Chris Ballard: ‘Players are far more educated in the game … because of ‘Madden”

INDIANAPOLIS — Video games have taken a lot of flack over the years.

But they haven’t been all bad.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard believes video games, particularly the “Madden” series, has produced a positive effect in today’s players, one that wasn’t available when he was a kid playing an original Nintendo.

“Players are far more educated in the game of football just because of ‘Madden,’” Ballard said. “When you look at how advanced (the game is). … When I was that age, there was no way. We didn’t have that. We had Tecmo Bowl, which, I mean, you weren’t learning defenses and offensive scheme. They’re doing this from a young age.”

Ballard has seen it in the way quarterback prospects have changed over the years, in terms of what they know, a development that can also be partly attributed to the rise of 7-on-7 football during the offseason and other training programs for kids.

“You’re getting some advanced guys, at least knowing what to do,” Ballard said. “Now, recreating it from a virtual reality (standpoint), there’s no doubt it has value, but you are not getting hit. There’s a difference when there’s the threat of pain.”

One of the latest innovations is virtual reality, which allows a quarterback to input his play, his opponent and the coverage he wants to face into the computer, then face the defense virtually.

Not all quarterbacks like it — according to Ballard, virtual reality made Andrew Luck dizzy — but the team’s current starter, Anthony Richardson, has used virtual reality to train.

“I think it’s got a lot of benefits,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “We have it in our house. We use it. I think it’s really good. It puts you in the game. I’ve done it and it’s pretty interesting. Obviously, you’re not getting hit, and you don’t have pads on, but you can set your plays up, put your exact playbook on there versus certain defenses. You can put yourself into the stadium.”