Madden 2010 News Post

Madden NFL 10 Blog: Player Ratings - A New Philosophy, A New Era

06:53 PM - February 9, 2009 by Ian_Cummings

Hey guys, we thought it would be a perfect time to share something that I am personally very excited about for Madden NFL 10. We took each and every rating in the game (over 50+ player ratings) and scaled them up/down in a way that is now using much more of the scale. I like to describe it around the office like this…”We basically stretched out the ratings.” We want to use more of the numbers so we get a bigger, more noticeable affect in the game.

Let me give you guys an example….in Madden NFL 09 all of the WR’s Route Running ratings ranged from 62-99. In the current Madden NFL 10 build, WR’s now check in from 35-99. To counter this on the defensive side, all CB’s in Madden NFL 09 had a Man Coverage rating which ranged from 64-99. Now in Madden NFL 10, CB’s Man Coverage range is currently 40-99.

Every position and every rating has been re-scaled to expand the range of numbers we are dealing with. The Overall Rating for your average NFL player has dropped. Your Joe Average linebacker who was 80 OVR is now dropped down to 70. The players who were before right on the cusp of 90 in a rating category are now down around 85-88…Meaning, there are fewer superstar players out there. Before, where you could maybe get by throwing to your slot WR who had 93 SPD, with 74 ROUTES, and 77 Catching…now in Madden NFL 10, that guy is going to have like 91 SPD, 60-65 ROUTES and anywhere from 65-70 Catching. Let me tell you, these rating drops make a big difference when that slot rookie WR with 90+ speed now drops every 3rd pass or so, or just simply cannot get open.
The superstars have not been affected however, this is intentional. Peyton is still 99 OVR, Patrick Willis a 99, Larry Fitz is 99, etc. The elite players at rating categories have not been affected either (JaMarcus Russell still has a 98 Throw Power and Chris Johnson still rated 99 Speed). [Side note: One of my personal goals is to have the actual NFL players in Madden NFL 10 look like their real-life counterparts and play to their strengths and weaknesses like never before in a football video game.]

Speaking of the Speed, which is always a hot topic, we made some major changes with the infamous SPD rating as well. To give you a great example, I will again go back to WR and CB. In Madden NFL 09, the WR SPD range was 85-100…CB was 87-99.

In Madden NFL 10, WR SPD range is currently 70-100…CB is currently 75-99. So as you may or may not tell, the SPD range has been pushed down, in our opinions, to better reflect the “sim-gameplay” style that Ian and Phil have been telling you about all winter long. This SPD change has been updated for each position, so it makes a huge game play affect.

Ian and I had a game the other day where Earnest Graham broke one up the middle for a 55 yard touchdown run… and he could not be caught!…E-Grahams’ Madden NFL 10 current SPD rating….80 SPD. That should give you a good sense of what is possible with the new ratings. It’s not all about having the 90+ SPD anymore. On this particular run, Ian’s CB’s got hung up against some blockers and all I had to do was beat one safety and Graham was gone! He had Brandon Jacobs and his 85 SPD breaking some long runs as well. On the flip side of bigger/slower backs, Chris Johnson is absolutely lethal right now. You can actually get him outside with sweeps now and he is a beast to stop. But again, we are constantly tuning the gameplay, we have an entire team dedicated to that and they are some of the best people we have in the building.

So there you have it, player ratings are in for a major overhaul this year and I am really excited already with the impact they are having on the early builds of the game. And rest assured, we are well aware of the outside impacts this will have….Rookies will now come into the league based on the new ranges, NCAA Import guys are being tuned as well…Progression has been accounted for as well to better reflect breakout stars and burned-out former stars. Meaning, we want to have bigger jumps in OVR this year, both positive and negative. That’s all for now, probably gave away too much already!

Would love to hear any feedback about this big new change in the way we do player ratings. I’d be happy to answer any questions regarding the new rating ranges….please no individual ratings questions, not answering those! Stay tuned for more Madden player rating related blogs in the future!

- Donny Moore – Madden NFL 10 Designer

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Member Comments

# 121 xboxfreak @ 02/10/09 12:42 AM

If you can implement an effective fatique effect on the players, for example after running 40 yards down the field his speed should be dropping every 5 yards down the field. So a free safety sitting back 30 yards gets would be running less, so their fore could catch him in the open field. Also after a couple of plays his speed could be down to say 80 from 95. You can make his catch and route ratings drop, this would prevent teams from constantly use the same player.

# 122 HeavyGunsJCBMTS @ 02/10/09 01:12 AM

Would there be a way to improve the passing trajectory on this game. It just seems as though its hit or miss when you need to throw a touch pass. All Jay Cutler can seem to throw are low trajectory bullet passes, or lobs which air it out there, both of which are intercepted very easily. I don't know if its plausible or not, but I was just thinking it would be pretty sweet if on the 360 you could use the left trigger to affect the arc of your throw. For example: all the way down would be a bullet pass, slightly down would be a touch pass, with varying degrees in-between of course.

