During the 1st half of today’s Buccaneers-Cardinals Week 14 showdown, Chris Roderick texted The WhatsApp Quarantine Bowl group, "My controllers fucked up,” after giving up a long touchdown play to Matt Ryan - a game that Ryan ultimately dominated. Without given much thought, this could seem like a somewhat plausible excuse. However, when examined in further detail, not only does this excuse not make any sense from a logistics standpoint, it could potentially tarnish Roderick's reputation and legacy moving forward.
Having been in the WhatsApp group and reading the excuse in real time, I immediately felt it not pass the smell test. I contacted fellow TGDs investigative journalist Nick Trigstein and ran my thoughts by him. From the beginning, both of us knew we had a journalistic responsibility to peel the smelly onion that this excuse could potentially be.
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Around the league, most consider Roderick a formidable foe on the virtual gridiron. His resume speaks for itself. Ten completed seasons, 9 playoff births, 2 undefeated regular seasons. Sure, he lost his first playoff game each of those years, but don’t get lost in the minutia. Roderick’s winning percentage in head-to-head games has steadily climbed from .333 when he joined the league in 2023 to now, where it sits as a respectable .507 (follow the blowout loss in question.)
Upon interviews with the majority of his NFC rivals, TDB Investigative found that Roderick has developed the reputation of an “excuse maker” when things are going wrong. “He doesn’t lose often but when he does there’s a lot of finger pointing and not enough looking in the mirror” one anonymous colleague stated. “We all need an excuse at times, but one could throw a flag for excess excusing” joked another anonymous source.
The harshest assessment came from an anonymous GM with clearly no sympathy for Roderick. He said, “He was born making excuses. I think it has gone unnoticed for awhile and I hope the truth comes out. Fraud.” There is clearly no love lost between this club and Roderick.
Some GM’s were a little more diplomatic. Cardinals GM Matt Ryan said, “No comment,” while an anonymous NFC rival said, “I’m not ready to fully commit to that label, but he most definitely was acting more like Christopher than Coach Roddy, if you catch my drift.”
In fairness, not all competitors have that perception of Roderick. “I actually have high regard towards the party in question in terms of his integrity toward his games. Today notwithstanding,” another rival GM answered under the blanket of anonymity. Adam Stocker, first year GM of the Chicago Bears said, on the record, that Roderick doesn’t make “more excuses than myself!” While not exactly a ringing endorsement from Mr. Arcade Mode, still, some support for the Bucs GM.
That brings us to the question of the controller itself. Was the device actually malfunctioning?
The league, though not in complete unison, is skeptical at best.
“No,” said one rival bluntly. “No, not at all,” said another. Stocker added, “I was late to the party, the game was 21-0 when I tuned in. I saw the final stat line and the rushing attack of the Cardinals seemed to have dominated the game. I only assume it was well in hand early on.” Another chimed in, “I’m not really sure what Coach Roddy’s video game controller has to do with his ass whooping, but let’s just say, I don’t the two are connected in any way.”
“No? Maybe for one play,” proclaimed Matt Ryan, the GM of the very team the alleged incident occurred.
However, another GM was not so sure. “By the 4th quarter, yes.” Now, could this have been tongue in cheek? Possibly. Or perhaps he had damaged the controller in rage as the blowout progressed. But we cannot judge inflection via text, just the words themselves.
There is one point of view that Roderick will have to anchor to in hopes of defending himself. A rival GM who has played the Bucs season answered, “Yes, he actually brought by it up (sic) in a game against me recently. In a side text.” He continued, “Never used it as an excuse, bit worked through it.” When pressed if he thought it played a part in the games outcome though, the GM was not as convinced. “No, based off the score I saw I feel as though it didn’t.”
Cynics would say that the side text was foundation laid for excuses in that game… or future games.
But suspending belief, let’s say the controller was actually damaged and a main reason why the Buccaneers lost 31-0 in the Desert today. If the case, why wouldn’t the GM of a first-class organization in the midst of a playoff race go and replace the controller. Surely, they must be out of stock everywhere…
…or not.
And, why are there no issues with the controller after good plays? Granted, there were no good plays in todays game, but on the whole.
Maybe there are no issues on good plays... because there are no issues on bad plays either.
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When it comes down to it, Roderick’s attitude in defeat vastly differs his attitude in victory. His fall back line often claims Madden 20 to be “a joke.”
This is a not an accusation the league takes lightly.
“There’s nothing funny about football. Nothing. Except watching Sarah Fuller play. That’s funny.” Tough to disagree there. “It brings much comedy to my life, but it is no joke,” proclaimed another. Yet another anonymous source piped in, “No, I would say the website solidifies madden’s status as a serious well known league.” TDB Investigative agrees.
When speaking with another anonymous GM, his beliefs were bluntly levied as, “I’d classify it as mental warfare: not everyone is cut out for it.”
Adam Stocker did find Madden a joke in one way, “yes sir it is quite comical at how shitty I am at it.”
However, Saturday afternoon’s counterpart shares some of the same thoughts on Madden’s comedy, Ryan stated, “Actually I would (classify Madden 20 as ‘comical’ or a ‘joke’), yes.” When pressed for details he replied, “too many ways to list here.”
So, surely, Madden being a joke, coupled with a controller acting up, must have factored into today’s results.
“No,” said Ryan. When asked to elaborate what led to blowout, “Tanner Vance being a bum mostly.”
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In conclusion, while we may never know for certain if the controller was broken or not, the ensuing investigation - and the rest of the league - finds it, highly unlikely.
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Matthew Wallward and Nicholas Trigstein
Journalists
TDB Investigative Department
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