Welcome everyone to the 2nd installment of “Watch What You Say” with your host, Trusion. In case you missed the last show, we had a very blunt and interesting show with Washington Redskins owner, OutofLuck. No need for another long intro. The theme remains the same. “We don’t accept nice answers……..only real ones. That being said, we’re still gunning for the right guys to bring on the show who are going to leave it all out on the table. With that being said, please welcome Season 8’s MPL champion with the Atlanta Falcons and this season’s hungry Houston Texans owner, Ethan! Archive: Ethan::  Thanks for having me man Trusion:  There will be no giggling, painting of toenails, or pictures of Pikachu found on this show. So if you’re looking for that, it’s probably in your best interest to leave now. Ethan, I will ask you a series of questions and whatever you respond with will be viewable to the entire audience with no retakes outside of any grammatical errors. Are you ready and willing to keep it real with the audience? Ethan::  Of Course Trusion:  Ethan you are a longtime vet here in the MPL. There aren’t many others who have taken on the talent that you have played. Would you say the league is as competitive now as its ever been or would you say the competition was greater before the conversion to next gen? Ethan::  It depends on what you mean by competition. If by 'competition' you mean the contests are more consistantly competitive...yeah, it's more competitive now than ever. There's definitely a sense of parity in the league that wasn't always there, whether that's as a result of the game itself or the people now playing in the league. From an "upper-level" competitive nature, meaning whether the players now are better than the players then, no way. There were some people who you could not only pretty much guarantee a win from week in and week out regardless of the team they're using, but also guarantee a blowout. That's not the case anymore. There are some guys here that really roll the struggling squads, but when they match up with another team that might be just "ok," it's much, much closer. Trusion: I hear Rashad may be returning for season 12 on Madden 09. Do you think that he will have a significant impact on the league? Ethan::  I think so. If he does decide to comeback I think he'll be in contention shortly thereafter. He's going to have to go through some growing pains with the next-gen style of play like all of us did when 08 dropped, but once he gets past that I'm sure he'll be among the top players. One thing about Rashad is that he knows football. That's incredibly important for this game because in spite of all its flaws, it's the most realistic title to date. Also, his "commitment" to the game is second-to-none. If he shows the same dedication he did in the past, he'll have the "tricks of the trade" down in no time. Another former MPL great, Ducati, once called him a "Madden Robot" if that's any indication. Trusion:  You have been known for some hot rants and blasts from this year’s games in some recent game recaps. Do you ever think that your emotions/frustration sometimes get the best of you or do you think everything you put out about the flaws of the game, etc, are all legit? Ethan::  Yeah, they're legit. Who hasn't seen the o-line crumble in front of them? Who hasn't seen ridiculous throws by the QB? Who hasn't seen all of the other plentiful flaws this game has to offer? Everyone's seen them. Everyone knows they're there. They affect everyone. The only difference is I voice my displeasure with the issues. Others might just choose to ignore them, accepting them as part of the game. Others might just keep quiet on the boards, but complain about it privately. It happens. The game, for all it has going for it, is just incomplete, straight and simple. Trusion:  What are your expectations for Madden 09? Ethan::  Honestly, I think the only thing that I REALLY want to see is a more efficient o-line, and some kind of remedy for the sporadic QB play. They could just take 08, fix those things, give me an updated roster and I'd be a happy camper. That would be a near perfect football game in my opinion. Of course, some other things are exciting. I'm hoping the commentary doesen't suck, and I'm hoping the franchise mode...well...works Trusion:  You’re currently 0-2 against division rival Outofluck. Why does he seem to give you such a hard time? Ethan::   Well, I won't comment much on game one from last season. There were certain issues I had with the gameplay in that one that rendered the experience incredibly unenjoyable. I wasn't into it at all, and I lost. To his credit, Luck fixed those things the second time around. One thing about this guy is he loves to bring the heat. That's