Classic Tecmo League

SUPERBOWL

Titans and the Patriots face off for the first time in the superbowl. The two longest tenured owners in the league, Canes R Fo Real and TSBGOD have racked up some pretty impressive stats along the way. Both owners have three championships on their resumes from the league. Both rank number one and two on the all time win list. Canes has a 144 victories, and TSBGOD has 134 victories. Both have over a 75 percent winning clip. Both are masterful general managers in the offseason. Why has it taken 12 seasons for these guys to finally face off in the title game? Whatever the reason may be, this Sunday will be the day both have wanted for awhile. Canes is hot lately, winning multiple championships in other leagues, including back to back in CTL. Canes has the better overall team on paper. However, this is why they play the game. Flutie to Harrison has been magic in the post season hitting the JJ and CC on their way to defeated the Jets and Dolphins to make it here. The Titans do have a stronger defensive backfield than those two teams mentioned, but Harrison is the best wideout in the league for a reason. Canes and TSBGOD have only faced off twice in the regular season over 12 seasons. Both teams having won a game a piece. Vegas lines have the Titans as a six point favorite. Down a bit from the nine point early draw when the game was announced. Looks like Vegas oddsmakers are betting a lot on the Titans and still giving up six. I feel the JJ magic has come to an end, and the Titans will pick Flutie off twice resulting in two extra possessions for Steve McNair and his Titans. McNair will have a close to perfect game and win Superbowl MVP honors and hoist the championship trophy for the third straight season.

Titans 21-7.

ROUND 2 OF PLAYOFFS

Patriots fans must be excited about their team. Opening the season with a 1-3 mark is not the start the Pats are accustomed to. TSBGOD was able to write the ship and turn things around. Finishing the season on a 8-1 run to land them with the #3 seed in the playoffs and unconventionally a home game in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Miami will have to travel to windy, cold, snowy Foxboro to knock off the perennial contenders. TecmoRules makes the playoffs with a quite average team in my opinion. Something to think about, TecmoRules is undefeated in the ctl playoffs. Taking the first ever championship way back in 1990. Although it's been a 11 year drought from TecmoRules in the league, he knows what it takes to come through in the clutch. No stranger to meaningful games and playoff games, MJ will bring his "A" game. After surviving a six quarter slugfest with the Steelers, you have to wonder if Miami has anything left in the tank. Ray Lewis commented, "We will be ready. My boys will be there in the end. Flutie better watch himself. I talked to Eddie(George) and the offense, and told them if they can give us 17 points, we will be playing for the Christian Okoye trophy in a week. My unit will not give up the long bomb, and if (Marvin) Harrison thinks he's going to run over us, it will be a rude awakening. I dare him to come over the middle. I ain't worry about no fines." Some have labeled New England as a finesse team. Not one to want to grind it out on the ground. Who can blame them, when they use a FB as their starting RB(31ms). I can't wait to see this game. I'm predicting OT.

New England wins 20-14 in grand JJ style in the extra session.

We have the defending back to back champs, Tennessee Titans, facing a newly revamped St.Louis Rams squad in the conference championships. The two ball clubs faced each other in week two. Tennessee taking that game, 21-7. What did the Rams in, was the turnover bug. QB Mark Brunell threw two interceptions. In order to pull the upset on the road this week, Brunell must play better. His counterpart, Steve McNair, had a perfect passer rating in the game. QB play will be the tale of this game. Whichever signal caller can play the best, probably takes the game. McNair has been watching film all week long and divulged this to us, "I see Deltha O'Neal, and it makes me cringe. Dude put up sick numbers this season(21 interceptions in 13 games is pretty studly.) He shattered the CTL record. Before every snap I'm going to make my reads, but definitely eye ball where he's at. I don't plan on testing him much, but we will see." O'Neal is hands down the defensive player of the year and will effect any game plan. I believe for St.Louis to win this one, RB Terrell Davis needs to control the clock with his ground running. 38 ms is all Davis has, but to me that's enough to move the sticks. The only thing St.Louis needs to be watching on, is if they get into a 3rd and long situation. If a called play happens and they are forced to be 3rd and long, Brunell might have another difficult game. Tennessee had the #1 ranked defense this season giving up only 7.8 points per game. I think this will be a great game, and by no means will the Titans overlook the Rams. "Dynasty is one of the best players playing. Never really gets the credit he deserves. One game at a time for us," Canes told reporters this week.

Titans 24-17.

