Accuracy of 2003 NFL Player File (?)

[SCJenkins81]

I'm in a multiplayer league, and we are using a (the only?) player file that models the 2003 NFL season. Now, I know it must be a lot of work to make one of these, but let me just throw out a few ratings and see what y'all think. I won't comment on them; the ratings should speak for themselves.

Peyton Manning - 59
Mike Vick - 38
Shaun Alexander - 59
Randy Moss being - 64

And the one that doesn't fit:

Jerome Bettis - 71

Thoughts anyone?

[Neuqua]

Is the X factor on?

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by SCJenkins81
Jerome Bettis - 71

Thoughts anyone?

you're right, Bettis should be higher than that.

[SCJenkins81]

No the X-factor was not on, but even with it turned on, the ratings are similar. I mean I'm not up in arms over this or anything, I just found it odd that someone would put out a roster that says Randy Moss, one of the all time great WR talents, is only a 67 and that Bettis is a good 12 points better than Shaun Alexander.

[Northwood_DK]

Your scout sees him as a 67. Maybe your scout is not really sharp on WR and Moss is really an 87.

[Shkspr]

THe problem here is that you're looking at this in terms of other sims, where attributes are more hard coded than in FOF.

Take, for example, the case of Michael Vick vs. Payton Manning. If you start a game with no X factor, you're still looking at a case where Payton Manning is listed as one of the top four quarterbacks in the league (along with McNair, Carr and Carson Palmer) in terms of Overall Player Rating (all four are scored as 8 of 9, or as "Superstars"). Because Carr and Palmer are so young, they enter the league at only about 35% and 15% of their potential, which means their green bars are big but their red bars are small. In addition, the competency of your scout does come into play, though it will probably take some serious testing in multiplayer to figure out how much effect that has.

Are your top-scouted 2003 quarterbacks (more or less) Manning, McNair, Bledsoe, Favre, and Gannon? They are the top five veteran quarterbacks in the file, so they should be the cream of the league out of the gate.

For running backs, a league with no X-Factor should have Ricky Williams, Marshall Faulk, and Priest Holmes far and away the only superstar RBs in the league. The file ranks Bettis alongside Fred Taylor, Corey Dillon, Ahman Green, Stephen Davis, and LaDainian Tomlinson, with Shaun Alexander listed as a "Very-Good Plus Starter" rather than an "Excellent Starter". The gap between Alexander and Bettis should close some in the next couple of seasons.

Randy Moss may be ranked a bit low in the file, as the third best WR in the game behind TO and Marvin Harrison. His ratings, however, should be more or less in the same general range as wherever you have Favre and Bledsoe listed.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Even in the cases where the X factor doesn't randomize your ratings, the player file doesn't spend a lot of energy modeling what an 82 scrambling ability is versus what a 77 scrambling ability is. Instead, the user inputs the general range of talent (scrub, starter, star, MVP, HOF), how much room to grow the player has, and then there is room for the user to make specific alterations to individuals based upon anecdotal evidence of their skills (Dante Hall's return ability being one obvious case that has been brought up).

It's never EXACTLY the same file, every time, even with X factors turned off. Where's the challenge and sense of wonder in that?