Lenny from Indy

Random thoughts after watching some NFL  preseason games the past few days…

Cleveland Browns:  It doesn’t matter who your quarterback is this year.  You still have the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens in your division and you still have to play games against them.  Mangenius, he is not.

New York Football Giants:  Eli has no one to catch his passes.  Eight men in the box should stop the running game.  Mario Manningham, drafted last year needs to put glue on his gloves.  Another Michigan bust.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Byron Leftwich?

Philadelphia Eagles:  McNabb is kind of a bitchy baby.  Mike Vick should have the QB gig after week 8.  McNabb isn’t a QB who stays injury free for long stretches of time.  He’s old now.  He’s due.

New England Patriots:  It’s was kind of eye opening how many times Brady was knocked around by the Redskins.  The O line isn’t that good.  And Brady is already injured.  He left the game with a shoulder injury that apparently was nothing by the time Belichick arrived at his press conference.  Hmmm…

Detroit Lions:  They are the toughest team… in preseason.

Seattle Seahawks/Kansas City Chiefs:  It looked like two teams trying not to win the game.

Oakland Raiders:  They like to be spanked.  This has been a reoccurring theme for this team since 2002.

Buffalo Bills:  Goodnight.

YOU SAID IT WAS THE SYSTEM?  YOU SAID THE QUARTERBACK DIDN’T MATTER!  YOU SAID IT WAS THE SYSTEM!  THE SYSTEM!  THE SYSTEM!  THE SYSTEM!  KYLE ORTON WILL IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM!  THE SYSTEM IS THE QUARTERBACK!  THE SYSTEM JOSH… SO PAINFULLY SIMPLE!  YOU SAID IT WAS THE SYSTEM! DID YOU LIE JOSH? DID YOU LIE ABOUT THE SYSTEM?

YOU GAVE YOUR FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK TO THE CHICAGO BEARS?!?!?! ARE YOU STUPID? QUARTERBACKS DO NOT GROW ON TREES? HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE CHOICES SOME TEAMS HAVE TO MAKE FOR QUARTERBACK? HAVE YOU WATCHED THE NIGHTMARE THAT IS GOING ON IN CLEVELAND?  TAMPA?  SAN FRANCISCO?  YOU OPTED FOR THE SYSTEM!  THE SYSTEM JOSH!  YOU SAY IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SYSTEM!

GET THAT SMUG LOOK OFF YOUR FACE YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SMILE ABOUT! Look at this buffoon.  This open mouth breather thought he could be a coach in the NFL because he learned from the mind of former New York Football Giants Defensive Coordinator/current New England Patriots overlord Bill Belichick.  Josh watched Bill as he threw out a few buzz words to the press so they had a quote to ponder.  You know, words like “system” and “we don’t talk about injuries.”  Can you imagine what was going on in Josh’s head when he worked for the New England Patriots?  One can only wonder how much credit he thinks he should have for the Patriots success.  He was around the people that actually earned 3 Super Bowls for the sad, downtrodden, dirty, eyesore known as the lesser New England area.  What did this man do when he worked for the Patriots?

Ah… I see it all so clearly now.  It’s true when they say that every picture tells a story.  Josh’s job was to look deep into the male model face of Tom Brady.  I can’t believe the Patriots have the budget line on the payroll to have a man lovingly look at another man all day????  They must make bank in New England.

Look, I’m not even a Broncos fan.  You don’t have to believe what I say about Josh McDaniels.  Check out what a blog run by a guy that actually likes the fricken Broncos thinks of Josh McDaniels.

Picture Source:  broncotalk.net

Things are not good in Denver.  They suspended Brandon Marshall last week because he was disrupting practice?  Is McDaniels running a Pop Warner football team?  Did someone put liquid heat in Brandon’s jock strap?  Was that the cause of the disruption?  Why is there no video evidence online of the disruption?  Everything else is online but not the disruption.  Disrupting practice?  Are you kidding me?  These are men, not children.  Last year Brandon Marshall was a bad ass receiver.  This year was supposed to be a huge year for Brandon.  This team is imploding and no one can right the ship.  No one… not one person… not even Superman.  And he can fly and has heat vision.

