Madden '04 Monday - Browns at Chiefs

Typically I use this space to discuss some obscure player from Madden 2004, but today I want to use it to showcase a game I just played.  If I do this in the future I may use video or gifs, but for this entry I just used images.  So here goes!

The game, as I said, was (my) Browns at the Chiefs.  The Browns are led by Tim Hasselbeck while the Chiefs QB is David Garrard is this incarnation.  We won the toss and elected to receive:

Here's a general look at how the game looks on most plays, as well as a basic look at my offense (if you embiggen).  The skill players here are Bethel Johnson and Kevin Johnson at WR, Teyo Johnson at TE (So many Johnsons!), Robert Edwards at RB, and R.J. Bowers at FB.  And of course Hasselbeck at QB:

Finally we get to an important play - and this first one was huge.  Hasselbeck just barely got a pass off towards Robert Edwards and was then drilled by the Chiefs.  The ball is just to the right of #97 - so this was almost a sack AND almost a knockdown...

But instead it got to Edwards, who eluded one tackle and stiff armed a second one.  This ended up being like a 25 yard gain:

He's a monster, and a necessary one with Hasselbeck as my QB.  Checkdowns and screens are basically my entire passing game, so if my running backs aren't working then this Browns team doesn't.  Luckily for us, Edwards was rolling today.  Here's him breaking a tackle from #97 on his way to a touchdown run that made it 10-0 (I kicked a FG early in the game):

I had hoped that the 7-0 lead would keep us on top for a while, but then we left their tight end WIDE open on the next drive.  Seriously...here he is standing at our 8 yard line, waiting for a pass.  The end zone is behind him, and every Brown is 7-10 yards away.  10-7 after this catch and run:

I got it back quickly though - on a third and goal from the 1.  No one was open, but the blocking was solid, so I made a little run with Hasselbeck for the QB rushing TD.  These are rare with Hasselbeck, so I celebrated with a little juke as I crossed the line.  17-7:

I then shanked the next kickoff.  Here's a very blurry picture showing how far out of bounds it was:

And here's the ref announcing that the Chiefs would get the ball at the 40 with plenty of time left.

But they did nothing with the possession, and we went into halftime with that same 17-7 score.  Yay Browns!

The Chiefs quickly marched down to pull within a TD right after the half.  It's kind of cool getting to see the stadium numbers here, including time, playclock, and score.  17-10:

I needed to put this game out of reach after staying so close, but I ended up in a quick 3rd and 15 hole on my next drive.  Fortunately my third down back, Ricky Williams (not the famous one), is fast and shifty.  So after barely breaking a tackle, he ended up just passing the first down marker to keep our drive going:

We ended up scoring a FG on that drive, so the Chiefs had to score to keep it close yet again.  This time my defense was up to the challenge, with Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilia almost making a sack...

Only for Dan Klecko (edited into the game because he's listed at DE #99 or something) to finish the sack off later that same play:

At that point, my defense went on fire.  Here's R.W. McQuarters about to pick off a pass intended for Darrell Jackson.  He ran it back to about the 10:

The next play, from the 10, we ran a WR screen to Bethel Johnson (this is a bad pic but he's the white blob just to the left of the 10 near the top of the screen.  He scored EASILY and we went up 27-10:

So I was up 17 (actually 24 after ANOTHER TD), and the Chiefs were basically toast, but to add insult to injury Mike McKenzie forced Garrard to fumble on a QB keeper.  Game, set match:

And so it ended, with the Browns winning 34-10.  Yay good guys!

The player of the game is probably Tim Hasselbeck - almost 300 yards passing on 60% passing with 2 touchdowns, which is great for him:

Edwards and Williams would've been good picks too though.  Williams led most my rushing charge with a crazy 8.9 ypc.  But Edwards caught seven passes and score two total touchdowns so he was pretty huge in this one too:

And that, my readers, was a random game of 2004 Madden!  Next week I'll return to my more familiar random player format.

