_ __ __ __
/\ /\ | / | \ /\ | | /\ /\ | | |
| | | | | |__/ | | | |__ | | | _ | | |__
| | | | | | \ | | | | |--| | | | | |
| | | | \_ | \ \/ |__ |__ | | \/ \_/ |__
__ _____ __ _
| /\ /\ | |O \ /\ | | / \
|__ | | | | | | _/ | | | | / *
| | | | | | ||_)\ |--| | | / *
| \/ \/ | |___/ | | |__ |__ /___
THE COACH'S CHALLENGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[INTRO] Introduction
[MODES] Modes of Play
[CONTR] Controls
[TEAMS] Team Guides
[COMMI] The Commissioner
[QUEST] Frequently Asked Questions
[VERSN] Version History
[COPYR] Copyright
[CONTC] Contact Information
Navigation tip: Press Ctrl and F to bring down a search bar. Then type in the
name of the section you're looking for - like [CONTR] for the Controls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introduction [INTRO]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the NFL Draft just over, VinnyVideo's returning to the gridiron. This may
be an unusual game to select for a walkthrough, but it's strongly deserving of
one. MicroLeague Football 2: The Coach's Challenge isn't going to be a hit with
the joystick-thumping, button-mashing arcade types, but if you like strategy
and the ability to customize the teams, you're going to like it. You can even
play two-player games fairly easily. I haven't been producing much walkthrough
material lately; I've been updating a few of my previous guides, playing games
that I don't intend to write walkthroughs for, and spending some time in Real
Life. But don't worry, as a whole bunch of new guides should be coming in May
2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Modes of Play [MODES]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you launch the FB2 program, the opening screen gives you four options to
choose from.
---Play a Game---
This lets you play a game using the teams of your choice. First select the
teams from the league(s) you want. After that, you can change various options
at the Game Options screen, such as game length (15, 10, or 5 minutes). 15-
minute games are pretty long, so you may want something shorter. You can also
choose between single or unlimited overtime (the latter is good for playoffs)
and perfect, rainy, and cold/windy/rainy weather. Rainy weather hurts your
passing game, while cold, windy, and rainy weather affects almost everything. I
highly recommend choosing "expert menus" instead of "graphic menus" or
"playbooks," at least for experienced players. You must also decide whether you
want a Normal or Quick game and whether it will be Exhibition or League play. A
quick game will be simulated in a few seconds, while a Normal game allows you
to watch every play. A League game's stats can be compiled to a season in
progress, but for those purposes, using League Play is much easier. You can
select the computer's strength level (discussed in the FAQ section) for
computer-controlled player(s). Lastly, you can select different team(s) if you
made a mistake earlier.
After you've set all the desired options, select "Play New Game" (unless you
have a game in progress you want to resume, and then you should select "Load
Saved Game"). From here, pick out your lineups (try to use some degree of
player rotation, use a back with good hands in the Shotgun, and select good
pass-defending linebackers and your best pass-rushing defensive linemen in the
Nickel), and then get ready for some football! At the end of the game, you can
view, print, and/or save game stats.
---League Play---
In League Play, first select a .LEA file. You'll then be taken to the latest
week that has unplayed games. There's a very good chance you'll want to press
F1 to simulate all games that don't involve a human player. However, you can
click on games to manually play or simulate each game individually. Note that
the pre-game screen won't have as many options as usual, since those are
determined by the current League Editor settings. Press F3 to resume a game in
progress, and press F4 if you want to review a .BOX file or compile it to your
league. Remember that league play only works with .LEA files, not the .FB2
files that come with the game. If you want to play a season with the .FB2
teams, copy all the teams to a new .LEA file using FBGMO.
---Quick Season---
Quick Season allows you to simulate a season very quickly. Contrary to what the
manual says, this won't take anywhere close to 15 minutes on any semi-recent
computer. This feature only works if you've generated a schedule for the league
you're simulating. Also, remember that running a Quick Season wipes out any
stats for your season in progress. If your league has active stats that you
don't want to lose, initialize a new league and run the Quick Season on that
league.
---Utilities---
Initialize League creates a new league. You can decide the number of divisions
(1, 2, or 6) and the name of the league and any divisions.
