Bodom

Change all the players to John Stephens. Cool idea for a ROM!

The playoffs seemed to be slightly less difficult than the last few regular season games. Wonder if losing my final two games to the Jets and Bengals had any impact. I always thought the juice levels were based on wins, and they very well might be, but my receivers seemed to be open a lot more in the playoffs than the final few regular season games. Forgot to snap the box score for the Oilers game, but it wasn't much of a game and their only score came late. I got a bit lucky against the Bengals. I was up 21-14 early in the 4th when they scored on a long run, while I attempted to blow up the play in the backfield. 21-21. On the first play after kickoff, they got a safety and took the lead 23-21 (only advancing the ball to the 1 came back to haunt me). I held them on D and got the ball back with just under a minute left. A Fryar JJ put the ball at the 40 with 10 seconds left and Marv "Super Hero" Cook made a diving grab in the end zone as time expired. Thought for sure I was losing that game. The NFC matchup was SF (14-2) vs. NYG (13-3). In looking at the stats, I thought I was destined to face SF in the Super Bowl to prove who had the better QB/WR combo. It wasn't meant to be as the Giants ended up winning it 24-21. I immediately started having flashbacks of David Tyree and feared that my O-Line would crumble - just as the Pats O-Line did in Super Bowl XLII - giving Grogan no time to throw, forcing INTs. I decided I was not losing this game. Tied 14-14 early in the 4th with the ball on my own 5. Three consecutive overthrows by Grogan and a drop by Allen and it wasn't looking good. Giants ball from the 5. On 1st and 2nd down, they called run 4 and I stuffed Meggett up the middle. After a Simms incompletion, they took the lead 17-14 with just over 2 minutes left. I again, got a bit lucky with a few JJs, a couple 4th down conversions to Cook and sealed it with a Pass 1 to Allen in the slot with just seconds left.

And the rest of the gang. Whole damn team is in BAD. Playoffs tomorrow.

Season in the books. 12-3-1. Really thought I could get to 14 wins, but some of those games toward the end of the season were impossible. Lost to Miami, Jets & Bengals - tied the Bills. WTF!

Johnny Johnson ~ 0 rush yards, 0 receptions, 0 rec. yards, twice tackled for a safety. No Marv Cook, no problem. 5-0.

Holy shit... Grogan tested my patience in this game. In BAD all game. Almost every pass was overthrown - and there were a couple wide open drops. I swear on one pass the ball landed 20 yards in front of Dykes. Good thing for defense.

Alright, no taking sacks on purpose! ... but Grogan doesn't need any help creating space. I'm sticking with "the only way the ball advances from left to right is via Grogan pass".

Alright, I couldn't wait.... started the "Grogan Challenge" at work during my lunch break. Anything less than 14-2 and a Super Bowl will be a disappointment for this Pats fan. Laptop with keyboard as controller, FCEUX, unhacked ROM. I think these are the rules everyone is using - I may have thrown in a few extra - so I'll list them anyways. 1. Pass every play - no rushing - throw or take a sack only. 2. Original Pats playbook. 3. No swapping positions (RB: Stephens, Allen, WR: Fryar, Dykes, TE: Cook) - subs after an injury as necessary. 4. No kick or punt returns - must run directly OOB (unless to advance to 1 yard line and avoid a safety). 5. No punts or FGs. 6. No defensive INT or fumble returns - must run directly OOB. 7. No lurching. 8. If Grogan gets injured the game will be reset. Basically, the only way the ball advances from left to right is via Grogan pass - and the only way to score is Grogan TD pass (or safety on a picked play). I'm 2 games in and the Grogan to Cook combo is in full stride (even in BAD).

I love reading people's recaps of this challenge. The Marv "Super Hero" Cook comment got me laughing. So true. Having played through 100's of seasons with the Pats (both MAN & COA), I know how frustrating Grogan can be. I'm gonna have to give this challenge a try, this week.

Nice find! Definitely a cool way for people to personalize their own roms.

Just finished a crazy Pats coach season following the previous rules (1) No substitutions - except when players get injured (2) No checking player conditions, ever (3) Original playbook! Finished 13-3 losing to only Pittsburgh - in OT, Buffalo, and Cincy - all by 7 points or less. First in defense, last in offense. Ground and pound, slow the game down! The playoffs lined up perfectly and I was able to avenge each loss. And one of the craziest Super Bowl box scores I have ever seen.

Totally right. I just felt like mentioning Johnny Johnson, somehow.

