Where Did The Speed Go?

[NikB13]

I just wrapped up a solid recruiting class with Oregon. I got 4, 4* RBs, 3 4* WRs and 2 4* CBs. And not a single one of those players have over 90 in either Speed, Agility, or Acceleration. I know not every player is fast, but a 4* rated WR 69 OVR with 87 SPD, 70 ACC, 61 AGL? come on now those players are not even fun to play with. And I know there are a few burners for recruits but even then there like 92 every speed category.

Has anyone else noticed this kind of trend?

[Card-me]

Quote: Originally Posted by NikB13

I just wrapped up a solid recruiting class with Oregon. I got 4, 4* RBs, 3 4* WRs and 2 4* CBs. And not a single one of those players have over 90 in either Speed, Agility, or Acceleration. I know not every player is fast, but a 4* rated WR 69 OVR with 87 SPD, 70 ACC, 61 AGL? come on now those players are not even fun to play with. And I know there are a few burners for recruits but even then there like 92 every speed category. Has anyone else noticed this kind of trend?

Yes, and it's been incredibly frustrating. Not just because of the lack of speed of receivers and backs, but because you'll see speed in other incredibly odd positions that throw everything out of whack. I have a LB on my team right now (who, in all fairness was a 5* ATH) who has 96 speed and 99 acc. He's literally the fastest guy on my team, which is actually pretty awesome for my 3-4 defense.

It's not just an anomaly with that guy though. I have 3 or 4 LBs with speed ratings over 90, and only 2 WRs and 1 HB with speed over 90. I'm not a big fan of what they've done with the speed this year. It's made big plays hard to come by after a few years into a dynasty, which is oddly the exact opposite of what I would expect from EA.

[jbrew2411]

You have to work harder when recruiting. You can not just sign 4* and 5* guys and they all come in as beast. You have to look at 40 times, acc, agl, catch, route running among other things. I love how much of a spread there is now in the game. The past few years had way to many high speed guys. Trust me there are some great players to be found in this game. Not ever 5* or 4* recruit will be the best players. Funny that is how real life is.

[Card-me]

Quote: Originally Posted by jbrew2411

You have to work harder when recruiting. You can not just sign 4* and 5* guys and they all come in as beast. You have to look at 40 times, acc, agl, catch, route running among other things. I love how much of a spread there is now in the game. The past few years had way to many high speed guys. Trust me there are some great players to be found in this game. Not ever 5* or 4* recruit will be the best players. Funny that is how real life is.

I get that and all, but I just think they went too far. The recruiting game is already hard enough, and I've had years where I need a HB, and I wasn't in the top 10 of any player with a speed rating higher than a B, which usually equates to about an 80-85 (which is not that fast). If I want a speed guy, I'm pretty much SOL.

I'm all for having some variety in player speed, but it's ridiculous to have 8 guys on your recruiting board at skill positions and have not one of them be even in the 4.4 range. It wouldn't be such a big deal if you had any shot of signing a guy that's not top-5-interested in your school in the preseason.

[NikB13]

Quote: Originally Posted by Card-me

but it's ridiculous to have 8 guys on your recruiting board at skill positions and have not one of them be even in the 4.4 range.

That is exactly what i mean. I'm not saying that everyone should have 90+ speed lol Just that if a guy is a 5 star skill position recruit, he should be at least high 80s in the speed categories. And if he happens to be the #4 HB in the 150 and in the top 40 i dont think he would be that slow. and you hardly see anything but power or balanced backs anyways lol the speed guys are mostly 3* from what I've seen.

[swhyte21]

Quote: Originally Posted by NikB13

That is exactly what i mean. I'm not saying that everyone should have 90+ speed lol Just that if a guy is a 5 star skill position recruit, he should be at least high 80s in the speed categories. And if he happens to be the #4 HB in the 150 and in the top 40 i dont think he would be that slow. and you hardly see anything but power or balanced backs anyways lol the speed guys are mostly 3* from what I've seen.

Because the higher rated recruits that would be speed guys, also have higher attributes in breaking tackle, trucking, etc that make them balanced.

[Card-me]

Quote: Originally Posted by NikB13

That is exactly what i mean. I'm not saying that everyone should have 90+ speed lol Just that if a guy is a 5 star skill position recruit, he should be at least high 80s in the speed categories. And if he happens to be the #4 HB in the 150 and in the top 40 i dont think he would be that slow. and you hardly see anything but power or balanced backs anyways lol the speed guys are mostly 3* from what I've seen.

Yup. So even if you try to bring in one of those speed guys, they're going to end up having terrible ratings in other ares. That's why they're three stars with elite speed.

In my opinion, most 4* HBs, receivers, and DBs should have speed ratings around 90. There aren't that many 5* guys most years, so they can be slower (because they typically have high ratings in awareness, catching, BCV, etc, making them more reliable). But 4* guys at these possessions almost always have at least good speed, if not elite.

[willIam9387]

I disagree just because a recruit is in the top five at his position doesn't mean he's going to be fast. Maurice Clarett in 2002 was one of the top five RBs in his class and he had at best 4.5 speed, same with Ryan Williams a couple years ago, and there are plenty of other top Rbs in past who have 4.5 speed and worse. The key in recruiting is targeting speed players and then recruiting them heavily. EA implements this well, as speed is a commodity and it's not available to everyone. If you want the fastest and most balanced RB you have to be one of the best schools, and pursue that player.

You really can't focus either just on the caliber when recruiting because it's just an overall ranking. You really have to look at all the ratings in order to decide which player is the best fit for your offense. But to me the distribution of speed is normal and fine, to me it accuratley mirrors real life.