It’s already begun in Denver.  McDaniels never even gave Broncos fans a chance to get to know who he is and what he stands for as a coach.  He took a team that needed some fixing and removed its best player and pissed off a pro bowl receiver.  That’s not fixing.  That’s going the other way.  He’s moving in the wrong direction.  Look at this guy here with his sign and look into his eyes.

Did you look into his eyes?  That’s the most confidence and conviction a Broncos fan has had since the day before they fired Mike Shanahan.  Fire McDaniels.  That’s all he wants for Christmas.

The Broncos haven’t played a regular season game yet and they already want him gone.

In related news, the Jay Culter led Chicago Bears visited the Denver Broncos to play a preseason game.  Many Broncos fans in Denver dubbed this game, “The Jay Culter Bowl.”  As it turns out, Jay Culter had a great game as he and the Chicago Bears beat the Denver Broncos 27-17 .  Denver also had a few injuries.  Safety Josh Barret left the game as did Right Guard Chris Kuper left the game with a knee injury.  Also, Systems quarterback Kyle Orton left the game with a finger injury.  McDaniels refused to comment on Kyle Orton’s injury.  About fifteen minutes after Josh’s press conference, System Quarterback Kyle Orton said that his finger injury, “Was not bad”,  in his press conference.”

Denver… it’s going to be a long year.  I’m not sure why the karma train decided to do these horrible things to the Broncos.  I wish you the best in this rough time.  My prayers are with you.  Courage.

This mural was painted on the side of a tire shop on Allegheny Avenue in the Kensington section of Philadelphia.  The person who uploaded this to flicker titled it, “die puppies die,” a terrible mock on the Eagles fight song “Fly Eagles Fly”.

Stay classy Philadelphia…

Aside from all the obvious jokes about New Jersey (What’s that smell?), Colts rookie wide receiver, Taj Smith tells tales of his youth growing up in beautiful scenic Newark, New Jersey.  Click this link to read about the shootings, burning and gang violence.  You read stories like this and you only want to root for a guy like Taj.  Here’s to hoping he’ll make the team.

A few updates from around the NFL:

1.  Kyle Orton is giving Denver fans fits.

I used this link to show the dark room of the Denver man who watched this PASS FAIL in silence.

And not to be a Orton hater, although I think with Denver’s choices at the Quarterback position (Start Simms you buffons) is ultra-mega limited.  What you have here is Kyle Orton’s highlight film, while not 100% terrible, it is marred by his bonehead left handed throw (he’s a right handed thrower) to Seattle’s Defense.  I’m not even sure that whiny bitch Jay Culter could throw a pass that bad even if he tried.

Denver – Don’t fret!  You have a good shot at drafting Tim Tebow next year.

2. The Jets will be starting rookie Mark Sanchez.  That’s dirty.

3.  I have full on man love for Drew Brees.  He’s the only quarterback in the league who has put Jeremy Shockey in his place.  Think about it.  Last year Brees snapped at Shockey on the sideline, taking his ego down to a reasonable level.  Coupled with Jeremy’s injuries from last season, maybe he finally figured out that team chemistry is kind of  important.  Jeremy even showed up to training camp?!?!?!?!?!?!  He even showed up to practices that were not required.  Let’s file this under douche bag grows up.  Kudos Drew on teaching Shockey that there is no “I” in team.

4.  I’ve been watching The Cincinnati Bengals on HBO’s Hard Knocks series.  Definitely check out the HBO trailer.  They edited this team together on this commercial for the show and made them look like a good, solid, competitive team.  Don’t buy into the hype.  They are still in the same division with the Steelers and Ravens.  They are going to be lucky if they win 6 games this year.

From time to time I’ll be keeping a real time top 5 on who is going to draft Tim Tebow.  This first top 5 is working off of last years stats and the first 2 weeks of Preseason.

Tim Tebow Sweepstakes

1.  Denver

2. Cincinnati – C’mon guys… Carson Palmer, while a good quarterback is a mess.

3. Tampa Bay

4. Buffalo

5. San Francisco

Kudos to Phillp Rivers for scamming a six year, 93 million dollar contract.  38 million dollars of this contract is guaranteed from the San Diego Chargers on Monday, August 24, 2009.

