1984 USFL E-Book for Mean Gene's Football

Relive the fun and excitement of the upstart league, the USFL, and their second season with Mean Gene's Match-Up Football!

Mean Gene's Football is a fast playing football game that factors in every player on the field.

The game features our all-new No Shuffle Fast Action Deck and Fast Results Deck which makes game play really quick.

And while the game plays great solitaire, it also has great head-to-head elements. With Mean Gene's Football, you can run right at a weak defender, or avoid the side of the field with a dominant player. Rushing plays behind an all-pro left tackle will gain more than a play behind a second stringer. Want to pick on a rookie corner? You can with Mean Gene's Match Up Football. This is a draft league gamer's dream!

Everything you see on the real field is represented in this game. And as I previously mentioned, the game plays quickly. A complete game with full stats in an hour is easily achieved.

But, don't take my word for it. Take a look at the sample rushing and passing play below. Keep in mind that these are just simple samples. The game features many other match-up options and detailed features.

Also keep in mind that the images below are compressed in your browser. The actual game components are crystal clear. The ratings used in the sample are completely fictional and are only used for the purpose of this sample.

Selecting an Offensive Play

Mean Gene’s Match-Up Football features 5 rushing plays and 5 passing plays. On the surface, things appear simple enough. However, knowing your personnel and your opponent’s and constructing a basic game plan can be the difference between winning and losing.

Do you run behind your All-Pro Left Tackle, or do you avoid the left side as the defense has an All-Pro Right Defensive End and a Superstar Right outside Linebacker. Match-ups are important in the real on-field action, and we’ve replicated that with Mean Gene’s Match-up football, while still keeping game play quick.

The 5 rushing plays are: Outside Left, Inside Left, Dive, Inside Right and Outside Right.

Outside Left plays will have a greater frequency of the Left Tackle, Left Guard, Right Defensive End, Right Outside Linebacker and Right Defensive Tackle impacting the play. Outside rushing plays have a chance ending out of bounds, and generally speaking, offer a higher risk/reward depending on the back turning the corner.

Inside Left plays have a greater frequency of the Left Tackle, Defensive Right Tackle and Middle Linebacker impacting the play. Inside plays stay in bounds and are good for running the clock. They generally also offer less risk/reward in terms of yards gained.

Dive Plays are plays run right up the middle and have a greater frequency of the Center or Middle Linebacker impacting the play. Inside plays stay in bounds and are good for running the clock. They generally also offer less risk/reward in terms of yards gained.

Inside Right plays have a greater frequency of the Right Tackle, Defensive Left Tackle, Tight End and Middle Linebacker impacting the play. Inside plays stay in bounds and are good for running the clock. They generally also offer less risk/reward in terms of yards gained.

Outside Right plays will have a greater frequency of the Right Tackle, Right Guard, Left Defensive End, Left Outside Linebacker and Left Defensive Tackle impacting the play. Outside rushing plays have a chance ending out of bounds, and generally speaking, offer a higher risk/reward depending on the back turning the corner.

The 5 passing plays are: Short Left, Slant, Short Right, Medium and Long.

Short Left plays have a greater frequency of Running Backs, Wide Receiver 1’s, Right Cornerbacks, and Right Outside Linebackers impacting the play. The Short passes are generally Screens or Quick Outs, so they generally accumulate less yardage, but they are also intercepted fewer and completed more than Medium and Long Passes. Short passes have a much less chance of the quarterback being sacked.

Slant Passes have a greater frequency of Tight Ends, Middle Linebackers, and Strong Safeties impacting plays. Slant Passes are quick passes over the middle. They generally accumulate less yardage, but they are also intercepted fewer and completed more than Medium and Long Passes. Short passes have a much less chance of the quarterback being sacked.

Short Right plays have a greater frequency of Running Backs, Wide Receiver 2’s, Left Cornerbacks, and Left Outside Linebackers impacting the play. The Short passes are generally Screens or Quick Outs, so they generally accumulate less yardage, but they are also intercepted fewer and completed more than Medium and Long Passes. Short passes have a much less chance of the quarterback being sacked.

