Thoughts on the Madden Roster Updates
by 
Throughout the year there has been much discussion around the weekly Madden roster updates. For the most part everyone has been pleased with the frequency of them and ultimately ratings are going to be overly-scrutinized and will never please everyone. However there has been some aspects that have come into question. Some of my concerns have stemmed from what appears to be heavy leaning towards past performance and not enough towards the present. This has been seen through examples such as LaDainian Tomlinson on one end when compared to rookies on the other. Joe Flacco was the most recent example I pulled for an article the other day and that generated some interesting comments.
With that all in mind I was contacted by Madden 2010 lead producer Phil Frazier for the opportunity to get some questions answered pertaining to the roster updates. After mentioning essentially what I did in the prior paragraph I received a response back which you can find after the break. With the attention roster updates in general have been getting as of late having a discussion in order to completely understand the process as well as improve on it in the future is greatly appreciated.
After reading it feel free to leave any questions or suggestions you might have in the comments and I’ll see about passing those on as well for a follow-up. Also make sure to vote in the poll at the end.
The fun part about ratings is that they are subjective. We have Jon Crankshaw who manages the overall responsibility of the ratings with help from the rest of our design team. Our thoughts about players or teams are really no different than what you see on sports shows. These are our opinions based on what we see on gameday and read about on the net. We of course try our best to rate players accurately and without any bias towards our own favorite teams.
On Flacco…
He’ll be moving up to an 82 in the next update but not because of some of the opinions on the web. We watched him very closely in the playoffs and while better than his current rating, he’s still an average QB with a great arm. In my opinion, the primary reason the Ravens are in the playoffs is because of their defense, not necessarily Joe Flacco. Flacco hasn’t been great in the playoffs and the Ravens are a ‘run first’ kind of team, throwing only when needed. His regular season numbers are 14TD’s with 12 INT’s, getting slightly worse in the playoffs. In the end, we feel 82 is a more accurate number than his previous rating.
On our ratings philosophy…
Up to this point, our general ratings philosophy has been to consider a players body of work (past and present) and consistency when generating the ratings. It’s certainly possible that this philosophy no longer applies given the new frequency of our updates. I guess you could say we understand why some think our ratings should reflect the NFL as it is today (literally) vs. who we feel is good overall. That’s the question of the week for the Madden Team moving forward. What should our ratings philosophy be given the new frequency of our updates? Should each update reflect who’s hot and who’s not in that given week? If a player has a bad game (or two) should he be hammered in ratings or should we continue to consider his career and previous performance? Based on recent community feedback, it feels like most would prefer more significant changes based on game to game performance. Maybe an online poll would help clarify this?
January 15, 2009 at 4:38 pm
whats really going to happen is that the steelers are going to lose, so suck it boy
January 19, 2009 at 7:42 am
Yeah? Sure didn't seem that way tonight. I'm not into dudes suckin me up, soo you got a sister? She can make up for that "suck it" comment you made.
January 15, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Anyone know if they are going to put out an update this week?
January 15, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I've heard there will be no update this week. Two more updates are likely: Next week, and after the Super Bowl.
January 15, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I've heard there will be no update this week. Two more updates coming…one next week and the last one after the Super Bowl.
January 15, 2009 at 6:07 pm
wtf??? r they trying to avoid updating the eagles and ravens or something. as we go further on and get better in the season less updated come out less often. this is bullshit they have no reason to not do an update
January 15, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I agree Kris, we were told that after the divisional game the updates will be avail. now its next week. Simply i think they are being lazy and they are not "Madden Fans" simply employee programmers fo EA.
January 15, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Who needs to be updated on the eagles Kris? I can name a couple that needs to be downgraded like nick cole and L.J. Smith
January 15, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for your prompt response, Pasta!
January 15, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Pasta told us last week we would have an update this week, lol, the response given last week was prompt, the one given today is bullshit.
January 15, 2009 at 5:05 pm
The same way the Falcons and Dolphins were rated the 2 worst teams in the beginning of the year.
January 15, 2009 at 7:22 pm
The Falcons O-line is still very underrated.
January 15, 2009 at 5:11 pm
What about some love for the Bucs. Left Tackle Donald Penn only gave two sacks all year while facing the likes Abraham of Atlanta and Peppers of Carolina twice. Not to mention he stopped Dallas's Ware consecutive sack streak. What about wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Byrant had one the best second half for a wide receiver in league history. The Bucs may have to Franchis him to keep him and last but not least rookie CB Taleb lead all rookies with four picks.
January 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm
LOL!!!!! You idiots are so clever with words, not so much with proof. Ok, so Donald Penn plays the likes of John Abraham and Julius Peppers, right? Abe Had 1 sack in the first game, and 3 sacks in the second meeting. Peppers had 2 sacks in week 14 against him. You are in theory saying, "just because we play tough opponents we should get upgrades" when in fact, yo played tough opponents and got smashed. And if he is not the one who gave up those sacks, you should at least mention who else should go DOWN a rating if he is going to go up.
January 15, 2009 at 6:23 pm
I think that weekly updates are a mistake. I think that updates need to be done every 4 weeks and based mostly on season production. I beleive that consistency is an important part fo the player ratings becuase one seaon doesnt make you the best in the NFL. However, when a player like D. Williams has an excellent year he should at least be rated in the top 10 percent. To me only the top ten percent of players at their position should acheive a rating of 90 or above. 90 to me is elite. How many elite WR are there in the NFL. Really only 15 or 16. I think that most player are average and never go beyond that so their ratings should be average. I dont think the ratings are so bad that they need to scrap everything. But the idea that ratings are subjective based upon stuff from the net is a mistake. The people in charge of ratings need to watch the games in order to make the players more like how they are in real life. Ill volunteer to help rate players and Ill do it for free. In fact I wont even rate players on my favorite team. But I know that many players ratings dont represent their production on the field as accurately as they could.