In other news, the San Diego Chargers today insured that they will not win a Super Bowl until after the 2015 season.

Here’s a clip of Phillip getting schooled at HIS OWN FOOTBALL CAMP this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/sports/football/25nfl.html

Lately it seems like new stadiums have major design flaws.  Yankees Stadium in right field.  Lucas Oil Stadium where some seats are blocked by huge cement beams that hold up the stadium.  The fact that someone thought it was a good idea to give the Mets a stadium.

Not to be outdone by billion dollar structures, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had to up the ante on Stadium fails.  Thanks Jerry!

Giant video board in new Cowboys stadium causes problems for Titans punter.

Apparently the city of Arlington, Texas, doesn’t have a chief punting inspector who signs off on gigantic new football stadiums.

Titans rookie punter A.J. Trapasso hit a 60-yard-long video board that overhangs the field at the Cowboys new stadium in its debut game on Friday. Dallas defeated Tennessee 30-10.

Trapasso’s punt was ruled a dead ball when it hit the structure, which is 90 feet above the field. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who’s been outspoken in his pride for the stadium, said he doesn’t anticipate making changes to the video board.

“That’s not the point,” Jones said of the possibility of raising the board, via the Dallas Morning News. “How high is high if somebody just wants to sit there and kick straight up?”

Trapasso and fellow Titans punter Craig Hentrich both hit the video board during warm-ups.

Jones suggested a punter shouldn’t hit the video board unless he’s trying to do so.

“If you look at how you punt the football, unless you’re trying to hit the scoreboard, you punt the ball to get downfield,” he said. “You certainly want to get some hangtime, but you punt the ball to get downfield, and you sure don’t punt the ball down the middle. You punt it off to the side.”

Cowboys punter Mat McBriar told the DMN he doesn’t anticipate connecting with the scoreboard this season.

“I don’t think I’ll really get near it,” McBriar said. “If I do, it’s a miskick.”

(Trapasso has been involved in two notable plays broadcast in national TV games this preseason. He scored a touchdown on a fake punt against the Bills in the Hall of Fame game.)

Who designs these stadiums?  STADIUM FAIL!!!

Source:  http://blogs.usatoday.com/thehuddle/2009/08/titans-punter-kicks-into-giant-obstacle-in-new-cowboys-stadium.html

So in 2006 The NFL apparently banned the use of Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2″ from NFL stadiums due to his arrest and eventual conviction of molesting a pair of girls in Vietnam.

Link here for that story: http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm?news_id=7163

Imagine my surprise when the Colts first touchdown happened and we take a trip back in sports music history and the unmistakable sounds of “Rock and Roll Part 2″ starts playing.

Has the ban been lifted?  Did Tony Dungy do for “Rock and Roll Part Two” what he did for Michael Vick?  How do we find this out?  There is no info on the internet about the ban being lifted on the song.

WASSUP WITH THAT?

Her dominating run came on the same day track and field’s ruling body said she was undergoing a gender test because of concerns she does not meet requirements to compete as a woman.

Semenya took the lead at the halfway mark and opened a commanding lead in the last 400 meters to win by a massive 2.45 seconds in a world-leading 1 minute, 55.45 seconds. Defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei was second and Jennifer Meadows of Britian was third in 1:57.93.

After crossing the line, Semenya dusted her shoulders with her hands. Semenya did not speak to reporters after the race or attend a news conference.

About three weeks ago, the international federation asked South African track and field authorities to conduct the verification test. Semenya had burst onto the scene by posting a world-leading time of 1:56.72 at the African junior championships in Maruitius.

Her dramatic improvement in times, muscular build and deep voice sparked speculation about her gender. Ideally, any dispute surrounding an athlete is dealt with before a major competition. But Semenya’s stunning rise from unknown teenage runner to the favorite in the 800 happened almost overnight. That meant the gender test—which takes several weeks—could not be completed in time.

Before the race, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies stressed this is a “medical issue, not an issue of cheating.” He said the “extremely complex” testing has begun. The process requires a physical medical evaluation and includes reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.

South Africa team manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane would not confirm or deny that Semenya was having such a test.

“We entered Caster as a woman and we want to keep it that way,” Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said. “Our conscience is clear in terms of Caster. We have no reservations at all about that.”

