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DPC Madden All Stars All Time Team (Offense)

• QB: Jeff George, Darrell Hackney, Byron Leftwich

• RB: Reggie Bush, Darren McFadden, Michael Bennett

• FB: LenDale White

• WR: Randy Moss, Matt Jones, Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, Drew Carter
• TE: Greg Olson, Tyrone Calico and David Boston (switched their position from WR to TE)
• Offensive Line: Larry Allen, Steve Hutchinson, Olin Kreutz, Orlando Pace, Joe Thomas
• KR: Devin Hester
• PR: Devin Hester

Due to retirements of Jeff George and Darrell Hackney my QB depth chart is a bit thin. In more modern pursuits, in Madden Franchise Mode, I have used JaMarcus Russell and Vince Young. Russell was to be the second coming of The Mad Bomber, Daryl Lamonica but he lost the plot. Young’s mobility helped my receivers run their routes to the fullest and helped attain the outer reaches of The Vertical Stretch

Matt Jones and Drew Carter are also gone. In their place I foresee Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford and Mike Williams, not the Tampa Bay version but the former USC standout, filling out my receiving corp.

As a GM I am an Al Davis knockoff and as a play caller I rely on the wisdom of Mike Martz. Because Madden is loosely based on reality my All Star squad would dominate the dojo in a digital world. In reality they would be the absolute inverse of The Greatest Show On Turf.

Former University of Hawaii quarterback and future DPC Madden All Star Colt Brennan recently had a tryout with the Houston Texans. Brennan was a training camp casualty of the Oakland Raiders who cut the former Rainbow Warrior. Brennan was originally a sixth-round draft pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2008 NFL Draft.

As of this posting the Texans have three-quarterbacks on their roster. Matt Schaub is starter with Dan Orlovsky and Matt Leinart as the understudies. At Mater Dei High School Brennan was Leinart’s backup and it looks like the trend may continue.

Brennan had a stellar career at Hawaii which culminated with 31-NCAA Passing Records and being selected as a Heisman Finalist in 2007. Professional success has alluded Brennan as he not played in a regular season game in the NFL.

I dedicated a prior post to the DPC Madden All Stars, a rag tag collection of players in Madden that I always have on my team in Franchise Mode. My All Stars is a collection of talent unfulfilled or players that were more hype than substance. But of course there is one exception and that is Randy Moss.

In the digital realm on the PS2 and PS2 Moss is unstoppable, which parallels his real world existence in the NFL, but like Bo Jackson and Michael Vick his video game doppelganger has also skewed my reality. Moss is a hall of famer in reality but in Madden he could be the greatest of all time, regardless of position.

To put this in a proper perspective, while engaged in another chapter of Franchise mode, I traded three-first round draft picks to acquire the aging wide receiver whose talents sadly diminished with each season. Even with sagging skills Moss was still a top receiver and the foundation of my own version of Air Coryell. Given man to man coverage he was unstoppable. Under double coverage he was slightly less dangerous.

On my old website, DavidPatrickCastro.com, I had a post that described my offensive theories and personnel decisions in Madden football. In many ways I ran my team like Al Davis, with speed and big armed quarterbacks dominating my roster. As a results of running my teams like Mr. Davis I became enamored with many players that were either reclamation projects or ran the 40 in 4.3 seconds or less. With each subsequent chapter of Madden I would have the same players filling out my rosters and as a result the DPC All Stars was born.

Sadly though many of my favorite players, known as DPC All Stars, have had less than stellar careers or ran into trouble with the law and find themselves on the outs with the NFL. I have never had an eye for NFL talent. This is painfully obvious when one realizes that I thought David Klingler would dominate the NFL after his transcendent career at the University of Houston.

But Madden is a different reality. Digital Reggie Bush is unstoppable but in reality he has had a very pedestrian career with the Saints. Ted Ginn Jr. has already been dumped by the Dolphins but his Madden doppelganger can not be covered.

The original DPC All Stars are scattered far and wide. Some are still in the NFL while others are on the outside looking in to a world they were supposed to dominate.

Matt Jones: The 6′ 6″ wide receiver with 4.37 speed ran afoul with the Jacksonville Jaguars and was recently cut by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Drew Carter: In four-years in the NFL the perpetually injured wide receiver totaled 71-receptions and 977-receiving yards. Currently retired.

Jeff George: The original DPC All Star and my prototype QB. I am still waiting for his triumphant return to the NFL.

JaMarcus Russell: My new Jeff George and currently unemployed after his debacle in Oakland.

Byron Leftwich: In my perpetual search for the next Jeff George I came across the cannon-armed Marshall University Buffalo. The Bears had a chance to draft Leftwich but traded down and grabbed Rex Grossman. That was seven-years ago and I am still bitter.

Darrell Hackney: Like a shorter version of JaMarcus Russell, without the Purple Drank.

David Boston: This will be the second consecutive entry on Life In The DPC that mentions David Boston. The former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver hasn’t had a reception since 2005 but makes headlines at this blog.

Michael Bennett: Fulfilling all stereotypes the Oakland Raiders have retained the services of the speedy running back.

Pacman Jones: Pacman was left out of Madden 2009 due to being suspended by the NFL. I created a version of him that was likely more talented than the original. Great cover DB and stellar return man.

Mike Williams and Tyrone Calico: A pair of large wide receivers that were busts in reality but I converted them to tight ends in Madden and had them reach their true potential.

Matt Leinart: Because I emulate Mr. Davis I run the Vertical Stretch and as a result I always have QB’s with at least 95 in throwing power. In Madden 11 Leinart has an 86 in throwing power and is ill equipped to replace Daryl Lamonica as the Mad Bomber. But alas Leinart garners DPC All Star status by being crafty. Also, his less than stellar throwing power can be augmented by off season training challenges.