ROUND 1 OF PLAYOFFS

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first ever ctl division title. Couple that with home field advantage and bigflu is on a roll. They will host the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the playoffs. Tecmorules fell in defeat to these same Steelers in week eight of the season. Losing a heartbreaker, 10-7. 6 total interceptions were thrown in that game, but for the fish, four of them came from their duo at QB. To advance, Miami must take better care of the rock. "Four interceptions won't get us very far," Brian Griese said. "As the leader of this team, I must do a better job at scanning my reads and taking what the defense gives me. I won't guarantee a victory, but I will guarantee my team plays better." On the other side, Steelers QB, Jay Fiedler, didn't wow the crowd either with this poor 14.2 passer rating to go along with his two picks. Defense was definitely the name of the game a few weeks ago. The steel curtain definitely rose up to the occasion and brought their A game. In this game, I expect to see more fireworks and a few more points on the board. I think Pittsburgh and bigflu keep with their momentum and advance with a big 2nd half stand to seal the ball game.

Pittsburgh 24-17.

New York and New England. Two teams who are quite familiar with each other. TSBGOD and discdolo have faced off 17 times in their ctl careers. TSBGOD holding a one game edge in the series. two times in the series, the winner was the representative in that conferences' side of the super bowl. Both teams finished the regular season with nine victories. New York will host this game since they won their division. In week three in the meadowlands, the Jets handed the Patriots a 33-21 thumping. In that game running back, Curtis Martin, had over 200 total yards from scrimmage and two scores helping lead his Jets to a win at home. The real star in the game was LB Marvin Jones who put the game out of reach when he returned a short dump off pass into the endzone from Doug Flutie, the QB for the Patriots. A rarity in tecmo, a pick six return from a LB. As for my pick in this game, I'll go with the division champs and the home field advantage.

Jets 24-10.

Is third times a charm really a truth? Minnesota has been man handled at the hands of the home field advantage Titans this season. A combined 45-13 score of both games, one being a 10-0 shutout, makes the Titans a 9.5 point favorites according to the Vegas odds. QB Jeff Garcia from the Vikes has had trouble dealing with the pass rush from the Titans backers, and has forced some errant throws. Garcia went a dismal one for 13 in their first matchup. So a few things...the law of odds are in the Vikings favor. A- its hard to beat a team three times in one season. B-Canes is 4-0 all time vs Adobery in CTL. C-The Titans are a combined 44-1 over the past three seasons, so a loss is due at some point. I'm sure Adobery doesn't want to hear all that bs, and knows he's got his work cut out for him. Rumor has it that the Vikings front office might not be extending Adobery's contract if he has another first round exit. I believe a lot of it comes down that the owner is still upset with the one point loss in the superbowl last season to the Titans. In that game the Vikes were severely outplayed for three quarters, but over the final 5 tecmo minutes put a beating on the Titans. Had they played that way out of the gate, the Metrodome would be the home of the Christian Okoye trophy. I think McNair does too much for the Vikings defense to handle, and the league leading defense holds Dillon and Garcia in check and advance to round #2.

Titans 21-Vikings 7

This will be the best game of the opening round of the playoffs. Rams and Bears. The teams split in the season head to head, although tecmodell42, who replaced sowa, is 1-0 vs dynastydegeorge. Chicago has the hometown fans, and can the Rams who play in a dome, play in playoff weather. Forecasters are calling for 3-5 inches by game time at soldier field, with another one to two inches per quarter. Can the old man Rams RB, Terrell Davis, and his knees plow through the 2nd stingiest defense in the league and a foot of snow? Will QB, Mark Brunell, play lights out as he has all season, coming in 5th in passer rating? Will CB, Deltha O'Neal, get another pick and terrorize another QB? O'Neal led the league in picks and is 2nd all time in history with his 18 snatches this season. Or will Odell's hot streak continue. Odell has not lost since he took over this season, rattling off seven straight wins including a week 11 victory, 16-14 over the Rams. Old man K Morten Andersen, from Odell's alumni(Michigan State) was the hero in that ball game. Booting four pigskins through the uprights, three of which were the three point variety. Andersen led the league in field goals made, knocking 10 in on the season. I do see special teams being a bit of the deciding factor on who advances again. Chicago has the safe and steady ball control offense. They try not to risk much, and pound away at you with RB Antowain Smith. Smith ranked 4th in the league in rushing yards with his 1143 yards on the ground. I think the experience of tecmodell42 and the solid offense of the Bears, helps move them to the 2nd round.

Chicago wins 17 - 13.

