For those who thought that Seattle Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was merely joking when he complained about his attributes in Madden NFL 10 and said he was boycotting the game, well, you were mistaken. But if you thought the media was making a mountain out of a molehill, you may have been right on that count.
On Friday morning, Madden NFL 10 developers Ian Cummings (lead designer) and Donny Moore (ratings guru) appeared on ESPN First Take, along with Houshmandzadeh himself via telephone, to try and sort out this mess once and for all. You can watch the segment yourself after the jump.
Moore told host Dana Jacobson that EA Tiburon determines player ratings by watching hours upon hours of game footage, as well as scouring scouting reports and taking statistics into account. He also tried to explain to Houshmandzadeh that the rating system was completely overhauled this year, but he didn’t seem to want to listen.
Interestingly enough, though, Houshmandzadeh quickly backed down from his initial objection about his overall rating, acknowledging that he was okay with a 91. Instead, he moved on to the question of his speed, listed at an 81. Moore, a man with an elephant’s memory, rattled off a few of his other (better) ratings -- like route running and hands -- and it seemed to mollify the receiver.
However, in the end, Houshmandzadeh remained steadfast in his boycott, and his claim that he’ll prove to the world how good he is with the Seahawks this season. He says that if a mid-season roster update improves his ratings, he might relent. I still think the developers humbled him, though -- what about you?
Samit Sarkar is a founding Destructoid editor and go-to Sports guy. Samit was the son of the Duke of Knees, rescued from a burning village in the afghan desert by a golden condor. He is an ace Backgammon player and lost both legs in a whaling tour. He lives for free in a nursery in Scotland where he teaches monks how to capture butterflies without hurting them.
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Basically the story of TJ "The Hoosh" is pretty simple to figure out. He was on a shitty team yet still did amazing, and basically got no respect. Now, he thinks it's a good idea to mouth off like Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens, except he's not good at it.
Stick to what you're good at TJ: being an above average, but not stellar football player. Aka: a 91.
didn't seahawks get assraped last season? I remember watching them get mauled on Thanksgiving with my mom and how much of a disgrace it was to their now retired coach.
I don't understand why he's bitching. He's in the game for starters. That's an accomplishment any bum on the street would take. It's video game stats. Stop whining.
I don't really follow the Foot Ball scene, but somehow I don't think Houshmandzadeh realizes what a whiny fool he sounds like. What's next, he gonna complain to all his friends on Twitter about it?
Oh, T.J. Way to blame your offensive system. Worry more about how you play on Sundays, not how fast a digital representation of you in some guy's living room is.
Still didn't redeem himself in my eyes. He still looks like a tool, and I kinda agree that this seems like some marketing ploy by EA. I'll never get why this is such a big deal to him? Is this really something he should be spending his time worrying about? You know instead of maybe watching tape, and working to make his actual game better than his digital self in a yearly sports game.
What a whiney bitch since when do people become allowed to complain about being in a videogame. " oh I don't run fast enough in the game" it's madden not sonic ya bitch shut up and say thanks instead of pointing out what's wrong when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
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Contest:
4:20 PM on 07.27.2009
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Basically the story of TJ "The Hoosh" is pretty simple to figure out. He was on a shitty team yet still did amazing, and basically got no respect. Now, he thinks it's a good idea to mouth off like Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens, except he's not good at it.
Stick to what you're good at TJ: being an above average, but not stellar football player. Aka: a 91.
Owned.
I don't understand why he's bitching. He's in the game for starters. That's an accomplishment any bum on the street would take. It's video game stats. Stop whining.
There's only one response to having your speed underrated in Madden, and it's:
"That DON'T SHOW MY BREAKAWAY SPEED!" /throws down controller -Robert Brooks, formerly of the Packers.
One of the funniest things I've heard all year is a youtube comment in response to Chris Brown's 5 months late beating apology.
"He axed for my forgiveness... Sorry, I don't accept axes as a sign of peace!"
especially seeing people are not liking madden lately and prefer NFL 2k if it were still around.