and I made
it, bitch!)
- No punting. Ever.
- I have to use
the team's original
playbook. This
is probably the
biggest difference
maker. Some of
these teams have
some crrrrrrappy
playbooks. With
a custom playbook
I could probably
win every game
900-0 (cause I'm
awesome), but
when you're playing
with the Phoenix
Cardinals' woeful
O-Line and three
of the four passes
have some sort
of play-action
involved, you
start to feel
restricted. And
I like that. The
exception to this
rule are the updated
rosters I've made...because
I personally customized
every team's playbook
to represent (as
best I could)
the team as it
is today. So the
Detroit Lions
of 2005-2006 don't
do the run &
shoot anymore.
Those are the rules
I've placed on
myself to keep
the games relatively
competitive and
my final stats
relatively grounded.
If you still feel
the need to write
me and tell me
about your RB's
100-TD season,
please feel free
to use the contact
form.
facts:
- QB Eagles (aka
Randall Cunningham)
is the highest-rated
QB in the game
(summing all attributes),
thanks primarily
to his having
a 56 max-speed
rating when no
other QB has more
than 31. Looking
at only "throwing"
attributes, QB
Bills (Jim Kelly)
is rated the highest.
Looking at only
QBs who actually
have their real
name in the game,
Joe Montana is
the best.
- Ottis Anderson
is the highest-rated
RB, which is totally
bizarre. Ottis
broke into the
NFL in 1979, had
a few good years,
and then was plagued
with injuries
for the remainder
of his career.
In 1990, the season
used to determine
TSB Player ratings
and Ottis' last
full one, he rushed
225 times for
784 yards (3.5
yards/att). In
16 games. How
this warrants
him being the
highest-rated
RB is unknown.
Bo Jackson is
actually widely
considered to
be the best RB
in the game, mainly
because of his
75 max-speed rating.
Barry Sanders
has a 69, a handful
of guys have a
63, and then the
majority start
to come in around
56. So when Bo
is in Excellent
Condition, he's
got an 88 max-speed
rating, which
can be very fun
to play with.
Overall Bo's merely
ranked 12th. This
is due to his
only having a
31 Hitting Power.
Aside from Barry
Sanders and Thurman
Thomas, all RBs
ahead of Bo have
at least a 50
in HP, which leads
to guys like Brad
Muster (94 HP)
and Tony Paige
(88 HP) being
ranked ahead of
Bo.
- It shouldn't be
a surprise to
hear Jerry Rice
is the top WR
in the game. It
might surprise
to hear that the
Houston Oilers
and Washington
Redskin account
for the next SIX
receivers. The
best non-Jerry
Rice receiver
who doesn't play
for the Oilers
or Redskins? Andre
Rison. The worst
starter? Aubrey
Matthews, Detroit.
The best non-starter?
Tim Brown, Raiders.
- Jay Novacek is
the highest-rated
TE, followed closely
by Brent Jones,
Keith Jackson,
and Marv Cook
as I abbreviate
the discussion
on the position
no one cares about.
- The best K in the
game is, quite
easily, Nick Lowery.
The worst is Mike
Lansford of the
LA Rams.
- Best punter, you
ask? Sean Landeta.
Worst? Bryan Wager
of the Browns.
- Randall McDaniel
is the best Offensive
Lineman. He played
for Min. He's
one of about 3
OL guys whose
name I recognize,
not including
members of the
Niners.
- David Fulcher (DB,
Cin) is the best
defensive player
in the game. The
best non-DB is,
not surprisingly,
Lawrence Taylor
(cocaine, NYG).
Andre Waters,
a DB from Phi,
is the worst.
But at least he's
got a cool name.
- Averaging the Ends,
Linebackers, and
DBs, the best
defensive team
is the Pittsburgh
Steelers with
a 275.2 average
rating per player.
The Indianapolis
Colts are the
worst, averaging
199.7 per player.
The surprise?
The Chargers are
ranked 6th.
Now, because of
things like Brad
Muster technically
having a higher
rating than Bo
Jackson, one thing
I did was re-work
the rating points
to better reflect
the players. All
QBs have 8 attributes
that are rated.