Madden '04 Monday - Peppi Zellner

Name: Hunndens Guiseppi "Peppi" Zellner

Real Life Image: 

Game Image: 

(Zellner is actually a Redskin in Madden '04)

Example of Bowers on Cardboard:

Zellner has 11 cards, all variations of his 2005 Topps Total card he shares with Russell Davis.  Here is the base from COMC.com

Video: 

No videos pop up when you search for Zellner.  So instead, here's a clip of the Cowboys playing 2003 NFL Blitz.  I don't think Zellner is in the game...but hey Blitz!

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Zeller is a Redskin in Madden '04, and he's their backup LE.  He's a 28 year old with a 65 rating, backing up Renaldo Wynn, a 28 year old with a 74 rating.

Some Notable Ratings: Zellner is slightly below average in every single stat other than his terrible 60 speed.  His 56 awareness is okay for an end, his 64 acceleration is okay for an end, and his 74 tackle is - you guessed it - okay for an end.

Professional Career: Zellner barely even made it to the pros in the first place.  After a solid high school performance, he moved on to college at Georgia, but academic issues caused him to move to a Military College.  He then transferred to Fort Valley State but eligibility issues meant he played basketball instead of football.  He did lead the team to its first conference championship in around 30 years, so that was cool, but he barely seemed a football player at the time.

He still was at the combine though, and a bunch of good combine stats (including the 2nd fastest 40 for a lineman) tantalized the Cowboys into selecting him in the 4th round in 1999.  That turned out to be an unwise choice, as Zellner spent four meh years in Dallas, highlighted by three sacks in 15 starts in 2001.  The Redskins signed him for 2003, but a year later he was in Oakland, and then Oakland traded him with Troy Hambrick to Arizona for a draft pick.  Zellner then got to play all 16 games in 2004 in his final year in Arizona before falling out of the league.

Why do I remember him? It's all about the name.  I usually went for speed or strength in my backups, and Zeller had neither, so I picked him solely for his name.  I've never had a real great season with him, but he's basically always been around on my teams.  One fun fact on his name - aside from being a version of his middle name, his Mom claims the name stuck because he was "a real stinker like Pepe LePew."  Neat.

Madden '04 Monday - Patrick Chukwurah

Name: Patrick Chukwurah

Real Life Image: 

Game Image: 

(Chukwurah is actually a Texan in the game)

Example of Chukwurah on Cardboard:

Patrick Chukwurah has 5 cards to his name, all variations of his 2001 Bowman card.  Here's his rarest card, the Bowman Gold /99 from COMC.com

Video: 
Here's a kind of strange short video of Chukwurah promoting for some doctor:

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Chukwurah has a 61 rating and is 24 years old in Madden '04.  He's 2nd on the Texans depth chart at ROLB, which is fairly impressive considering the team has four ROLBs on their roster.  Their starting ROLB is Charlie Clemons, who spent his 7th and final season in Houston, and has an 81 rating in the game.  Third on the depth chart is Erik Flowers, who has a 54 rating.  The other ROLB who isn't listed on the depth chart (there are only three spots) is rookie ROLB #99, who is a 63.  I believe this is Antwan Peek, who was a 3rd round draft pick by the Texans in 2003.

Some Notable Ratings: Chukwurah has some terrible ratings - his 75 speed is about average for a ROLB, but his 68 strength is weak and his 54 awareness is atrocious (like bottom 10% of the league).  He also only has a 71 tackle rating - anything under 85 for a linebacker is just asking for missed tackles.

Professional Career: Born in Nigeria, Chukwurah eventually matriculated to Texas, where a decent High School career led to an opportunity at Wyoming, where he thrived.  The Vikings grabbed him as a 5th rounder in the 2001 draft, and in two years with the team he started five games, with 2.5 sacks and 3 fumbles forced.  But it wasn't enough, and they cut him at the end of 2002.

In 2003, Chukwurah was signed in the offseason by the Texans, but actually cut before the season started - so he never spent a true season with the Texans.  They opted instead to go with youth like Peek and GSNHOF favorite Shantee Orr, as Erik Flowers was also cut during the season and Charlie Clemons lost playing time as the year went on.

