John Madden

Each week John Madden answers readers questions. To ask Coach a question, e-mail him at:

Coach, have you ever seen a player with the knack for being around the ball and making plays like Ed Reed? If so, who?
Ned from Baltimore

Madden: Ned, I don't remember anyone as good at it as Ed Reed. I remember when we did the game I kept calling him a ball hawk. Anytime the ball was in the air or on the ground he seemed to be there to get it. There are some great safeties in football and their have been in the past. I coached one in Jack Tatum, Ronnie Lott was a great one and the ones now like Bob Sanders and Troy Polamalu, they are good run-pass guys. But as far as a guy being a centerfielder on pass defense and being able to read everything and react to it and then catch it and score with it, he is something that we don't see many of. 

The old joke is … there is a reason why guys play defense, because they can't catch. Well he can not only catch but when he does get a turnover, he is like a punt returner. He is a great runner and when he gets it he knows what to do with it. On defense he is the closet thing to an offensive weapon as I can remember.

Do you think Darren Sproles can handle the entire workload of a starting running back?
Bill from Santa Monica

Madden: I don't know that he can, Bill, but I know that I have talked to him about that and he said he can. That is what he wants to be. He has been that before. If you go back to high school and he was an every down back, college he was an every down back and he really sees himself as an every down back and believes that he can do it. That is a big load that he is taking on because an every down back isn't only running the ball inside and outside but it is also blocking in pass protection and catching screen passes, which he is great at. And in addition to those things he is their punt returner and kick returner.

Now I don't believe that he can take that load. I believe if he were an every down back he would have to be like a half-time guy and that is the way football is going. You don't just have one every down back, you have two guys that split the load and I can see him doing that. And he would probably have to cut down or cut out the kick returning.

Which team winning in Wild Card weekend surprised you the most?
Scott from Phoenix

Madden: I know going into Wild Card weekend, Scott, everyone thought that the road teams were all going to win and they were the favorites, so the home teams that won would have been the biggest surprises, San Diego and Arizona. The biggest surprise to me was Arizona.

Do you see the Eagles being this year's Giants?
Ed from Philly

Madden: Ed, you don't know, that is the great thing about it. I can see it and it is very possible. They have to beat the Giants this weekend, they know the Giants, they have already beaten them there this year so they have the confidence they can do it. They have the confidence that it can be done from a Wild Card position because the Giants did a year ago. I am not going to come out and say they are going to do it but if someone were to tell me they had a crystal ball and the Eagles are going to be in the Super Bowl, I wouldn't be surprised.

Would you be shocked if any of the top seeds lost this weekend?
Charles from Mass.

Madden: No, Charles, I wouldn't be shocked. When you get up to this level of football, playoff football, the teams are all good and so any of the teams that are playing this weekend can win and if they couldn't they wouldn't be here right now. They are playing their best football now and I can see anyone on this weekend winning or losing and that is the great thing about it. Probably the toughest one would be Arizona at Carolina. That would probably be the toughest one for Arizona to beat Carolina, but the other three I could see how either team can win.