Although medals will be awarded for the 800, the race remains under a cloud until the investigation is closed, and Semenya could be stripped of the gold depending on the test results, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss said.

“But today there is no proof and the benefit of doubt must always be in favor of the athlete,” Weiss said.

Semenya’s rivals said they tried not to dwell on the issue before the race.

“I’ve heard a lot of speculation, but all I could do was just keep a level head and go about my business,” Meadows said. “If none of it’s true, I feel very sorry for her.”

One thing not in doubt was Semenya’s outstanding run.

“Nobody else in the world can do that sort of time at the moment,” Meadows said. “She obviously took the race by storm.”

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Pearl Jam is about to return with a new album called “Backspacer”.  Check out this short film produced by Three on the Tree and directed by Danny Clinch about Pearl Jam’s new album.  “Backspacer” will be available instores and online line starting Tuesday, September 20th.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=61913944

www.pearljam.com

You would think he was the only guy to ever play the Quarterback position.

Here is a random list of 10 NFL Quarterbacks who are better than Favre.

1. Terry Bradshaw – Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-83)

2. Joe Montana – San Francisco 49ers/Kansas City Chiefs (1979-1994)

3. Dan Marino – Miami Dolphins (1983-1999)

4. Joe Namath – New York Jets/Los Angeles Rams (1965-1977)

5. Bart Starr – Green Bay Packers (1956-1971)

6. Bob Griese – Miami Dolphins (1967-80)

7. Fran Tarkenton – Minnesota Vikings/New York Football Giants (1961-1978)

8. Johnny Unitas – Baltimore Colts/San Diego Chargers (1956-1973)

9. Roger Staubach – Dallas Cowboys (1969-1979)

10. John Elway – Denver Broncos (1983-98)

Oh yeah… None of these guys were whiny bitches either…. “I’m retired…. no I’m not retired. WAH WAH WAH! ME ME ME! I I I!”

Here are 10 NFL quarterbacks in the league who are better than “Mr. I’m Back Even Though My Arm Isn’t 100%”. And, I’ll even leave anyone with the name Manning or Brady off the list.

1. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints

2. Jay Culter – Chicago Bears

3. Kurt Warner – St. Louis Rams

4. Matt Schaub – Houston Texans

5. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers

7. Jeff Garcia – Oakland Raiders

8. Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers

9. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons

10. Donovan McNabb – Philadelphia Eagles

And aside from Jay Culter, None of these quarterbacks are whiny little bitches either.

I guess I haven’t been paying attention but they will play overtime in a preseason game.

This seems pointless.  By the fourth quarter, you have a team of fourth stringers.  The reality is 99% of the people on the field will not be playing by the time the season starts.

Here’s what happened last night…

The fourth string Giants were tied last night with the fourth string Panthers 17-17 with 10 seconds left.

Enter the New York Giants very own Tommie Hill who recovers a fumble forced by the fourth string New York Giants.

And the crowd goes wild!  Thank you Tommie Hill!  No overtime in preseason football.!

Actually not really.  The Colts are not a team that excels in the preseason.  But, here is a link to Stampede Blue with coverage from the first Colts pregame that pretty much covers the ultra mega non importance of the game.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2009/8/16/991113/jim-caldwell-discusses-pre-season

We have more important things to cover.  Here is something that I haven’t been able to find online….

How come the terms of Jim Caldwell’s deal has not been announced when he was named head coach?

I find it odd that they never made this announcement public.  I guess they could say that they are going off Jim’s old contract but that makes no sense.  How do you think that meeting went?

“Well Jim, you are the new coach but we’ll go by the terms of the old contract and will not be bumping you up in pay and FYI, we need a deep playoff run.  You are the head coach! Make it rain!  Go Colts!”

I don’t care about how much cash he’s making.  He is a NFL head coach.  Only 32 of those jobs exist.  For the most part all NFL coaches are fairly well paid.  How many years did they sign him for as the Colts head coach?

This is perplexing to me.

