Madden ratings: the underlying problem

[schnaidt1]

i will also be posting this as a blog if u feel there are things u need to say that wont be allowed on this forum.

rules of this blog/thread. no bashing. i dont care how much u wanna hate. this purpose is to come to a conclusion among the madden community about the madden ratings and the problems there are.

so many of you remember before madden ten. we were told they went through and re did the ratings. so that there would be a greater difference among players in order to make you feel a difference between playing with a 75 rated qb vs. a 95 qb.

however, here is the problem. maddens ratings "guru" decides to keep adding more and more players in the upper 80's to low 90's each year. and those who are in the mid to upper 80's almost all have A potential..what does this mean.

well in madden 11. i went ahead and simmed 2 years. i look at the overall ratings...and...well...check this out.

there are 14 qbs rated 90 or higher.
there are 17 qbs rated 80-89.

thats 33 qbs. only 32 teams. that means someteam has a back up rated in the 80s. are there really that many good qbs in the league...at any time ever?? no!

for those wondering...there are 38...yes i said 38 qbs rated between 70-79. now in highschool. 70-79 was always a C, aka average. are there really 38 average qbs in the nfl? maybe...but if there are...how can there be 17 qbs who are a B...or above average. then 14 out of 32 teams have qbs who are an A...or excellent. where is the diversity??

lets move on to runningbacks.

there are 18 running backs rated 90-98 after simming 2 years. now i know they say runningbacks are a dime a dozen. but to have 18 out of 32 teams have excellent runningbacks. i dont think so. that is not reflected in stats anywhere in the nfl.

there are 34 running backs rated between 80-89. wow. so that means every team should have at least an above average runningback. and half the nfl will have 2 above average running backs. if this were true. we would see way higher rushing numbers.

i will post more ratings for other positions. but here is the problem. yes they added a bunch of new franchise features. but i could take a horrible team like the denver broncos and simulate myself into a good team. at least on paper in 2 years by default because everyone is above average in madden after 2 years of progression. this makes it less fun. no challenge.

there should honestly be maybe only 4-5 players at any postion rated 90 or higher. and it should cap at 95. like someone else said. 95+ is for the legends.

i also believe that a way to help them do that is change potential. like tom brady. he is rated a 99. his potential should be a C because he can not get any better. and there are alot of players in the nfl that could be rated between low 80's and high 90's that simply wont get any better. continuing on.

there are 26 wrs who are rated between 90-98...so pretty much every team in the nfl has an excellent receiver? hmm...

oh and get this...54 wrs who are rated between 80-89...

yea. onto some more "skill positions"

19 corners are rated between 90-99
58 corners are rated between 80-89

8 free safetsy are rated between 90-96
22 are rated between 80-89 with 6 being rated at 89

9 strong safets are rated between 90-98
26 are rated between 80-89

so as you can see. i can take the worst rated team in madden. simmulate 2 years. and i will have a solid team to play with. on paper. this takes away from the "building" aspect of madden.

so revis is rated a 99. there are 18 other corners almost as good as him according to madden. so whats the attraction of having revis on ur team? there isnt.

what are your opinions on this issue. or is it even an issue. what suggestions might you have for ea sports and donny moore to help change this so the franchise mode feels more competitive and rewarding with a far greater amount of above average/excellent players at each position.

[carnalnirvana]

spot on...

i have been saying this for years, people think i am an extremist....

the madden ratings is a culture its not meant to be taken seriously...

this kills franchise mode, and IMO why FA signing never works...when signing a 90+ player it should break the bank, but there is no way madden can enforce a strich cap with these loaded teams, if players knew their worth...

and i never understand why people on madden think there is a big difference in a 90 rated player and an 85 rated player.....you give Rivers a 90 and give stafford an 85 and think it represents a different in talent plz...

if i rated this game, Brady would be a 95 and stafford/bradford would be 75 with high potential

superstars would be 20 pts higher than the second teir guys, solid players 15 pts higher than role players, role players 10 pts higher than hungry players trying to make the team...

this way a rookie if he is a beast can compete/displace a solid/role player and it leaves room for progression....

[sgibs7]

i like your breakdown but i have always been a big believer of not looking at the OVERALL rating

in fact i never let this rating decide who will see playing time and who wont.

I look at position specific ratings and the ratings that I believe help those players succeed at the highest level.

for example...

CB
SPD
AGI
ACC
MCV/ZCV
JMP
PRESS

HB's
SPD
AGI
ACC
CTH
ELU/TRK

WR
SPD
Height
CIT
Route Running
AGI/ACC

DT
STR
BSH
TKL
ACC

MLB
SPD
TKL
HTP
ACC
MCV



when you start looking at players in this manor i think that the players start representing there actual real life counter-part.

the difference between a 99 Over Revis and a 82 Overall Leah Bodden may be only 17 rating points but revis has 93 speed while Bodden only has 86 speed.

The difference between speed and overall rating is MAJOR in terms of on field success.

