How much have sports games advanced over the years? Enough that I can interview a bunch of current and future NFL Hall-of-Famers and ask them to use their real-life football expertise to help me (and you) get better at Madden NFL 11.
Surprisingly, only a few of them thought I was crazy, and all of them seemed happy to give me some advice. Here are a few words of football wisdom from Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez, Rod Woodson, Kurt Warner, Deion Sanders, and Terrell Owens.
Bitmob: Lots of people just throw the deep ball and hope for the best in Madden. What are the keys to a balanced passing game?
Jerry Rice: Well, you do want to have someone go deep to stretch the field, but the underneath routes are just as important. Then it's just up to the quarterback to make his decision. To be a balanced offense, you have to have receivers that are fast, as well as some possession guys that will make the tough catch.
You've also got to mix up your play-calling; establishing the run will help you establish the pass. It sounds simple, but people that throw deep all of the time might think that a balanced offense is alternating deep passes between two receivers. That's not real football, man!
Bitmob: Do you think your career would have been better if you had played with better quarterbacks?
Jerry Rice: [Looks at me like I'm insane.] Uhh, I played with Joe Montana and Steve Young, two of the best QB's of all time. They're both in the NFL Hall of Fame; it doesn't get any better than that.
Bitmob: Yeah, I know. I was just trying to start a feud between you and Joe, since he's here.
Jerry Rice: Ohhh, I just thought you were crazy. [Laughs]
Bitmob: Madden Ultimate Team lets you collect virtual playing cards to build your own team. This mode is great, but you start with a really terrible squad. What three positions would you first look to upgrade if you were trying to improve a team and had limited resources?
Joe Montana: I'd get a pass rusher and another good defender -- doesn't really matter what position. If you have two difference makers on D, you'll be in good shape. Then I'd get a good receiver. My next move after that would be to get a good second receiver to help my first receiver get open easier.
Bitmob: I tried to start some trouble between you and Jerry earlier, but he had nothing but nice things to say about you.
Joe Montana: [Laughs] He can't say anything bad about me! He just can't! I can't say anything bad about him, either.
Bitmob: I love throwing to my tight ends -- they're my safety blanket. How should people use tight ends in Madden?
Tony Gonzalez: Just like they use them in the NFL. Look at Peyton Manning last year with Dallas [Clark], he caught like 100 balls. We're like Band-Aids: we're mid-range so we get open quicker, we've got big bodies so we can take a hit; and we've got good hands -- the best in the league, I'd say. Way better than receivers because we have to, since we're slow...er than them. Using your tight end is a great way to exploit mismatches, too.
Bitmob: When you can no longer dunk the ball over the goal posts after a touchdown, is that when you'll retire?
Tony Gonzalez: Hmmm, no. I always said that I'm going to retire when I'm no longer a mismatch, when they see me out there and decide they can cover me with one guy. Hopefully that's not any time soon.
Go to page two for Rod Woodson, Kurt Warner, Deion Sanders, and Terrell Owens.