# 123 SHO @ 02/10/09 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocky


	If Fitzgerald is a 99 at JMP, then Calvin Johnson needs to be a 109. As high as Fitzgerald gets, NOBODY(except for Moss circa 1999) can go up and get a ball like Johnson as far a pure jumping ability.

Too bad its not called NFL Combine '10.

Fitz >>>> Calvin at the jump ball. 109 my foot.

# 124 cowboysfan440 @ 02/10/09 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donny_Moore


	Yes, Larry Fitgerald is staring 99 JMP right in the face for Madden 10 and is saying "Hello"!!!!! Sorry, what else can we do there, the guy is sick. I will let others speak to any perceived gameplay issues concerning the JMP rating, I can only speak to rating related issues. Let me also throw a defensive bone as well here...Mr. 3 Name...Dominique Rodgers Cromartie will join Mr. Fitz at 99 JMP in Madden 10.

well we knew he was gonna get a 99 jumping lol are they gonna be any special animations for players really high in certain areas like will there be more jumping catches for guys like fitz?

# 125 Exonerated @ 02/10/09 01:32 AM

Game skill > combine stats

Fantastic news. Although I'd stretch the ratings even further, but yeah.

# 126 Chi Dynasty12 @ 02/10/09 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOBLE


	Too bad its not called NFL Combine '10. Fitz >>>> Calvin at the jump ball. 109 my foot.

Rocky, have you watched the playoffs, super-bowl, or pro-bowl?

# 127 kehlis @ 02/10/09 01:51 AM

Donny, Ian or Phil,

While you are here I have a quick question for you regarding team rating.

I have debated many times with others (usually to no avail) that unless the team rating is based on an average (or something similar) from the individual ratings, it means nothing.

Can you explain to me how team rating is determined? And if it is an arbitrary number based on past successes or failures, does it have any affect on the way a team plays?

Example:
Team A: Rated 82
Team B: Rated 93

Does that affect the way players play on the field? Does Team b perform better than Team A? It has been my argument that it doesn't and i dont see how it could, but if this rating is based on averages it would make sense to me (But since team ratings didn't change throughout 09 despite the roster upgrades, logic would say that either:

a) team ratings were initially based off of player ratings, but never adjusted with roster adjustments. Therefore, have no meaning whatsoever after the updates.
or
B)Ratings were arbitrary to begin with, and unless players get unnatural boosts for being on the higher rated team, they pretty much meant nothing.

Thanks

Edit, after further thought, I would like to ask the same question regarding a player overall. Basically the overall rating of a players is the only rating not tied to a specific attribute.

Is it determined based on some sort of average, or is it arbitrarily given?

# 128 Jebus @ 02/10/09 02:06 AM

This sounds awesome, I can't wait!

# 129 r2danov @ 02/10/09 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cusefan


	I love it. Ian I have a feeling the Best madden players( the best Cheesers) are going to hate Madden 10 ! Thank you for re-introducing strategy.

I consider myself to be one the of the better madden players aka "chesser" and it doesn't matter how we play, sim or freestyle I'll still be a problem. I'm tired of people attacking people who exploit madden, I mean we do play this game for money. In my case its my part time job, I'm a full-time student.

# 130 Lusion @ 02/10/09 02:16 AM

I'm glad your working on the speed difference. I hated in madden 09 how i could have someone like Westbrooke about to break one down the field and I'll get tackled by a 300 pound DT from behind.

And also it seems in madden 09 to me the Defense is way, way to fast. If i have a 99 speed and 99 acceleration wr or hb why is it everyone from the D-linemen to DB's with speeds 85-92 can not only keep up with me but basically even look faster at times?

# 131 cowboysfan440 @ 02/10/09 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Details


	Glad to hear it, although I'm sure Dallas fans will feel differently.

not really the way they played this year they deserve to be rated down.
this comes from a die-hard cowboys fan

# 132 kcarr @ 02/10/09 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by II IC3MAN II


	and also, what do you guys have against phil rivers? he led the league in passer rating, avg yards per attempt, and tied for the league lead in TD's yet you have him ranked like a 91 or something? thats ridiculous that peyton mannning is a 99 when he threw less TD's and more int's.

