Idea for Player Ratings to add Realism

[thedudedominick]

If the game really wanted to make it more realistic (doubt they do as most casual fans would be turned off by this) they would hide the "ratings" and come up with a skill set for every player.

Think of it, the players have their 40 time, shuttle time, bench press, squat, and other various combine type drills that give you the numbers to look at. On top of that add in an IQ factor for guys. The IQ is the thing that would most likely increase from start to end of a career.

Scouting would be a lot more important in recruiting. Everyone would see the numbers the high school lists for the players, the elite players would go to different scouting events and combines to give you more accurate numbers.

The thing that would be tough is depth charts/ player performance. Without "ratings" it would be tough to see how a guy will play. I think this is where scouting should come into play. While you scout a high school recruit your assistant coach should break down the game film he watches. Give you notes like "great tackler, makes some amazing catches but drops some easy ones, runs precise routes, a step slow making a read, struggles in zone coverage." Every time you scout someone your assistant will update his report.

How this would work once you sign a guy is have an actual training camp period. You don't have to do anything, just something where you can set up who you want where on your depth chart and simulate it. From there your assistant coaches would generate their reports on your entire team. These reports would be how you would figure out who to start. Of course the more reps you give a guy in camp would help improve his actual playing, and will reveal more of a scouting report. Say you set your 4th QB who is a FR to 10 percent of the reps. You could see something in the report like, "Knows when to tuck and run under pressure, makes accurate passes, chooses the right WRs to throw to." You would have to look at this and think hmm I should give this guy a chance if no one else impresses your coaches in camp.

The flip side of that would be in only giving him 10 percent of the reps it might not be a completely accurate assessment of his ability at the time. Each thing listed in the scouting report would have a note by it of his confidence in saying it. So say you have a SR HB who reads, "Finds the right hole when he gets the ball, doesn't have an explosive burst, runs hard but doesn't break a ton of tackles." You know this is most likely exactly the report on him, but then you get a FR who reads, "Doesn't read his blocks very well, when he makes up his mind he can plant his foot and get upfield quickly, makes guys miss in space, runs through arm tackles." As a coach you would see that the SR gives you a better chance at consistent yards, but the FR has a higher chance of busting big plays.

That's just a little bit of how they could add scouting reports to the game for every player and get rid of ratings. How this would work for a sim engine or gameplay engine might require hidden ratings, but it would give the user more of a feel for their team.

It's probably too much for a casual fan, but I think it would be perfect for all of us sim type guys who want more of a strategy to our depth chart and recruiting.

Just think of recruiting. Guys would have their ratings by the scouting services, but by actually scouting a lower guy that might not have the best measurables you find out he is the better player. Or say a guy is rated highly, but then after scouting him you realize "slow first step off the line, his man coverage skills are below average, tries to make the big play ignoring his assignment."

I probably just ranted and came up with a ridiculous idea that would never work in a video game, but figured I'd throw it out there. Might be more perfect for a text based sim game though.

TLDR... Throw out numbers for ratings, include only measurables, add scouting reports for every player.

[Clemsonpanther]

Sounds cool! But where would editing player ratings and roster sharing come in? As we all know that EAs ratings are no good...

[TimLawNYC]

It's a great idea in theory, but even if EA tried to do this we all know how it would work in practice. The scouting reports you get would recycle the same two-dozen descriptive phrases over and over, and after one season it would be obvious who the great players were and who the scrubs were just based on the phrases. There's no practical way for the computer to generate truly holistic, unique scouting reports for each player of the the type that would enable users to make the kind of analytic, risk-vs.-reward judgment calls that make this type of system sound so appealing.

So, while I really like the sound of the system you're describing, I just don't see any way it could be implemented in a way that wouldn't actually be worse than what we have now.

[TheBadOwl]

I say that they just make it more like FIFA, and have physical traits, tendencies, skill traits, and special traits.

[thedudedominick]

Quote: Originally Posted by TimLawNYC

It's a great idea in theory, but even if EA tried to do this we all know how it would work in practice. The scouting reports you get would recycle the same two-dozen descriptive phrases over and over, and after one season it would be obvious who the great players were and who the scrubs were just based on the phrases. There's no practical way for the computer to generate truly holistic, unique scouting reports for each player of the the type that would enable users to make the kind of analytic, risk-vs.-reward judgment calls that make this type of system sound so appealing. So, while I really like the sound of the system you're describing, I just don't see any way it could be implemented in a way that wouldn't actually be worse than what we have now.

Yeah EA wouldn't be able to pull this off without a complete rebuild of the game. I think though this system could work with a simulation PC game. Something similar to OOTP Baseball or Football Manager (Soccer). It could have the real ratings hidden in the system for the people that edit them, but as a coach or a manager you wouldn't see more than the measurables and scouting reports.

[EAGLESFAN10]

I always wanted something like that but I've came to realize that they just need to them work

99 Strength Offensive Lineman vs 99 Strength Defensive Lineman should bring out the "BEST" looking interactions possible

while a 85 Strength OL vs 65 Strength DL should Have the OL pushing the DL back

I could go on and on but yall get the point

[blacorebea]

I just don't see any way it could be implemented in a way that wouldn't actually be worse than what we have now.

[Gap Integrity]

I like the OP's idea. I also think we need some more player ratings as well.

Balance/coordination: Simple, but we need a balance rating. This would help separate common players from great ones. ESP on the line. The difference between a stud O-Lineman and an average one is how well he comes out of his stance under control and gains the advantage in leverage during those critical initial moments of contact. That often decides who wins that particular battle. I don't have enough time to explain how this rating would help skill players... trust me it would. just think of press coverage/recovery.

QB Footwork: Half of throwing an accurate pass is mechanics/ footwork. I'd say a rating here would show you who is more of a natural passer v.s. the guy who is a stud athlete playing QB.

these are just a few ideas for ratings that I think would help distinguish players.