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Friday, Dec. 18 8:00 PM
ET
Chicago
Bears
After studying the
Chicago Bears offense and defense I find that it would take
a highly skilled Madden player to find success with such a
mediocre team. The skill positions have potential, but lack
a real offensive threat. There is no one on the offense that
would really scare an opponent. For instance, teams that
prepare for Detroit know they must stop Barry Sanders. And
teams that face San Francisco know they must keep an eye on
Jerry Rice. However, with the Bears, the offense doesn't
really have any superstars. This is why it would take
someone with a knowledge of the game, AND good hand eye
coordiantion to be competetive with this franchise. Let's
take a look at each position on the offense.
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The Bears offense features Curtis
Enins in the backfield with Curtis Conway and Bobby
Ingram at the Wide outs. The quartback is Erik
Krammer.
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After analyzing the
chart below, notice the areas that the starter, Kramer, lack
high numbers in; throwing power and throwing accuarcay. The
ability to get the ball down field and to the right place.
Top quarterbacks are averaging in the high 90's in both of
these catagories. THis make Krammer susceptable to
interceptions. Another disadvantage the starter carries is
his height. At 6' 1", Krammer is susceptable to getting many
passes blocked or deflected. He needs to move around in the
pocket and find good passing lanes. You will also notice
there is a big drop off from the starter to the seond and
third string qb, as it is on most teams. However, you look
at the EA ratings, Mirer, may not be the best second string
qb. Stenstroms numbers in awareness and accuracy could make
him better selection as a back up. So as you can see the qb
position doesn't offer anything spectacular.
The
Quarterbacks
12- Erik Krammer, 13 -
Rick Mirer, 18 Steve Stenstrom
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Player
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Strenght
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Agility
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Speed
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Accel
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Aware
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Catch
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Carry
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Throw
Power
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Throw
Accu
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Kick
Power
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Kick
Accu
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Break
Tackles
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Tackle
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Import
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Pass
Block
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Run
Block
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Injury
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#12
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57
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69
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66
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64
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90
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9
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54
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85
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84
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9
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9
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47
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9
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90
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0
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3
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78
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#13
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53
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71
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67
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66
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47
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9
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49
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73
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59
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9
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9
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36
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9
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69
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0
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3
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80
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#18
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50
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66
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62
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59
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56
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9
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55
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69
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69
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9
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9
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34
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9
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67
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0
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3
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60
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The
Halfbacks
39 - Curtis Enis, 32 -
Edgar Bennett, 33 - Ronnie Harmon
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Player
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Strenght
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Agility
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Speed
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Accel
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Aware
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Catch
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Carry
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Throw
Power
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Throw
Accu
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Kick
Power
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Kick
Accu
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Break
Tackles
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Tackle
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Import
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Pass
Block
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Run
Block
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Injury
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#39
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58
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84
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83
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82
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69
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57
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69
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3
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3
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0
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0
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62
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18
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80
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28
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28
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69
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#32
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62
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83
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79
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80
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83
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67
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67
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3
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3
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0
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0
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67
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18
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80
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28
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28
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59
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#33
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58
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75
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75
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75
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99
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86
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81
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3
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3
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0
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0
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67
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18
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90
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28
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28
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88
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Compare the above
stats to Terrell Davis, below.
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Player
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Strenght
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Agility
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Speed
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Accel
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Aware
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Catch
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Carry
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Throw
Power
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Throw
Accu
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Kick
Power
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Kick
Accu
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Break
Tackles
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Tackle
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Import
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Pass
Block
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Run
Block
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Injury
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#30
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71
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90
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90
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92
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99
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69
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85
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11
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9
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0
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0
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95
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14
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99
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29
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43
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79
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Davis is better in
nearly every catagory, as well expected. But with these kind
of numbers it would be very tough to mount a running game.
You can see what Davis does in the area of breaking tackles,
speed and agility, as well as acceleration. All of these are
important for running backs. And notice Davis with a
carrying rating of 85 means he wont be prone to fumbling as
would Enis or Bennett. The Bears do have a great pass
catching back burried on the bench in Ronnie Harmon, #33.
Here is a guy you could incorporate in the offense as a
third reciever, slot or use a fullback on pasing
plays.
Rosters
and Substitutions
Every serious Madden
players should study his roster in detail. The default
starter may not be the best player for that particular
position depending upon your offensive strategies. A prime
example of this is using Deion Sanders on offense. The
Dallas Cowboys have wide receivers with very weak pass
catching ratings. While Michael Irvin is a lock to catch
whatever is thrown his direction, Billy Davis and Stepfret
Williams, and Macy Brooks drop 3 of every four passes thrown
their direction. So Charles, the PFL Dallas coach, uses
Deion as a second or third receiver in addition to Chris
Warren. It does no good to have Aikman, one of the most
accurate passers in the league, if all the receivers drop
his passes. Listed below is a ratings chart that explains
each rating on the chart.
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STR
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Strength
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This is an important rating for positions
that strength is extremely important such as Offensive and Defensive
Linemen.
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AGI
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Agility
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This rating is an important rating
for positions such as Halfback and Wide Receiver, where jukes and
quick movements are essential.
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SPD
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Speed
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Determines the Top Speed of the player.
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ACC
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Acceleration
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Determines how quickly a player will
reach his top speed.
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AWR
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Awareness
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Determines how well a player reads/reacts,
and is very important for most positions especially Quarterbacks,
Linebackers, and Safeties.
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CTH
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Catching
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Determines the catching ability of
a player, very important for Wide Receivers.
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CAR
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Carrying
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Determines a players ability to hold
onto the ball, important to Running Backs in order to avoid fumbles.
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THP
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Throwing Power
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Determines the Throwing Power of a
player, important to Quarterbacks.
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THA
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Throwing Accuracy
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Determines the Throwing Accuracy of
a player, important to Quarterbacks.
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KPW
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Kicking Power
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Determines the Kicking Power of a player,
important to Kickers and Punters.
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KAC
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Kicking Accuracy
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Determines the Kicking Accuracy of
a player, important to Kickers and Punters.
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BTK
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Break Tackle
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Determines the how efficient a player
is at breaking tackles, important for Running Backs.
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TAK
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Tackling
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Determines the tackling ability of
a player, important for Linebackers and Defensive Linemen.
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IMP
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Importance
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This represents a player's importance
to his team.
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PBK
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Pass Block
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Determines how well a player will Pass
Block, important for Offensive Linemen.
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RBK
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Run Block
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Determines how well a player will Run
Block, important for Offensive Linemen as well as Tight Ends.
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INJ
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Injury
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Determines how susceptible a player
is to Injury, the higher the rating, the less likely they are to
be injured.
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YR
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Years Pro
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How many years a player has been in
the league.
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As you can see it
is important to make sure that you have the db's with speed
in the nickel packages or your best linebackers if you are
going to match up against someone who likes to pass to the
backs out of the backfield. You may have great run stoppers
but fail to stop a screen. This is where subbing can be
effective. Analyze your teams strengths and weaknesses. Do
the same for your opponent. Then devise a game plan that
will be effective and give you the best match ups.
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