The Redskins Blog

RG3′s Speed Highlights Madden 25 Trailer

See this picture above?

It’s not happening.

With yesterday’s announcement that Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders is the cover athlete for Madden 25, Redskins Nation and Robert Griffin III fans can officially breathe a sigh of relief.

The Madden Curse, which is indeed a real thing Redskins fans, will not be coming to the Nation’s Capital and it will not be hanging over the head of No. 10.

Let’s face it, the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year would be a prime candidate for a video game cover. He was on the cover of NCAA Football 13 with Sanders, has what some would describe as “video game speed”, and will no doubt be a fan favorite for gamers to use.

But the cover of Madden?

No thank you.

While Griffin III isn’t showcased on the cover this go around, it doesn’t mean that he won’t be the star of the show.

Check out this trailer of Griffin III in the first look of Madden 25:

Read more »

RG3, Rice in Sweet 16 Matchup for Madden

Another week, another opponent defeated by Robert Griffin III in the Madden 25 cover bracket. In Griffin III’s round of 64 matchup against fellow NFL sophomore gunslinger Ryan Tannehill, the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year took home nearly 90 percent of the vote.

In his second round duel against another 2012 NFL Draft first round pick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin, Griffin III got over 75 percent of the vote to catapult him into a Sweet Sixteen matchup against another tailback.

Unlike the first two rounds where he was pitted against men who only had one year’s experience on the professional level, Griffin III is going up against seasoned veteran Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens.

Redskins fans may remember Rice from his cameo at FedExField this past December. Those same fans will also remember that the Redskins would crush the hopes of any Baltimore fans that traveled to Redskins territory that day after the Burgundy and Gold would add the Ravens to their list of team’s defeated during their epic late-season winning streak to end to the 2012 campaign.

Find out how Griffin III stacks up against Rice and why you should continue to help him move on to the next round in the bracket.

Read more »

Fans Excited For Orakpo’s Madden Defeat

AP Image

Redskins fans have rightfully earned the reputation as some of the most-loyal in all of sports, showing constant Washington patriotism.  So it’s not everyday that Redskins Nation rallies to gleefully crush one of their players in a national contest.

But they did it in the best interests of that player, Brian Orakpo, who made it to the round of 32 in the Madden ’13 Cover Bracket, before getting smoked by Victor Cruz.  Although Orakpo won’t have the exposure of the Madden cover, fans realize that he’ll continue his dominance only if he stays healthy.

Evidently, Redskins Nation isn’t in the mood to tempt the Madden Curse, with the mere suggestion sending fans into a tizzy.  Here is a sampling of blog comments from the stories:

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A Redskins Dilemma In Madden Cover Vote

Last week, I wrote about the EA Sports/Sportsnation Madden bracket to determine the next NFL player that will grace the cover of Madden ’13.  Redskins fans could choose between top Redskins nominees Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, and see if they might make it through the field of 64 to No. 1.

In that post, I encouraged fans to vote, but reminded them that the Madden Curse is an actual thing, and that fans run the risk of inadvertently dooming their favorite player to injury and soul-crushing failure on the field.  I just pass along the information, you do what you will with it.

As a result, I got torched by commenters and re-tweeters, who accused me of indirectly or deliberately sabotaging the team.  The outcry was candid enough that it caught the attention of Orakpo, who thanked fans for their concerns (it was later retweeted by Kerrigan):

Man I love the fans in Redskin Nation they don't want me or @RyanKerrigan91 to be on Madden Cover cuz of the "curse" haha Love Yall HTTR!—
Brian Orakpo (@rak98) March 12, 2012

Orakpo was later voted through to the round of 32, earning a 15 seed going up against a No. 2.  The dilemma for superstitious Redskins fans is that that No. 2 seed is Giants receiver Victor Cruz.

Would Redskins fans dare vote for a division opponent in the interests of keeping Orakpo healthy? Would voting for a division opponent guarantee that he gets cursed?

Redskins fans have every right to be careful with their vote, with catastrophic career meltdown on the line.  Here’s a comprehensive review of your options:

Read more »

Final 2011-12 Redskins Madden ’12 Update

For all of you that waited so patiently for the season-ending Madden ’12 Redskins roster updates, this post is for you.

Over the course of the season, the fine folks at EA Sports made literally thousands of tweaks and adjustments to the virtual rosters, keeping them as close to the genuine article as possible.  Over the course of the season, there have been exactly 271 modifications to the Washington Redskins virtual roster, given to you on a week-by-week basis.

Yes, I counted them by hand.