January 15, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I agree, but can you imagine how pissed people would be if their team or player didn't get certain upgrades and they would have to wait another month to see? People already freak out about having to wait a week.
January 15, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I could see there being weekly roster updates but quarterly ratings updates. Basically adjust the rosters each week but then do more impactful ratings changes after each set of four games or so.
January 15, 2009 at 7:21 pm
The updates were great and all but the individual stat categories need to have more focus. They need to add like a "breakaway speed" rating or something because i get so tired of seeing o-lineman hawk cornerbacks on interception returns. Me and my buddies play madden daily and regardless of what team we use, everyone seems to move at the same speed except for a handful of players (Westbrook, Peterson, Williams, Sproles). Now, I know those players are some of the fastest in the league, but i also know for damn sure that 99% of the running backs in the league can outrun most d-lineman and linebackers. Please address this because it gets very annoying and gives a very unrealistic feel to the game.
P.S. take the stupid ballerina spin around for no reason-catch out of the game.
January 15, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Derrick Brooks shpuld be a smart LB … If not then how in the world is zack thomas a smart LB , Antionio Bryant is a beast he should be at least a 90 r better overall & he should be a weapon. Tanard Jackson should be a big hitter weapon, Mcnabb Accuracy should be higher Jeff Garcia should be a accuracy weapon look @ his INT stats. Dallas should not be a overall 97 LT should be a overall 94…. Look at what you guys did to D. Hall .. U should do the same to other people….
January 15, 2009 at 8:48 pm
patriots rookies and 2 years on defence need to be considered
January 15, 2009 at 8:56 pm
hey retard come mess with my boy giantsfan ARE YOU SERIOUS. He has stats to back it up. Yea dawg i said it. People are bitching about mcnabbs accuracy rating. WOW Thats something to complain about. YEA DAWG WHAT.
January 15, 2009 at 8:57 pm
look at Yards per carry, Now what?
January 16, 2009 at 2:52 am
did you ready anything he said? tired defenses, huge leads, and an incredible o-line. if Jacobs can fit through those holes with that much ease, a smaller Ward and a beatdown defense, a result of Jacobs, would obviously result in easy yardage. now what?
January 16, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Yea what does Jacobs do without ward? They compliment each other so they should be rated the same NOW WHAT GET OFF MY DICK
January 16, 2009 at 10:22 pm
um he gets tired and needs another running back
January 15, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Patriots don't desirve anything they are out of the playoffs at least the other people are talking about teams that made it
January 16, 2009 at 2:43 pm
im talkin for next year not dis year
January 15, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I hope this article clears up the confusion for everybody about Dallas's high ratings. Madden 2010 lead producer Phil Frazier recognizes that injuries played a huge part in the cowboy's demise and that they should not take a ratings hit. No other team in the NFL lost their QB, RB, CB, SS and had a TE who played through significant injuries. The Dallas Cowboys have top 5 NFL talent at LT, LG, C, RG, RT, FS, MLB, both WR's, top 3 talent at QB,& F and top 2 talent at K, P, OLB & TE. I know everybody can't wait for next year's madden which should feature the new Cowboy's Stadium and another all-star team that when healthy will be in the Super Bowl. It's kind of funny that everyone complains about the cowboys but look at the SD Chargers now that team is highly overrated.
January 15, 2009 at 11:03 pm
CHARGERS DIDNT GET BLOWN OUT 44-6 with all of there starters. so dont give us that injury shit!
January 15, 2009 at 11:03 pm
SD Chargers make it to the playoffs with injuries and don't get embarrassed in important games. So yea your still not proving a point.
January 15, 2009 at 11:11 pm
SD record 8-8 Dallas record 9-7. SD plays in a weak division Dallas plays in the hardest division. The facts are clear Dallas has the most talent but played in an unforgiving division and suffered when they got hurt. A healthy Romo next year bolds well for the cowboys as he will be 1b to P. Manning's 1a if Brady doesn't play next year.
January 16, 2009 at 12:52 am
They would have the same record if it wasnt for the wrong call in week 2 and San Diego lost all of its games by a total of 45 points. So chargers kept every game close they never got blown out like cowboys did with eagles.
January 16, 2009 at 1:51 am
The Detroit Lions were in every game to but lost all of them and finished 0-16
January 15, 2009 at 11:19 pm
oh man you couldn't be more wrong about that. there o-line sucks, andre is the only elite one on it. and other than jason witten, their wrs are average. T.O. is fast but he has no hands( catch should be 82). the player that needs more love though on dallas is their NT Jay Ratliff
January 15, 2009 at 11:35 pm
How much tape have you watched Barnmaker? Look at the film then get back to me. Dallas offensive line is dominate they had issues because of the rotating QB and RB from injuries.
January 15, 2009 at 11:50 pm
you are a joke. Flozell Adams is the most frustrating player to watch. with tony romo getting injured showed how much that line sucks. the only thing that line has done is make tony romo look good in a bad way. tony romo scrambles way to much to stay healthy in the NFL. i felt sorry for him during the game that he got that back injury, he couldn't even get up by himself.
January 16, 2009 at 12:13 am
If you would like to sit down with me and watch the tape let me know. Dallas normally ask their RB's to runs flat routes for swing passes so the RB's are not there to provide extra block protection. Witten usually runs routes on every pass play unless they are in need of an extra blocker. The RB's have been hurt so they never had the RB in rhythm with the QB. The RB's were either late on their routes or failed to chip an oncoming defender hence the scrambling by Romo when the other team blitzes. I will say that Romo tends to hold on to the ball a little long but the offensive line does it's job when matched up mano y mano.
October 8, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Cowboys free safety Ken Hamlin top 5? Roy Williams top 5? Flozell the tripper Adams top5? Most of those players are average at best on defense the onlyt threat is Ware and on offense Witten; even thing else is severly overrated.
