Remember how awesome it was when the 'Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' all fused into one giant battle robot?
Let's do that with legendary 'Madden' passers. Let's build a six-quarterback Megazord.
A few ground rules to frame this '90s nostalgia: Every quarterback since 'John Madden Football' became 'Madden NFL' is eligible. That means we can dial our Zordon tribute back to Power Rangers' heyday -- 'Madden 95.'
However, no one legendary QB can donate more than one skill. It's only fair we pack as many great passers into one avatar as possible.
Be afraid, Rita Repulsa. The ultimate 'Madden' quarterback is coming.
With the latest installment of the legendary gaming franchise hitting stores today, here is the perfect 'Madden' QB:
Throw Power: Brett Favre ('Madden 2001')
John Madden's real life QB crush was his video game's perfect button-mashing QB. Just have Favre drop back, locate Antonio Freeman or Bubba Franks, and slam the corresponding button. The end result: A perfect dart every time. Give Favre's arm to our 'Madden' dream QB right now.
Throw Accuracy: Tom Brady ('Madden 08')
When 'Madden' talks, gamers should listen. The 2007 release gave Brady a 98 rating; the 2007 Patriots might've had the best offense ever assembled. It was all led by TB12, who could thread needles on gridirons real and digital. Our dream 'Madden' QB will have Brady's perfect ball-placement at his disposal. You can't ask for more.
Throw on the Run: Aaron Rodgers ('Madden 12')
Keep a lineman in to contain Aaron Rodgers. Better yet, keep two. The then-reigning MVP was (and still is) an unstoppable video gaming force off play action bootlegs and impromptu scramble drills. Imagine our 'Madden' QB with Rodgers' arm rolling out. Scary, right?
Awareness: Peyton Manning ('Madden 06')
No two words raise a 'Madden' player's blood pressure quite like "QB Vision" -- the Madden '06 feature that assigned a field of vision for each signal-caller based on their awareness. The simple solution to that tricky problem? Just use Peyton Manning, whose field-sized cone didn't need to be adjusted before throwing the perfect pass. Just like Manning, our perfect 'Madden' QB could see the whole field at all times.
Agility: Steve Young ('Madden 96')
Our 'Madden' QB will learn from the last king of two-bit video game football. Steve Young was nearly impossible for 'Madden' defenses to track down; gamers could send Jerry Rice deep on every play, knowing Young could buy enough time to send deep pass after deep pass. Why would we ever want our dream quarterback getting sacked? That's just silly.
Speed: Michael Vick ('Madden 2004')
No 'Madden' super quarterback would be complete without some traits from the gaming QB G.O.A.T. Vick was to 'Madden' what Bo Jackson was to 'Tecmo Bowl' -- uncatchable. He could ditch all 11 defenders, circle back before crossing the goal line, and leave them in the dust again. Adding Vick's legs to a Brady-Manning-Rodgers-Favre-Young 'Madden' hybrid is both unfair and amazing to picture. We've truly built a monster.