That could've been it for Chukwurah, and probably would've been for most players, but the Broncos gave him a brief shot at the end of 2003 and at that point "Predator" was born.  Nicknamed for his similar appearance to the movie character and his role of a QB hunter at DE/OLB, Chukwurah worked his way into the Broncos rotations for the next three years, accumulating a career high 4.5 sacks in 2006.  After 2006 he was a free agent, and the Buccaneers took a chance on him with a five year, $5.1 million dollar contract, but Chukwurah has just one sack in nine games and was cut as season's end.  Chukwurah moved to the Florida Tuskers of the ufl the next year, and led the league in sacks for a few seasons before seemingly retiring from football.

But then the amazing happened.  The Seahawks needed pass rush help in the 2013 playoffs, and after trying out a bunch of guys they signed Patrick Chukwurah, who hadn't played in the ufl since 2010.  He didn't garner a single stat, but the Seahawks won the Super Bowl that year and Chukwurah, presumably, earned a Super Bowl ring for his efforts.  The really need thing about his signing?  He was signed to replace an injured guy named Clemons - Chris this time - meaning that he got an opportunity to replace one Clemons 10 years after he wasn't able to beat one out on the Madden depth charts.

Why do I remember him? This was long before getting signed after a 3 year layoff or the Predator nickname, so I just saw Chukwurah as a good backup OLB option for special teams, as I loved my special teamers to be fairly fast.  Plus he had awesome hair.  At first that's all he was, but since we used him on so many teams, inevitably starters got hurt, and every time Chukwurah came into play he dominated.  He'd make interceptions even though he has a poor catch rating for an LB.  He'd force fumbles on sacks even though he had poor strength and tackle.  So now he's a regular starter every time I play Madden, establishing himself as Predator virtually just like he did in real life.

Madden '04 Monday - James Wofford

Name: James Wofford

Game Image: 

Example of Wofford on Cardboard:

James Wofford has 3 cards to his name, all versions of his 2002 Leaf Rookies and Stars base.  Here's a copy from COMC.com

Video: No video to be found.  I did find that the most famous James Wofford is a horse jockey.  There's also a James Wofford with dreads who lives in my county and has been arrested a few times - not the same guy though, he's way too young.

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Wofford, 25, is 5th on the Vikings RB depth chart.  Only four guys fit into the depth chart, so it's kind of amazing he even made the team for this game.  Ahead of Wofford are Michael Bennett (86), Moe Williams (74), Onterrio "Whizzanator" Smith (67), and Doug Chapman (65).

Some Notable Ratings: Wofford is a 53 overall, the 2nd lowest ranked RB in the game (worst is Shyrone Stith).  His 80 acceleration and 62 break tackle ratings are okay.  But everything else is bad, from his 80 speed to 35 awareness to 58 carry (basically an instant fumble at that point).

Professional Career: Wofford was undrafted out of UNLV in 2001 by the Vikings, and was one of the team's final cuts to get to 53 players.  He was re-signed in January of 2002 and received high praise from coach Mike Tice, who called Wofford "probably the best pure RB on the roster."  Injuries and competition set Wofford back though, and while he was rostered in 2002 he did not see any meaningful playing time despite being in nine games.  He hung around during the preseason in 2003, but eventually lost the final RB job to Larry Ned, and never saw an NFL roster again.

Here are his preseason stats year by year, which show a decline over time:

2001 - 23 carries for 101 yards, 1 catch for 8 yards

2002 - 26 carries for 57 yards, 1 tackle, 1 fumble recovered (he played a bit with Shaun Hill, aka the opening day starter for the Rams this year - stunned that guy is still around!)

2003 - 10 carries for 14 yards, 1 other carry for 6 yards erased by penalty

Why do I remember him? I loved picking guys with low ratings and guys with dreads - Wofford had both going for him.  He usually was the third down or goal line back for my teams with Shyrone Stith, as he is a little better than Stith in the game (mainly due to his +4 speed).

Madden '04 Monday - Brad Banks

Name: Brad Banks

Game Image: 

Example of Banks on Cardboard:

Brad Banks has 118 cards to his name, all from 2003.  Here is his PressPass JE autograph /200

Video: Here's a little Banks highlight film

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Banks is a 23 year old rookie free agent.  He is the 7th QB from the top with a 60 rating.  The top free agency QB is Neil O'Donnell with a 72.  Banks is sandwiched by Randy Fasani (60) and Jim Druckenmiller (59).

