Madden Ratings Anyone?

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

The Madden Ratings for 2011 are up folks. And let me tell ya...their a doozie. The Rams get no love as usual. In fact, some are down right outrageous..

Unfortunately I can't post links but just go to espn . go . com / madden 11

From the top on down:

They gave Gibson and Avery the same catching rating. Anybody who had eyes last year would tell you that Gibson has better hands than Avery. They ate Laurent Robinson alive in the ratings, I guess I understand that a little due to his injury...

They made Darcy Johnson (who is a long shot to make the team) our best tight end and also our fastest...

They had Darby faster than Ogbonnaya, and gave Karney better hands than him...

QB ratings are ok..except they gave Keith Null and Bradford the same deep ball accuracy, when Sam is known for "throwing on of the prettiest deep balls"..

Lineman ratings are decent except for making Saffold so bad.

After Laurinaitis, linebacker ratings just sucked imo. They somehow figured that Chris Chamberlain was faster than Bobbie Carpenter, who's MO is speed.

Kickers and Punters were spot on just about.

Defensive lineman ratings are all skewed to hell imo but its totally expected. I don't think Madden does much real research and instead relies on stats to to tell them everything...

They made Bartell, who is one of our fastest defenders on the back end and runs a 4.38, an 87 speed rating. Fletcher got the big stiffy which is to also be expected because they probably saw next to nothing of him play AND he was injured. Is James Butler really that much slower than Craig Dahl?

Vernon Gholston and Chris Long have the same rating.

LT is the Jets best back and is just as fast as Bartell.

Randy Moss is still as fast as Avery.

Frank Gore is 6 speed points faster than Jackson.

Dwight Freeney and Dallas Clark could tie or beat all of our cornerbacks minus Justin King in a foot race..

Demaryius Thomas is just as fast as Avery.

Knowshon Moreno (who ran a 4.6) is faster than Jackson.

Terrence Newman is faster than Avery.

Brian Moorman, the bills punter, is faster than all of our defensive players but King, faster than all of our runningbacks, and faster than or as fast as all of our offensive personell except for Avery.

I can't even read anymore of this bs, i might jump off of my balcony..

*sigh* what did i really expect? I still can't believe they left off a key member of our frekin defense in Atogwe tho, come on guys..

[sosa39rams]

This makes me so frustrated. I was looking forward for this game coming out. I guess I can wait after all....

Half the ratings are the same from 2010... rippin me off for $80.

[Nick]

Talk to 100 different people and you'll get 100 different opinions about what Madden ratings should be. That's why they allow you to edit them yourself for your own roster file. Some of them are a bit head scratching - why is rookie Gilyard's catch an 86? why is Robbins our highest rated DL? why is Fells our third best TE when he will likely be the starter? - but some I understand as well.

One thing I will point out is that these rosters probably had to be done a while ago, and so it's pretty understandable why Atogwe (who signed in late June) didn't make the game's roster. The roster probably had to be finalized before he signed so they could start production on the discs and get them ready for delivery. There will likely be a roster update for the day the game drops, or a few days after, that include personnel moves that took place between EA's cut-off time and release.

Last year, EA was pretty good about putting out roster updates through the season that had ratings changes reflecting players who were playing above (or below) their ratings in the game, and they'll likely make some additional changes as depth charts begin to come into focus in pre-season and opening day. So if Robinson comes out and demonstrates better ability, he'll likely get a boost.

This is kind of the same thing a number of fans have been saying for a while, though - these guys are going to have to go out on the field and show they can do something before they're going to be given credit for doing it. Some people like to talk up Robinson as a potential #1 receiver, but he's going to have to actually show he can do that game in and game out to get that recognition, and he simply hasn't yet.

What's sad is that Madden used to be a pre-order for me for a number of years straight, but the last 2-3 games were definitely rent first. The product has gone down hill since the exclusive licensing contract with the NFL, so I'll probably hold off and just rent again this year.

[shower beers]

Talk to 100 different people and you'll get 100 different opinions about what Madden ratings should be. That's why they allow you to edit them yourself for your own roster file. Some of them are a bit head scratching - why is rookie Gilyard's catch an 86? why is Robbins our highest rated DL? why is Fells our third best TE when he will likely be the starter? - but some I understand as well.

One thing I will point out is that these rosters probably had to be done a while ago, and so it's pretty understandable why Atogwe (who signed in late June) didn't make the game's roster. The roster probably had to be finalized before he signed so they could start production on the discs and get them ready for delivery. There will likely be a roster update for the day the game drops, or a few days after, that include personnel moves that took place between EA's cut-off time and release.

Last year, EA was pretty good about putting out roster updates through the season that had ratings changes reflecting players who were playing above (or below) their ratings in the game, and they'll likely make some additional changes as depth charts begin to come into focus in pre-season and opening day. So if Robinson comes out and demonstrates better ability, he'll likely get a boost.

This is kind of the same thing a number of fans have been saying for a while, though - these guys are going to have to go out on the field and show they can do something before they're going to be given credit for doing it. Some people like to talk up Robinson as a potential #1 receiver, but he's going to have to actually show he can do that game in and game out to get that recognition, and he simply hasn't yet.

What's sad is that Madden used to be a pre-order for me for a number of years straight, but the last 2-3 games were definitely rent first. The product has gone down hill since the exclusive licensing contract with the NFL, so I'll probably hold off and just rent again this year.

