Let’s be honest. The Madden game series fell from its peak a long time ago. For the longest time it has felt stagnated, lacking true innovation to make the game fun to play rather than just pretty to look at. Hopes are high that Madden NFL 22 might be different. Updates since its announcement suggest they have some ideas about how to freshen things up. So naturally they decided to use them to snipe the Chicago Bears.
The Bears have always been a subject of ridicule by the Madden creators. Most notably with some of their player grades. This time though they didn’t even try to hide their troll. One of the new features included is homefield advantage. This is a development where home teams have actual advantages while visitors have disadvantages. For example, an opposing receiver will run an incorrect route on 3rd/4th down in New Orleans. In New York? Away players fatigue faster.
Take a guess at what they chose for the Bears.
Before people try to argue that this is a coincidence, let it be known only one other team had a field goal kicking thing inserted into their homefield advantage. The Buffalo Bills. Think about that. The Bears with the Double Doink and the Bills with Wide Right. Two fanbases forever haunted by missed fields goals happen to have algorithms that make kicking in their stadiums harder?
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That was not an accident. It was chosen deliberately, and that just makes it sting even more. The only solace Bears fans can take is Cody Parkey is somebody else’s problem now. They seem to finally have a kicker they can rely on.
Chicago Bears will see Parkey again soon
After his unceremonious departure in early 2019, the kicker bounced around the league a bit before finally landing a new home with the Cleveland Browns. There he helped the team make the playoffs for the first time since 2002, going a respectable 19-of-22 on his field goal attempts. However, he also missed four extra points. So while he mercifully avoided the spotlight, his tendency to shake makeable kicks hasn’t gone away.
Considering the Browns have Super Bowl aspirations this year, they better hope one of their big games don’t come down to his right foot. As we all know, history isn’t on his side. It would be rather poetic if that ends up happening when the Chicago Bears pay a visit to Cleveland in Week 3. Probably for the best given his track record at Soldier Field.
One thing we know for sure?
Parkey returning there in the Madden game won’t yield better results. Here is hoping Santos can avoid that bad juju going into a pretty important season. The way this schedule is constructed, the Bears aren’t likely to see any easy victories in 2021. So they’ll probably be relying on his right foot quite often. After signing him to a new three-year contract, they seem to have confidence he’ll handle that pressure well. No matter how many inside jokes the game makers have at their expense.