Add Teams to League allows you to copy teams from one league into another
league. Remember that .FB2 files can't be the "destination" league.
Delete Teams from League removes a team from a league. You can also use it to
clear a team's season statistics. Be careful when using this option, since it
can't be undone.
League Standings shows the standings of the specified season in progress. You
can print this data or save it to a file. It's not useful if you haven't played
any season games.
Print Team Stats displays a team's statistics for league play. Again, you can
save or print this information, and it's useful only if you have a season in
progress.
Print Team Roster lets you view any team's roster with the option of printing
it or saving it to disk.
Review Boxscore is used to view .BOX files.
League Editor performs many important operations related to season play. You
can select which teams are controlled by human players (and enter their names),
change computer coaches' strength levels, adjust league rules (such as whether
or not you want injuries), and view or edit a team's schedule. You can also get
the computer to automatically generate a schedule, but remember this feature
works only if the league is set up with a proper number of teams.
Playbook Editor sets up or edits playbooks. While playbooks can make a few
things easier (for example, frequently changing between a three-man and four-
man line), I very much prefer Expert Menus over playbooks.
---FB GMO---
FBGMO is a separate utility that comes with most versions of the game. If you
have FBGMO, remember that it may be located in its own directory. Some (but not
all) of these options are the same as the league utilities. Note that you can
only edit .LEA files you create yourself; you can't edit the .FB2 files that
come with the game.
Update Existing Team is used to modify teams.
Create New Team creates a new blank team in the league of your choice.
Initialize a New League creates a new league.
Trade Players sounds kind of neat, especially for fantasy leagues.
Unfortunately, you can only trade players who play the same position, since
every roster must have the same number of players. The "Move" feature really
just lets you copy players between teams. Also, you can only trade players
between teams of the same league.
Copy Teams is the quickest way of adding teams to your league. This copies (not
cuts) a team from one league to another.
Delete a Team removes a team from a league. You can't undo this, so be careful
when using the Delete a Team option. Also, this option can't be used to clear
season stats.
Print Team Roster displays the roster of the team of your choice. From there,
you can save a text file of the roster to your computer, or you can print it
out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Controls [CONTR]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Offense (expert menus):
0 - Run 0 - QB Sneak 1 - Split Backs 1 - HB
1 - Sweep Strong 2 - Short Yardage 2 - HB
2 - Trap Strong 3 - Two TE 3 - FL*
3 - Dive Strong 4 - Four Receiver
4 - Draw 5 - Shotgun
5 - Sweep Weak
6 - Trap Weak
7 - Dive Weak
8 - Power Sweep Strong
9 - Power Sweep Weak
1 - Flare Pass 0 - Screen Pass 1 - Split Backs 1 - SE
1 - Square Out 2 - Short Yardage 2 - FL
2 - Square In 3 - Two TE 3 - TE
3 - Hook 4 - Four Receiver 4 - HB
4 - Slant 5 - Shotgun 5 - FB
5 - 2-Minute Drill
2 - Short Pass 1 - Square Out 1 - Split Backs 1 - SE
2 - Square In 2 - Short Yardage 2 - FL
3 - Hook 3 - Two TE 3 - TE
4 - Post 4 - Four Receiver 4 - HB
5 - 2-Minute Drill 5 - Shotgun 5 - FB
3 - Long Pass 1 - Flag 1 - Split Backs 1 - SE
2 - Post 2 - Short Yardage 2 - FL
3 - Hook & Go 3 - Two TE 3 - TE
4 - Fly 4 - Four Receiver 4 - HB
5 - 2-Minute Drill 5 - Shotgun 5 - FB
4 - Special 1 - Punt
2 - Punt Inside 20
3 - Field Goal
4 - Kill the Clock
5 - Random (Any play)
6 - Random (Run)
7 - Random (Pass)
Example: Type in 2142 to throw a Short Square Out pattern from the Four
Receiver formation to the flanker.
The flanker can only run the ball when you call the Sweep Weak (Flank Reverse)
play. Formation doesn't matter.
Note that some formations don't have a particular position. For example, if you
select a Short Post to the FB in the Four Receiver formation, the pass will go
to the third WR - the replacement for the FB in that formation.
