For many fans, Seattle Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh will forever be known as the receiver that meant a guaranteed fantasy championship to the guy in that classic commercial. Of course, he’s had to spend the past couple of years getting referred to as “Who’s Your Mama,” the moniker the unfortunate owner in that commercial hung on T.J.
Now the receiver is getting publicity because of his plans to boycott the latest Madden installment over his in-game player rating. Every year a few players take issue with their Madden NFL rating but Houshmanzadeh may be the first to take it to this extreme.
The experts at EA gave him a 91 out of 100 rating, the same rating they gave to superstar wide receiver Terrell Owens, who despite his off-field tantrums is acknowledged as a game-changing player. Houshmanzadeh takes issue with his yards per catch stat, saying his 10 yard average wasn’t his fault. He blames the game planning of the lowly Cincinnati Bengals, his former team and usually one of the worst teams in the league. He also said Madden has his speed wrong. He said they attribute him with a 4.61 40-yard dash at the NFL’s pre-draft combine, but Housh said he didn’t even run at the NFL combine. The receiver told ESPN’s Colin Cowherd that he’s going to miss playing the game.
“Until they do me right, I’m not playing,” he told the popular talk radio host./a>
Of course, if T.J.’s rating bothers you as well, you can always sign the online petition.
A 91 for Housh seems about right to me. He’s a talented player and this seems like a decent ranking. Besides which, he just escaped the NFL hell that is the Cincinnati Bengals. What is there to be unhappy about after that?
EA Sports’ Madden NFL 10 will be available on August 14, 2009, for Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS and iPhone and is rated “Everyone” by the ESRB.
Read [MyESPN] Via [Bleacher Report] Also Read [Mouthpiece Sports]
T.J. better just get used to this. He plays for Seattle now, meaning he's going to be largely ignored and dissed by pretty much everyone for the rest of his career. That's just what happens when you play football on the west coast.
As a diehard Seahawks fan, though, I'd sure love to see him work hard this year to increase that ranking instead of whining about it like some of our previous players would have.