January 15, 2009 at 10:25 pm
The basis for a players rating should be his overall performance during the prior 2 seasons. That number should be adjusted for current season progress. Injuries should be factored in as well. If a WR was missing half of his OL and caught passes from a 3rd-4th string QB all season then his stats should drop that drastically. I say that you give a value of the players past two seasons and it doesnt change by more than 10 points ever in one season. Separate attention is given to rookies and first year players.
Flacco is rated just fine. The defense and running game make him. Flacco is not an all star.
January 15, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I meant should not drop drastically above
January 15, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I'm a Cowboys fan first and a Panthers fan second. I belive ratings should be somewhat based on past performance but more based on current season. We are playing Madden 09 and not Madden Lifetime. I want ratings based on how there doing this year. LT while a great back should not be in the high 90's not even close. And to the guy above me Romo is NOT a top 3 quarterback. Hell I wouldnt even put him in the top 5 and I like Romo.
January 15, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Romo is a top 3 QB hands down. Depending on Brady's injury and Manning recent failures he could be the best. If he keeps playing football like he has been playing and stays healthy he could go down as the greatest QB of all time. Many NFL teams are looking for the next Romo that's what keeps team's like Detroit and SF in the dumps. They can't find a Romo to lead their team.
January 15, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Titans need boost. Ya we lost, but we freakin dominated Balimore. CJ should be in the high 80 to low 90s. Jason Jones gets 3.5 sacks and 3 fumble against Pitt and doesnt get a boost. Why is Griff only 90 and he has 7 picks? More and more. A lil respect please. If anything, drop Lendale and Alges brain.
January 15, 2009 at 11:56 pm
C.Johnson is a one trick pony just a speed demon. Jason Jones got his sacks because of all of the attention paid to Haynesworth. Michael Griffin 6 of his INT's were garbage time INT's. Only his INT against BAl earlier in the year actually mattered and that was against a rookie QB in his 5th start.
January 16, 2009 at 3:24 am
one trick pony? first of all, you need to stop saying that. second of all, did you watch any of his games? how quick he is? not just fast, his quickness, his agility. He makes beautiful cuts and has great ball carrier vision. there's more to a running back than speed and breaking tackles by busting through people. he's also phenomenal out of the backfield catching balls in the flat.
January 16, 2009 at 6:16 pm
did u know that albert haynesworth didnt even play in that game?????????? if u call cj a "one trick pony" then what do u call felix jones???????????
January 16, 2009 at 7:11 pm
You are right Haynesworth did not play I just reviewed the tape. They paid more attention to the other tackle and the DE's and left him in1 on 1 blocking situations. He had a great game but if teams game planned for him it would have been different. C. Johnson is a one trick pony and not quite on the level as Felix Jones. F. Jones can run between the tackles of of the guards and outside. Plus F. Jones can catch flat routes and run WR routes. On top of all that he may be the best PR/KR in the game. Awesome talent we are all witness to future greatness I know everybody can't wait to see the kind of #'s he will put up when he plays a full season.
January 17, 2009 at 1:21 am
you are fucking ignorant. Felix Jones is in NO WAY better than Johnson in ANY way. how can you even say that? Did you see how he ran on Baltimore before he got hurt? Baltimore doesn't let ANYONE run on them (barring the NYG game) and made Scott look like a fool grasping at air. He even made catches out of the backfield. and not to mention Johnson is going to the pro bowl as a rookie. and Jones is NOT even top 3 in KR/PR. Sproles? Leon Washington? Josh Cribbs? Leodis McKelvin? so that MAYBE puts him at #5.
oh, and Jones will never play a whole season, let alone start a whole season. I can't wait to see the lack of numbers he puts up next season when the Cowboys do terrible…AGAIN! You can say all you want about healthy this and healthy that but in reality, that's the fucking game. the cowboys have the shittiest depth at every position. Their poor record showed that when players got hurt this year.
January 15, 2009 at 11:38 pm
some things i don't get. Larry Johnson has only been downgraded all year.
yd/gm
Larry Johnson 72.8
w. parker 71.9
m. lynch 69.1
jones-drew 51.5
LT 69.4
all of these players didn't see a ratings decrease, except for LT. i know he spit in a girls face and all but that shouldn't decrease his ratings
January 15, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Yeah Romo is the best QB in NFL history to never win a playoff game. Poor Poor Dallas. He is a big step up from the Q. Carter and the C. hutchinson years though, oh yaeh and drew henson.
January 16, 2009 at 12:28 am
i guess you could say that LOL because he hasn't won a playoff game but Romo is a great QB no denying. It takes time to build up a championship resume just ask P. Manning. Romo is still young and has many years to get over the hump and once he does he will be immortalized.
January 16, 2009 at 12:13 am
He is the best QB in NFL history that can't win a playoff game. poor dallas. still better to have him though, than like Q. carter
January 16, 2009 at 1:14 am
Romo is good don't get me wrong. TOP 3? NO WAY. I LIKE Romo. I love the Cowboys. Palmer is better then him when healthy. Brees is better then him. This year even Warner looked better then him.
January 16, 2009 at 1:15 am
Here is a list of my overrated players
10)Peppers-pass rusher with little else skill. Ask him to run defend & he turns into a gigantic paperweight
9)Suggs-one trick pony plays only for sacks never the run
8)Cutler- how does a guy throw 18 INT's with a 6'4" WR and go 8-8 for the year?
7)Flacco-never throws in passing situations
6)D. Hall-when has he shutdown someone?anyone?