Defense (expert menus):
1 - Goal Line Defense 1 - Blitz ORLB 1 - Key HB
2 - Rush Aggressively 2 - Blitz IRLB 2 - Key FB
3 - Guard Inside Run 3 - Blitz ILLB 3 - Rush Punter
4 - Guard Outside Run 4 - Blitz OLLB 4 - Safety Blitz
5 - Short Zone 5 - Double Team SE
6 - Deep Zone 6 - Double Team TE
7 - Five Defensive Backs 7 - Double Team FL
8 - Guard Out Pass 8 - Double Team FL2
9-1 - Random (Any Play)
9-2 - Random (Run Defense)
9-3 - Coach (Pass Defense)
Defensive play-calling is made up mostly of toggles. Press Spacebar or Keypad
Plus (depending on whether you're the visiting or home team) after entering as
many or as few selections from each column. You can even press Spacebar or Plus
three times to call a very basic defensive setup. Example: Type 3, 7, +, 1, 5,
+, and 1 to call a Nickel defense that guards the inside run, blitzes the ORLB,
double-covers the split end, and keys the halfback.
Other options:
/ Switch between a 3-4 and a 4-3 defense
T Call timeout
V Make substitutions for visiting team
H Make substitutions for home team
A View statistics for visiting team
L View statistics for home team
B View boxscore of current game with option to print or save it
Q Quick-play the rest of the current game
Alt-X End game with the options of saving it to resume it later
K Change keypad mode*
G Toggle graphics on/off (off makes the game faster)
J Toggle lineup windows on/off
S Toggle sound on/off
Visitor Home
Menu selections Keyboard 0-9 Keypad 0-9
Flip Diagrams Tab Keypad Del
Flip Lineups Minus key Keypad Minus key
Enter selection Spacebar Keypad Plus key
* If you don't have a numeric keypad, this changes the keypad numbers to the F-
keys, Del to Backspace, the keypad minus to minus, and the plus key to Enter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Team Guides [TEAMS]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 1990 Atlanta Falcons aren't great in any particular area.
The 1990 Buffalo Bills have a great team overall. Every position on the field
is at least average.
The 1990 Chicago Bears feature a good running back, an outstanding offensive
line, and an excellent front seven.
The 1990 Cincinnati Bengals have a good rushing game, but quarterback Boomer
Esiason throws way too many interceptions. The defensive line is terrible, and
the linebackers are also weak at most spots.
The 1990 Cleveland Browns have a shaky passing game, despite having a good
receiver. Not a very good team.
The 1990 Dallas Cowboys were just getting good again in 1990. There's a
truckload of good receivers, but weaknesses in other areas prevent the Cowboys
from being among the very best.
The 1990 Denver Broncos are led by superstar quarterback John Elway and a deep,
solid receiving corps. The defense isn't much good, but the Broncos do have a
good kick returner.
The 1990 Detroit Lions make big plays with superstar halfback Barry Sanders and
their innovative Run 'n' Shoot offense. The players who aren't at "skill
positions" are average or worse.
The 1990 Green Bay Packers were nearing the end of the pre-Brett Favre era.
Sterling Sharpe is a superb wide receiver, and the offensive line is very
strong. The linebackers and secondary are also full of talent.
The 1990 Houston Oilers were another adoptee of the Run 'n' Shoot offensive
system. Warren Moon is one of the best quarterbacks of the time, in part
because the receivers are the best in the 1990 NFL. The offensive line isn't
much good, but the Oilers' defense is quite strong, especially in the
secondary.
The 1990 Indianapolis Colts have two good running backs, two good receivers,
and two standout linemen, but the defense and quarterbacking isn't enough to
contend for the playoffs.
The 1990 Kansas City Chiefs are led by a superb running game and a play-it-safe
quarterback. Better yet, the Chiefs have an outstanding defense with an
intimidating pass rush.
The 1990 Los Angeles Raiders have two fine running backs, some "big-play"
receivers, and a very tough defense. Overall, L.A. AFC is a pretty strong team.
The 1990 Los Angeles Rams have two 1,000-yard receivers and a decent line
despite weak guard play. The defensive front seven isn't bad, but the secondary
is very weak.
