Page Formatted by Michael Fornal      FICA

QB: Well to keep this simple and easy Ill get right to the point. Yer starting QB should suit your play style. If you cant find one to fit your play style then you have to find a plays style that fits your QB. Everyone would like to have Troy Aikman or Steve Young (the 2 most perfect QBs availble in the game) But this is just not possible for all of us. Here is what I look for in a starting QB.... First thing the big 3: ST, IN, DI. Very important but how important? Well DI controls things like weather he will stick it out in the pocket and how accuratly he throws the ball or weather he will just eat the sack or pitch it up for grabs in a last ditch effort. For these reasons I prefer a QB with over 80 DI. On to IN. Intellegence is key for check passing, and audibles and the like. Its very important that your QB have a least a 70-80 IN. Intellegence dont have to be as high as DI in my book since a well designed passing play will make the reads easy for your QB to make the right calls. ST is what your QB needs to launch the bombs. Ive seen rag arm QBs toss fifty yard bombs but the strong guys can get it there with a little more accuracy and it helps for the short zip passes (although on this point ive yet to see any conclusive evidence that a over 80 ST QB has much more advantage than a over 70 ST QB.) I have found that a minimum ST of 70 is needed for a QB to be truly effective. Now other things that are highly important are AG, EN, HA. Hands should exceed 60 while EN of 60+ is important for them late game comebacks when your QB needs to drop the bomb on someone. AG Agility is a luxury. Few QBs in the league have great AG. This is the stat that helps make your QB become the invincible wall of stone that DLs slam into often enough in the highlights. Well with that said about QBs on to more fun matters......

RBS: Lots of theories here as to what makes a great HB but this is about setting up your roster to be most effective. I break my backs up in catagories. Blockers and Runners. Ya need a suitable runner that can carry the load and he should have a back up with stats as close to possible as the #1 guy. Never put your one and two guy in on the same play. This allows for fresh rotation. Doing this will also keep plays from becoming worthless when the RB1 is hurt or resting. Blockers I usually like a strong guy with good EN since he will see more actual play time than the runners. Maybe make your FBs Blockers and use them only for blocking and your HBs only for running. This would ensure a clean rotation. If your lacking in RBs id suggest getting some:) Keep at least 4 on your team unless ya have great TEs to pick up for the lack of blocking depth.

WRS: As With HBs ya should have a 1 and 2 guy that have the ability to run the same routes. Try and keep these guys outta the same plays together. This way if one goes down the other can come in and fill his shoes. Same goes for WRs 3 and 4. This sets up a natural rotation that will keep yer plays functioning well even late in the game.

OLs: Very important how ya set up your Oline. A center needs to have decent AC over 55 or 60 with well over 80 ST over 60 HA and Excellent EN since he will need to play more than your other OLs. Speed and agility really arent all that important for a center as ya dont want him jumping all over the place anyways. Now here is where ya really need to seperate yerself from what ya know to be true in real life and what is effective in the game. Gaurds should be your slower but strong guys. As in the the case of the center they should have over 55 or 60 AC over 80 ST and good EN. The lack of speed and agility wont hurt a gaurds blocking ability since ya want him to remain in place for pass blocking and he requires minimul movement. In real life its common place to pull the gaurds and down block the hole with a Tackle. Well that dont work here. If ya plan on pulling an OL make it the outside guy. Tackles need speed! Keep this in mind when setting up your Oline. How many times have you seen a quick aggressive rush logic used on a DL just outside the Tackle to beat him around the corner and sack your QB. I prefer Tackles with speed over 70 but a 60+ will work well also. The Tackle is the one OL on the line ya want doing a lot of movement during yer pass plays. Keep this in mind. Ive seen several teams around the league moving there quick fast OLs to the middle as gaurds. Bad idea. Keep em outside at the tackle position.

DLs: As with your Oline its best to bury your slower guys into the middle of the play where there pursuit angles will be shorter. The DEs should be faster and the all around better athlete. The DE has alot of responsibilty on the end of the line weather it be pass rushing or pursuing the sweep. A quick DE will make all the difference if a QB tries to roll out to his side. DTs need to be strong to stand plays up in the middle and not allow that v-shaped bubble to form allowing the HB to squirm through the hole. One thing to remember is that Strength in this game is not absolute. It is viewed differently from player to player. This is why OLs on the FG Block are nearly unstoppable. A DL with a 70 ST is nearly as strong as an OL with a 90.

LBs: Yer LB1 and 2 should have a semblence of brain power. Over 60 IN is a must for a solid starting LB. The reason for this is it is the Middle LBs IN that controls most of the audible calls. Other than that ya need the obvious things such as ST, SP, EN ect, ect. It best not to relie on LBs in cover situations. Even a bad safty or CB makes a much better cover guy than a good LB.

DBs: As in RBs seperate em. Put yer slower less talented guys at Safty and yer speeders with the cover ability at CB. This way ya can pick and place where ya want the players to play and ensure that a terrible player wont be comming in and subbing out your #1 CB thats covering jerry rice! This seperation method also works well for when you have safties that play well at LB. Always keep in mind who ya got covering who and who will be subbing in for that guy.