Do you think Josh McDaniel was really nervous for his first preseason game and decided to wear a diaper for protection or did he foolishly wear his regular undies only to stain them as Denver Broncos quarterback of the future and Chicago Bears castoff Kyle Orton too to the field?  It has to be a never racking experience as you trade away a quarterback with a cannon for a arm, decent leadership skills, liked by the people who live in the city of Denver and respected by his teammates is traded to the Chicago Bears and in return you get a man who looks as if he struggling to find the laces on the ball so he can throw the ball straight.

Kyle showed off his stellar quarterback skills quickly as he threw for 3 interceptions in the first half.  The third stringers picking off these “passes” for the San Francisco 49′ers have enough proof to go to head coach Mike Singletary and at the very least make a very compelling argument to leap frog the 49′ers second stringers tonight.  It was one hay-maker after another tonight for Kyle Orton.

If it hasn’t sunk in yet Broncos fans, let’s take a look at this very simple fact:  Your team traded Jay Culter for the mystical magical Kyle Orton.

Check out this one Broncos fan and his plea to fix the team.

www.firejoshmcdanielsnow.com

Kyle’s debut:  Fail.

My first experience with the new Madden game.  Will EA Sports sleep with me?  The entire company.

Friday, August 14, 2009.  It is a day that will live in infamy.  It is a day that will be etched in the hearts of all man.  A day that… well you probably won’t remember much of today.  However, those of you who own a game system know that this today can be counted as one of the few great days to be a gamer.  Madden 10 is released today.  Oh happy day! 

There is one slight issue in today’s celebration of gamerdom.  I need a copy of Madden 10.  I need the game now. 

Flashback to Thursday, August 13, 2009.  My boss Buzz walks into my office and asks who is doing a midnight sale on Madden.  Fifteen calls later, much to my dismay no one is doing a midnight sale on Madden 10.  Seriously game retailers of Indianapolis, are you kidding the general populace?   Very few things in this life deserve a midnight sale.  Here is the quick list of what deserves a midnight sale:

                                                1) Any Will Smith movie DVD release.

                                                2) The new Madden game.

                                                3) A new ice cream flavor to be debuted by Ben & Jerry’s.

So of all the products in the world, only three matter.  Madden is number two!  Retailers of Indianapolis, get with the program!

I digress, on the morning of August 14th, 2009 I walk into work with one goal, to go to the Best Buy at 5820 East 82^nd Street and purchase Madden 10.  I get into the office, sit at my desk and start answering emails.  All I can think about is how quickly I can tear into Tom Brady’s fibula with one great hit.  My boss Buzz walks in and just screams out, “SO WHEN DOES VICK GET ADDED TO THE EAGLES ON MADDEN?”

“Buzz, Vick isn’t even in the game. He has no skill scores.  The game is out today, he hasn’t played a game yet.  They will assign score to him after he plays.  He’ll be in the first roster update.”

Buzz fires back, “It’s going to be fantastic!  I gotta play the Eagles after the first roster update.”

This isn’t helping my need to secure my copy of Madden 10.  I don’t even want to be here right now.  I need the new Madden game now!

I quickly get done with some work and it’s now Noon.  I have to get to Best Buy now! 

I’m in my car and I’m driving to Best Buy.  I usually try to avoid a lot of the hype on the game.  I don’t want to set any expectations on the game.  You read all this pre-hype and what you see in your mind never, ever matches the actual game.  Granted for the next two weeks I’ll now be reading every persons review of the game but right now I’m turning into the Best By parking lot.  I walk out of the car, across the parking lot and into Best Buy.  The greeter says. “Hello and welcome to Best Buy.”

I could not even give a hello to this guy.  Not even a nice weather out there today comment.  I look at him and revert to a drooling child and say one word….

“Madden?”

The greeter points to the left and off I walk.  I see a Best Buy employee with a stack of Madden 10 games.  I started thinking about giving the dude a chop block and then picking up my game.

“Hello sir.  How many I help you.”

Where are my speech skills today?  I look at him and say one word…

“Madden?”

“Oh these are the reserved copies.”

I won’t lie.  I died a little on the inside when he said that.  This wasn’t a stack of Madden games.  This was a STACK OF MADDEN GAMES. 

“We have copies in all formats on that table over th….”

