Okay, so today I’m gonna walk you through my little “Andy Reid Packers” experiment. It was a fun one, and honestly, I learned a ton.
It all started because I was watching some old NFL Films stuff, and Andy Reid’s name kept popping up. Then I was like, “Wait, didn’t he coach Brett Favre back in the day?” Turns out, not really. He was with the Packers, but it was before Favre got there, and he was more of a tight ends/assistant coach. But the thought stuck in my head: “What if Andy Reid had been the Packers’ head coach for a long time? How would that have played out?”
So, I decided to simulate it. I fired up Madden (yeah, I know, it’s just a game), and I started a franchise mode. Here’s what I did:
- I took the Packers roster from whatever year Andy Reid became available in the game (I think it was like 2000-something).
- I made Andy Reid the head coach, of course.
- Then, I just started playing, making trades, drafting players, and calling plays the way I thought Andy Reid would.
The Initial Years: Offensive Overload
Right away, I focused on offense. I knew Reid loved QBs and passing, so I drafted a bunch of receivers early. I tried to get a speedy running back too, you know, someone who could catch the ball out of the backfield. My goal was to create a high-powered offense like his Eagles or Chiefs teams.
Defense? Well, that was secondary. I figured I could always patch that up later with free agents or late-round picks. (Classic me, right?)
The Favre Dilemma
This was the tricky part. Favre was already on the team, obviously. And, he was… Favre. I didn’t want to just bench him, but I also wanted to mold the offense my way. So, I let him play, but I started incorporating more short passes, screen passes, and designed runs for the QB. Basically, I tried to reign him in a little bit, get him to take fewer risks.
It was a mixed bag. Sometimes it worked great, and we’d score a ton of points. Other times, Favre would get impatient and start chucking the ball downfield into triple coverage (classic Favre!), and we’d turn it over.
The Draft Picks: Always a QB in the Mix
One thing I noticed about Reid’s tenure in Philly and KC: he always seemed to have a backup QB he liked. So, I made it a point to draft a QB every few years, even if I didn’t need one right away. I figured, you never know when Favre might get hurt or retire (in the game, anyway).
Some of those guys turned out to be busts, but a couple of them actually developed into decent players. I even traded one for a pretty good linebacker once.
The Super Bowl Run (and the Inevitable Heartbreak)
After a few seasons, my Reid-Packers team finally started clicking. The offense was humming, and the defense was… well, it was good enough. We made it to the Super Bowl!
I won’t bore you with the details of the game, but let’s just say it was a nail-biter. We lost by three points on a last-second field goal. Brutal.
The Legacy: What Did I Learn?
So, what was the point of all this? It wasn’t just about winning (though, I really wanted that Super Bowl!). It was about understanding Andy Reid’s coaching style and how it might have impacted the Packers differently.
Here’s what I took away:
- Reid is an offensive genius. He can design plays that get receivers open and exploit mismatches. But he needs a quarterback who can execute his system.
- He’s willing to take risks on QBs. He’s not afraid to draft a project player and try to develop him.
- He knows how to build a winning culture. Even though I didn’t win the Super Bowl in my simulation, my team was always competitive.
Would Andy Reid have been a better coach for the Packers than Mike McCarthy? I don’t know. But it was fun to imagine what could have been. Plus, I got to play a bunch of Madden, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.
And hey, maybe I’ll try simulating Bill Belichick with the Cowboys next. Stay tuned!