The 1990 Miami Dolphins have a great quarterback, but an unremarkable rushing
game and a so-so offensive line will keep their offense stoppable. Also, their
defense is merely average.
The 1990 Minnesota Vikings have several excellent receivers, but at this point
in his career, Rich Gannon (not Link's nemesis in Zelda games) wasn't a good
enough quarterback to get the ball into their hands. The defense is pretty
good, especially in the secondary.
The 1990 New England Patriots are a terrible team that was rocked by scandal.
The rushing game is decent, but the Patriots will probably be relying on their
weak quarterbacks a lot after falling behind early. The receivers and line are
pretty good, but the defense - especially the defensive backs - is atrocious.
The real 1990 Patriots won only one game.
The 1990 New Orleans Saints look mediocre across the board, but nothing is too
terrible. The backfield is run by committee, and the o-line is quite weak.
The 1990 New York Giants have a pretty good running game and a very dependable
quarterback. What's more, a strong offensive line and an unstoppable defense
will be enough to put this team in the Super Bowl.
The 1990 New York Jets have a wide selection of good running backs, but the
passing game isn't great. Also, the defensive line and linebackers are quite
weak. The Jets boast two very talented defensive backs.
The 1990 Philadelphia Eagles have an unremarkable passing game, but their
quarterback sure can run! The offensive line isn't great, but the defensive
line and linebackers are quite strong.
The 1990 Phoenix Cardinals have a poor passing game, an unremarkable offensive
line, and a very weak defense. This is one of the weakest teams in the game.
The 1990 Pittsburgh Steelers don't have a bad passing game, but they focus on
tough, grind-it-out running. The front seven is fairly strong, and don't try to
pass against the fearsome secondary.
The 1990 San Diego Chargers' mediocre passing game is centered around one
effective wide receiver. If you use this team, you'll probably want to keep the
ball on the ground. The defense seems to put up pretty good numbers despite a
lack of stars.
The 1990 San Francisco 49ers have the best passing game in the 1990 NFL thanks
to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice (and other receivers, too). The running game
isn't great, but who needs them when you have this kind of offensive line and
defense?
The 1990 Seattle Seahawks don't have any glaring weaknesses, but it's hard to
find much to really like about this team.
The 1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the worst teams in the NFL around
this time, although this year's team is better than some. Vinny Testaverde
wasn't as bad a quarterback as people thought he was, but no position is
particularly good.
The 1990 Washington Redskins are led by a tough running game and a deep group
of receivers. Quarterback Mark Rypien hardly sparkled, but he got the job done
(at least for a few years). The offensive line is excellent, and the defense is
also quite good.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The 1958 Baltimore Colts make big plays with the great Johnny Unitas at
quarterback. There are stars at receiver and running back, and the offensive
line and defense are also very strong.
The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles have an excellent but risk-prone quarterback in
Norm Van Brocklin. There are some good receivers, but the backs are less
effective, and the offensive line, defensive line, and linebackers aren't very
good. The defense's main strength is the defensive backs, who will pick up a
lot of interceptions.
The 1963 San Diego Chargers have a great passing game, a lights-out rushing
game, and an effective offensive line. The kick returners are very good as
well. The weak linebacking corps may give up a lot of points, though.
The 1964 Buffalo Bills have the ultimate in the bombs-away AFL offense; the
quarterbacks complete less than 45% of their passes, but when an offensive
player catches the ball, you can expect a 20-yard gain. The defense is quite
strong, although not necessarily very deep.
The 1964 Cleveland Browns have a good kick returner, a deadly offensive line, a
strong defensive line, and a fine secondary. However, this tough team is
centered around deadly running back Jim Brown.
The 1966 Green Bay Packers are led by quarterback Bart Starr, who generates
amazing "yards per attempt" figures. The rushing game doesn't make big plays,
despite the strong offensive line. The defense is outstanding, and the
secondary will pick up a lot of interceptions.
The 1968 New York Jets feature "Broadway Joe" Namath and two 1,000-yard
receivers. While most fans remember this team for Joe Namath, you'll realize
that the offensive line and defense are quite strong.
