The Pittsburgh Steelers have a colorful history with the EA Sports Madden series. Steelers players in the past have been underrated by the game, which is not surprising given the rivalry with the famous coach and broadcaster the game is named after. John Madden was rumored to be active in the development of the game versions even after he sold his five percent of game sales interest in 2009 for a lump sum payout of $150 million dollars after retiring from the NFL broadcast booth. I am not saying that Madden was extracting payback for the Immaculate Reception through a video game, but if it was secretly written in his contract that the Steelers were supposed to get hosed on Madden ratings, would any fan of the black and gold be surprised?
Personally, I am a video game nerd and freely admit to playing the Madden video game on the Sega Genesis and NES. I currently play Madden on the PS5 and am eagerly anticipating the release of Madden 23. The Steelers, before Ben Roethlisberger (who frankly never got his due from Madden), were a complicated team to play the video game with. The Kordell Stewart/Mike Tomczak/Tommy Maddox versions of the team relied heavily on defense and the running game -- just like the real-life Steelers of the 90’s and early 2000’s. If you dared to pass, quick roll outs to the tight ends or quick out routes were your best friend. I am certainly not as good a player as the YouTube sensations or tournament players, but when I was younger, I won a sports bar tournament or two with the plodding ball control and suffocating defensive game plan that Bill Cowher would have approved.
EA Sports Madden NFL 97
Madden 23 will be the first Madden game not to include Roethlisberger in 18 years. In the Madden era, Roethlisberger has been rated as a 79 overall in his rookie season, a high of 95 in several seasons, and a 78 in his final season in Madden 22. Rumors are swirling he will be included in Madden 23 with a 74 rating, but Roethlisberger is retired. While he may exist in free agency, it won’t be the same.
EA Sports Madden NFL 16
Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky will be the Steelers quarterbacks in this iteration of the game, and I am looking forward to seeing the attributes ascribed to the signal-callers. Forget overall ratings, veterans of online franchise fantasy drafts know it is all about certain key attributes when you are putting together a Madden team. What will the Steelers quarterbacks have for throwing power, play-action, speed, and agility? It will be fascinating to see how the EA programmers accounted for quarterbacks that are supposed to have more mobility and arm strength than Roethlisberger.
If the quarterback attributes are unkind, and you intend to play with the Steelers as is, you may need to be prepared to play a lot of 13-10 ballgames. On the defensive side of the ball, the addition of Myles Jack, who has been historically rated as one of the faster linebackers in Madden, should be a welcome addition to a stout video game defense. Although the rumors are abound that simply user-playing a linebacker all over the field will not be as easy in Madden 23. The Steelers have excellent choices for user players at all three levels of the defense and if you master the new pass defense strategies, the rewards could be significant.
This version of the game from the previews I have seen of the demo looks to be the first significant gameplay advance in a long time. The idea of actual touch passing and relying more heavily on the quarterback’s accuracy to cut down on interceptions and eliminate glitch routes is an exciting prospect. If the Madden 23 Steelers are not built to take advantage of the new passing interfaces, then take comfort in the fact you can probably run Najee Harris into the line dozens of times and rely on T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Jack and Minkah Fitzpatrick to get key turnovers to help you win games. It might not be as fun as passing 45 times a game, but a win for the Steelers is a win, right?
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you hoping that Trubisky and Pickett are not saddled with 85 THP and below average agility? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