5)K. Warner-strong arm but body is built like a boy scout. Once he gets hit he forgets all of the plays
4)Tomlinson-might be on his last cylinder. his engine is about to give out
3)Merriman-one trick pony. horrible in the run absolutely horrible against the run. just a pass rusher
2)McNabb-bad accuracy especially on short routes. bad sense of the game. stays hurt. can't win when it counts
1)Eli Manning-looked lost without a 6'6" WR. makes you question how lucky he really was last year
Also I would like to mention Ed Reed I know that everyone thinks he's a great player which he is but he's a one trick pony. He lines up 30 yard deep and plays just the pass never the run. Watch the tape fellas he gets about 2 tackles a game because he doesn't play the multifaceted roles that a B. Dawkins or Polamalu. He's overrated in the sense that he doesn't do more but he is great at playing the pass which is all Baltimore requires him to do.
Oh an let me add Asante Samuel CB for Philly not for the overrated list but to give him props because that guy is lights out. Best shutdown corner in the game right next to C. Bailey and T. Newman.
January 16, 2009 at 1:20 am
McNabb can't win when it counts? Your kidding right?
January 16, 2009 at 3:05 am
you're an idiot, i'm sorry. i agree with some of your things, such as Merriman, Tomilnson, and McNabb. But Peppers? Did you watch him stuff the screen play several yards in the back field? and i hate Cutler just as much as the next person but he had NO running game ALL year. 6 RBs on IR or something like that? how's that for a one dimensional offense and STILL putting up 4500 passing yards and 25 TDs. Flacco? He's a rookie. You probably watched two games with him, the playoffs. so no shit. rookie QB, rookie coach. You going to let him go against the Titans defense and try to squeeze in a 3rd and long under pressure? No. you punt the ball and let the defense take care of business. you don't try to beat yourself on offense with turnovers when you have the caliber of defense that baltimore has.
but the thing that pissed me off the most, Ed Reed. Yeah, no shit he plays deep, that's the point. It's his job to play deep. The SS for Baltimore plays short for the run. so look at dawkins stats, high tackles and 1 int, then Reed, lower tackles and 9 INTs. different roles for different teams. ed reed is a ball hawk. and he plays special teams, too. funny, i don't ever see dawkins out on special teams. and by the way, Reed has played like this ONLY recently. check out his earlier stats. putting up 86 tackles his rookie season? please do some research before you bash one of the potentially greatest players to ever play the safety position.
January 16, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Okay I now really believe that all everyone just watches SportsCenter and doesn't actually break down film. Let's start with Peppers people seem to think that because you have a lot of sacks that is what makes you a great player. Yes sacks do mean that you can close the deal by getting to the QB but in most situations it also means that you give up playing the run to give yourself the best shot at getting a sack. Some guys can do both such as T. Cole, C. Canty, A. Smith & J. Tuck but many can not. I bring up Peppers because although he has improved this year against the run (contract year) he still is too susceptible to the inside rush or delayed handoff. The tape doesn't lie, the best way to beat a speed rusher is to run where he should have been, that's why the Peppers, Suggs & Merrimans of the world get runs in their direction so much. With Cutler maybe I was a little hard on Cutler because you did bring up a good point his running game was anemic and they required too much from the pass. With that said he has arguably the best young receiving corps along with Arizona, yet he doesn't get the same production as Arizona with practically the same offense. Last, Ed Reed I know is everyone's favorite player because he can pick off passes and take them to the house, but he is not a complete player compared to other safeties. B. Dawkins and T. Polamalu are required to play the run along with the pass. I know that B. Dawkins play has fallen off and he plays closer and Polamalu plays mostly the strong side but they make plays in both the run and the pass. B. Dawkins and Polamalu can stop a run for a loss, get a sack and INT a pass covering a WR. Ed Reed doesn't do tackles for losses or sacks just plays in coverage. Also I though it was kind of funny that someone brought up Ed Reed in his younger days getting more tackles if you want to bring up younger days than the two BEST SAFETIES IN THEIR PRIME are R. Harrison and B. Dawkins they did everything to a high level and never gave up a completed pass against them in their prime. You can't say the same about Ed Reed if a team runs the ball or just throws short routes Ed Reed will have absolutely no factor as to the outcome of the game.
January 16, 2009 at 6:33 pm
how in the hell do u put CANTY any where near the names of trent cole and justin tuck??????? then asante with newman??? u just gotta have a cowboy somewhere huh? and mcnabb is overrated huh? when mcnabb had t.o for 1 YEAR we went to the SB. romo has had t.o. for 3 YEARS and has mustered up two first game playoff loses and a broken pinky. tell me whos overrated. how about u take that "one trick pony" and ride it all the way up romos ass. i kno u would just luv that
January 16, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Your right how do you put T. Cole and J. Tuck with the likes of C. Canty? You don't, those tow take a back seat to C. Canty and his dominate play against both the run and the pass. Asante I gave props too because I watched the film and he does play kind of a quasi-man to man zone coverage which he is very good at, but Newman is on a whole other level. He plays both man to man with little zone coverage because he can just shutdown the right side of the field like a young Deion Sanders.The year McNabb went to the Super Bowl they had the best team by far in the league were completely healthy and choked in the Super Bowl. The NFC at that time was extremely weak. Today the NFC is much stronger the NFC East is the strongest it has ever been and injuries have cost the cowboys their true place at the top. When McNabb steps up in big games get back at me otherwise go to the tape because the film don't lie.