I immediately turned and walked to the direction the kind sales rep pointed too.   To his credit the dude told no tall tales, an entire table of Madden 10 games in every game format.  It was a beautiful sight.  I can’t lie.  I fought back the urge to shed tears.  I’m not talking about big T.O. “he’s my quarterback” sized tears.  Maybe, watching the 30^th anniversary of Star Wars dinner tears when the cast recreated the final scene in Star Wars where Han Solo, Luke and Chewbacca are brandishing the bling that Princes Leia just bestowed on them for blowing up the Death Star tears.  You know manly tears.

I grabbed the game, paid for it at the checkout line and drove home.

Once home, I turned the game on.  The first thing I heard after the load was the unmistakable sound of Nirvana’s “Breed” from the spectacular Nevermind album.  This brings me to my first bone of contention with the madden franchise.  I’m not against music.  I like music.  But, I have to go into the game setup and knock out all the songs which are already pre-checked and then have to check all the Sam Spence football music on.  I like Nirvana, Kid Rock and most of the songs that are on Madden but when I want to make Tom Brady’s spleen burst, I need the orchestral sounds of Sam Spence’s original NFL music as the soundtrack.  A minor point, yes I know.  But, that needs to be reversed for next year. 

The introduction opens with the Steelers/Cardinals Super Bowl game as its back drop.  The cover athletes Troy Polamalu of the Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals are the main focus.  Once you get past that you can pick your favorite team and it’s off to the main menu.   

I got right to play now.  I choose the Colts.  As my opponent, the computer, I pick for him the cheating their way to three Super Bowls New England Patriots.  Mr. Brady, your ass-kicking awaits you sir.

As the game loads I see the matchup between the two teams.  It’s pretty much even except for the coaching area.  The Patriots have a full three bars while the Colts barely have one.  This immediately pisses me off because what you are telling me is that Caldwell, who has been with the Colts for a while, one of Dungy’s good guys is basically a bitch when it comes to coaching.  That seemed pretty insulting.

The game loads and the first clip you see are people walking into Lucas Oil Stadium.  They quickly go to the field and the announcers are saying words but nothing is registering.  I get to the coin toss.  The Patriots pick heads.  The coin flip comes up tails!  I will kick the ball to the Patriots.  This is important because I want the ball in the start of the second half.  At this point, I don’t know what EA Sports has done to the Pats and played it cautious.

As it turns out, EA Sports seemed to forget to factor into the equation that Tom Brady played for seven minutes last year.  He comes out throwing 50-yard bombs.  Good thing the Colts secondary is on it and its three and out for Brady and his cupcakes.

Peyton now takes the field on his own 20.  Handoff to Joseph Addai.  Addai runs up the middle for a 5-yard gain.  Nice.  I think it’s time to unleash Gonzales. 

Peyton under center, he looks to the left, he looks to the right and the ball is hiked.  Peyton goes back looks to the left, looks to the right and unleashes a bomb downfield.  Gonzales is open, and… Peyton under throws the ball and is INTERCEPTED! 

Huh?  Wait a second.  I had Peyton planted.  It was a perfect throw. 

Some light cursing and the defense is now coming onto the field to clean up my mistake pass.

Brady under center awaiting the snap and I’m going to waste no time.  I’m in control of Brackett and I’m sending him in for the kill.

Seems I was a little too aggressive early as Wes Welker takes the ball in a slant route and up the middle for 35-yards.

Then Brady unleashes a 36 yard pass to Randy Moss for a touchdown.

While all of this is happening, can I state how realistic the field, players and game play has been?  This is a decent graphics upgrade over Madden 09.

End of the first quarter:  New England  7 – Indianapolis 0.

I feel like I let the team down.

The second quarter begins with two three and outs by each team.  With 1:48 left in the second quarter Manning passes puts together an incredible drive down field with the highlights being a Reggie Wayne with a 25 yard slant route completion.  And, a Joseph Addai run up the middle for a 12 yard gain and BLAMO he’s down on the 3 yard line.  I mean injured down.  This is not good.  I’m not happy at all.

The game does a great thing here.  You get to make the call.  While Addai is injured, he is still able to play but… you risk the chance that he takes another hit and he then can be out for longer than what he originally will be if I sit him now.   I opt to sit out Addai and it’s time to start the rookie, Donald Brown.