The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs used two good quarterbacks about equally and had a
fearsome running attack. Don't overlook the fact that the Chiefs had one of the
best kickers of their time. The offensive line and defense are extremely strong
despite the weak bench.
The 1971 Dallas Cowboys are tough to stop in the air, and their rushing game
and offensive line are also pretty good. The Cowboys defense is very strong,
especially against the run.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins went undefeated by running... and running... and
running again. This team ran twice for every time they passed, and two backs
rushed for 1,000 yards. The offensive line is very strong, and the defense is
one of the best in the game.
The 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers have an outstanding offense thanks to quarterback
Terry Bradshaw and running back Franco Harris. The Steelers also have a tough
offensive line, a punishing front seven, and an impenetrable secondary.
The 1976 Oakland Raiders, coached by John Madden (who didn't just announce
football games and make video games), have a reliable quarterback and a
crushing rushing game. The offensive line is led by Gene Upshaw and Art Shell
(two names you might recognize), although there isn't much depth. It's tough to
run against the Raiders' defense, and passing won't be any easier.
The 1977 Dallas Cowboys still have an outstanding quarterback, a tough rushing
game, and a good offensive line. The defensive line is definitely going to put
pressure on quarterbacks, and it won't be easy getting past the defensive
backs.
The 1982 Washington Redskins have a reliable quarterback despite the lack of
superstar receivers. The running game keeps grinding down defenses. The
offensive line is excellent, and the defense is also good.
The 1983 Miami Dolphins are built around a great young quarterback named Dan
Marino. The rushing game isn't as impressive as some. The offensive line is
good, but the defense doesn't quite have what it takes to be one of the all-
time best.
The 1984 San Francisco 49ers are built around quarterback Joe Montana, but
don't overlook the surprisingly effective running backs. The offensive line is
solid despite the lack of stars. The defense isn't as good as most of the all-
time teams, but the defensive line will definitely hurry quarterbacks.
The 1985 Chicago Bears have an unremarkable passing game, but running back
Walter Payton and the defense are more than enough to take the Bears to the
Super Bowl.
The 1986 Cleveland Browns feature a very good quarterback, an unremarkable
committee of running backs, a good offensive line, and a fairly tough defense.
The 1986 Denver Broncos don't have much of a rushing game, so John Elway
carries most of the offensive workload. The offensive line isn't very good. A
strong secondary makes up for a less-than-spectacular front seven.
The 1986 New York Giants have a strong passing attack built around the tight
end, in addition to a great running back, a respectable line, and a strong
defense (especially because of Lawrence Taylor).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Commissioner [COMMI]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MicroLeague Football 2: The Coach's Challenge uses "off-disk copy protection."
Before you can load the game, you must enter the first word of a certain line
in the manual. You can usually use this chart to find out the proper password.
I don't encourage people to make unauthorized copies of software, but this
graph can be very helpful if you've lost your manual or don't want to get it
every time you start the program. While MicroLeague Football 2 is a very old
program, and MicroLeague itself has long gone out of business, I may be willing
to remove this section if you ask clearly in an e-mail message (see the Contact
Information section).
LINE PAGE WORD
4 2 ratings
4 3 MicroLeague
8 3 football
12 3 playbooks
18 3 game
2 8 league
4 8 compile
12 8 coach
20 8 league
1 9 have
9 13 between
1 17 another
2 17 toggle
1 18 each
2 18 abilities
5 18 used
6 18 the
7 18 selections
8 18 for
9 18 you
10 18 compared
11 18 with
12 18 goal
13 18 the
19 18 will
3 24 expert
4 26 in
1 29 formation
2 29 press
3 29 available
4 29 pressing
1 38 once
18 38 screen
1 41 place
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frequently Asked Questions [QUEST]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How can I get more teams for MicroLeague Football?
A: Use the GMO program that comes with the game to create or modify teams or
leagues. Statistics for older teams can be found at many NFL teams' Web sites
and at Pro-Football-Reference.com (my preferred source). The ESPN Pro Football
Encyclopedia and the older Neft, Cohen, & Korch Pro Football Sports
Encyclopedia are good print sources. I've created teams for several recent
seasons, and I might send them to you if you ask in a polite way (see Contact
Information), especially if you're going to post them on your Web site.