January 16, 2009 at 7:55 am
wow your just an ignorant lil bitch who doesnt know about football. peppers had 12.5 sacks this year. suggs had 9 sacks and he deserves his ratings. cutler was voted to probowl and it is not the receiver, he just gotta mature a lil bit. flacco led the team to AFC championship you moron. k.Warner is playing wayy better than anyone else this season and he might even lead the team to the super bowl. i understand about tomlinson. but merriman is INJURED. McNabb led the team to NFL Championship. Eli played better than last year without Plaxico and he was voted to probowl. wow. just wow dude
January 16, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I already explained Peppers, Suggs & Cutler in the earlier post^^. Flacco doesn't throw the ball so let me put this in layman's terms so you can understand. Darren Sproles had more big plays than the starting RB and a lot of teams in the NFL. He had a high yards per carry at 5.4 and yards per catch at 11.8 this season. So would you say that he is a great RB? You can not really say because much is not required from him teams do not really game plan for him as is the case for Flacco. He doesn't pass the ball in a ton of situations like 3rd and 10, 3rd and 15 and 3rd and 20. Unless it's 3rd and 5 where there is a chance for the run Flacco may pass the ball. Just because he is in the Conference Championship doesn't mean that he is a great QB. Even if he gets to the Super Bowl & wins doesn't make him a great QB. Just look at past Super Bowl winners T. Dilfer, B. Johnson, & Eli Manning are they great QB's ? Or did they play with great defenses? K. Warner is about as overrated as they come as a QB tat quits when he gets hit or doesn't have optimal weather conditions. Look at his record away from home or playing in the northeast and it's horrible. Look at his record when he plays against a fast defense and it's horrible. These are the facts the tape doesn't lie. When you mention Merriman you speak as if he just dominates games. He does one thing only rush the passer. Merrriman and D. Ware are the best at getting to the QB in fact I would say that Merriman is better. But ask him to stop the run and he's clueless. 6'5" 275lbs and can not stop the run. Many of San Diego's problems stem from those LB's not stopping the run in fact teams ran right at him when he played. Look up the past couple of years he played and the rushing efforts against him. Meriman is still trying to bring A. Peterson down. McNabb is an enigma when the kettle gets hot he folds like a lawn chair. Eli PLAYED WORSE when P. Burress was not playing do you know what Eli 's rating was after his safety vale shot himself? 88.5 vs WAS, 73.5 vs PHI, 43.9 vs DAL, 94.8 vs CAR, 76.4 vs MIN & 40.7 vs Philly. Yeah he sure di light it up when his margin of error was smaller. Oh and he lost 4 of those 6 games.
January 17, 2009 at 1:23 am
Great defenses huh? Cowboys defense must suck ass then because Romo is SOOOOO amazing and he can't even get them a playoff win. how about that…
January 17, 2009 at 1:41 am
and I'll give you Ware. Ware is an amazing player. I wish him and Harrison could have shared the Defensive Player of the Year award. Ware kept the cowboys in a lot of games they should have had no part in. but i still don't understand your bashing of Ed Reed. With the addition of Landry and Leonhard, Reed has dropped back into coverage more because he plays the pass better than either of those other two. And what about the tape you always seem to be watching? Reed is a big hit safety that punishes receivers that dare cross the middle of the field. and what about his huge hit in the backfield of the last Ravens home game that was nullified because of a stupid defensive penalty? Maybe Reed isn't as much of a run stopping force as Dawkins but then Dawkins doesn't defend the pass as well as Reed. Reed often plays with a game changing mentality, picking QBs apart. Look at the first playoff game. Pennington had great numbers with a below par offense all season and fell apart against the Ravens, specifically with Reed (though he had a bit of help.)
January 17, 2009 at 3:27 am
Comparing B. Dawkins to E. Reed is like comparing Plato to Aristotle. One was the teacher the other a student. If not for B. Dawkins their wouldn't be an E. Reed. Dawkins paved the way for cover safeties in the league. and yes B. Dawkins in his heyday was the BEST safety by far unquestioned too much film on that one buddy. Don't make me pullout the archives on you. E. Reed is a great cover safety but that is all he is when he makes plays elsewhere than you can put him up there with the Troy's and Dawk's.
January 16, 2009 at 3:12 pm
dat #1 is rite Eli was lucky to win the SB because of one tall ass WR without him he nothing more than a rookie
as for Brady he was winning with average Wr's in Branch and Patten and Givens be fore gettin Moss
January 16, 2009 at 2:23 am
Mr. EA Sports, your an idiot !!!!!!!!
January 16, 2009 at 3:00 am
2 words phillip rivers. he been 90 the whole ficking season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 16, 2009 at 3:11 am
um?? Mr. EA Sports? I think you're the biggest idiot on this comment page. 5-8 in december and winless in january. and he's the best QB? Where's the consistency? He never fails to completely implode at the end of the year when it REALLY matters.
January 16, 2009 at 3:32 am
And by the way, it's almost always his fault, too. not lack of production by the rest of the team besides T.O. dropping balls. He implodes and ruins the team. It's hardly a collective failure.
January 16, 2009 at 4:24 am
How bout some love for Visanthe Shiancoe 596 yd, and third in touchdowns for te's with 7. He's rated 79 overall im feeling atleast an 82-85 range. I also feel madden should install something similar to run and pass block with defenders. Vikings are dominate stopping the run, so rate their players bomb at the run, but put their pass defence lower, or just leave that alone with man and zone coverage. i just feel like no running back dominated us this year over 100 so make it were we don't have to put eight in the box to stop simple stuff.
January 15, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Mr. EA sports, you should really watch the games of the players you say are overrated.
For instance, Terrell Suggs does not only play the pass, he is an excellent run, stopper. If he was not he would not be starting on the ravens defense (3rd against the run). Suggs also made the pro bowl this year, and you say he’s overrated at an 89. He also won defensive rookie of the year.
January 15, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Mr. EA Sports, maybe you should actually WATCH the games of the players you say are overrated. For instance, Terrell Suggs is not only great against the pass he is a also a great run stopper. Otherwise he wouldn’t be starting on the Ravens (3rd in run defense). He made the pro bowl this year and was the defensive rookie of the year a few years ago
January 16, 2009 at 6:19 am
Hes great on extra points too.
January 16, 2009 at 6:20 am
lol my bad i meant to say game winning field goals.
