A lot of people overlook the importance of having good special teams. About 33% of all points come from special team points. Jimmy Johnson calls this "Hidden Yardage" because if a team may not be able to generate any offense, they may have to rely on special teams yardage. In a three game period, I scored 17 defensive points (1 touchdown from a short interception and 5 safties) due to my opponents poor field position.

Kickoff return: I like to put my best and fastest players on return teams. Make sure they have a high carry level or they make cough up the ball. Basically I use the Sideline and try to run the ball towards the sideline that my blockers are moving to. It is just like running the ball. Use your straight arm and jukes, bounce to the outside, shake, bake and speed burst your way to the end zone. (Or until your player runs out of gas!!!)

Kick Offs: Substitute a saftey or cornerback for wide recievers on the kickoff team. They are better tacklers. If you are controlling the man going down the field, make sure that you make the tackle. Otherwise, you can give up a good chunk of yardage. What I do is control the man going down the field and at the last minute, switch control so that the computer can make the tackle.

Punts: Again, subsitute a saftey or cornerback for wide recievers. The same principle on kickoff coverage applies here. On punts try placing your kicks. If you are close enough to your opponents endzone but too far for a field goal, try kicking the ball out of bounds (called a "Coffin Kick"). You neutralize the return factor while giving your opponent crappy field position. Nothing will frustrate your opponent worse than having the ball, 1st and 10 on their own 1 yard line!!! If you kicker has a strong leg or the wind behind him, try aiming the kick away from the return man. It may bounce past him, giving you extra yardage on the kick.

Field position: The better your field position, the shorter you have to go to score. The worse your opponents the longer they have to go to score. If you miss a long field goal, the opponents gets it where your drive stopped, plus seven yards. On certain third and long situations, you don't have to go for all the marbles, if you can, set yourself up for a field goal or a good punt. If you have a great defensive team, it maybe better to pin your opponents deep inside their own territory and try to stop them.

Fakes: I don't see the logic in using fakes. If your gonna fake a field goal or a punt, you are putting the ball in the hands of a back up QB (why do you think he is holding snaps?) or even worse, a kicker!!! Then, he is trying to throw to a non-catching 300lbs tackle. Good Luck. I say, skip the fake and just run your play. Be on the lookout for a fake!!! Have one outside player ready to rush in if you see the kicker doing something funny!!!