Q: Why doesn't my game run right?
A: In all likelihood, you need to restart your computer in MS-DOS mode for the
game to run properly. You can still run the GMO, look at statistics, play quick
games, etc. in Windows mode, but playing a game will usually cause your
computer to crash if it's not in DOS mode.
Q: Should I use a 4-3 or 3-4 defense?
A: It depends mostly on the team. If your team has two good defensive tackles,
run a 4-3. If you have a deep corps of linebackers, use a 3-4. The 3-4 defense
is considered the default in MicroLeague Football, because when the game was
made, the 3-4 was used by most teams in football (a state that has occurred
only a few times in NFL history). You may want to refer to sources like the
ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia or Pro-Football-Reference.com to find out which
teams used which defense in a particular season.
Q: What's the difference between the Sack and Pass Rush Ability ratings for
defensive linemen?
A: I'm not quite sure. I think players with a high Sack rating frequently
squash the quarterback, while plays with high PRA can hurry the quarterback and
increase the chances of an incomplete pass or interception. As a side note, I'm
a little unsure about how to calculate the following statistics: QB Sack %, QB
Scramble %, RB Fumble %, Punter IN20, FG +50, and DEF PEN%. In case you didn't
know, FP% is the percentage of time the coach calls a flare pass, and SP% is
the short pass percentage. The leftover is long passes. You may want to adjust
these numbers, especially for bomb-oriented AFL teams and today's fashionable
West Coast Offense.
Q: What are the differences between the formations?
A: Split Backs is the default formation. It has two receivers and a tight end,
with the two running backs lined up next to each other.
Four Receiver has the quarterback lined up under center, but a third receiver
replaces the fullback. This is more pass-oriented, but you can still run.
Shotgun is similar to Four Receiver, but the quarterback takes the snap a few
yards behind the center. This helps the passing game but usually isn't good for
running.
Two Tight End replaces your split end with a second tight end. This is usually
good for running, especially in short-yardage situations.
Short Yardage replaces your flanker with a halfback. This is also good for the
running game. The Green Bay Packers use something like this occasionally.
Q: What are the differences between the three levels of coaches?
A: An Easy Coach uses a simple game plan. An Average Coach will blitz but won't
use double coverage. A Tough Coach uses both the blitz and double coverage.
Also, the game's manual says that a Tough Coach will try to predict the plays
you'll call, but I don't think it remembers plays you've called in certain
situations; instead, I think it just tries to guess a likely play you'll call
in a specific situation (for example, it will use a Nickel defense on third
down and 13).
Q: My game box says the game includes teams for the 1991 season, but I only
have the 1990 and classic teams. How do I access the 1991 teams?
A: I'm sorry, but you're only going to be disappointed in life if you expect
truth in advertising. There are no 1991 teams included with the game, although
you can create them yourself. Also, the game manual shows teams based on the
1986 season - and there's no 1986 season included with the game.
Q: How long does each play last?
A: According to the manual:
5 seconds: Punt (fair catch or return), field goal
15 seconds: Incomplete pass, sack, interception, two-minute drill pass
(complete or incomplete)
30 seconds: Kickoff, complete pass, fumble
Q: How can I set up 32-team leagues?
A: You can't. You can't even set up 30-team leagues and still generate a
schedule. If you want to create a league with 32 teams, you'll have to split it
up into two separate 16-team files with six divisions each (two of which will
be empty in each league).
Q: The statistics that appear while setting up lineups are inaccurate. Why?
A: This is a programming glitch. I recommend printing a copy of the team
rosters and using those while making lineup changes. Remember that when numbers
are joined by a slash, the first number is always inside and the second is
outside.
Q: Games seem to have a lot of field goals. Why?
A: MicroLeague Football tends to generate pretty good offense that often
falters near the end zone. I find this is especially true when using lineups
for modern teams, which usually have a much better kicking game than teams of
old. I often set my red zone offense just a little higher than the red zone
defense when creating new leagues.
Q: Box scores display the wrong team names when I play games between teams of
different leagues. How can I prevent this?