January 16, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Jamarcus Russell had 13 td's 8 and a 54 percent completion percentage if this equals out to a 75 overall quarterback then i apologize for typing this and this was with no oline and no receivers almost all year
Gibril Wilson has 129 tackles 2 inerceptions and 2 sacks this equals out to a 88 for a strong safety
Darren Mcfadden had 500 rushing yards 4.4 average 4td's 29 receptions and 284 yards receiving and was injured the whole season how does he drop he also didnt play in 3 games forgive me if i'm wrong he was the second runningback on the team and is a rookie and those stats for a rookie who didnt start 1 gm arent bad
January 16, 2009 at 5:40 pm
JaMarcus shoul be at least 79.
January 16, 2009 at 1:52 pm
In the end here is the main problem: underachieving teams are rated way too high, and overachieving teams are rated way too low.
EA you gotta give some love to the teams that are doing well. Theres no way the cowboys should be rated so darn high when they simply arent that great of a team, and inversely teams like the falcons who played great and got into the playoffs are rated below 80?
the teams rating is a reflection of the individuals on the teams, so underachieving teams have a lot of overrated players, and vice versa.. needs to be fixed
PS: current performance DEFINITELY matters more than past performance. If i want to worry about past teams, i'll play last years madden, let me enjoy THIS YEARS madden with THIS YEARS TEAMS RATINGS
January 16, 2009 at 2:23 pm
You make a good point
January 16, 2009 at 3:02 pm
well just the be on the safe side the Pats r not overachieving in madden
All they got is a 90 overall QB, 2 WR's, and Off Line
And on Def is about 3 Def Line and a CB you cant say overratted
Look it up People Patriots this year on OFFENSE they r RANK in the TOP 12th in the league
And on DEFENSE they r RANK in the TOP 15th in the league
so u cant CUT on them and they finish 11-5 and not make the playoffs
WE HAVE BETTER RECORDS THAN MOST TEAMS THAT MADE THE PLAYOFFS (both AFC & NFC)
January 16, 2009 at 3:07 pm
and they had No BRADY, HARRISON. MARONEY. ADLAIUS THOMAS and other injuries and still we finish 11-5
if anyone would like to Bash the patriots for being wack or overrated or overachieving you must smoking your way to DEATH
January 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Patriots r the team of the Decade dont no one forget dat
January 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Patriot r this Decade team
broke records win 3 SB's 16-0 regular season and all thats wins thru out the 10 years from 1999-2009
go look it up no one has a better 10 year stats than the new england Patriots
the stats i said there the tip of the iceberg
January 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm
If you want madden to be about real footbal( strategy) you need to consider bringing everybodies ratings down. None of these players deserve a 99 rating in any category. It's Super human wich equal arcade football. Thats what Madden is right now. No player can play a game of football and do the things I've seen in this game in real life. When was the last time you saw a DE get 6 sacks a game? Or A QB run back 30 yds and then pass it 70 down field with pin point accuracy EVERYTIME? Doesn't happen too often but way too much on Madden.
January 16, 2009 at 4:20 pm
For give me if I didn't know every loss is a smash. The Bucs were 500 hundred in the division and no one in the division beat the Bus more points. If fact the team had lost three games until long time D Coordinator Monte Ciffen anounced his departure to UT. I was just looking at the reasons given for other player rating increases and wondering why the fore mentioned Bucs were not treated the same. If every time D Ware & Abe got sacks a hole lot of OT's should be lossing numbers genious.
January 16, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I tol you fools Joe Flacco was garbage and the Producer echoed everything I said. Half you people dont even watch sports, just check otu ESPN highlights and news updates, and then come here spouting off at the mouth like you know something.
January 16, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I think the rating system is fine the way it is. It just needs to be more consistent on a team by team basis. The Bucs for example Donald Penn has only given up two sack all year while facing the likes of Abraham & Peppers twice a year and Penn is the only LT stop D Ware of Dallas consecutive game sack streak. Antonio Bryant WR has had one the best second half of the season in NFL history. Clifton Smith made the Pro Bowl dispite only being active for half a seaon, no up grade.
January 16, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I say bring ratings down because it would eliminate the people who abuse the players with the superhuman ratings. If i used The Boys or Pats I'd probably go deep every play as well because Moss and T.O. rarely drop a pass on Madden. And as far as Romo, this guy throws perfect passes with his back turned away. Too unreal. And I'm still trying too understand why the Redskins who have the number 4 defense had players dropped on defense ? Deangelo Hall should have been increased MORE because of his play since the joining Redskins . He played 6 weeks and has started 3 and gave up 0 scores. But T. Choice has 2 good games and BOOM ! Be fair EA !!!
January 16, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Moss, TO, & Romo are superhuman when they play. When those 3 are healthy they are unstoppable on the field. The tape doesn't lie. I saw a play week 2 against Philly where TO ran a double move against A. Samuel and S. Considene and got deep on them for about 40 yards. That play took quite a while to develop so the offensive line held up well and Romo accurately read the defense and the line stepped up in the pocket and found a soft spot in the zone for a deep pass to TO simply brilliant. When you watch Sports Center you do not see this but when you actually analyze film you can understand the entire play as it unfolds and why certain players succeed.
January 16, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Didn't play Moss this year but T.O. and Romo looked rather average against the Reddskins when I saw them.And they damn sure looked sub par against the Eagles. So man please. No one relies on Sportscenter for their opinions. We know football. Obviously better than you Mr." I saw A play when T.O. got open once" !
January 17, 2009 at 12:09 am
That was just 1 example on the great play that superstars do. There are only about 15 superstars that bring it each game they are in no particular order; R. Moss, J. Porter, B. Dawkins, T. Polamalu, T. Romo, P. Manning, A. Peterson, D. Ware, A. Johnson, T. Owens, T. Gonzalez, R. Lewis, L. Briggs, J. Witten & L. Fletcher. Trust me fellas these guys are flat out superstars that bring it every game. Too much tape on these guys to disagree.