WEEK 13 GAME OF THE WEEK

In our final week of the season we have a game that will determine a division winner quite possibly. I say quite possibly as its sad to say both these teams have quite a few back games. The home town Jets come in at a 6-1 record. While the visiting Dolphins sit at 4-1 at the time of press release. Discdolo got onto me the other day about not having his Jets in a game of the week preview. So dolo, here ya go. Dolo has been playing great lately, and sitting at 6-1 with his team is a great accomplishment. The 4th ranked offense in terms of yards per game(245) from the Jets battle the 5th ranked defense in the same category from the Dolphins(184.8). As usual the Jets on defense are led by a multi faceted linebacker. Marvin Jones in seven games has tallied 28 tackles, two sacks, four interceptions which he returned one to the house. While it's hard to pick against a man who has only lost two career CTL games(all be it a short two seasons he's played), I will. MJ probably just has too much rust to keep up with the boys from the Meadowlands. New York takes the game and essentially seals the division with a exclamation point as they work up the Dolphins real good on South Beach.
Jets 27-10.

WEEK 12 GAME OF THE WEEK

In week 12 we have #2 and #3 all time winningest coaches in league history. TSBGOD currently holds 130 wins and Eifer has 107 victories. Currently Eifer holds a 3-1 edge in the regular season over the Patriots coach. Week four gave us a nail biter in the game of the week in which the G- Men got the W, 24-21. New York Giants QB Rich Gannon passed for 268 yards and three TDs on the day and just was too much for the Patriots defense. This time the Patriots get a shot at revenge in front of the home fans. TSBGOD owns an 80 percent winning clip in front of the home faithful. Patriots QB Doug Flutie reverts back to his old CFL days, and dominates the game. Both on the feet and through the air. Flutie runs for 50 yards and passes for over 200. Flutie does a hail mary, just like he did oh so many years ago versus my Canes, and puts the dagger in the heart as it falls right into the jumping hands of future hall of famer Marvin Harrison. Patriots hand the Giants their first defeat on the season.
Pats 28-21.

WEEK 11 GAME OF THE WEEK

Week 11 has the Chicago Bears(4-2) hosting the St.Louis Rams(7-2). If the Rams can escape with a road victory it all but clinches the division title and assures they will host at least one playoff game this season. Chicago the normal division winner in this division is having to play catch up. They are not out of it yet. A big home win here puts them right back in the middle of things and it will come down to who can play the best ball down the stretch. In week three, the Rams at least clinched a series split with the Bears escaping with a great 21-14 victory. I expect this game will be just as good if not even better since more things are at stake. Rams RB Terrell Davis may go overlooked on the roster page with his 38 ms, but he can't go overlooked on the stat sheet. Davis has racked up 655 rushing yards, putting him in 6th place currently. TD keeps trucking his way up the all time list for rushing. On the flip side, Bears WR Jimmy Smith is also moving up the charts. Smith currently sitting in 18th, with a very good shot at cracking the top 10 by seasons end for receptions and 6th for yards in league history. I will call this one. This will be the greatest game of the season. Fast forwarding into Overtime. Bears QB Tim Couch puts the team on his shoulders and picks up first down after first down. Several on keep 3rd down conversions. Getting close enough for the FG opportunity. In comes Bears K Morten Anderson and .....

Bears win 27-24 to even the season series.

WEEK 10 GAME OF THE WEEK

Week 10 has the Undefeated 9-0 Titans facing the 4-1 Steelers. Pittsburgh has been a bright spot in the league, surpassing many expectations. This is crunch time, can the Steel curtain show up during the stretch run? A solid finish would put the black and gold in the playoffs. Currently sitting 2nd in their division, Pittsburgh is led by QB Jay Fiedler(25ms,56ps,50pc). He almost mirrors his counterpart on the other sideline, QB Steve McNair(25ms,56ps,56pc). Both play a vital role in their team's success. McNair currently leads the league in passer rating(138.1). If he can keep this stellar play up, perhaps he will be wearing a 3rd ring come seasons' end. For my prediction, the player who excels more on the field for their squad, gets the W. My gut says, Stevie Mac keeps to his old tricks and pulls out the victory.

Titans win 31-14.

