Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh surely believes that becoming an unrestricted free agent is one of the best things that ever could have happened to him.
In hindsight, it could end up being one of the worst.
His status as a free agent, his tour of various teams, and his departure from Cincinnati for Seattle has caused the media to pay more attention to him than ever before.
And the more he talks, the more he comes off as a guy who simply doesn’t get it.
Most recently, Houshmandzadeh told Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio that he’ll boycott the 2010 version of the Madden video game, because Houshmandzadeh doesn’t like the rating that has been assigned to him.
“I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it’s the offense, not me,” Houshmandzadeh said, via Mike Sando of ESPN.com. “I’m not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. . . . I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I’m going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I’m not playing it any more.”
When we saw those words, we assumed that Houshmandzadeh had received a rating in the low 80s, possibly in the upper 70s.
We were wrong. Per Sando, he’s a 91. And that’s the sixth highest wideout rating in the NFC.
Specifically, Houshmandzadeh trails only Larry Fitzgerald (99), Steve Smith (97), Anquan Boldin (94), Roddy White (93), and Calvin Johnson (92).
It’s sounds about right to us; we’d take any of those guys before Houshmandzadeh. (And we say that knowing full well that T.J.'s response might be to say that he’s “not coming here no more.”) Actually, given the distinct possibility that Houshmandzadeh will be the next in a line of No. 2 wideouts who couldn’t perform at a sufficient level as a No. 1 target, the rating is probably higher than it should be.
And if he wants the number to be even higher next year, all he has to do is make good on his vow from last month.
“I just want to let everyone know that Matt Hasselbeck and I will be leading the Seahawks to the playoffs this season,” Houshmandzadeh told Sporting News. “And we’ll be going to the Pro Bowl as a tandem. We’re both going to have top five seasons: He’ll have a top five quarterback season, and I’ll have a top five receiving season. I’ll put up stats I’ve never had before yardswise because they’re allowing me to be a complete receiver.”
In our view, T.J. is setting himself up for a dramatic failure. To make matters worse, his boasting, which isn’t nearly as engaging or humorous as former teammate Chad Ochocinco’s shtick, is going to persuade otherwise neutral observers to root against Houshmandzadeh.