Exactly right. The only problem about the in-season updates is for dynasty players like myself, who start early on. I agree with you about Madden in general too. I usually get it the day it comes out, and it replaces NCAA for what I'm playing. Last year I waited probably a month or longer before purchasing, simply because I knew I would be let down.

So to the disappointed Rams fans out there, you're free to add the homer factor to any player on the squad. Myself, I'm trading for Brian Moorman. As a receiver.

[Nick]

Exactly right. The only problem about the in-season updates is for dynasty players like myself, who start early on. I agree with you about Madden in general too. I usually get it the day it comes out, and it replaces NCAA for what I'm playing. Last year I waited probably a month or longer before purchasing, simply because I knew I would be let down.

So to the disappointed Rams fans out there, you're free to add the homer factor to any player on the squad. Myself, I'm trading for Brian Moorman. As a receiver.

True, though I usually try to wait until the opening day roster update before starting a franchise, just to try and get things as accurate as possible for all the other teams. The time between then and release gives me a chance to familiarize myself with the game and whatnot, because it usually takes me a little while to get used to things again.

[Varg6]

I guarantee you there will be a roster update on August 10th, the day Madde 11 is released.

[stl7]

awful ratings. Chris long was snubbed unless they gave him a ton of potential. Saffold was basically a first round pick and projects as a starter. He should have been at least mid 70s. And there is no way they watched a game Fletcher was in last year because there is no way Murphy is already better then him without playing an NFL game. But then again lets hope so. Hopefully Atogwe will bring our third 90+ including D. Jones ha.

[Warner4prez]

It's not the players rating, but how you use it ;-)
I've had a knack for using Dexter Jackson (who in 09 was something like a 50 overall) as a 3rd wideout and pwning the computer constantly. I suppose that could be an allegory for the Rams too, eh?

[Ram Mar Ram]

Well, the ratings were always going to be sad, but the rams have a chance to change that when the season starts ... unfortunately i cant get live updates since i live a million miles from anywhere ..

[sakl18]

Vernon Gholston and Chris Long have the same rating

I think this may have been a typo, as in another article they had Gholston as one of the biggest losers (in terms of overall rating from 10 to 11) at a 65 as opposed to a 75. I just can't see any way that he has the same rating as Long when he only has 30 tackles and no sacks in his career.

[RockinRam]

Madden was a favorite for me, but the past couple of years, it just never did it for me.

For example, every addition they add to the game, they take two things away.


Last year, Pro-Tak was suppose to be a breakthrough and a great idea. The way they allowed the offensive line to form a real pocket was nice.

Now this year, there is no more Pro-Tak, and the linemen now seem to once again block in a straight line.

[Nick]

awful ratings. Chris long was snubbed unless they gave him a ton of potential. Saffold was basically a first round pick and projects as a starter. He should have been at least mid 70s. And there is no way they watched a game Fletcher was in last year because there is no way Murphy is already better then him without playing an NFL game. But then again lets hope so. Hopefully Atogwe will bring our third 90+ including D. Jones ha.

The only one of those complaints I'd agree with you on is Chris Long. He really started to come along in the second half of the season; there's no way he's deserving of the worst rating of our starting defensive lineman.

Saffold started the draft process as a second or third round pick who improved his stock enough to possibly sneak into the first round. It's not as if he was widely considered a mid-first rounder and slipped to us in the second. A rating of 71 for him seems fine, in my opinion. It's higher than some of the other first round picks.

As for Fletcher, it's hard to get respect in the ratings whenever you spend a good portion of the year on injured reserve. Just as Laurent Robinson. I think most would give Fletcher the edge between the two, but he just isn't healthy and may not be ready for training camp. That could have been taken into account.

I think this may have been a typo, as in another article they had Gholston as one of the biggest losers (in terms of overall rating from 10 to 11) at a 65 as opposed to a 75. I just can't see any way that he has the same rating as Long when he only has 30 tackles and no sacks in his career.

It might have something to do with Gholston's switch to DL. I doubt his stats at linebacker were all that good, but sometimes whenever you switch a linebacker to a defensive end in Madden, their OVR rating skyrockets because of their speed and acceleration. Gholston has high marks in both areas according to the site, but I wouldn't be shocked if that gets toned down in a post-release update.

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

Madden basically thinks DE are mindless physical embodiments of speed and agility. They tend to undervalue the importance of a run stopping end.

[Nick]

Madden basically thinks DE are mindless physical embodiments of speed and agility. They tend to undervalue the importance of a run stopping end.

Yep, and I don't think they really factor the differences between 4-3 and 3-4 DE into their ratings, either.

[C-Mob 71]

Oh Madden, how I've miss thee.

Agree with pretty much everything thats been said;

Some Rams definitely got hosed- like always, but they really haven't showed what we all believe is their true potential.

It is gonna be tough once again to win with the Rams- but we can do it! (spam FB Dive with Jackson, then hit Avery on a WR screen

The "new" games have been rather dissapointing in the last few years, in fact I thought I had bought Madden 09 on accident last year! Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to not buy Madden...

And as far as d lineman ratings go, I totally agree. In a offline franchise with my roomates, it is always a scramble to find and trade for the 70 overall linebackers that become 90+ DE, what a stupid, franchise altering aspect of the game. (But it is oh so fun to trade those DEs for pretty much anyone you want, salary cap is tough though)

Speaking of salary cap, does anyone know if franchise mode will still have it? Managing you're cap is a game within the game.

Go Rams!