BOOM! Worst player in Madden '07 responds
Washington Redkins deep snapper Ethan Albright isn't getting much love from John Madden this year, courtesy of EA Sports. Albright is ranked an appalling 53 in Madden '07, which pegs him as worst in the NFL. This has earned him the nickname of digital Mr. Irrelevant, and stats in the game that are on par with Derrick Frost, the Redskins punter. Frost has a higher speed rating, which makes sense, but his toughness rating is only six points lower than the much beefier Albright. Ouch. You don't want to be near the toughness level of a punter in the NFL, since they are normally wiry and have about as much upper body strength as the guy who carries the down marker on the sidelines.
The Phat Phree posted an obviously fake (but hilariously written) letter from Albright to Madden and takes him to task for his rating, which is meticulously broken down by category. "I also noticed that my kick return rating was a 0. I was rated a f*cking zero? So you feel that I shouldn't even receive a 10, or even a 5? You are pretty much saying that I couldn't even fall forward on a ball kicked in my direction. I would just stand there and let the ball bounce off of my f*cking face."
The problem with Albright's rating in the game is that EA doesn't rate deep snappers or even have them as a playable option, so they put him in as a tackle, a position that Albright hasn't played since his second season in the NFL -- ten years ago. Albright takes it all in stride, noting that he was bumped up from his 50 rating from last year. "Well, I'm a year older and they bumped me up," he said. "That's not all bad."
If EA could only harness the power of the Albright letter and turning the franchise into something that doesn't suck.
[Thanks John M]