I call a draw play; Brown takes the handoff and runs into the end zone.  

End of the first half:  Indianapolis 7 – New England  7.

The halftime stats show is tremendous.  They give you all the stats and show all the highlights of the first half.  Very nice EA Sports.

The third quarter starts off much like the second quarter.  Each team has three, three and outs and no more scoring by the end of the third quarter.

End of the third quarter:  Indianapolis 7 – New England  7.

At this point, I’m a little tense.  Brady is looking like a super model while Manning looks like John Blushi.  Who is programming these games?  I feel a graphic bias towards the Colts.  Yes the name of the team is after a horse must EA make the players on it look like them after three quarters of action?  I call bogus.

3:48 left in the fourth quarter and Brady completely owns the Colts corners.  I have no answers for New England’s potent passing attack until a 2^nd and 5 on the Colts 25.  All out blitz.  Brady throws and Gary bracket tips the ball with his hands and the ball lands into Bob Sanders hands!  Gary Bracket is the man both in real life and digitally.  Kudos Gary Brackett.  Kudos to you, your family, and future generation of Brackett’s. 

Manning takes to the field.  3:40 seconds left and 70 yards separate the Colts from 7 points.  A masterful drive of handoff to Donald Brown, pass to Dallas Clark and pass to Austin Collie put the Colts at 3^rd and 8.  One two yard gain and two incomplete passes places the team behind the 8 ball.  Then I get a notification that Addai is now back in the game after his slight strain on his left leg.  I waste no time.  Manning snaps the ball and a screen pass to Addai who runs for 9 yards!  FIRST DOWN!  Take that Patriots defense!

Manning in the shotgun position he gets the ball, looks left and then looks right when he throws the ball down field to Reggie Wayne for a first down on the 50 yard line!  FEEL THE COLTS OFFENSE WORKING ON ALL CYLANDERS!

Manning under center, he takes the snap and hands off to Addai.  Addai breaks the line, and fakes out the corner and HE HAS OPEN FIELD! ADDAI IS RUNNING AND IS FINALLY TAKEN DOWN AT THE 2-YARD LINE!  THE CROWD GOES WILD!

1:20 seconds left and the Patriots take their first time out.

I know what happens next.  We’ve seen this movie before.  I call Addai up the middle and he scores easily.  Way too easy. 

Fourth Quarter:  Indianapolis 14 – New England 7.

I just gave the New England patriots 1:19 seconds left and the ball on the kickoff.  I’m so unhappy right now. 

The ball is kicked off to the Patriots who run the ball back to the 35 yard line.

I line up with a very cautious protect the long ball defense. I’m not going to give up a big play.

Brady to Welker, the Patriots have the ball on the 50-yard line.

BOOOOOOOOOO!

Brady to Moss, the Patriots have the ball on the 38-yard line.

I hate you EA Sports.  Tom Brady is not Superman.  Dude could not walk for most of last year.  No one heals this good.

Brady in the shotgun passes to Moss… incomplete.  2^nd down.

Hmmmm?

Brady in the shotgun, pass to Moss in the end zone… over threw the pass, incomplete. 3^rd down.

Interesting.

Brady in the shotgun passes to Welker… incomplete due to Gary Brackett’s pressure on Brady.

YES!  GARY RULES!

4^th down.  Brady in the shotgun gets the ball, the Colts defense swarm, Brady throws….. TIPPED BY GARY BRACKETT AND GARY BRACKETT WITH THE INTERCEPTION!!!! OH YEAH!!!!

2 seconds remain in the game.  Manning under center, takes the snap he downs the ball, game over.

Much improved game play, better announcing, smoother transitions between plays, bigger playbooks, a great use of product integration (The Snickers ads were a howl).  EA Sports has done a killer job of remaking the NFL experience.

This was my first time playing the game.  I didn’t have a fumble in the game but they have a fight for the fumble feature that is going to be great.  I can’t wait to check out a full season mode.

Don’t waste time people.  Get your copy of Madden 10 today.  When does the first roster update get released?

I LOVE YOU GARY BRACKETT!!!  For your mad digital football skills.  Seriously, what did you think I meant when I said that?