Thank you, Al Davis
Friday, August 18th, 2006
Madden 2007 is being released for the PS2 next Tuesday and I have started to mentally develop the strategy and personnel that will lead my digital Chicago Bears to the top. I have been buying and to a certain degree obsessing over Madden since I have had a Play Station. Through every incarnation the notions towards victory remain the same. You can’t coach speed and the vertical game is only alive in a digital world. Al Davis taught us these concepts and his Oakland Raiders are still predicated on these notions. Outdated? Possibly but in the realm of digital theater the vertical game is king and the University of Nevada won last years national title with the option.In Madden 2006 I stuck to my guns, or the rules taught to me by Davis. By year five of franchise mode my beloved Bears were the Monsters of the Midway by moniker but not by ideology. I traded the farm for Randy Moss. Cedric Benson and two first round picks were shipped to move up and grab Reggie Bush (imported from NCAA 2006). Ted Ginn lined up opposite of Moss and Matt Jones was my slot receiver. Bush’s blocking back was Michael ‘Burner’ Turner straight out of Northern Illinois. Behind center was Darrell Hackney a 5′11″ gunner with a 99 in arm strength. He fulfilled Daryl Lamonica’s role as the Mad Bomber and is the perfect carburetor for my nitro glycerine fueled offense.Did the schemes work? Of course there were too many weapons and no defense has the playmakers to stop all of those weapons. The unfortunate pratfall to my overloaded offense is its inherently salary cap busting price tag. Loaded on offense with no defense turned every game into the last nights of the Alamo.
Will I maintain these ideas next week when the new Madden hits the shelves. No doubt. I’ve been doing it for years and the players have changed names but there roles are the same. Jeff George was replaced by Byron Leftwich. Leftwich gave way to Hackney. Al Davis has maintined the same schemes and replaced the parts as time passed on. Kerry Collins, Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter are no different than Lamonica. Moss is no different than Cliff Branch, Willie Gault and James Jett.
2 Responses to “Thank you, Al Davis”
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5:14 am
[…] You are absolutely correct in asking for an explanation on why I dig Al Davis but why I don’t groove to Chris Ault. As I stated in an earlier blog, Mr. Davis influenced my Madden PS2 experience more than any other man, except maybe Jeff George. During my UNR academia days I wasted a lot of time playing Madden as opposed to studying my future craft. My roommate at the time would observe my tendency to draft nothing but big armed and immobile QB’s and speedy but less than talented wideouts and maintained I acted like Mr. Davis during franchise mode. Initially this was viewed as an inside joke but after exhaustive research the joked turned into absolute respect and admiration for him. I recommend any football fans and/or Mr. Davis naysayer to read his biography “Slick”. […]
7:42 pm
[…] Maybe I was irked by the exclusion of Pacman Jones because he is a member of the DPC Madden All Stars (i.e. players that I always have on my Madden Franchise Teams). With Pacman booted out of the ‘08 version I had to go to my back up defensive back Antrel Rolle. (Keep in mind Rolle is on the DPC All Stars because he was involved in the greatest “tackle” I witnessed in person. The aforementioned tackle, and YouTube link, are not given justice by the Zapruder-esque video but I thought Larry Johnson had broken his neck during the play.) […]