Get rid of some of the ratings

[EHSheadhunter09]

I was looking at some of the receiving attributes and it occurred to me that they are utterly useless. Take the route running one for instance, shouldn't awareness cover whether or not a guy runs the right route and agility and acceleration cover how fast he gets in and out of breaks. And the release rating seems useless and easily replaced by some function of the strength rating. Same for the blocking strength ratings. There are of course others, I just wanted to put this out there.

[Black4track]

agreed sir

[ViLLiO]

release is one of the first ratings I look for in a WR...

[jkra0512]

Interesting points. What is your take on the QB accuracy rating? Should it stay as one rating or broken up into short, intermediate and deep accuracy ratings?

[EHSheadhunter09]

Quote: Originally Posted by jkra0512

Interesting points. What is your take on the QB accuracy rating? Should it stay as one rating or broken up into short, intermediate and deep accuracy ratings?

In short, kind of. First they need to come up with some way of adding a 'touch' to the passes, the arc of passes has always been off. After that they probably need to create multiple releases and drop backs like someone else said in one of the wishlist threads. If there ever was a need for more ratings it would be the throw accuracies. But they way they go about doing it in NCAA and Madden (Which has the different ratings) has never made much sense to me. In real life whenever you see a guy off his target he usually is off his release point or his feet aren't set. And the extent to which a guy can throw downfield is directly tied to his arm strength. So, I think a rating isn't exactly the right way to go about it. Yes, there needs to be some rating to set a baseline for a guys ability to accurately hit a target, but in gameplay situations the game needs to account for everything that is going on and all the guys other ratings. I would be happier if we got the playfake and throw on run ratings first, they have more real life correlations. But of course they would need to really overhaul the play actions before those would ever matter.

My biggest gripe with the game isn't even ratings, they just kind of annoy me in the sense that they seem useless and seem to just be over-complicating things for no reason. They really need to overhaul OL play, hire an actual OL coach or player as a consultant. They need to fix how they interact w/ the DL (Most OL hold inside the shoulders to turn and keep a grip on DL... The DL do all those fancy moves of theirs to keep OL from getting their clamps on them), they need to try and get the OL to shade a little away from the running lane (Turning their backs towards the hole to keep the DL from grabbing the runner), fix the pass pick up logic, integrating more cut blocking as it is used in real life (Quick over the middle passes, screens, etc), the list goes on.

[TIMB0B]

I agree. I actually emailed the following to EAfeedback several months ago.

I sent this specifically for recruiting purposes to use as search filters, and also for editing/creating players where we could simply enter the applicable combine results rather than guesstimating on each attribute.

40 Time - Speed (combined with Acceleration)
20 Yard Shuttle - Acceleration
3 Cone Drill - Agility (Determines Spin, Juke, Route Running, Blocking Footwork, and Strafe/Backpedal ability)
Vertical - Jump (Determines Hurdle and Leaping ability)
Broad Jump - Explosiveness (Determines Trucking, Diving, Impact Block, and Hit Power ability)
Bench Press - Upper Body Strength (Determines Stiff Arm, Release, Pass Block Strength, Finesse Move, and Block Shedding ability)
Squat - Lower Body Strength (Determines Break Tackle, Run Block Strength, Bullrush/Power Move, and Press Cover ability)
60 Yard Shuttle - Stamina
GPA - Discipline (High GPA = minimal penalties; Low GPA = penalty prone)

It seems to me that these skills are universal, and what ultimately determines which side of the ball you play on comes down to position specific skills i.e. Passing, Ballcarrying, Receiving, Blocking, Tackling, and Coverage.

Using Adrian Peterson as an example (who had a broad jump in the NFL combine that was off the charts), we've all seen how he trucks opposing defenders, but I can bet that if he played defense, you'd see the same violent hits when he tries to tackle someone. It's because of his explosiveness, and all four of those attributes (trucking, diving, impact block, and hit power) are exemplified by the broad jump, just as the 3 Cone Drill shows Spin, Juke, Strafe, and Backpedal abilities collectively because agility is about footwork and change of direction skills. What separates the players from these universal attributes, though, would still be determined by their position specific skills.

I also had in mind an "Aptitude Test Score" (i.e. SAT/ACT that is required for all prospects). Basically, the score would determine how much a player's awareness would go up after their first year, and more importantly, the rate of awareness drop if they change positions. So, if they made a perfect score on the test, their awareness would not change from position to position. An aptitude test, like the wonderlic, determines how quickly one processes information, so a high score means they learn the new position quickly.

NOTE: I don't know how the game currently uses Pass/Run Block Strength, but I'd use it as a pancake attribute.

[EHSheadhunter09]

Quote: Originally Posted by TIMB0B

It seems to me that these skills are universal, and what ultimately determines which side of the ball you play on comes down to position specific skills i.e. Passing, Ballcarrying, Receiving, Blocking, Tackling, and Coverage.

Couldn't agree more. But I think the Truck/Elusiveness and Power/Finesse need to function more as sliders determining what type of move a computer RB or DL uses.

Another observation is that how a guy runs usually has a lot to do with his stride and subsequently his height. Shorts guys usually accelerate faster, etc.

And the injury rating needs to go, we need a system that factors in recurring injuries and is otherwise random.

And the stamina system needs re-doing, you will never see a QB, OL or most second level defensive players leave the field without being injured. There still needs to be some element that separates guys late in games but the way the rating works now is not it.

[TIMB0B]

Quote: Originally Posted by EHSheadhunter09

Couldn't agree more. But I think the Truck/Elusiveness and Power/Finesse need to function more as sliders determining what type of move a computer RB or DL uses. Another observation is that how a guy runs usually has a lot to do with his stride and subsequently his height. Shorts guys usually accelerate faster, etc. And the injury rating needs to go, we need a system that factors in recurring injuries and is otherwise random. And the stamina system needs re-doing, you will never see a QB, OL or most second level defensive players leave the field without being injured. There still needs to be some element that separates guys late in games but the way the rating works now is not it.

Yeah, but you get the gist. Throw out all of these different attributes, and consolidate them for the most part.

I'd love to be a consultant on this game.