Take a peek at these cool moves to help improve your game on the field.
by Jonathan Miller
It's a nasty gridiron out there. With hulking linemen, bruising linebackers and defensive backs looking to take your head off, NFL Tour is a foreboding place. As such, we've developed this handy list of tips to guide you through the NFL Tour unscathed. While NFL Tour is the spiritual successor to NFL Street, also by EA Sports BIG, Tour is a whole new ball game, with different game modes and even simpler mechanics, if you can believe it. Follow our playbook to get to the promised land.
1. Master The Reverse
No, not that reverse. While the long-winded Reggie Bush end-around is an exciting play, it's nowhere to be found in NFL Tour. We're talking about EA's new tackle reversal system. As a ball carrier begins to be tackled, he'll fight for more yards -- if he hasn't been absolutely crushed, that is. Usually you'll be prompted to tap the reversal button. If timed correctly, the runner will power through the tackle and continue down the field. On defense, you'll have the opportunity to reverse tackle breaks. When a runner lowers his shoulder and trucks you, you can now stick out your arm at the last moment to trip him up. This all leads to a game-within-a-game of constant tackle reverses, and the player that can master the timing of this system will reign supreme in NFL Tour.
2. Know The Rules
The single-player game is filled with different modes to change up the normal arcade experience. Although this is undoubtedly an arcade game, there is definitely some strategy involved. There are defensive modes that reward you points for big hits and interceptions, so it pays to score quickly on offense and get back on the other side of the ball to earn those bonus points. There is another mode in which you keep the ball after you score, and in this case long methodical drives will keep you in control of the game, and your opponent off the field. In still another mode, you'll be asked to spot your opponents points. The only advice here is score, and score some more.
3. Go For Two
There is no kicking game in NFL Tour -- no PATs, no punts, no kickoffs (players throw-off instead after a score). PATs follow a flag-football format. You can go for one point by running a play from the five-yard line. Go for two from the ten-yard line. There's just one problem: It's just as easy to score in this game from the five as it is from the ten. In fact, in man coverage it's often easier to go for two as your players will have more room on crossing routes to clear space and get that extra step on a defensive back. Also, some games end with the first to 24 points or the first to 36 points. Do the math. If you get only six points with every score, you'll need four and six TDs to win, respectively. If you get seven points with each score, you'll still need four and six TDs to win. But if you manage to convert your two-point tries, you can win with three TDs and five TDs, respectively. Quite simply, it pays to go for two. It's also more fun.
4. Find The Hot Receiver
Football is about exploiting matchups. It's a chess game in shoulder pads. When a defense blitzes an extra man, it leaves a receiver open. With eleven players on a side, fast defensive teams can still cover four receivers with three defenders if positioned correctly. In NFL Tour, with such a big field and only seven on a side, it's much more difficult to cover the hot receiver. As a quarterback lining up for a pass, don't pick a receiver to throw to before the snap. Instead, sit back, read the defense and pick your spots. You'll see the defense will almost always give you a receiver to throw to. If not, and it sits back in deep coverage, you'll usually find you can gain a chunk of yards with a mobile QB or a running back in the flat.
5. Stay out of the Zone
For whatever reason, defenders playing zone forget they are there to actually play defense. A DB may be assigned to a deep half, but he won't leave his little blue circle on the play call screen, even if receivers are flooding the other half of the field. If a receiver gets behind him on a streak, go ahead and throw it, because the defender is likely to sit in his little zone without a care in the world. As far as defensive play-calling, you should pretty much stay clear of zone altogether unless it's part of an aggressive blitz package. Instead, focus on man coverage and use your middle linebacker to spy on the quarterback or to blitz. Your DBs will do a decent job of coverage, giving you time to focus on stopping the ball in the backfield.
6. Run Down The Clock
NFL Tour is a scoring game. Ball games are often won by how much time remains on the clock and who has the ball last -- just ask Brian Westbrook. But this is arcade football. There are no clock plays, no kneel-downs. That doesn't mean you can't milk the clock, however. Try going for a long pass. If the defense chooses not to blitz, your offensive line will usually do a great job of blocking one-on-one. This buys precious seconds. With the Pats' all-world line, I ran out the final minute of a game on one passing play by simply staying in the pocket. Considering that most halves in NFL Tour are three minutes long, that's a large chunk of change at the end of a game. And if the defense does blitz? See above.
Posted: 7 Jan 2008