Some Notable Ratings: Banks 72 speed is crazy good (top 10 in the whole game as a QB), and his 60 Jump, 74 agility and 70 acceleration all aren‘t bad.

His 75 throw power and 78 throw accuracy aren't bad either.  Bt his 45 awareness kills those throwing stats and is the heart of his 60 rating despite otherwise decent stats.

Professional Career: 2003 was a great year for college QBs in Iowa.  Iowa State had my guy, Seneca Wallace, while Iowa had Banks.  Wallace was drafted by the Seahawks, but Banks somehow went undrafted, and was picked up by the Redskins in April.  Obviously card companies tried to capitalize on Banks' hype by giving him a ton of cards, but by July sources were calling Banks a long shot to make the team and in August Banks was officially released in favor of 7th round pick Gibran Hamdan.

Since his NFL time, Banks played in the CFL from 2004-2009 and in the AFL with the Iowa Barnstormers during the 2011 season.

Why do I remember him? I liked speedy QBs, and while Seneca was my starter, I needed a backup for when I inevitably got Seneca hurt during a rushing attempt.  Banks was the fastest QB in free agency and came very cheap, so I always chose him as my 2nd or 3rd string QB.  Over time I started picking two teams each season with Seneca starting for one and Banks starting for the other.  The fun part is I never even knew Banks was the QB at Iowa while Seneca was at Iowa State until I got back into cards.  It was all about that 70+ speed rating back then, nothing else.

Madden '04 Monday - Clarence Love

Name: Clarence Love

Game Image: 

Example of Love on Cardboard:
Clarence Love has ZERO cards to his name.  He is however on a Chad Johnson card

And back in the day Condition: Poor made some awesome customs of him for me

Video: I couldn't find any videos of Clarence Love, but he is on LinkedIn - so that's cool!  I also found a short interview done with him here.

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Love is a 27 year old CB on the Oakland Raiders in Madden '04.  He is slotted in as their dime back (4th CB) behind Charles Woodson (94), Phillip Buchanon (82), Terrence Shaw (75).  The Raiders also carry CB #29 (70), who would presumably be Nnamdi Asomuqha, the Raiders first round pick that year, before he signed with the NFLPA.  I never realized it was him before...that's pretty awesome that he was in Madden '04!

Some rookies are named from the draft (Seneca Wallace is one for example) but others who didn't sign in time are always denoted by position and number (well a guessed number - Asomuqha actually wore 21 to start) instead.  But this is definitely Asomuqha, as 70 is a really good score for a rookie CB but would make sense for a 1st round rookie.

Some Notable Ratings: Love has a few good ratings, most notably an 81 acceleration, 56 catch, and a 76 jump, making him able to go up for high throws to knock them down.  He also has a decent 53 score for tackle, which isn't great but means he won't whiff most of the time.

Love's big deficits are in speed (an 84, which is a bit on the slow side), awareness (64), and agility (77).  This meant that double moves could beat him pretty easily, and if the WR had speed it was tough for Love to catch up.

Professional Career: Love was the 116th pick (4th round) of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.  They drafted him as a safety out of the University of Toledo, presumably to replace Mike Zordich down the line since he was a 35 year old SS in 1998.  Zordich did retire after the season (despite starting all 16 games; Love played 6 as a backup with 2 tackles), but instead of Love the Eagles turned to journeyman Tim Hauck to play SS.  The then 33 year old Hauck started 15 games for the Eagles in 1999, ending the year with 60 tackles and an interception.

Love was on the Jaguars for a heartbeat, but they cut him before the 1999 season started.  That was to the Ravens gain though, as they added Love and stashed him behind starters Rod Woodson (34) and Kim Herring (24).  Love saw no game action in 1999 and only played in one game in 2000, but he did win a Super Bowl ring for being part of that 2000 Ravens team.  He also won a World Bowl ring as part of the 1999 Frankfurt Galaxy after the Ravens designated him to that squad.  After the 2000 season the Ravens cut him, and Love was once again in free agency looking for a squad.

