The official release of Madden NFL 16 on Tuesday, August 25, has generated everything from vivid memories about playing some of the series' earlier titles to more complaints about ratings from NFL players.
In fact, many NFL players got their hands on an advanced copy of this year's installment, so they've had a couple of weeks of tapping their thumbs to it already... and with that, more time to build up their complaint logs.
Speaking to ESPN, New York Jets nose tackle Damon Harrison was irked at his speed rating of 50, so he maxed it out to 99.
"We need to talk to the Madden guy about speed, man," the 6'4, 350-pounder said. "I'm a whole lot faster."
In two weeks, Harrison has already led the Jets to a Super Bowl title in Madden NFL 16, even putting himself in at tight end. Chances are Harrison the tight end couldn't pull down a one-handed grab like New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr... but then again, most can't, either.
With Jets quarterback Geno Smith continuing to recover from a broken jaw – as a result of a sucker-punch from a former teammate – Harrison even went as far as to turn injuries off, so Smith could be around for the whole simulated season.
Although Harrison took issue with his rating, Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith was actually content about his.
"They've got my acceleration at like a 90, speed at like an 88 or something like that, and I said, 'OK, that's fine,'" Smith told ESPN. "As long as I go through all the linebackers and see who's the fastest, if I'm top five, OK. If I'm not, I've got to call somebody. I'm calling EA [Sports]."
His teammate, Jaguars running back Storm Johnson, couldn't even bring himself to look at his ratings, despite also getting an early copy of the game.
"Last time I looked at my rating probably was when I was at the University of Miami [in 2010]," Johnson said. "They probably got it accurate then, but after that I don't even deal with it."
For other players, the release of Madden NFL 16 simply conjures great memories of playing the game in their childhood.
Detroit Lions rookie running back Ameer Abdullah remembers his older brother repeatedly defeating him in the game.
"He used to beat me down in Madden," Abdullah said. "I used to get so frustrated. I would just quit. I was like, 'You're up by 40 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Let's just call it quits, shake hands, and go our separate ways, you know. Don't talk about this outside the house.'"
Now that Abdullah is in the NFL, maybe he can dish out the beatings this time around. Touchdown!
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