With all of that being said, here are the final Redskins updates for this season: Read more »

Redskins Week 16 Madden ’12 Updates

Good morning Redskins gamers, and welcome to virtual and actual gameday–here are your virtual Redskins’ updates.  For some of you, this has been a weekly update that you can apply to your own Madden franchise throughout the season.  For others of you, this is a preview of what Santa will be delivering later tonight.

I could reveal which of you will be getting the game, but that would ruin the surprise.

The Redskins have had one of the most active rosters in the league for the second half of the season, which has been consistently reflected with the virtual Redskins as well.

Check out the full list of Redskins roster moves and alterations this week: Read more »

Kerrigan Falls In Contested Madden Game

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It was a great night for football at the Reston, Va. Verizon store location, where Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan was set to take on Ravens fullback Vontae Leach in a winner-takes-all game of Madden ’12.  Leach, his opponent, was playing remotely at the Timonium, Md. location.

The point of the exhibition was to display the capabilities of the Verizon 4G Wireless Network, which, for the most part, worked well.  More on that later.

As Kerrigan entered the store, he looked calm and confident.  When asked if he was going to win, he simply stated, “That’s the plan.”

After the game was set up, Kerrigan tried his hand at smack talking, which I get the impression is not his strong suit.  Or he couldn’t really let loose at a family event.  Either way, he pointed into the Web cam and said “You’re going down!” to Leach.

Leach won the coin toss and elected to receive.  The first play from scrimmage was a virtual Joe Flacco sack by none other than virtual Ryan Kerrigan.  On that same drive, virtual Kerrigan has a one-on-0ne tackle of Ravens virtual running back Ray Rice in the flats.  It was easy to see that this game was going to boil down to a defensive struggle. Read more »

Redskins Promoted In Last Madden Update

Because you care, the good folks at EA Sports have updated the settings on their fantastic video games, so that fans and Madden enthusiasts can continue to maintain the most realistic,  fake game-play possible:

Kevin Barnes	CB	WAS	Decrease, from 69 to 68OVR
Logan Paulsen	TE	WAS	Increase, from 62 to 65OVR
John Beck	QB	WAS	Increase, from 73 to 75OVR
Adam Carriker	DL	WAS	Increase, from 79 to 81OVR
Fred Davis	TE	WAS	Increase, from 84 to 85OVR
Roy Helu	HB	WAS	Moved to 3DRB #1 on depth chart
Ryan Torrain	HB	WAS	Moved to HB #1 on depth chart
Roy Helu	HB	WAS	Moved to HB #2 on depth chart
Jabar Gaffney	WR	WAS	Moved to WR #1 on depth chart
Tim Hightower	HB	WAS	Removed from depth chart (injury)
Santana Moss	WR	WAS	Removed from depth chart (injury)
Chris Cooley	TE	WAS	Removed from depth chart (injury)
John Malecki	OL	WAS	Signs
Jonathan Compas	OL	WAS	Signs
Dominique Byrd	TE	WAS	Signs

Here are a few notes worth mentioning: Read more »

A Madden Preview With High Expectations

AP Image

With three solid preseason games under their shoulder pads, this is no time to predict season-long expectations.  This is a long season with a young and developing roster, so it’s difficult to project how they will look in September, much less December.

That’s what video game simulations are for.

Joe Fortenbaugh over at the National Football Post recently tested the latest iteration of the almighty EA Sports Madden franchise.  Among his many observations, one was his casual reference to the five season simulations:

Can Madden predict this year’s Super Bowl winner?

Here’s what this year’s results look like:

SIMULATION 1: Pittsburgh 28, Philadelphia 15
SIMULATION 2: Washington 23, Pittsburgh 20
SIMULATION 3: New Orleans 27, Indianapolis 17
SIMULATION 4: Philadelphia 21, New England 9
SIMULATION 5: Philadelphia 22, Pittsburgh 21

Read more »

Larry Johnson's Shoes

Larry Johnson, despite his reputation as a less-than-loquacious dude, has rapidly established himself as one of the more interesting guys to talk to about the off-the-field aspects of football. He’s a voracious student of NFL history, a former football card collector, and an avid videogame player, and he’s proved willing to chat about all those things.

Also, he’s got these shoes, custom-made through NikeID, black and gold with Truck on the back of the left foot and Stick on the back of the right foot.

People who have played the Madden Football videogame since the 06 version know what the truck stick is — a flick of the right control stick that causes the running back to lower his shoulder and take on a would-be tackler. But that doesn’t immediately explain why it’s on Larry Johnson’s shoes. Read more »