This is something that I think is a big part of the problem. No offense to Phillip. He is a good QB but people coming on here and complaining about their teams QB getting what should be a pro bowl rating like that is an insult to the player. EA in the past seemed to play to these comments by raising the ratings for every player until they were all really highly rated. Derek Anderson was a great example of this. He had a good season last year but really dropped off at the end and showed some weaknesses to the point where it seemed obvious, to me anyway, that he would drop off this season. Most of the people on NFL network seemed to agree with me as I watched their preseason shows. Tom Brady is another great example. He had one season throwing to Moss and all of a sudden his arm strength is up from low 90s which is to high for him up to being among the top in the league. This had nothing to do with his arm all of a sudden getting stronger. He still has a moderate to even weak arm in terms of strength. He makes up for it with great accuracy and decision making but that doesn't mean his arm is incredibly strong.

They also seem to be against the idea of lowering ratings. LT for example has been dropping off for the past couple seasons and has maintained the 99 overall rating. Before this thing about adjusting ratings I would have expected him to be a 99 again this year.

# 133 Exonerated @ 02/10/09 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcarr


	This is something that I think is a big part of the problem. No offense to Phillip. He is a good QB but people coming on here and complaining about their teams QB getting what should be a pro bowl rating like that is an insult to the player. EA in the past seemed to play to these comments by raising the ratings for every player until they were all really highly rated. Derek Anderson was a great example of this. He had a good season last year but really dropped off at the end and showed some weaknesses to the point where it seemed obvious, to me anyway, that he would drop off this season. Most of the people on NFL network seemed to agree with me as I watched their preseason shows. Tom Brady is another great example. He had one season throwing to Moss and all of a sudden his arm strength is up from low 90s which is to high for him up to being among the top in the league. This had nothing to do with his arm all of a sudden getting stronger. He still has a moderate to even weak arm in terms of strength. He makes up for it with great accuracy and decision making but that doesn't mean his arm is incredibly strong. They also seem to be against the idea of lowering ratings. LT for example has been dropping off for the past couple seasons and has maintained the 99 overall rating. Before this thing about adjusting ratings I would have expected him to be a 99 again this year.

He was already 93 in the last madden 09 update, so they knew he was having a down year. They kept him at 99 for a while thinking he would rebound and never did. Thus justifying his 93 overall. He can't justify dropping someone for a bad streak of games, but after a while you have to drop them and this was the case with LT.

# 134 lujer @ 02/10/09 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	IMO this has been one of the most drastic changes in a long while when it comes to core gameplay. There is a lot of tuning to do (as Donny says), but holy crap does it really make fatigue, injuries, and the depth of your team really MATTER again. As an example, if Peyton goes down and Sorgi comes in...oh boy. You better get that run game going.

Ian,

I love the sound of the changes. Your last remark forced me to respond.

The quality of depth would really improve the franchise experience of madden as well. The offseason fa period instantly becomes more realistic and important. But one thing I feel needs to be included again is the injury slider. Injuries needs to happen more often so please include the injury slider again so that the casual and sim gamer can tweak the amount and severity of the injuries to their liking.

And do not get me startet on nagging injuries. I would really like to see injuries carried over from week to week. That would result in some interesting choices to be made during the season. Should I play my injured star and risk a serios injury or play the rookie backup with a lower skill set and rest my star so he heals completely. Qulity of depth again comes into account...

# 135 Sef0r @ 02/10/09 05:30 AM

Progression.

Will this be a problem? Will you attempt to limit certain ratings from going up or down? Nice to see all the changes, but I would hate to have, for example, a WR go up in speed by 15.

# 136 Exonerated @ 02/10/09 05:30 AM

In all seriousness though, Sorgi > Cassel, so you can still air it out

# 137 Exonerated @ 02/10/09 05:43 AM

Ratings did matter guys.

They did and thats a fact.

However, ratings where thrown out the window when special animations where triggered. Such as truck stick, swatting, catching, juking. Those user triggered animations were able to defy ratings.

Besides that, they mattered in the most part.

# 138 TexasBorn1 @ 02/10/09 07:11 AM

This is great and another step in the right direction. But it was shown that some ratings do not matter by Gideon Prime/apexisfree with his videos or a runningback with zero's across the board trucking/catching multiple passes like any other RB.

# 139 Rocky @ 02/10/09 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOBLE


	Too bad its not called NFL Combine '10. Fitz >>>> Calvin at the jump ball. 109 my foot.

You're wrong. No way you can say Fitz>>>Calvin at jump at the ball if you both seen them play. Fitz may make more amazing/tougher catches in the air, but he doesn't have the ability to go over somebody like Calvin Johnson. There's a difference.

# 140 RGiles36 @ 02/10/09 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Details


	Glad to hear it, although I'm sure Dallas fans will feel differently. Heh. Over-hyped teams need to be adjusted realistically once the regular season results start rolling in. Dallas was too dominant for too long in Madden 09.

Not me, bro'. I don't pay too much attention to ratings honestly, but I knew a bulk of the Cowboys were up there, and it wasn't fair considering their on-field play (offense and special teams primarily). I look forward to a more accurate representation of my dysfunctional bunch lol

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