William Gholston

[bc3po]

Quote: Originally Posted by Wnahikian

Maybe... Haha But I agree that a 92-94 would be about right. With the 94 being based off of expectations for this year, and the 92 being what he played like last year IMO. But who cares EA always has these big mistakes, and I hear that UM alums are on the roster team for EA...

And when did he grow those dreads?!?! i was just talking about this to my friend the other day too. waaaaaay underrated.

And D-Rob musta sent the ratings guy at ea season tickets or smt to get that good of a rating, pass accuracy and awareness atleast. lol but anywho, GO GREEN!

[Wnahikian]

Heres a little of what to expect from this monster next year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRPtwR8Zwb8

Best 84 overall I know

[cjmstate]

Let's be honest here - Michigan State's rosters are just trash in this game. A lot of errors both players and rating wise.

[Clarity]

I had decided not to respond to this -- I mean who cares if someone wants to give a favored player an 8-10 point boost, particularly when it's entirely reasonable to say that the player in question was shorted by the powers-that-be at EA -- but it kept chewing at me. Gholston should be better than an 84, there's little question about that, but HOW much better is pretty subjective and I think you have to look at other players in the league.

As far as B1G DEs go, I think you have to look at Gholston and John Simon (Ohio State) as the top two. That's arguable, but they're as good a pair to select as any. If we're talking tackles as well, then you're looking at Kawann Short (Purdue) as a no-brainer, and it seems like a number of the pre-season mags (USA Today, etc.) are picking Johnathan Hankins (Ohio State) as the second.

Looking at those four, we have (assuming PastaPadre didn't change any values):

Kawann Short, SR (DT) 95OVR, 63SPD, 95STR, 68AGI, 91ACC, 95AWR, 87TAK, 80POW, 89PMV, 74FMV
John Simon, SR (DE) 90OVR, 77SPD, 79STR, 73AGI, 83ACC, 87AWR, 89TAK, 80POW, 90PMV, 62FMV
Johnathan Hankins, JR (DT) 87OVR, 66SPD, 92STR, 65AGI, 76ACC, 81AWR, 86TAK, 86POW, 68FMV
William Gholston, JR (DE) 84OVR, 72SPD, 82STR, 72AGI, 83ACC, 81AWR, 84TAK, 82POW, 87PMV, 66FMV

I'm not presenting the DTs and DEs together to draw a direct comparison, I just think it helps to look at the (arguably) best front four in the B1G. Obviously there are overlaps in the skill sets, but they don't run completely parallel.

Where I think Gholston is most shorted by EA is athleticism. You could reasonably take him up to 76SPD, 74AGI, 84ACC, and 83AWR and suddenly he's an 86. Maybe he should be faster than Simon, but not as strong. 78SPD? Didn't try it. If we also bump to 85TAK and 70FMV he's still 86... At that point we have to start asking ourselves how else he compares to Simon who has an extra year of play under his belt. Is he (WG) *more* aware? Probably not. Better/quicker in(to) pursuit? Possibly. Better with his techniques/moves? Probably not. But again, this is all subjective.

To talk about bumping Gholston up arbitrarily to 92-94 is a pretty tremendous leap. There's little (pre-season) doubt that Short is the man when it comes to the B1G DL. 95 is pretty high though, and I'm of the opinion that the other three may be a little low comparatively. Not being one to tinker too much, I'm inclined to leave them all alone, but I do think (and this is just one idiots opinion) that if you're going to give Gholston a bump, then it should be to a point in-line with the other top DE in the league, and that's Simon. Gholston at 89-90 (to allow, at least in part at 89, for the notion that Simon may be a touch higher just because he's just as scary lining up at DT) makes some sense to me.