WEEK 9 GAME OF THE WEEK

Week 9 has the New York Giants(6-0) squaring off with the Minnesota Vikings(6-2). Eifer and his G-Men are on cruise control after a very tightly contested game versus the Cowboys. Unbeaten so far, New York has had some very good games. Only 2 of his wins were more than a one score ball game. So the Giants know how to win the close ball games. Minnesota's only two losses have come to the division leaders in their conference, the Titans, and Rams. Minnesota is coming off a week eight thumping of the San Diego Chargers, 45-14. Minnesota has the 2nd stingiest defense in the league in yards allowed(149). New York has the best offense in terms of yards(282.2). Rock meets hard place. Most of the time I will go with a high power offense over a good defense, but this game I'm going to roll the dice. Garcia or Gannon the two superstar QBs for both team will be in the spotlight. I say Jeff Garcia outplays the Giants counterpart and throws for 2 scores and 200 plus yards. I'll pick the Vikes to upset and hand the Giants their first loss on the season in front of their home field fans in the meadowlands.
Vikings 28-14.

WEEK 8 GAME OF THE WEEK

In week eight we have a titanic clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers(4-1) and the Miami Dolphins(1-1). Both teams losses coming at the hands of the undefeated New York football Giants. Pittsburgh has surprised a few people and I believe their strong start is due because of their strong offensive play. They currently rank 5th in avg points per game(19.8). They also rank 5th in defensive avg points per game as well(12.2). Led by the 5th rated passer in the league in Jay Fiedler(100.4), Pittsburgh is coming down the stretch and look to taste the playoffs for the first time in since 1998. TecmoRules for the Dolphins has been MIA just like the Dolphins initials. If MJ doesn't play any of his games soon, he will be replaced. Will rust set in? He did lose to the Giants, but the game was nowhere close like the Steelers loss. Managing a victory over the Cowboys in the last second. If this game ever does get played, I will go with the player playing more often, bigflu and his steelers win.

Steel Curtain 20-10.

WEEK 7 GAME OF THE WEEK

San Fran hosts the Detroit Lions. In this game we have the two newest CTL members batting out. Duece is still looking to get into the win column in his young CTL career. While runninwithdabear has accomplished a feat in only his 2nd ever ctl game.....a tie. Its hard to tie a game you know. I've played 142 ctl games and have yet to tie a game. Detroit stands at 0-3 on the young season, while the Niners have a 1-1-1 record. Detroit must have this game if they want to even have a shot at the playoffs. With the Giants staying red hot and undefeated, Duece already sees himself in a hole, out 3 1/2 games. "This is a must win game. We know its early in the season, but we've got to start clicking now and have some good showings. I'm happy with my numbers, but this is a team game and the only stat I care about is the one we have 0 in, wins." Team captain RB Priest Holmes added. Runninwithdabear must love living on the edge, his first two ctl games...he was playing free football as both went into OVERTIME. QB Kurt Warner has an abysmal 26.5 completion percentage. That's awful for the leagues best passer in terms of pass control rating. I suggest a lot of shorter dump off passes to get Warner into the groove, then try hooking up with WR Isaac Bruce deep. While both teams are rebuilding this should be a very good match to watch, and should come down to the wire....possibly OVERTIME AGAIN....possibly a TIE again.
Detroit wins 24-21.

WEEK 6 GAME OF THE WEEK

In week six we have the battle of Pennsylvania. These two teams are so close in proximity, they can smell each other after practice. Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, but the boo birds have been out in full effect with the Eagles 0-3 start this season. The terrible towel on the other hand should be pretty happy they are undefeated(only 1-0, come on flu, get some games in). Jlstout was in two of the three games he lost as they were close. Opening week the Eagles were outmatched against the red hot 4-0 Giants. Philadelphia's biggest problem is the turnover bug. Goldilocks Tom Brady, has thrown five interceptions on the young season. A horrible 43.3 rating is not in the game plan or recipe for success. Pittsburgh like I've said only has 1 win on the season, but I bet if you asked bigflu if he only had to win 1 game this year, who would it have been against. TSBGOD, and that's exactly what happened in week one. A 16-10 victory in Foxboro has made the Steelers an optimistic bunch. In the game the Steelers defense forced Doug Flutie into two interceptions. Sounds just like Tom Brady. If they can continue that trend I see Pittsburgh taking this one. First drive of the 3rd quarter, I see Mr. Brady finding a 75 int target in Steelers safety Kwamie Lassiter. Already being up three when the pick occurs, the Steelers drive down and get into the endzone on the back of long time ctl vet, Garrison Hearst. Putting the Towel up 10 points and making it a two score ball game. After that, its all she wrote.
Steelers 17-7.

