Jets QB Michael Vick Prefers to Play as Tom Brady in Madden

When the Patriots travel to MetLife Stadium this Sunday to play the New York Jets, they’ll likely face off against quarterback Geno Smith, not former star QB turned backup Michael Vick. Nevertheless, TMZ Sports caught up with Vick earlier this week, and Vick admitted he likes playing as Tom Brady when he plays videogames like “Madden NFL 15.”

Vick was busy donating sneakers to the Boys & Girls Club in Harlem (which explains the choice of headgear) when a reporter asked him about

“I don’t really have a specific team, but I do play with Tom Brady a lot,” Vick said. “I like to play with a passer.”

Given that all 32 teams have multiple “passers” on their team, Vick probably meant he likes to play with a traditional pocket passer like Brady rather than a scrambling passer like himself or teammate Geno Smith. Which is kind of funny, because Vick’s computerized self in Madden 2004 is widely considered one of the most overpowered video game characters in sports history, one that forced EA Sports to overhaul defensive controls for Madden 2005 because Vick could not be stopped.

That was a decade ago, of course. Now Vick has been dogged by his criminal past and reduced to a backup on a terrible Jets team.

Still, most athletes (most people, even) would probably play as themselves when given the chance in a videogame, so it takes a bit of humility for Vick to say that about his upcoming opponent. Who knows, maybe this is just Vick’s way of acknowledging what a great scrambler Tom Brady is.

[h/t CBS Boston]