A: There's not much you can do about this unless you copy one of the teams into
the other league.
Q: The computer sometimes stops using its starting running backs and only uses
its backups, even if they had very few rushing attempts. Why is this?
A: I'm not sure. It seems to happen most often when using newer teams, which
often have one back running 300 times and the others not running much at all.
Q: What are raw stats?
A: The GMO manual does a poor job of explaining this. "Raw stats" are things
like rushing touchdowns and receiving yards; non-raw stats are statistics such
as yards per carry that will be affected by the use of the "AutoCalc" feature.
Personally, I only use AutoCalc on the Team Stats screen, because AutoCalc
fails to round numbers properly elsewhere.
Q: How can I delete a league or saved game?
A: MicroLeague Football doesn't delete files. To delete any files created by
the game, such as leagues or saved games, you'll have to use the delete feature
of DOS or Windows.
Q: What's the difference between a .BOX and a .ASC file?
A: An .ASC file is a box score that shows the results of a game. It can be
understood by Notepad or any other text editor. A .BOX file can only be read by
MicroLeague Football. You can merge a .BOX file with a league file, which
allows people to play out a season at several different locations.
Q: Would it be a good idea to install the game to my hard drive?
A: Definitely. Floppy drives are much slower than hard drives, and floppy disks
(especially those that are 15-20 years old) tend to become corrupt over time.
If you're still playing this program - or any other one - from a floppy disk, I
highly recommend copying the files to your hard drive and running the game from
your fixed disk.
Q: Why does the opening screen show a University of Michigan football player?
A: I don't know why, but it's obviously a Michigan football helmet. There
aren't any college teams in this game, although it's possible you could add
college, high school, arena, NFL Europe, Canadian, or Australian rules teams to
MicroLeague Football if you could find the statistics.
Q: What other notes and tips do you have for this game?
A: Here are a few other notes and tips I've found:
* Know the strengths and weaknesses of both your team and your opponents. For
example, if your RT and TE have outside blocking ratings of 2, and the opposing
DLE and OLLB have outside run defense ratings of 5, don't run Sweep Strong very
frequently.
* Although players don't tire out much in this game (even in long seasons), you
may want to set up some form of player rotation in the lineup screen.
* The game makes you use the graphical menus on kickoffs, even if you use
playbooks or expert menus. Don't forget to use the onside kick and squib kick
from time to time (press 2 or 3, respectively).
* You can insert a wide receiver at the tight end position, but you can't play
a tight end at wide receiver.
* If you use a 4-3 defense, blitzing the IRLB will have the same effect as
blitzing the ILLB.
* If you're using the FBGMO to enter a team that uses a 4-3 defense, remember
that the starting MLB should play IRLB.
* If you're going to be playing MicroLeague Football a lot, you may want to
associate the .ASC file type with Notepad or another word processor (when you
open an .ASC file, just tell Windows that you want to use Notepad every time
you open this type of file).
* Also, if you're going to be printing a lot of box scores and team rosters,
you may want to copy the text to Microsoft Word or another word processor and
shrink the text, change the margins, set up columns, and/or eliminate blank
spaces so you can fit several lineups on a page. Also, a modern printer will
print such a page from Windows much more quickly than from MicroLeague Football
itself.
* I always use FBGMO's AutoCalc feature to calculate the percentage of time a
back runs the ball, someone catches a pass, or the team calls a running play.
To be most precise, I use AutoCalc from the Team Stats section. I don't use it
to calculate stats like QB Completion Percentage because it doesn't round
numbers properly.
* To save a team in FBGMO, just close the main window and you'll be prompted to
save.
* League standings and schedules are stored in the .LEA files themselves. For
this reason, if it's important for you not to change the date the file was last
modified, you might want to keep a copy of the files in another directory.
* The game and manual call strong safeties (SS) the tight safety (TS).
* The game and manual always list players from right to left. Normally the
leftmost players (for example, the left tackle) are listed first in real life.
* The average player on a non-classic team will probably have ratings of
between 3 and 4 (3.3-3.6).
* The "Micro League" logo found in the middle of the field is obviously a rip-
off of the NFL logo.
