Explanation of attributes?

[sportsfreaklgg]

I know some attributes out there are self-explanatory (ie. Speed...Catching) However, there are some very ambiguous attributes. Here are the ones that need clarification:

Awareness: I've wondered about this for years now. What does it do precisely? Does it vary depending on the position? and if so, what are its effects from position to position?

Strength: At first it seemed self explanatory, but then it makes you wonder... Is strength only factored in for blocking? Or does it affect a ball handlers' ability to break tackles? If Marion Barber has 80 strength and Reggie Bush has 60 Strength, will Marion be harder to tackle?

Agility Vs. Elusiveness? What is the difference? My guess would be that agility effects how well a player can "stop and start" with directions, and elusiveness affects how well a ball handler will make jukes/fakes but that's just a guess.

Elusiveness vs. Juke vs. Spin
Aren't Jukes and Spins "elusive" moves? Is elusiveness more of a passive "auto break tackle" modifier? Does elusiveness have any effect on a non-ballcarrier who is moving around?

Route Running vs. Agility?
Theoretically, a receiver with good route running would run a "crisper" route, but doesn't that slightly overlap with agility? Again, I just want clarification. I do not mean to criticize the design of the attributes.

Blocking Strength vs. Blocking Footwork?

Play Recognition
What are the specifics on this? I know the smart *** answer is "well the defender can recognize plays better," but does that mean the defender commits to the correct play type (run vs. pass vs. play action etc.) if he has a high play recognition? Specifics here please.

Block Shedding vs. Strength
What is the difference between the two? If block shedding is how well a player gets by blockers, wouldn't that overlap with Finesse Moves and Power Moves?

Trucking/Stiff Arm
Is there a passive function to trucking/stiff arming, or is it simply when you flick up on the stick/hit X?

Zone Coverage
So a player has 99 zone coverage. Woohoo. What will he do better than a player with a 50 zone coverage? Anyone can figure out how to stick around in a certain area, right? I believe there is a difference, I just want to know what it is.

EA has too often left the gamers guessing as to what the attributes do, which is a shame since attributes are at the core of every player! If someone could clarify these attributes for me that would be nice. I think they should also have a breakdown of these attributes somewhere in the game. It really would help everyone's understanding of the game and make it WAYY more fun.

[rsoxguy12]

I have always wondered what the toughness rating is as well....

[rickywal]

Quote: Originally Posted by rsoxguy12

I have always wondered what the toughness rating is as well....

I would assume toughness effects the amount a players stamina wears down in a game when taking big hits etc. and maybe the type of injury they get. So a tough player may only get a 1 week injury while a player with a lower rating may get 3-4 weeks out.

Thats my guess!

[rickywal]

Great post actually.

You always try get players with high ratings in everything, but what does it all mean? If I draft a rookie with 80 block footwork and block strength but only 50 impact, is he even worth using or trying to develop?

I'd assume footwork helps him in positioning, strength in holding the tackle and impact in pancaking... but these are all guesses.

I guess this is one of the things we miss about no game instructions... they should have a break down of what each does, so we can better understand how we should be utilizing our players.

[ChuckMonts]

toughness used to affect injury length. injury affected the amount of injuries. so a player with 99 injury rating and 1 toughness would VERY rarely get hurt but when he did he would be out for a long time. On the other end a guy with 1 injury rating and 99 toughness would get injured on every hit but it would rarely be more than a few plays.

my undertanding of footwork vs. power is that footwork is length they can hold blocks and power is the push they get

[Outkizast]

Strength: I believe this affects a ballcarrier's ability to "fall forward"...?

Agility - Elusiveness: I actually just figured this out the other day: a ballcarrier with a really high agility rating can pull of his moves (spin, juke) MUCH faster and more responsively.. It's crazy how fast you can pull of some juke moves with a 99 agility guy... I think Elusiveness purely helps break tackles...

Block Shedding: not necessarily the ability to get PAST blockers... but the ability to desengage from a block I believe... if you want to get past the blocker, you would need a power or finesse move...

Route Running: nothing to do with agility... Jerry Rice is an AMAZING route runner... but not nearly as agile as Reggie Bush or someone....

Zone Coverage: My guess is this is how well a player can realize and react to a player running through his zone... also probably plays into awareness a little bit....


These may not all be true... but this is what I see the ratings as.

[sportsfreaklgg]

Hmm, very good ideas so far. It's a shame we have to speculate though. Lets push for clearer explanations from EA!

Strength is tricky to figure out. I do feel like that when I have RB's that have high strength, they do fall foward a lot though.

[OSTAJ34]

Seriously, what IS Awareness? I have heard that it is reflects decision making for CPU players, but does awareness mean anything if YOU are controlling the player?

WTF is it?