There has always been questions about sports video games and whether playing those games make you a smarter athlete in real life. Many argue that just playing games like Madden or NBA 2K do not make you smarter because the games don't go in-depth with plays and/or strategy that a real ball game demands. We may now have proof that those people are wrong.
K.J. Wright is in his sixth year in the NFL and is currently a linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks. Coming into this week’s Seahawks game against the Buffalo Bills, Wright has 52 tackles, two sacks and has been referred to by star Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman as one of the most underrated players on the Seahawks defense. Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard also said that Wright is one of the smartest football players he’s ever seen in his career. And does what K.J. Wright credit for his high football IQ the most in his career?
EA Sports’ Madden and NCAA Football video games.
In an interview with ESPN, Wright said playing those games for years increased his football intelligence more than anything else.
“From playing Madden as a kid,” Wright told ESPN. “I'm telling you, the same plays on Madden are the plays that NFL teams run. I've been playing Madden since 1995, so over time it just sunk in my brain and I figured it out. Playing Madden and NCAA. It just registered in my head.”
According to a 2009 study done by the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, football fans who played Madden regularly had a 60% higher football IQ over average football fans. In a survey that included 15,000 Madden and NFL fans, Madden players answered 22 of 36 football related questions correctly while non-Madden players only answered 14 questions correct. Here are the results of two of the question was that questionnaire.
What does it mean to bring an “8th man into the box?”
- Madden Players – 83% correct
- Non-Madden Players – 47% correct
What is the purpose of sending a man in motion before an offensive play?
- Madden players – 59% correct
- Non-Madden Players – 19% correct
Besides K.J. Wright, other NFL players use Madden to improve their understanding of football. Current New York Jets backup quarterback Bryce Petty uses Madden to improve his football IQ. Coming out of Baylor University last year, the major point of criticism about Petty was that his knowledge of the Jets’ playbook was behind where it should have been and that he wasn’t picking the concepts inside it. Coming from Baylor, where they called many of their plays at the line of scrimmage, Petty was struggling in his rookie year.
“(Playing QB in) real football, it’s about having a feel for the game, and having an understanding of what could hurt me and then those questions being answered at the snap (before I throw the ball),” Petty told the New York Daily News. “But you can read the same things in the video game. The things you’re able to do with a background in football, you can certainly apply to this (game).”
The stigma behind video games is that they are mind-numbing and adds nothing to a person’s brain, but studies have shown video games improve hand and eye coordination. With sports games, it also teaches players the intricacies of an offense or whether to run a zone blitz or a Cover 2 on defense. Are all Madden fans going to apply to be the Cleveland Browns head coach of offensive coordinator? No, but these gamers know a lot more than people think.