Medium Passes have a greater frequency of Strong Safeties and Wide Receivers having an impact on the play. Medium passes are harder to complete than short passes, but generally gain more yards. Medium Passes have a slightly higher frequency of quarterbacks being sacked.

Long Passes have a greater frequency of Cornerbacks and Free Safeties impacting the play. Long Passes are harder to complete, but gain more yardage than other passes. Long Passes have a much higher frequency of being intercepted or having the quarterback sacked.

Having listed the frequencies of certain players impacting a play, I should also state that these aren’t the only players that can or will impact a play. Football is a team effort, and that is replicated in Mean Gene’s Match-Up Football. But, just like the real game, certain plays have varying frequency of impacting certain positions.

Sample Rushing Play

Let us First Look at a Sample FAC Run Play section as well as a Rushing Column from a FRC and a Rushing and Defense Section from a roster sheet.

We will use the above samples for our illustrative rushing play.

The First thing to do is declare a rushing play. For our first example, we’ll call a Dive. (You have the option of naming your own rushers for the play, or allowing the “RNG” column and the “LOCATOR” determine the rusher.) For this example, we’ll call our rusher as Joseph Addai for the Dive Play. In general, for the most realistic attempts, I would recommend using the Range and Locator.

We then flip over a Fast Action Card and look at the Dive Colum for the Run Plays. We reveal a result of “RUSHER”. This means that Addai’s skill as a rusher will determine the yardage on the play. We then take Addai’s “RUN” Rating, which is 14, and consult the Rushing Column on the next FRC. Addai’s “RUN” rating of 14 falls between the 13-19 ranges on the Rushing Column, which reveals a result of +6 in a red highlight. The +6 means that Addai has gained 6 yards. The red highlight means that he has also fumbled.

Let’s assume that we had called an Inside Left Run, rather than a dive. We’ll keep Addai as our rusher. Using the sample above, the “IN LEFT” column reveals a result of “DRT”. This means that the skill of the Defensive Right Tackle will be used to resolve the play. Using our samples above, we see that Clifton Ryan, the Rams’ Right Defensive Tackle, has a “RUN” rating of 24. Using our sample above, we see that Ryan’s rating falls in the 24-30 range on the rushing column FRC, which reveals a result of +7. So, Addai has gained 7 yards on the play.

Conducting a Passing Play

Let us First Look at a Sample FAC Pass Play section as well as a Receiving Column from a FRC and a Receiving and Defense Section from a roster sheet.

We will use the above samples for our illustrative passing play.

The First thing to do is declare a passing play. For our first example, we’ll call a Slant. (You have the option of naming your own receiver for the play, or allowing the “RNG” column and the “LOCATOR” determine the receiver, as we did with the kick-off return and rushing attempt. For this example, we’ll call our intended receiver as Reggie Wayne for the Slant. In general, for the most realistic receptions, I would recommend using the Range and Locator. In some instances, the FAC itself will choose the receiver.

We next flip over a FAC and look at the Slant Column for Pass Plays. The result reveals “WR1 +4”. In this case, the result of the play is complete with only 1 card needed. Manning has completed a Slant to Reggie Wayne, who is the WR1 for Indianapolis. The play gained 4 yards.

Rather than a slant, let’s assume that we had called a Medium pass to Wayne. Using our sample FAC above, we reveal a result of “FS”. So, on this play, the FS O.J. Atogwe will determine the success or failure of the play. We first check Atogwe’s “PASS” rating on the team rating sheet. We see that it is a 27. Next we flip over a FRC and consult the Passing Table. Let’s assume that we had flipped this particular FAC to the left. Atogwe’s PASS rating of 27 falls in the 24-30 range on the Passing Table, which reveals a result of “S,M,L”. This means that any Short, Medium or Long passes are complete. Had Atogwe had a PASS rating of 23, the result would have been “X”, or incomplete. However, since the result was a completed pass, we must now flip over another FRC and use Atogwe’s PREC rating and the Receiving table.
Atogwe’s PREC rating is 8. Using our Receiving Table Sample above, we see that the result next to “8” is 10/19/28. Since the pass was a medium pass, we use the middle result, or 19. Therefore, Manning has completed a pass to Wayne for a gain of 19 yards.

While there are many other results and features, this should give you a sample of the "flavor" of the game.