January 17, 2009 at 2:11 am
I WAS WAITING 4 U TO FUCK UP. this is how i kno u dont really watch film and just r a complete jackass. that wasnt asante samuel it was lito u ass.and that rout only took like 3 seconds cause dumb ass considine jumped it. it was just a mistake by two backups! ur just hyping the playoffless cowboys cause ur bitter…..brilliant
January 17, 2009 at 3:15 am
1st of all you can never question my breakdown on film 2nd that was A. Samuel. I wasn't talking about the TD catch where he went by Lito I'm was talking about another catch on the right hand side of the field. Oh you of short memory you need to study the film a bit more buddy. He did a double move along the right sideline that took quite a bit of time and Romo with his excellent pass protection read the defense perfectly and zip a great timing pass directly to T.O. Kris. I believe you owe me an apology. The offer is always there though in case you need help breaking down film Kris.
January 16, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Raiders best WR’s are Johnnie Lee Higgins (74) and Chaz Schilens (67), the starters by the end of the season.
Javon Walker (83), Ronald Curry (76) and Ashley Lelie (75) all have better ratings than JLH and Chaz, which is not fair since both outplayed them all.
JaMarcus Russell was 6 TD’s 2 INT’s and 88+ rating over the last 6 games, where Oakland was 3-3 after beating Houston at home and Tampa Bay and Denver on the road. 75 overall for JaMarcus is too low, and 76 in accuracy is laughable.
January 16, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Overall, the roster updates have been disappointing. I think the entire game needs a revamp.
January 16, 2009 at 9:55 pm
This isnt really a rating thing but can you tell Phil Frazier to make Haloti Ngata look like a DT, he is 356 pounds and looks like a stick figure in the game, so Pasta can you please tell MR frazier to make Ngata look huge
January 17, 2009 at 2:13 am
the same EXACT thing with mike patterson hes smaller than trent cole and it should be the opposite.
January 16, 2009 at 11:36 pm
rating Joe Flacco an 82 is still kind of bull crap. He has had 14 TD and 5 INT in his last 13 games. So giving his regular season TD INT ratio as evidence for why they are giving him an 82 OVR is unjustified. Additionally, Brady quinn is an 83 OVR, higher than flacco and why?… he had one good game against a team that was rated worst in pass defense at the time. I understand that Flacco relies heavily on his defense but he still deserves credit for the big plays he makes with sub par offensive assistance. They need to make flacco at least an 83 simply because he has proven himself more than Quinn who is rated higher. I would actually give him an 84 OVR because he is comparable to Derek Anderson who is rated an 84. I really do not think the people making these ratings are hardcore football fans and they should pay more attention to each game. Don't make Quinn higher than Flacco just because he has commercials and endorsements.
January 17, 2009 at 12:18 am
Mr. Football what da heck is wrong wit you? Have you seen Flacco's body compared to mine? I'm built like a greek god Flacco is built a fig newton. I have a stronger body bigger arm and I'm faster. If my WR's aint drop soo many passes (B. Edwards) and my defense was any good I would be playing in the Conference Championship myself. Remember what I did in my 1st game 239 yards and 2 TD's with no picks? So when I play next year don't call it a comeback, I been here fo years!
January 17, 2009 at 2:16 am
LOL a fig newton
January 17, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I'm bigger than you in one way Mr. Steroids! Just ask your girlfriend.
January 17, 2009 at 12:04 am
may not be with the cowboys much longer :]
January 17, 2009 at 12:26 am
Would like to see move overall edits. Seems to me backups are generally disregarded, which is fine until you end up with a situation like the Detroit Lions safety situation, where all 4 players are basically the same.
January 17, 2009 at 5:25 am
P.S. when t.o. came on asantes side (wich he was scared 2 do) he got shut down!
January 17, 2009 at 10:26 am
Here is a perfect example why people should stay away from Sports Center when trying to analyze football. Leave the Sports Center mentality alone look at the tape because it's not about highlights it's about recognizing what's going on on the field play by play. Now to shut you up Kris once and for all. In the 2nd quarter with 7:38 to play Dallas had the ball in it's own territory with down and distance being 1st and 10. T.O. ran a go route stopped as if he was taking two curls then broke out for a fly an caught a perfect pass by Romo who correctly read that pattern. The offense line did hold up their blocks and gave Romo all day to let that play develop. Now the play wasn't for 40 yards it was actually for 55 yards, but you would not have seen this on Sports Center ya know why? Because it was called back for offensive holding by the Center. Now the holding call was bogus because looking at the film it was only the typical line blocking that goes on every play. When you hear that they can call holding on every play it's the truth. I can show you entire games where both teams held on every play. Sometimes the refs call it sometimes they don't it's just the nature of the beast. So Kris when it comes down to actually viewing the game and knowing football inside and out and not from Sports Center or Madden leave it to the pros. Of course my door is always open if you need help watching tape.
January 17, 2009 at 8:52 pm
You are aware that holding a defender inside his body isn't actually called as holding, right? Just want to make sure that's clear. And yes, there's usually holding on every play, thus it's the refs' job to declare which holding calls CLEARLY AFFECT the play at hand. Or else we'd never be able to get through a quarter with a dozen holding penalties on each team.
January 18, 2009 at 7:27 am
so in all actuality the play really never happened because ur shitty overrated o line was holdin????????????????? so ur point is?????
January 17, 2009 at 2:00 pm
i got beef with the way the ratings are done. they give people stuff they really dont have. at the beggining when they gave brady 99 arm strength that was bad. he may have thrown the deep ball alot but everyone knows he cant contend with palmer or cutler in that department. also because the gameplay is so mechanic, you have to make all the good players faster than they should be because of bad unrealistic blocking and robotic moves. everyone is break a tackle or get past the line ad scoot the rest of the way. these are prime things that 2k had covered well. even if 2k football started again i would still by madden but then i would have both. madden just adds on a bunch of gametypes and icons and stuff they tr and hide the poor gameplay behind it. they really need to run it on a new engine or something and just redo the whole gameplay.
