You would think it’s impossible for Mike Vick to play with any team but the Atlanta Falcons anytime he picks up Madden 04. Turns out, it’s the opposite.
Despite the fact that the biggest cheat code of the series is modeled after the former quarterback (95 speed rating, 97 accuracy, 98 throwing power, 92 elusiveness), Vick rarely uses his namesake character when he’s playing. And that’s despite the fact that it’s Vick on the cover!
The explanation actually makes a good amount of sense and somehow crosses over into humblebrag. Here’s what Vick said while hanging out on Fubo Sports’ No Chill with Gilbert Arenas:
“I’m a pocket passer at heart. I’m Tom Brady. I’m Peyton Manning…”
Mike Vick on why he never played as himself in Madden (@fuboSports)
Full ep: https://t.co/CUV2P8JCEA pic.twitter.com/FI5jqROQWs
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 4, 2022
“I tried to man, but I couldn’t never control myself. I always wanted to take off. I wanted to do what other guys was doing when they played me. So if I played you…in my heart, I’m like a pocket passer at heart, I’m Tom Brady, I’m Peyton Manning. When I line up, I ain’t thinking about scrambling and running. I’m thinking about throwing like Drew from the pocket. But if I played you in Madden, but you got me and I got Peyton, you’re going to annihilate me.”
It’s completely fair Vick wanted to play with quarterbacks who possessed different skillsets than he did. It’s also comforting to know even Vick observes the “playing with Atlanta is cheating” rule everyone else had to live by in 2004.
