INTRODUCTION
First off I want to thank Cycloniac, Unfadeable, Schnaidt,, Armor and Sword, Mike Lowe, McCringleberry, Matt10, Josh C, Jcblayze and many many more for their input, work with sliders, draft classes and roster sets over the years. I wouldn’t have been coming back to OS without their work year in and year out so huge shout out to them!
About me, I have been a long time user of the Operation Sports forums, dating back to the painful Playstation 2 memory card transfer days. I have always come here to see what the top roster & slider editors around have to offer for Madden, 2K & The Show and read up on their beliefs on how their changes affect gameplay.
Do I agree with every aspect of their changes, simply put, no, but I respect the time and effort everyone puts into their own version as it helps me generate a better understanding of what I in turn will do with my own. Say what you will about how any given users rosters are built and what they believe is the best for their style of gameplay but until you take the time to build your own I really think it is unfair to harp on whatever route they decided to go until you take the time to build your own.
I spend countless hours adjusting ratings for Madden, 2K & The Show and up until recently I really never thought about sharing any of them but given the time I always put in I figured now is as good of a time as any to share my work.
MY PHILOSOPHY
With the start of any good construction project there is a great foundation. How does that apply to this roster set you may ask? I start from the bottom up. Yeah adjusting the talent at the top of the league is important as it affects gameplay directly, but anyone can adjust ratings and make sure the best players in the league are in fact the best players in the league… what I feel is missing in most roster sets is the bottom end of the roster.
If you only play Play Now you may not care if the rotational D-lineman ratings on the roster you play with matter, or if the majority of the practice squad players are on the roster, I on the other hand find it extremely important that the players on the roster and their ratings for any team I play with are accurately depicted as I typically play CFM and find that extremely valuable to the overall experience of that game mode. Now that is not to say that I don’t care as much about the top end of the rosters at all, because I do, but diving deep into the bottom end of any roster edit ensures longevity and playability for my CFM in my opinion.
MY METHOD
Let me start by saying this, I have spent 30+ hours over the past week or so adjusting ratings for this roster (thankfully my girl works nights) and put in the work and research cross referencing multiple sites in order to reflect current production and performance to this set. When I say reflect current production that does not mean that someone who is under performing this year is necessarily rated lower than someone out performing them in the league. Circumstances are different for every player on every team and I adjust based on what I personally think is an accurate depiction of their regression or progression throughout the season.
I cross reference Pro Football Focus ( I pay for an ELITE membership for gambling purposes), & Pro Football Reference. I use PFF for player grades and I use PFR to compare their grades to production. What does that mean? PFF grades each player based on performance per snap in each given aspect relevant to their position. Some players who are non starters grade much higher than starters, does that mean they should be rated higher than the starter in the roster, more often than not, no. I am a firm believer that NFL coaches know more about why someone isn’t getting snaps than I do but players grading higher than starters probably shouldn't be rated a 55 in madden.
In short I look at these grades and look at the production, which then leads me to the ratings… If a player is graded poorly on PFF and ranked 60th at their position and ranked #4 in Madden I consider them to be regressing and make an adjustment. Does that mean the player should be ranked 60th in their position group in Madden, no, what it does mean is that they are not as dominant as they were last year or over the past few years and they need to be adjusted accordingly. The same goes for players ranked in the top 5 on PFF and 60th in Madden, see Rams RB Darrell Henderson for a progressing or Raiders C Rodney Hudson for a regressing player.
I put a lot of time cross referencing PFF and PFR to adjust ratings accordingly across the entire roster set but ultimately I still use my general knowledge of the NFL to reflect the ratings. In the end all I am doing is using a few different statistically based tools to guide me throughout the ratings adjustment process. I will say that one area I really used PFF as a firm guide to ratings is the offensive line. PFF does a great job grading offensive lineman in run blocking and pass blocking situations. I used those grades to reflect each offensive lineman's strength one way or the other (I.E. a player's RBK grade is higher than their PBK, I reflect that strength in the players rating).
As far as the depth charts go I use Pro Football Focus for positions and starters as well as ESPN & Ourlads for the back end of a depth chart. I have adjusted a few players positions based on where they line up on the majority of their snaps, PFF does a great job tracking snap count based on position and I reflect that in player positioning on the roster.
IN CLOSING
If you value an accurate and up to date roster, depth chart and overall ratings I feel like this roster is for you. If you are looking for OBJ to be a 95 to make crazy catches or Tom Brady to be a 98 because he is the greatest of all time I can assure you this is not your roster. At the end of the day everyone in this forum is looking for a roster set that best suits their style of gameplay and there are sets for every type of play on here. If you are not a fan of this one feel free to check out other users who have put in the time and effort to give you a roster set that might better suit your gameplay.
Some might not agree with every ratings adjustment I have made but the beauty of Madden is that you too can adjust your roster as you see fit. I am merely giving you what I believe is a great canvas to paint that picture on. Be your own Bob Ross and paint whatever picture you want with this set!
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Feel free to critique, question or add your thoughts on the set. If I have missed anyone on an active roster feel free to drop the name and I will look into it (not making practice squad CAPS until they go to the active roster).
PSN: STAYODD
FILENAME: ACCURATE2020