There's little question (in my own mind) that Gholston should be out-OVR'ing:
Craig Roh, SR DE (Michigan) - 88OVR
Brendan Kelly SR(RS) DE (Wisconsin) - 86OVR
Cameron Meridith, SR(RS) DE (Nebraska) - 86OVR
Adam Bellamy, JR(RS) DE (Ohio State) - 85OVR
Marcus Rush, SO(RS) DE (Michigan State) - 85OVR

...it's just a question of by how much. Putting WG at 92-94 I think would leave him out of whack with the rest of the league. 88-89 is my own notion of his sweet spot, I wouldn't have been offended to see him at 90 (although I think as an athletic 88-89 you'll still see him rising through the ranks and garnering award attention in the game), but any higher is tough (again, imo). 2-4 points higher than Simon would start to feel a bit Homerish, which should not be read as a slight. We've all got a little healthy Homer in us.

Just my two cents since I kept thinking about it today.

[Wnahikian]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clarity

I had decided not to respond to this -- I mean who cares if someone wants to give a favored player an 8-10 point boost, particularly when it's entirely reasonable to say that the player in question was shorted by the powers-that-be at EA -- but it kept chewing at me. Gholston should be better than an 84, there's little question about that, but HOW much better is pretty subjective and I think you have to look at other players in the league. As far as B1G DEs go, I think you have to look at Gholston and John Simon (Ohio State) as the top two. That's arguable, but they're as good a pair to select as any. If we're talking tackles as well, then you're looking at Kawann Short (Purdue) as a no-brainer, and it seems like a number of the pre-season mags (USA Today, etc.) are picking Johnathan Hankins (Ohio State) as the second. Looking at those four, we have (assuming PastaPadre didn't change any values): Kawann Short, SR (DT) 95OVR, 63SPD, 95STR, 68AGI, 91ACC, 95AWR, 87TAK, 80POW, 89PMV, 74FMV John Simon, SR (DE) 90OVR, 77SPD, 79STR, 73AGI, 83ACC, 87AWR, 89TAK, 80POW, 90PMV, 62FMV Johnathan Hankins, JR (DT) 87OVR, 66SPD, 92STR, 65AGI, 76ACC, 81AWR, 86TAK, 86POW, 68FMV William Gholston, JR (DE) 84OVR, 72SPD, 82STR, 72AGI, 83ACC, 81AWR, 84TAK, 82POW, 87PMV, 66FMV I'm not presenting the DTs and DEs together to draw a direct comparison, I just think it helps to look at the (arguably) best front four in the B1G. Obviously there are overlaps in the skill sets, but they don't run completely parallel. Where I think Gholston is most shorted by EA is athleticism. You could reasonably take him up to 76SPD, 74AGI, 84ACC, and 83AWR and suddenly he's an 86. Maybe he should be faster than Simon, but not as strong. 78SPD? Didn't try it. If we also bump to 85TAK and 70FMV he's still 86... At that point we have to start asking ourselves how else he compares to Simon who has an extra year of play under his belt. Is he (WG) *more* aware? Probably not. Better/quicker in(to) pursuit? Possibly. Better with his techniques/moves? Probably not. But again, this is all subjective. To talk about bumping Gholston up arbitrarily to 92-94 is a pretty tremendous leap. There's little (pre-season) doubt that Short is the man when it comes to the B1G DL. 95 is pretty high though, and I'm of the opinion that the other three may be a little low comparatively. Not being one to tinker too much, I'm inclined to leave them all alone, but I do think (and this is just one idiots opinion) that if you're going to give Gholston a bump, then it should be to a point in-line with the other top DE in the league, and that's Simon. Gholston at 89 (to allow, at least in part, for the notion that Simon may be a touch higher just because he's just as scary lining up at DT). There's little question (in my own mind) that Gholston should be out-OVR'ing: Craig Roh, SR DE (Michigan) - 88OVR Brendan Kelly SR(RS) DE (Wisconsin) - 86OVR Cameron Meridith, SR(RS) DE (Nebraska) - 86OVR Adam Bellamy, JR(RS) DE (Ohio State) - 85OVR Marcus Rush, SO(RS) DE (Michigan State) - 85OVR ...it's just a question of by how much. Putting WG at 92-94 I think would leave him out of whack with the rest of the league. 88-89 is my own notion of his sweet spot, I wouldn't have been offended to see him at 90 (although I think as an athletic 88-89 you'll still see him rising through the ranks and garnering award attention in the game), but any higher is tough (again, imo). 2-4 points higher than Simon would start to feel a bit Homerish, which should not be read as a slight. We've all got a little healthy Homer in us. Just my two cents since I kept thinking about it today.

