Ronnie Lott is one of the greatest defensive players to have ever walked the face of the earth. The 6x All-Pro has the ratings to back it up. Lott boasts 18 maximum speed, 3 initial speed, and 7 acceleration as well as 80 HP. While fellow DBs Dixon and Duerson approach these numbers, the only defender in all of Tecmo Bowl to match it is the great Lawrence Taylor. 

What makes Ronnie so feared is his ability to stop the run. Any run to the opposite side is likely to get stuffed. The angle of attack he gains from his position on the field makes him especially difficult to juke out when compared to defenders closer to the line of scrimmage.

Running at Ronnie is not much more likely to succeed. If the running back is too slow, Lott will get off of his block before the RB is even past him, allowing Ronnie to quickly make the stop for a relatively disappointing gain. This is demonstrated in my game vs WBINWV in Season 14, with a Tony Dorsett clone.

Even when not being controlled by a human, Lott makes his presence felt. As a drone, he will rocket towards the running back and oftentimes make the tackle himself, even on plays when he is supposed to be blocked. Keep in mind that he’s three times faster than the average lineman both starting and finishing, allowing him to circumvent the block and make the play. According to the "Ultimate Guide to Tecmo Bowl Defense" article, Ronnie Lott goes into coverage 16 times with many of those routes going deep.

Enter Lawrence Taylor. Also considered one of the greatest and most dominant defensive players of all time, L.T. is the most recent defender to win the NFL’s MVP award. Taylor completely changed the way the game is played, paving the way for the “designated pass rusher” role. But don’t be fooled into thinking that Lawrence Taylor was a one dimensional player. He was a great run defender; with a never-ending motor, he would chase many a run play down from behind. He was also asked to cover in certain situations and did so well. 

As noted before, Lawrence Taylor has 18 max speed to go with 3 initial speed and 7 acceleration. He is the only front-seven player to have over 16 max and 2 initial speed.

As a drone, L.T. lacks the punch you might expect. When not in coverage, drone L.T. is content to simply hang out and stand around until the QB is either past the line or extremely close to him, or the play “breaks down” after a long scrambling session.

When not being manned on a run play, he will take several false steps towards coverage rather than direct to the ball carrier - this still does put him in position to make a play, but it’s not as lethal as Lott’s angles.

However, Lawrence Taylor makes up for this by being far and away the best field goal blocker available. Any attempt from beyond extra point range is a frightening affair. While kickers have gotten better at making XPs, Lawrence Taylor can still put heat on those as well. 

The LB4 position is used in coverage more than would be expected. While his ability still makes it worth it to use him on a majority of snaps, it’s possible that using him can pull him out of coverage. L.T. goes into coverage 17 times, one more time than Ronnie; some routes go deep, but some are also underneath.

In closing, I believe while Lott holds quite a large advantage as a drone and the angles he has on ballcarriers as compared to Taylor, L.T. 's field goal blocking makes up the difference. Picking who is the better of the two is still very difficult for me to decide personally, and depends on many factors such as my personnel or the other defenders surrounding these titans. I believe it can be best summarized as the following: while Lott can end drives sooner, L.T. makes you drive for longer. One thing is for sure, getting the opportunity to play as either is such a treat!