APF Player Evaluations - elgreazy1's Blog

elgreazy1's Blog

APF Player Evaluations

Posted on May 22, 2009 at 04:22 PM.

(5)

Warren Moon | QB | Gold
I generally avoid any QB's without Leadership but Moon plays great. He has a big arm and he is also pretty nimble footed as well, especially considering he was slow as molasses in real life. He also seems to possess a lot of power and can shed a would-be sack from time to time.

Emmitt Smith | RB | Gold
He's not the fastest, he's not the quickest, he's not the strongest, but he is extremely efficient. He's able to truck & stiff arm almost every player except for Silver & Gold Level "big hitters". The guy is devistating on counters & traps and is just down right ugly when running in the box. If you can get straight-line speed or momentum going his Branching Tackles & Workhorse Abilities will more often than not assure that he'll fall foward. Once he is past the d-line or make a sharp cut to an unplanned open hole, you will notice a nice boost in his speed that gets him to the second level but he will get caught from behind in foot races. He can catch out of the flats, but don't expect him to catch to the level of a Thurman Thomas.

His best asset though, is his pass protection. Leave this guy in to block & you basically have a Bronze-Silver level o-line because nobody will get through. I saw a couple animations where he blew up the blitzers ala "Jones-Drew vs Merriman" and others where he just cut out a d-lineman's legs. Emmitt does all the dirty work & does all the little things right.

Thurman Thomas | Running Back | Gold
Let's just say, pound for pound, he is the best Gold RB thus far that I have used. He is very elusive running to the outside and has enough power to break a tackle on a broken play up the middle from time to time. Where he shines is on passes. Send him deep and he can get to the ball but if you send him shallow and let him start rumbling up field, he can destroy defenses. His Arm of Steel Ability lets him get to the outside or up the field if a defense is coming at him from the side, and his Finesse Abiliity lets him break up tackles when in space. All in all, a very productive all around RB. If you use your RB's like Marshall Faulk, he is your man.

Joe Perry | FB | Gold
One of the most versatile players in the game. He plays like an H-Back in this game: runs the ball well, catches well & blocks well, but he is not spectacular at anything. He has great speed, especially once he gets into open space. He has plenty of power to run through some opponents & the speed to run away from them on outside runs. His hands are a mixture at times; sometimes you'll see him bring down a great, over-the-top pass, while other times you'll see him drop an easy one in the flats. As for blocking, he's better than all FB's except Daryl Johnston, but he will miss the occassional, frustrating block.

If subbed in as the backup TE, you will get a lot of versatility with him. From this position he can play HB, FB & TE, basically filling in a 3-way need. He is not a workhorse though so too many touches will wear him down.

Randy White | Defensive Tackle | Gold
I played against a guy who dominated with him so I gave him a try. Manually controlling him, he is a beast and one of the easiest d-lineman to control on any level. His Swim move works too well that it feels cheap at times, so I held back. Also, oddly enough, for such a light-weight he can hold his own in the running game although he is a non-factor when being double-teamed. If you pair him with a Legend MLB of any sort you will most likely shut down any inside running game.

Len Dawson | QB | Silver
Again, I tend to avoid non-Leadership QB's but Lenny has Clutch which helps tremendously. He has a great arm and he seems to always do the little things right. He has good movement & doesn't get rattled too easily by the pass rush.

Charley Trippi | RB | Silver
This guy is a user controller's dream! He's not really flashy or runs with great power but he has great quickness but not to the point where he runs out of control (ie: Barry Sanders & OJ). For guys looking to transition from a Power RB to Finesse or Balanced RB, he is a great learning tool because he moves so fluidly.

Gary Clark | Wide Reciever | Silver
Well, all I can say is: not a fan. I thought with him being so small and having a lot of "slot receiver" qualities that he would be great being used as a Wes Welker type but the guy did nothing but disappoint. He seemed to get tired after one or two plays and would sit out the rest of the series. The lack of stamina really puzzled me bcuz he was the 3rd WR on the depth chart and would only go in every now and then. Also, on plays going in the middle he was dropping passes left and right.

Keith Milliard | Defensive Tackle | Silver
Not a fan either. In the couple of games I used him in I got 1 sack and very little pressure up the middle. Couple that with the fact that he's not that great in run coverage and he was a clunker for me. Maybe I'm using him in a wrong scheme but even when paired with another Legend D-lineman he didn't show much production.

Lester Hayes | Cornerback | Silver
OH MAN! This guy is great. Now, I don't run bump coverage much (if at all) like everyone else, but this guy is very balanced. Unlike Barney, who can give up big plays but also makes big plays, Hayes is a guy who is very consistant and is not flashy and rarely finds himself out of position. He will get beat on the deep ball so it's best to have help over the top with speedy WR's. His Strength Bonus also lets him get off of blocks easily to sure up the running game. All in all, he is more my style of CB.

Roger Wehrli | Cornerback | Silver
There is something about this guy that is kinda special to me. Sure you look at his Abilities and nothing stands out but the guy was very efficient. Runs never got by him (Strength Bonus), he would disrupt routes in zones, and he covers pretty average in man-to-man. He is great in short to medium zones. Also, he plays amazingly when surrounded by talented Legends.

Ronnie Bull | HB | Bronze
He's not great at anything but he is very efficient at times. Line him up with a good FB or a power running game and he can make some things happen. I also took a cue from the in-game Americans team & utilized him as a FB from time to time and he really excells there. He's not a great blocker and will miss some assignments but is better than the Generics, plus he has the added bonus that he's faster than the Bronze FBs. Dont' expect him to get the tough yards too often, though, without a lead blocker.

Tony Nathan | Running Back | Bronze
If you want a sure handed receiver out of the back field I think he trumps both Bienemy AND Meggett. He's not as fast as Meggett and doesn't run to the inside as hard as Bienemy but he can get things going to the outside if you can get him a block. If you can get him out in space on a swing or screen, he can take one upfield for a big gain with a nice blend of power & speed. Definitly not a guy you want to shoulder the load in the running game, but if running is your secondary form of attack, he is a good addition.

Ricky Sanders | WR | Bronze
I generally like the slower paced WRs (don't ask me why) but Sanders is very nimble footed and can make key plays from time to time (Clutch Ability). If you're a fan of Wes Welker, you have your in-game match here. The guy is pesky and can slice up teams underneath. He runs very wild at times and if going up against a bigger opponent (or one with Bump Master) he can get swallowed up.

Brian Bosworth | ILB | Bronze
He's a machine, plain and simple. I'm getting lots of production out of him. Generally, if he's not making the tackle he is cleaning it up or within the vicinity of the ball. His Quick Feet & nice mixture of speed & movement also make him a great player to manually control.

Nolan Cromwell | FS | Bronze
Very balanced player and not difficult to control manually. I think he's better utilized as an SS but he can make some plays in both the passing game & running game. He is a very sure handed tackler.

Tom Brookshier | Cornerback | Bronze
He's not fast and he's not going to cover man-on-man for too long. He's basically another Wehrli but on a Bronze level. He is a very good tackler and plays short zones very effectively but you could probably get better value with the other two Bronze CBs.

more to come....

Comments

# 1 jyoung @ May 22

I was this obsessed with this game once.

But those days are long gone.

Great game, though.

# 2 Steve_OS @ May 22

Good read man, I need to pop this game back in. It's been a while.

# 3 CreatineKasey @ May 28

Good writeups! These are fun to do. I've actually never tried the Boz. I'm thinking he'd be one of the better bronze ILB's in pass coverage with his agility.

# 4 elgreazy1 @ May 28

Yeah, he has a lot of speed on him, but don't expect him to generate a pass rush.