I recently went through some boxes in my mother’s attic and found my original Nintendo system. What a find! I had some of the newer games, but my favorites were always the classics with generic titles: Ice Hockey, Baseball, Pro Wrestling, etc.
I got to thinking about how the NES compared to today’s systems, but what I ended up thinking about were the current stars of the NFL. Everyone has their favorites, but I chose four games that stood out in my collection and what current gridiron greats they compare most favorably to.
10 Yard Fight
Just look at how terrible the graphics are in this game. This was the original football game for NES in 1985 and it featured a very crude “career mode” in which you proceeded not in seasons, but through levels of difficulty from high school up to Super Bowl. The game play was extremely basic, with no play calling and essentially a triple option offense on every play. While it set the precedent for future football games and is considered the “Patriarch of football games” (by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, for what it’s worth).
Due to the classic aspects of the game and stale graphics, I found that Carson Palmer was the best comparison. Palmer is exactly what 10 Yard Fight is all about: throw the ball downfield, or stay in the pocket and get sacked. Palmer is a slow moving, old-school quarterback. A true throwback in every sense of the word.
Burger Time
You are Chef Peter Pepper, desperately climbing ladders and dodging vicious enemies such as Mr. Hot Dog, Mr. Pickle and Mr. Egg in order to make hamburgers. It probably lacks the thrills required by today’s gamers to be considered a true classic, but the simple objective coupled with the concept of making as many hamburgers as you could before running into treacherous foes makes it an all-time great in my mind.
Burger Time is the NES equivalent of Tennessee Titans’ running back Shonn Greene. He sure looks like he’s had his share of burgers, huh? Plodding along ever so slowly towards becoming fantasy football’s fifteenth best running back in 2012, Greene lacks true thrills in his workman-like ways.
Contra
The journey of Bill “Mad Dog” Rizer and Lance “Scorpion” Bean is easily the best run and gun game in the NES library and truly the first of its’ kind. It was among the first two player co-op games of this ilk, and was a favorite of mine and my brother’s because we could both waste members of the Red Falcon Organization with sweet weapons like the spread gun, fire gun, or rapid fire upgrades. Sure it was a real pain the ass and extremely time consuming to complete every level, but the originality of the game stands the test of time.
Peyton Manning is the NFL’s version of Contra. Meticulously analyzing defenses pre-snap, running high powered offenses with first of its’ kind “at the line” play calling, Manning set the standard for how the no-huddle offense is run.
Kung Fu
This is my personal favorite from the original NES library. You had to run through five floors of kung fu masters, beating bosses at the end of each floor in order to help Thomas save Sylvia from the evil Mr. X. You could punch, kick and jump your way to hours of fun and hear horrible digitally mastered laughing of each boss. Mr. X was extremely tough to beat, and the game’s difficulty level made it tough to get to in the first place. In an age where you couldn’t pick your difficulty setting in the pre-game menu, this game truly kept you playing.
The Seattle Seahawks defensive unit is tough to get through, doesn’t change it’s difficulty setting whether at home or on the road, and features a secondary made up of four true “bosses” that are virtually impenetrable. A score against this unit is truly a score earned.
Here are my fantasy football Plays and Stays for Week 9:
Eddie Royal, WR San Diego Chargers
After busting out of the gate with five touchdowns in his first two games, Royal quietly resumed being what he has been for most of his NFL career: non-existant. Since his magical start, Royal has only managed twelve catches for 171 yards and one touchdown and has found himself back at home on the fantasy waiver wire, where he has spent most his career.
Coming off the bye week with a friendly opponent on deck in the Washington Redskins (who have allowed the third most points to WR this season), I fully expect Royal to reward those who are missing Wes Welker, Victor Cruz, Larry Fitzgerald or Demaryius Thomas due to the bye. Eighty yards and a score are reasonable expectations in what should be a high scoring affair. PLAY
Vincent Jackson, WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I’ve picked on VJax quite a bit this season, and I’ll admit that his current position as the ninth best fantasy wideout have come as a great surprise to me. Mike Williams is now out for the season, rookie Mike Glennon is sort of manning the huddle and throwing at nobody but him, and the team is being accompanied on the road by the CDC.
Against a Seattle defense returning home after four of the last five on the road, I’m expecting a quiet afternoon from Mr. Jackson. In a tough bye week, you’re likely forced to play Jackson, but if you have better matchups, I’d suggest looking into them. STAY
Josh McCown, QB Chicago Bears
I’m not suggesting the Bears are going to upset the Packers at Lambeau field on Monday night. As a Bears fan, I’m already resigned to the fate that we will be 4-4 when this week is over. What I am saying is if you’re in a tough spot heading to the waiver wire to replace the Manning brothers, Colin Kaepernick or Matthew Stafford due to bye week blues, you could do a lot worse than a QB who will be in catch up mode and will likely throw forty to fifty times.
McCown also showed pretty decent scrambling ability, meaning that a 275 yard, 2 TD, 2 turnover, 25-30 rushing yard performance is entirely possible. If this stat line come to fruition, you would grab 18-20 fantasy points from a one week fill in. Not bad in a pinch. PLAY
Follow me on Twitter @BernacK6 for lineup advice, Nintendo cheat codes, or life advice. Hell, I’ve been around thirty two years. I know a thing or two!
YOU SHOULD LIKE BACON SPORTS ON FACEBOOK HERE
HEY CHICAGO, IF YOU LIKE BACON, SPORTS AND BEER THEN YOU’LL LOVE THIS!
OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Bacon Sports is a sports content & social media marketing agency that turns your audience into raving fans by creating fun and engaging videos, podcasts, and social media content.