The Oakland Raiders snatched him up within weeks, and Love would spend the next four years (2001-2004) with the Raiders with various degrees of success.  He has no NFL stats for 2001 or 2004, but in 2002, after the departure of SS Marquez Pope, Love saw three starts at SS as one of several guys the Raiders looked to at the position.  In the regular season Love racked up 17 tackles, but in the playoffs he didn't show up on the stat sheet.  He did play though, including in the Super Bowl, and though the Buccaneers shredded the Raiders passing defense (which doesn't bode well for Love or fellow SS Anthony Dorsett), Love was on the field when the Raiders blocked a punt, and so he shows up in this picture (he's #38, on the left):

The following year Love played in a career high 13 games, but with only six tackles and one pass defended.  He then suffered a knee injury would put him on the IR in 2004 and led to an injury settlement and his release from the Raiders.  That would end Love's NFL career.

Why do I remember him? Did any of you guys watch the show Crank Yankers?  It first debuted in 2002, and was that Jimmy Kimmel/Adam Carolla show where they made prank phone calls and then had puppets act them out.

I was 16 at the time and in prime prank phone call phase, so I loved the show.  One of my favorite guys on the show was the Tracy Morgan voiced "Spoonie Luv"

who made all sorts of ridiculous phone calls, including this one where he orders some roses

Anyways, he often referred to himself as "Spoonie Luv from up above."  So when we got Madden '04 a year or so later and I found Clarence Love, he instantly became a favorite, and I referred to him as Clarence Love (from up above).

I generally used him as a dime back (like the Raiders did), as his lack of skills kind of help him back from starting or even playing nickel back, and he was too slow/had too low tackling to play out of position at safety.  But I did that a lot, and also threw him on my kick coverage and kick blocking teams where he had some success.  Over time if/when he leveled up (usually he would as dime backs can grab a few interceptions and those help you level up a lot) I'd move him up to nickel back, but that's about as far as he would ever get.  Still, I pick him basically every time I ever play.  Even if as the fifth CB who only plays on special teams - he was just always too awesome to me since I made that Crank Yankers connection.

Madden '04 Monday - Tim Hasselbeck

Name: Tim Hasselbeck

Game Image:

Example of Gordon on Cardboard:
Tim Hasselbeck has 119 cards to his name.  This is his 2001 Pacific Crown Royale Autograph, #'d 500.

Video:
Here's a video of Matt Hasselbeck practicing in an empty stadium that is tagged Tim Hasselbeck.  Yes, Matt is Tim's older brother.  Ouch YouTube, ouch.

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Hasselbeck is the worst rated QB in free agency (and the entire game) in Madden '04.  He is rated a 37 (one of the game's worst ratings) and the next QB above him is Giovanni Carmazzi, who is a 38.

Some Notable Ratings: Hasselbeck has no good ratings.  His throw power is a 65 and throw accuracy is a 64.  He also has a speed of 40, an awareness of 44, and a catch (should you dare to run a HB option) of 9.  He is very difficult to run an offense with for sure.

Professional Career: Hasselbeck played a decent quarterback at Boston College, but wasn't drafted.  The Buffalo Bills signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2001, but he didn't do much for them and ended up matriculating to the 2002 Philadelphia Eagles.  He played in 2 games there, but not in any more meaningful way than holding kicks.  In 2003 he finally got his chance with the Washington Redskins, as Patrick Ramsey was hurt and they needed a starter.  Hasselbeck started 5 games and went 1-4 as a starter.  In his one win he had two touchdowns to zero interceptions against the New York Giants.  The next week he was 6 for 23 with 4 interceptions with a 0.0 quarterback rating - a much truer assessment of his talent level.