When you put it that way, I tend to agree. My 94 was just me thinking that he will have a DOMINANT year, and surpassing the rest of the B1G defensive lineman. But I could live with a 90, but honestly that would be the lowest I would accept for him. Im high on the kid, but I also think that my opinions are realistic.

That being said, great post. It was something interesting to read while we wait, and kudos for the effort.

[Clarity]

Quote: Originally Posted by Wnahikian

When you put it that way, I tend to agree. My 94 was just me thinking that he will have a DOMINANT year, and surpassing the rest of the B1G defensive lineman. But I could live with a 90, but honestly that would be the lowest I would accept for him. Im high on the kid, but I also think that my opinions are realistic. That being said, great post. It was something interesting to read while we wait, and kudos for the effort.

Thanks. I think 90 is completely fair -- and truth be told I think that's plenty for him to dominate in the league (and have have a big footprint nationally). I'm running a dynasty now where (untouched stats-wise) Johnathan Hankins and Gholston are both just tearing it up in the B1G (I'm off with a bad C-USA team), so it doesn't take much, and I think a little tweaking on WG's athleticism will go a long way.

The MSU and OSU Ds should be scary good this year. I'd give MSU the edge overall (Adams, Allen, and Lewis -- so good), with OSU the edge on the DL itself. It's good to see B1G teams gravitating towards that (grumble) SEC-style and body types.

Anyway, it's all fun to think about and discuss while we wait. Agreed there.

Now, any time CcAaRrSsOoNn3 and crew are ready, we are too. Who knows, maybe they'll have already tweaked Gholston. I read there's an OSU fan amongst them, so there's a good chance they'll be well aware of WG given the overlaps (Vernon/William and Dantonio himself). If not, I plan to break character and tweak WG up to 89-90.

[Wnahikian]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clarity

Thanks. I think 90 is completely fair -- and truth be told I think that's plenty for him to dominate in the league (and have have a big footprint nationally). I'm running a dynasty now where (untouched stats-wise) Johnathan Hankins and Gholston are both just tearing it up in the B1G (I'm off with a bad C-USA team), so it doesn't take much, and I think a little tweaking on WG's athleticism will go a long way. The MSU and OSU Ds should be scary good this year. I'd give MSU the edge overall (Adams, Allen, and Lewis -- so good), with OSU the edge on the DL itself. It's good to see B1G teams gravitating towards that (grumble) SEC-style and body types. Anyway, it's all fun to think about and discuss while we wait. Agreed there. Now, any time CcAaRrSsOoNn3 and crew are ready, we are too. Who knows, maybe they'll have already tweaked Gholston. I read there's an OSU fan amongst them, so there's a good chance they'll be well aware of WG given the overlaps (Vernon/William) and Dantonio himself.

Yea I did hear that too (OSU fan among editors) which gives me great hope for these rosters. Many of us B1G fans know a lot about our other teams, and cheer for each other (for the most part) when we play other conferences.

As for him playing well: with his 84 overall rating in 3 online games I have 12 sacks combined. So it's not really even for the play, its just more of a complaint towards who he was rated behind.

Best of luck next year, and get back to smacking scUM every year so that we can both have some nice streaks going

[GoGreenGoWhite]

Personally I agree that the 90-92 range for Gholston is appropriate. That being said I also think Johnny Adams deserves a boost. This guy is a great cover corner with an exceptional press and good hands. He was in the B10 first team defense last year, and he is a top NFL prospect and could go in the first round come next spring. I'm not saying he should be bumped into the high 90's, rather the 88-91 range. What do you guys think?