WEEK 5 GAME OF THE WEEK

Minnesota travels to Nashville for their week five deathmatch. Battle of the unbeaten. One has to fall from the ranks. The Vikings are 2-0 thanks in large part to free agent pickup S Brock Marion. Marion has three interceptions on the young season and is manning the troops pulling them together. Both Vikings victories have been three point wins, including one in an extra session. The back to back defending champs are 4-0 on the young season, after pulling a miracle out in week four versus the dirty birds. Tennessee has really struggled moving the ball on the ground. RB Emmitt Smith has 31 yards on 27 carries, a whopping 1.1 ypc. Smith shows signs of slowing down, and will be riding off into the sunset soon. His best seasons are way behind him. In fact, the Titans best ball carrier is QB Steve McNair(125 rushing yards). The reason the Titans still do not have a blemish on their record is their defense. Surrendering a league best 130.3 yards per game, and given up the 2nd least amount of points per game 7.8. I expect those numbers to jump playing the high powered Vikings offense. QB Jeff Garcia throwing two touchdown passes to four picks makes the home faithful groan. Garcia got a huge payday a few seasons ago and this season hasn't met expectations. I expect Garcia to play a lot better in this ball game, but the Titans defense being too stingy in the 4th quarter with the lead. Garcia forced to play from behind, adds to his interception total and comes short in the game of the week.
Titans 24-14.

WEEK 4 GAME OF THE WEEK

These two owners rank 2nd and 3rd all time in win totals in CTL. Eifersucht(96 wins) lost to TSBGOD(109 wins) in the 1993 superbowl. The two juggernauts faced off last season while they were in separate conferences, the Giants taking that game 35-14. Now that they are divisional foes again, I like to think this might be one of the better rivalries for years to come. TSBGOD has had a rough go of it lately, losing two games already. The less than stellar QBs might be what is hurting New England as primarily they have a upper echelon type signal caller. Not so much this season. Upper echelon QB is exactly how I would describe the Giants Rich Gannon. So far on the young season, Gannon has tossed nine touchdown passes to zero interceptions. I'm not math braniac, but that's getting the job done. If Gannon can stay away from the interception hungry DBs of New England and stay out of trouble, I see New York holding server in the Meadowlands.

Giants 17-10.

WEEK 3 GAME OF THE WEEK

In week three, we have a battle of the unbeaten. Yes its early in the season, but both clubs sit at 1-0 and are tied for the Traditional Division lead. Having pleasure or non pleasure, I was able to sit through the first game of the Dolphins game versus Dallas. Ugly win, but a win nonetheless. Both teams have actually been able beat the Cowboys so they have that in common. I'd say Miami has the more talented team on paper, but Seattle's star QB Donovan McNabb might have something to say to stop the Dolphins from taking sole possession of first place. In the end, I see Miami QB Brian Griese having a lot better game than his dismal performance in the opening game, and able to produce getting 2 TD passes, one being in the 4th to seal the game.

Miami 24-10.

WEEK 2 GAME OF THE WEEK

In week two, we have a great matchup at soldier field. Where Sowa's Chicago Bears will host the ctl rookie runningwithdabear and his San Fran Niners. S.F. played one game already and they disposed of the Baltimore Ravens in overtime. Chicago also beat Baltimore in week 1, 21-17. This after have to overcome a 17-7 halftime deficit. The Bears D locked down, and pitched a shutout in the 2nd half. In that game RB Antowain Smith went into excellent and his 63 ms rating showed as he coasted to 155 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Early frontrunner for week one player of the week. If Chicago wants to have success against the Niners, Smith better find the same type of groove. I believe this is the week the rookie gets his feet wet and tastes the bitter taste of defeat. Like I stated in my previews, he doesn't have much to work with other than QB Kurt Warner. I see Chicago's QB Tim Couch playing smart with the football and not forcing anything and keeping the offense on the field and wearing down the 49ers defense. So I will go with the hometown team here and pick the favorites.
Chicago 21-10.

WEEK 1 GAME OF THE WEEK

Week one has a pair of super bowl contenders slated off to face each other. Our first ever CTL Champion, TecmoRules, returns from his decade of retirement to see if he's still got it. For Dallas, they got what they so desperately wanted, out of the Titans division. What Peterson will soon find out, life is just as rough in a different division as well. On paper, Dallas has the better team. Skill level, just depends on how much rust TecmoRules still has. I think the savvy vet plays tough, but Dallas RB Shaun Alexander is just too much to handle down the stretch as he goes for over 100 yards and two TDs. Nailbiter into the 4th, Alexander gets the sweep and goes 20 yards for the nail in the coffin

Cowboys win 24-17.

Classic Tecmo League - 2001