That'd be the end of Hasselbeck's impact in the NFL.  He was on the roster of Washington (2004), the Giants (2005-2006) and Arizona (2007) along with stops in Baltimore (2001) and the Panthers (2006) but his combined stats for all those stops were 3 carries for -4 yards (all kneeldowns at the end of games).  Hasselbeck's 5 touchdown, 7 interception career doesn't seem like much to write home about, but he turned it into a marriage to reality star Elizabeth Filarski (of Survivor/The View, and who pretty much sucks) and a spot on ESPN...so good for him (at least on the ESPN part)

Why do I remember him? His name was Tim and he was the worst QB in the game, so I often rostered him as my QB3.  Much to my chagrin, I've never actually made him good.  It's really hard...he can't run at all, and his accuracy and throw power are horrendous, so you really need to support him with an outstanding supporting cast.  And even then he might progress from like a 40 to a 43 in year one.  But it's worth the challenge.

Currently Hasselbeck is the QB for my St. Louis Rams franchise in my current Madden '04 incarnation.  He was doing okay (a few touchdowns, no interceptions) but then he got hurt for like 6 weeks.  C'mon Timmy...throw me a bone here!

Madden '04 Monday - Darrien Gordon

Name: Darrien Gordon

Game Image:

Example of Gordon on Cardboard:
Darrien Gordon has 144 cards to his name, including two autographs.  This is his 1995 Skybox Impact #156:

Video:
Here's a video recap of the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl between Penn State and Stanford.  Stanford won 24-3, largely because game MVP Darrien Gordon shut down Penn State WR O.J. McDuffie.

Team and Position on Depth Chart in Madden '04: Gordon is a Free Agent in Madden '04, and is the 13th best CB listed.  The best CB is Todd Lyght, ranked an 83, while Gordon is sandwiched between Robert Bean (63) and Paul Miranda (60).

Some Notable Ratings: Gordon is ranked a 63 at age 32, which makes him about the level of a dime back CB.  Some of his best skills include speed (90), agility (84), acceleration (86), kick return (90), and catch (61, which is good for a CB).  Some of his lacking areas include awareness (52) and tackle (40), which are both really poor.

Professional Career: After that impressive Bowl performance, Gordon leaped into the 1st round of the 1993 draft and was selected 22nd by the Chargers.  He was the 3rd DB picked after Patrick Bates (who?) and Tom Carter, and immediately became a Patrick Peterson like force for the Chargers.  Gordon had seven interceptions in his three years in San Diego, but his real skill was returning punts - he also had three touchdowns on punt returns in those years and averaged around 13 yards per return (he did not return kicks).  He helped the Chargers get to Super Bowl XXIX, his first of four Super Bowls in the NFL (2-2 record overall).

In 1997 Gordon moved to the Denver Broncos, and he was just what the team needed as they won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII in Gordon's two years with the team.  He had a combined 8 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 punt return touchdowns in those two years.  Gordon also was crazy ridiculous in the 1998 playoffs.  In the AFC title game he intercepted Vinny Testeverde twice and had a huge punt return.  Then in the Super Bowl he intercepted Chris Chandler twice and set an all time record for interception yards in a Super Bowl.  Gordon was certainly one of the league's top game changers at this point.

In 1999 Gordon went over to the Oakland Raiders, and for whatever reason his star never shone as bright from there on out (I blame the Oakland effect).  He started just 2 games over two years in Oakland, though he did have three interceptions in his first season.  By year two he was less of a force though, and he was averaging less than nine yards per punt return, a career low.  Gordon then spent a year in Atlanta, most of a year in Green Bay, and then was signed very late season by the Raiders (we're talking like week 17) as they made their way to the Super Bowl against the Buccaneers.  Gordon sat out most of the playoffs, but in the Super Bowl he returned three punts for 9.7 yards per return.   After the game Gordon retired from the NFL, ending his nine year career.

Why do I remember him? Somewhere along the line Madden started putting dreadlocks in their game as a hair option.  I don't know if Madden '04 was the first, but it was around that time when dreadlocks became big in the NFL, and I thought they were cool.  So guys with dreads, like Gordon, always made it onto my early teams.  I'd even change the hairstyles of non-dreadlocked players, so in the end like 80% of my teams would be wearing dreadlocks.  Weird, wacky, wild stuff.