bad news with the Texans oline. I think defensively we contained the Skins offense very well that game, pretty much shutting them down...the offense just couldn't do anything. Looking back at the stats, Schaub went 9/19 with 6 receiver drops. He was sacked 11 times. The Texans don't have a running back. Pretty difficult to win under those conditions. All that said, it's gotta be the pressure he brings on defense. We're going to be prepared for that for round two later this season. Trusion:  : Chance wasn’t kind to you this time around in the draft. Do you agree with the current system that gives owners with a better record the previous year, a lesser chance of striking a top end team in the next draft? If not, what do you think would be more appropriate? Ethan:  I definitely like the current system. Obviously, for guys like you and I we're going to come out on the short end of the stick more often than not. But really, with the parity in this next-gen madden, if you're good you can be great (or at least competitive) with any team. You're rolling with the Vikings. I'm rolling with the Texans, to a degree. Neither are exactly powerhouses. Still, there is that chance, slight as it may be, that a "top player" could land a great pick. I mean...how many times is Readywhenever going to get the Cowboys? That's the best team in the game, in my opinion, coupled with one of the better players in our league. So yeah, it's perfect as is. Lower records have a better shot at a high pick, higher records have a better shot at a low pick...but there's always that chance factor. I love it. Trusion:  Is there an owner that you think gets maybe more praise or credit than they probably deserve? Someone that needs to do a little more to be viewed as a top owner in your eyes? Ethan:  Hmmm...he's not going to like this, but probably Readywhenever. That's not a blast because like I said, the dude's definitely a top owner in the league. But at the same time, you look at the MPL Hall of Fame page and, judging by that alone, he's the fifth best player to ever play in the MPL. But really? When he has the best team in the game for two of his first three seasons, and a very capable Rams squad the other? I don't know about that. I'll be anxious to see how he does over the next few seasons, if he gets paired with a lower-level team. Trusion:  Do you think there is a legitimate reason to not make the playoffs, when you get the New England Patriots? Ethan:  hahahahaha....NEVER. No way, no how. Everyone knows the story on the New England offense. There's NO REASON you shouldn't be scoring AT LEAST a field goal every time that offense touches the field, and that's if you're playing conservatively. The defense is vastly overrated as well, but that obviously works in the owner's favor. To think Dontcheeze was complaining about Tom Brady of all things. TOM BRADY IS THE PROBLEM? I wish I had that problem with the Texans. That defense also has Asante Samuel, I hear he's pretty kickass. Trusion:: With McGrath out of the picture, what two owners do you see rounding out in possibly the Pacific Championship game? Ethan:  going to go out on a major limb here since I've never played the guy, but I hear Cowboy is pretty good...so...I'm going to say the pacific championship will be Giants/Bucs Trusion:  How would you feel about your girl being just as much of a gamer, if not more of one than you? Ethan:  That would be AWESOME. I'm not much of a gamer myself, so I wouldn't want any hardcore Dungeons and Dragons kind of chick...but if she would have a finer appreciation for the things...even if it's just Mario or something like that, that would be great. She does enjoy the Wii (go figure) and Rock Band and things like that, but just yesterday she got really irritated by Metal Gear Solid 4, claiming that all it was is a bunch of movies. She's kind of right, I guess. Trusion:  Can you tell me what is going to take place on Monday Night Football in week 2 of the NFL season? Ethan:  Eagles win handily. Romo is out for the season after a nasty Dawkplex. Superpunk offs himself. Trusion:  Is Kobe going to win a championship without Shaq? Ethan::  Yes. In game seven of these finals. Trusion:  And why do you think so? Ethan:: Well, because I picked the Lakers to win when the finals were set, and I don't like to flip flop. It's not looking good right now because they've been anything but impressive, but I'll stick with that prediction until they're officially out of it. Trusion:  That’s all we’ve got today folks. I’d like to thank you all for viewing and Ethan for being such a good sport. Good luck in season XI with the Houston Texans. Ethan::  Thanks man. Good luck to you as well, and everyone else out there when they're not playing IareEthan.