Lets break these two players down more...

Revis
SPD -93
AGI - 96
ACC - 96
MCV - 99
ZCV - 96
JMP - 92
PRESS - 92

Bodden -
SPD - 86
AGI - 88
ACC - 88
MCV - 78
ZCV - 85
JMP - 85
PRESS - 83

Bodden doesnt come anywhere close to Revis even though he is a respectable 82 overall.

Start looking more into the important ratings for each position and i think you can get a better gauge on players.

[menglish20]

Quote: Originally Posted by sgibs7

i like your breakdown but i have always been a big believer of not looking at the OVERALL rating in fact i never let this rating decide who will see playing time and who wont. I look at position specific ratings and the ratings that I believe help those players succeed at the highest level. for example... CB SPD AGI ACC MCV/ZCV JMP PRESS HB's SPD AGI ACC CTH ELU/TRK WR SPD Height CIT Route Running AGI/ACC DT STR BSH TKL ACC MLB SPD TKL HTP ACC MCV when you start looking at players in this manor i think that the players start representing there actual real life counter-part. the difference between a 99 Over Revis and a 82 Overall Leah Bodden may be only 17 rating points but revis has 93 speed while Bodden only has 86 speed. The difference between speed and overall rating is MAJOR in terms of on field success. Lets break these two players down more... Revis SPD -93 AGI - 96 ACC - 96 MCV - 99 ZCV - 96 JMP - 92 PRESS - 92 Bodden - SPD - 86 AGI - 88 ACC - 88 MCV - 78 ZCV - 85 JMP - 85 PRESS - 83 Bodden doesnt come anywhere close to Revis even though he is a respectable 82 overall. Start looking more into the important ratings for each position and i think you can get a better gauge on players.

If anything, I think you showed Bodden isn't that bad. Beside MCV, all his important ratings are above his overall. I also think 17 points of overall is significant, so not sure why you're arguing as if it isn't.

But I agree, OVR doesn't matter. Except to CPUs in franchise mode. And to stupid people.

[schnaidt1]

Quote: Originally Posted by sgibs7

i like your breakdown but i have always been a big believer of not looking at the OVERALL rating in fact i never let this rating decide who will see playing time and who wont. I look at position specific ratings and the ratings that I believe help those players succeed at the highest level. for example... CB SPD AGI ACC MCV/ZCV JMP PRESS HB's SPD AGI ACC CTH ELU/TRK WR SPD Height CIT Route Running AGI/ACC DT STR BSH TKL ACC MLB SPD TKL HTP ACC MCV when you start looking at players in this manor i think that the players start representing there actual real life counter-part. the difference between a 99 Over Revis and a 82 Overall Leah Bodden may be only 17 rating points but revis has 93 speed while Bodden only has 86 speed. The difference between speed and overall rating is MAJOR in terms of on field success. Lets break these two players down more... Revis SPD -93 AGI - 96 ACC - 96 MCV - 99 ZCV - 96 JMP - 92 PRESS - 92 Bodden - SPD - 86 AGI - 88 ACC - 88 MCV - 78 ZCV - 85 JMP - 85 PRESS - 83 Bodden doesnt come anywhere close to Revis even though he is a respectable 82 overall. Start looking more into the important ratings for each position and i think you can get a better gauge on players.

you forgot awareness. that is perhaps the most important part as far as how madden is wired in how good a cornerback is. if u want...go look at some vids from versuz on youtube. puts tom brady and peyton manning as dbs and tries throwing against them and its near impossible because of their high awareness...

[sgibs7]

Quote: Originally Posted by schnaidt1

you forgot awareness. that is perhaps the most important part as far as how madden is wired in how good a cornerback is. if u want...go look at some vids from versuz on youtube. puts tom brady and peyton manning as dbs and tries throwing against them and its near impossible because of their high awareness...

i have always viewed the the AWR rating as being user controlled.

when you click on to a defender you immediately make their AWR rating in theory a 100.

cover 0 tom brady against desean jackson = TD

awr to me has never been a important stat

[sgibs7]

Quote: Originally Posted by menglish20

If anything, I think you showed Bodden isn't that bad. Beside MCV, all his important ratings are above his overall. I also think 17 points of overall is significant, so not sure why you're arguing as if it isn't. But I agree, OVR doesn't matter. Except to CPUs in franchise mode. And to stupid people.

for a CB Bodden is terrible.

his ratings show this - i think hes better fit for a safety as he is to slow to defend just about any WR. maybe use him in a quarters package at number 5

[menglish20]

Quote: Originally Posted by sgibs7

for a CB Bodden is terrible. his ratings show this - i think hes better fit for a safety as he is to slow to defend just about any WR. maybe use him in a quarters package at number 5

Well that's because Madden only cares about speed. And I'd say just about every WR's speed is overrated. I disagree with Bodden's coverage ratings, I think he's better in man than zone. He's not Revis, but I wouldn't say he's a terrible corner.