Gordon started out as a dreads guy, but I came to use him a ton on my teams because he was a pretty good returner (any guys with 90+ speed with good agility and acceleration typically are) and he also made a fantastic CB4.  Unless you have a superstar team of four fantastic corners, the 4th CB on a team tended to be some mid 60's guy with 80-84 speed.  And that's generally fine, but when the other team played a 4-5 WR set and their 95 speed WR went up against your 82 speed DB, that was like an instant TD for the computer.  Well not with Gordon as a CB4...he had the speed to keep up, and the great hands to get interceptions against lesser WR.  So even though in real life Gordon was retired, I had a lot of seasons where Gordon acted as my dime (or even nickel) back with 4-5 interceptions a season.  I've drifted away from using him lately as I fell in love with different returners, but he's still a guy I'll always add and trade to a computer team at the beginning of franchise mode, because he definitely always deserves to be rostered.

Madden '04 Monday - Corey Alston

I'll be getting the Madden '04 Monday series started with one of my all time favorite Madden players.  It'll be a nice little walk down memory road for me, and hopefully you guys will enjoy it too!

Name: Corey Alston

Game image:

Example of Alston on cardboard:

Alston has 11 cards total, 3 distinct sets and then a bunch of parallels.  This is his Upper Deck Top Tier card, #'d /2500:

Video (if it exists, there won't be a video for every player):

This is actually my video from several years back.  It's Seneca Wallace passing to Corey Alston, who then makes some sweet moves to gain a bunch of extra yards.  I couldn't find any IRL footage of Alston.

Team and position on depth chart in Madden '04: Free agency, he's the 3rd worst WR there.  The best free agent WR is Michael Westbrook, who is rated a 79.  Alston is rated a 52, and slots right between Brian Stablein (53) and Windrell Hayes (52).

Some notable ratings: 79 speed (88-92 is average), 40 awareness (65-75 is average), 75 agility (85-88 is average), 69 acceleration (82-85 is average), 65 catch (78-82 is average), 82 jump (85-88 is average)

Professional Career: Corey Alston was signed by the Jets as an Undrafted Free Agent in April of 2001 out of Western Michigan.  He was then waived at the end of training camp, but resigned with the team in January 2002 where he was then allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.  Alston was waived by the Jets in June of 2002.  Alston never saw a snap in the NFL, but during that 2002 Rhein Fire season he caught 5 passes for 54 yards and 1 touchdown.  He also was the team's leading kickoff returner, with 16 returns for 449 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Some of the NFLers he played with included Onome Ojo, Tee Martin, and Jamal Robertson.  The team went to the World Bowl but lost to the Berlin Thunder, 26-20.

Why do I remember him? Back in high school, my brothers and I would make seasons in Madden where we'd each have a team.  I believe it started with '04, though it may have been '05 or '06 with us later going back to '04 since we liked the gameplay so much.  I always tried to be authentic with my roster moves, creating backstories and all that, so when, at one point, my St. Louis Rams had an injury at the WR position, I went to the waiver wire to see who was available.  Badly rated players always stood out to me and I liked Alston's number (#2) and catch rating (65 really isn't so bad for a terrible WR) so I gave him a shot.  I played a lot of 5 WR sets and though he was my 6th WR on the roster, he would be the 5th and final guy until my injured WR got back in action.

What happened next though was ridiculous.  Almost immediately, Alston was catching everything and anything I threw his way.  The AI defense would usually play a dime against my 5 WR offense, meaning a linebacker would cover Alston.  And though Alston wasn't fast in the least (his 79 speed for a WR is atrocious), he'd still make enough separation to pull in pass after pass.  There were a lot of drops too, but I ended up actually cutting the injured WR and letting Alston play on.  He gained the WR's number (82) and finished the season around 600 yards receiving, near tops on my team.  He progressed a ton in the offseason and became a mainstay for my Rams franchise - we played probably 7 seasons with that league before moving on, and Alson ended up ranked in the mid 80's, a big step up from his initial 52.

So nowadays when I play Madden, I almost always have Alston on my team.  I've never quite been able to recreate the magic that happened in that one season - his ratings are really bad, and I play offense a lot differently than I used to so he doesn't see as many receptions due to less spread offense and more of a focus on running the ball.  But he's still good for 25-30 receptions a year and some decent growth over the years.