* The manual that comes with the game is one of the worst pieces of
professionally-printed literature I've ever seen (terrible grammar, incoherent
explanations, etc.).
* A few player names are victims of typographical errors, such as C. Peete, who
is supposed to be 1990 Detroit Lions quarterback Rodney Peete.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Version History [VERSN]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date | Version | Size |
--------|---------|------|-----------------------------------------------------
4-25-08 | 0.1 | 10KB | Began guide.
4-27-08 | 0.3 | 17KB | Completed 1990 team summaries.
4-28-08 | 0.7 | 35KB | Completed classic team summaries and more.
4-29-08 | 1.0 | 41KB | Finished things up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright [COPYR]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2008 Vinny Hamilton. All rights reserved.
All trademarks mentioned in this guide are copyrights of their respective
holders.
You can print this guide out for your personal use.
You can download this guide to your computer for your personal use.
You can post this guide on your Web site as long as you give proper credit AND
you don't change a single letter, number, or symbol (not even a tilde).
Remember that the latest version will always be available at GameFAQs.com, but
don't count on there being frequent (if any) updates.
You can translate this guide into a foreign language (British, Southern,
Australian, and New Yorker are not considered foreign languages) and post the
translation on your Web site as long as you ask permission first.
You can't post this guide on your Web site and then say you wrote the guide
yourself.
You can't post this guide on Web sites that contain (or have links to sites
that contain) explicit depictions of naked humans (also known as pornography),
racism, gambling, or flattery of totalitarian regimes.
You can't post this guide on your Web site if you're going to change anything
in this guide that took me so many hours to write.
If you don't comply with these guidelines, your hard drive will be reformatted
inexplicably and you will suffer from constipation for the rest of your life.
Heed this warning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information [CONTC]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have any questions or comments about this guide, please send an e-mail
to [email protected]. That's zero-zero-two, by the way. Remember that not
all e-mail messages will be read. Please follow these guidelines:
Do include "MicroLeague" in the subject line.
Do send polite suggestions for ways to make this walkthrough better.
Do tell me about any errors or omissions you find.
Do send information about any glitches, tricks, or codes you discover.
Do ask any questions you have about MicroLeague Football 2: The Coach's
Challenge gameplay. I will respond eventually if you follow all of these rules.
Do tell me if you want a copy of a league I've created, especially if it's to
share with the the world.
Do make a reasonable effort to use decent spelling, grammar, usage,
punctuation, and capitalization so that I can understand what you're trying to
say.
Do use patience. I check my messages quite sporadically.
Do not ask for technical support except as a last resort.
Do not send spam, pornography, chain letters, "flaming," or anything that
contains profanity or vulgarity. Again, violating this rule will result in
deletion of the message and permanent constipation.
*******************************************************************************
Current list of VinnyVideo guides available on GameFAQs.com and Neoseeker.com:
F1 ROC: Race of Champions FAQ/Walkthrough
F1 ROC II: Race of Champions FAQ/Walkthrough
SimCity 3000 Walkthrough/Strategy Guide
Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing FAQ/Walkthrough
Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing Strategy Guide/FAQ
Madden NFL '96 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
Madden NFL '98 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
Madden NFL '97 (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
ESPN SpeedWorld (SNES) Strategy Guide/FAQ
The Oregon Trail: Fifth Edition (PC) FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
Off Road Challenge (N64) FAQ/Walkthrough
F-1 World Championship Edition (SNES) FAQ/Walkthrough
Donkey Kong 64 FAQ/Walkthrough
Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego FAQ/Walkthrough
Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge FAQ/Walkthrough
Mario Open Golf (Japan) FAQ/Walkthrough
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) FAQ/Walkthrough
MicroLeague Football 2: The Coach's Challenge Strategy Guide/FAQ
*******************************************************************************
Proposed future guides:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (GBA) FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Low-Spoiler FAQ/Walkthrough
Scooby-Doo: Unmasked! (GBA) FAQ/Walkthrough
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (PC) FAQ/Walkthrough
And lastly, a public service message: Fight for and affirm the rights of all
humans, regardless of race, age, or creed! And... Don't forget to eat your five
fruits and vegetables today. No one's going to read this, anyway.
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