RBs and WRs/TEs
have 6 apiece,
defensive guys
have 6, and OLine
guys have 4. What
I did was eliminate
certain categories
and then re-weight
the remaining
categories as
I saw fit. For
example, let's
look at QBs:
As I stated, all
Qbs are rated
in 8 different
attributes. If
you give each
attribute a weight
of "1"
that gives you
a total of 8.
Now all QBs have
a 25 in Run Speed,
a 69 in Rush Power,
and a 13 in Hit
Power so I eliminated
those categories,
since they're
worthless. That
leaves 8 points
for 5 categories
instead of 8.
If I left all
the other categories
to be weighed
equally, each
attribute rating
would be multiplied
by 1.6 (5 cateogries
x 1.6 weight =
8 points). However,
I feel that certain
categories are
more important
that others, so
I added weight
here, took weight
away from there,
and came up with
something like
this:
(Max Speed x 1.1)
+ (Pass Speed
x 1.9) + (Pass
Control * 1.8)
+ (Pass Accuracy
x 1.9) + (Avoid
Pass Block x 1.3)
Obviously your
mileage may vary,
but this is my
site and my rules.
I took away some
importance for
running speed
and avoiding the
pass block and
added worth to
pass speed and
accuracy. What
this does is drop
Randall Cunnignham
from 1st to 4th
overall and places
Jim Kelly (I mean
"QB Bills")
just over 1 point
ahead of Joe Montana
as #1. FYI, Warren
Moon is #3 in
my rankings. And
either way you
slice it (simply
adding the attributes
or my personal
rankings), Steve
Grogan is the
worst QB in the
game, subs or
no subs. That's
right ladies and
gents, in TSB,
New England's
backup, Marc Wilson,
is a better QB
than its starter.
So is Indianapolis'.
Jack Trudreau
is a better QB
than Jeff George.
For RBs, no one
category value
is shared by every
back. Rush Power
though, comes
very close. Every
back in the game
has a 69 except
for Christian
Okoye who has
a 75. So I divided
its value by 10
(multiplied by
0.1). Run Speed
is also somewhat
interesting in
that *most* RBs
have a 38, but
some of the better
ones venture up
to 44 and 50,
with Ottis hitting
56 and Okoye hitting
63. But since
the difference
in value is so
small, I devalued
this category
as well. I also
*slightly* devalued
the "Receptions"
rating, setting
it at 90% its
original worth.
This left extra
value for Max
Speed, Hit Power,
and Ball Control.
I multiplied Max
Speed by 2.1,
Hit Power by 1.35
and Ball Control
by 1.25. So 0.1
+ 0.3 + 0.9 +
1.25 + 1.35 +
2.1 = 6.00. The
result is Ottis
Anderson pulls
even further away
from the field.
Christian Okoye
remains #2 and
now Bo Jackson
is #3. Neal Anderson
is #4, followed
by Thurman Thomas
and Barry Sanders
at #5 and #6,
respectively.
Most importantly,
they're now ranked
higher than all
those slow but
powerful FBs.
Now that you get
the drill, let
me just say that
for WRs, Jerry
Rice is still
easily #1. The
only real notable
changes are Henry
Ellard, Andre
Rison, Anthony
Carter, and Willie
Anderson all cracked
into that Hou-Was
6 pack thanks
to greater emphasis
on Max Speed and
Receptions.
Nothing really
happened to the
TEs, except I
should note that
Jim Jensen, the
backup TE for
the Miami Dolphins,
is the 9th, ranked
TE in the entire
game, only a few
ticks below Mark
Bavaro and one
rank above the
Miami starter,
Ferrell Edmonds.
Not much changed
with the defensive
guys either. The
first big beneficiaries
were Chris Doleman
(DE, Min) and
Albert Lewis (DB,
KC), who gained
13 and 12 spots,
respectively.
I should also
let all the Burt
Grossman (DE,
SD) fans know
that their boy
dropped from 39th
to 99th in my
rankings. Whoops.
Team-wise, Chicago
is actually the
top-ranked defensive
squad in the game,
barely ahead of
Pittsburgh.
And no one cares
about the offensive
line guys, so
I'll save my wrists
and move on.