January 17, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I absolutely agree. Peyton manning and Tom brady do not have stronger arms than QB's like Favre, cutler, ect… Its another example of the people updating the players just getting caught up in the hype of certain players. As i stated before, I really don't think the updaters are hardcore football fans. Don't get me wrong, they are the best Qb's in the NFL but don't give them attributes that they don't have
January 18, 2009 at 7:34 am
i think peyton is just overrated. he is a leader but hes had a fantastic team ever since he came into the nfl. and has 1 ring. the highest he should be rated is 97
January 18, 2009 at 11:29 pm
hahaha thats funny peyton broke marvin harrisons finger, and tom brady is the reincarnation of jesus, ya know if jesus played football, they can throw it farther and more acurately…
January 23, 2009 at 1:02 pm
i doubt that jesus could throw 50 tds and only 8 pics. and go 18-0. and brady got his rings without top tier wideouts. screw both mannings.
brady
brees
mcnabb
January 23, 2009 at 9:26 pm
hahaha good stuff, we all know eli is a bum so im not even going to acknowledge him, but brees better than payton? really? im pretty sure he led the league in pics the first half of the season, but in a rare moment i agree with mcnabb at 3, although i think hes better than brees
January 17, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Cunning Linguist & A Master Debater(CLMD)
Who is Mr. EA Sports and why is he always talking about breaking down film? lol. Who has time to break down film of every NFL team all season he must not have a life. Romo sucks, TO sucks the whole Dallas team sucks. Even D. Ware sucks because he didn't do anything when the season was on the line against Philly in that last game. 44-6 how can you defend 44-6? At what point does all of this film you break down show a team that's any good when it went 1-3 in December with everybody healthy? Oh wait they were missing Felix Jones. What a joke! Oh well it's like talking to a brick wall I noticed. Since you like breaking down film so much break down my screen name.
January 18, 2009 at 4:11 am
I don't agree with most of what Mr. EA Sports says, but the guy is fucking hilarious. The 'breaking down film' bit is gold.
January 18, 2009 at 7:32 am
thank u CLMD. that guy is just not understanding. i know thats his team and thats fine. but has anyone noticed that no true cowboys fan is backing anything that this guy is sayin
January 19, 2009 at 2:18 am
thank you, CLMD. I've been trying to talk to him but he simply doesn't listen…
January 18, 2009 at 11:09 pm
WHEN IS THE NEXT MADDEN UPDATE GOING TO BE RELEASED?
January 18, 2009 at 11:40 pm
alright i can understand how the ratings are calculated but there is one thing that has bugged me ALL YEAR. In general you expect the ratings to be comparable (randy moss and larry fitz being high 90s and brandon llyod and hank baskett type recievers high 70s low 80s) so try and follow my logic for a couple min, Jason Campbell is an 8 for throw accuracy, todd collins is a 92. thanks in large part to the massive upgrade he got for not throwing an int for one month (4 weeks) last year. Campbell didnt throw one for 8 weeks and is 8 points lower on accuracy, additionally hes posting a 2:1 td : int ratio. I am just at a loss for an explanation, he did it twice as long as collins and has put up the best numbers of his career yet remains the same from wk 1…id just like to know how that is comparable, thanks
January 19, 2009 at 3:33 am
Good Job, Flacco !
13/30 141 yards 0 Touchdowns 3 interceptions
Keep him at 79
January 19, 2009 at 5:09 am
I would take Chris Redman over Flacco. I think the ratings are correct there.
Flacco most overrated QB ever
January 19, 2009 at 7:49 am
Heyyyyyy Ken where are ya bro? What was all that talk about Reed being better than Polamalu? And what else did you say? Better at returning touchdowns? Uhh yeah, which is why Reed had NO picks and NO touchdowns when he played against the team you talked shit about.. The comparison has been made official now that the two teams played. Polamalu did exactly what you praised Reed for. Reed did NOTHING. As for all you other Steelers haters, get over yourself. As for everyone who wanted us to win, thanks for the support.
As for you people asking for Flacco updates…uhh…82 is too high after we showed you the real Flacco. CRUMBLING under pressure. 3 picks?? The DEFENSE kept you close…as usual. Not Flacco.
Lastly, HOW BOUT THEM STEELERS?!
January 19, 2009 at 6:38 pm
That comment wasn't directed at you SteelCurtain, it was to Mr. EA Sports, just to clarify that. As for your comments, though…Yeah, Polamalu made the plays THIS game, but I wouldn't go out and say either of them is better than the other. Top notch in case of both players, Troy just played the better game this time around, which I'm not upset about at all; i'll be rooting for dem Steelers come Super Bowl Sunday. And Flacco didn't necessarily 'crumble.' There were dropped passes left and right and his last INT was garbage time. So he really only had one more than Big Ben. So, his third post season game as a rookie, with a huge game and huge pressure, and the game was actually close for a while. Plus, Koch for some reason had an awful game through the punting game. Berger didn't fare that much better but definitely was punting well in the first half of the game before imploding.
January 19, 2009 at 8:05 am
Yeah, well, from your comments thus far, nobody really cares because you're an idiot. Done.
January 19, 2009 at 9:41 am
man im sad….i cried all day but i still say that mcnabb needs his 93 rating back and is an amazing qb. he played his fuckin heart out with no help from anyone. he single handedly brought us back from an 18 point hole. i have no clue how or y our defense just crumbled like that but i digress. the only reason y he didnt have like 450 yds was because the shitty recievers kept droping passes over and over again. im sure that mr. ea sports is gonna hate but i domt give a damn even he had to see all those fuckin drops. even mcnabb's only pick was cause the reciever couldnt catch the damn thing.