I might be a little bias here because: 1. TSB is, and has always been, my favorite game. 2. I don't have an ounce of interest in any non-sports video game. 3. I haven't really kept up with, and am not up-to-date on new games, consoles or whatever. But... Tecmo Super Bowl was the first sports video game to have the licensing rights in order to use both real teams and real players. Visually: Team logos were accurate, the team colors were accurate (limited, but accurate)...even the players skin color was correct (except for Johnny Johnson). It was the first sports video game that you could play through a full season and playoffs - and it kept season stats for teams and players. TSB was the first sports game to do any of this - unless there's a game I'm not thinking of. FIFA and Madden (and every other sports franchise that exists) can thank Tecmo for their success.

I just went from six to midnight!

Damn...having played the ROM, that's impressive. My first thought after looking at your season stats was 2007 Patriots. Only you didn't shit your pants at the end.

Playoffs - Game 1: BANG vs. DARTS BRUTAY dominated this game rushing for 280 yards and completing 88% of his passes. The Darts managed to keep it close with 2 fumble returns for TDs and another KO return for a TD. Game 2: BANG vs. RUMPUS Not BRUTAY'S best game, but managed another 42 points. I could not stop their rushing attack, but luckily they only rushed 13 times. Super Bowl: BANG vs. PACHYDERMS (I dusted off the old logitec controller for this one) BRUTAY was injured on the 4th play of this game, but ROLLS once again showed his true skills and competitiveness. His dink and dunk style offense worked to perfection, completing 96% of his passes for 204 yards and 3 TDs. Very Tom Brady-like. The defense only allowed 2 rush yards on 4 carries, added 2 picks, and the BOSTON BANG followed in the footsteps of the city's Major League team and took home the title! Overall - awesome ROM. That season was a lot of fun. Once I picked a playbook and got the timing & pass progressions down, my offense became unstoppable, especially with a QB that can scramble.

My defense has actually been horrendous. It's my time of possession that keeps points against somewhat low - and occasionally I'll get lucky with a few picked plays or a pick.

What the hell. I'm definitely not scoring at will on this ROM - I've been moving the ball downfield slowly. But maybe that's just the lack of the BANG's passing game and my fear of throwing INTs.....or the season juice factor.....or (enter another excuse here). 32 points per game during my season. My attempt at a Belichickian Bend but Don't Break defense probably also factored into that. Minor League Playoffs to be played tonight during Lightning/Red Wings Game 7. *(I'm also using KEYS and ARROWS on a laptop. No controller)*

I noticed something with the stats above when comparing them over time. Everything seems about right except for Brutay's attempts and completions. Went from 32/63 to 33/39. Impressive that he threw 1 more completion and 11 more TDs while throwing 24 less passes. HA!

Well....the change was made at QB, but the controversy didn't last too long. A fumble during a potential game winning drive by BRUTAY cost him the starting job in week 9. ROLLS got the start the following week, but lasted just 3 quarters, putting up 0 points while tossing 3 INTs. The defense played a solid game, down 14-0 in the 4th, BRUTAY managed to scramble the BANG back into the game and get the OT win. It was BRUTAY from there on out (aside from ROLLS getting some 4th Q action in blowouts to keep BRUTAY healthy). Unfortunately, BRUTAY was injured on the 1st play of the final game, which was a horrible coaching decision as the 1st round bye had already been clinched. The gameplan quickly became tossing bombs with ROLLS, which ended badly. Here's hoping BRUTAY returns for the playoffs....

Not much free time these days, but determined to get through a season on this with the Boston Bang. I'm 1/2 way through and sitting pretty at 6-2, though one extremely lopsided loss has the point differential closer than I'd like. Believe it or not, despite his insane rushing ability, there's a QB controversy in Boston. Ben Brutay has cost the Bang a few games with his ME attitude, trying to extend too many plays and often fumbling and/or throwing picks. He just came back from his 2nd injury this season. Backup Isaiah Rolls has filled in nicely in Brutay's absence going 4-0, while Brutay sits at 2-2. The receivers certainly benefit from Rolls under center. Consider Brutay on a short leash going forward. More to come over the next day/week....

Hidden gems everywhere. Great ROM, buck.

Alright, Trace Armdong just had me laughing for about 20 minutes. And #11 Jules Weedleman! Awesome.

Or maybe I should have just read the first post where this was clearly identified. Either way, cool ROMs.

Not sure if this was intentional or not, but Steve Nebraska (Hollywood All Stars) has such a nasty slider that it can go off the side of the screen and come back in the other side.... twice.