Charting the Change in Rookie Ratings in Madden

[gjneff]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

I'd like to see Rookies across the board have lower ratings. I think M12 did a good job with it. I don't think anybody should be entering the league at much higher than an 80. I think they should change how potential works as well and let them progress or digress based on age and production.

Why can't a rookie come in and be good? Suh was THE most dominating interior lineman his rookie year. They should be rated as what they feel their skills are. If that means they come in as one of the best in the game then so be it.

Also, physically and skill wise, top rookies aren't much if any worse than vets. It is the mental ratings that need to have the most difference. Luck for example probably won't get much more accurate after being in the league, but he will learn his offense and where to go with the ball better.

[gjneff]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

That's the way it works. You come out as the sixth overall pick and put up three very average seasons heading into the highest paid years of your contract and it's going to garner that kind of reaction. Obviously, it didn't turn out to be that way but at the time I'm sure there were plenty of people feeling like it was a bust at that time.

He had 52 catches in 14 games his 2nd season. How is that a bust for a TE? In 2010 he had 56 catches in 16 games, nobody called him a bust then.

[DeuceDouglas]

Quote: Originally Posted by gjneff

Why can't a rookie come in and be good? Suh was THE most dominating interior lineman his rookie year. They should be rated as what they feel their skills are. If that means they come in as one of the best in the game then so be it. Also, physically and skill wise, top rookies aren't much if any worse than vets. It is the mental ratings that need to have the most difference. Luck for example probably won't get much more accurate after being in the league, but he will learn his offense and where to go with the ball better.

I didn't say they can't come in and be good but at this point we don't know anything about who's going to be good or bad. For every Ndamukong Suh there's probably ten plus Ryan Sims out there. Rookies, especially QB's, are generally going to struggle a bit. Luck as highly touted as he is, is more than likely going to throw a bunch of picks this year, as is Griffin. I'm not saying you give Griffin 60 for speed just because he's a rookie but AWR and even pass accuracy should be tapered a bit to compensate for him being a rookie.

[DeuceDouglas]

Quote: Originally Posted by gjneff

He had 52 catches in 14 games his 2nd season. How is that a bust for a TE? In 2010 he had 56 catches in 16 games, nobody called him a bust then.

Because he followed that up with a whopping 31 catches in his third season. And in 2010 he was coming of a season where he caught 13 TD's and went to the Pro Bowl. Then in 2011 he had almost twice the amount of yards with those 56 catches than he did with the 52 catches in his second season.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

I'm not saying you give Griffin 60 for speed just because he's a rookie but AWR and even pass accuracy should be tapered a bit to compensate for him being a rookie.

AWR is a mental rating - so that makes a lot of sense to have it lower to start.

Accuracy - maybe somewhat, but AWR should take care of the INTs he throws (bad decisions/telegraph throws). S/M/DAC should be completion percentage/place ball on the spot. Whether or not that spot is a good one should be based on AWR, imo. To me, it shouldn't be "because he's a rookie", but does he have the skill to place the ball on a spot vs the speed of the NFL game.

Also, consistency could be 1-2 star, DPP might start off lower (especially Sense Pressure until/unless he has a grasp of dealing with an NFL pass rush). Could also use Force Passes to account for the INTs too.

But I agree with those who think it should be mental and technique ratings (AWR, PRC, Coverages, Traits, etc) but whatever it does to OVR should be irrelevant. OVR doesn't matter to how the players play - it shouldn't be a factor in the ratings (don't just lower/increase something so the OVR stacks up a certain way, for example, don't give someone a 15 AWR just to "keep his OVR from being too high").

[DeuceDouglas]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

But I agree with those who think it should be mental and technique ratings (AWR, PRC, Coverages, Traits, etc) but whatever it does to OVR should be irrelevant. OVR doesn't matter to how the players play - it shouldn't be a factor in the ratings (don't just lower/increase something so the OVR stacks up a certain way, for example, don't give someone a 15 AWR just to "keep his OVR from being too high").

Exactly. I think they should either just do away with the OVR altogether or hide it. And then on top of that only give guys ratings that actually pertain to their position. It makes no sense for anybody other than K/P to have a KPW and KAC rating. Same goes for DL with pass blocking attributes and such.

[mpeterso]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

I didn't say they can't come in and be good but at this point we don't know anything about who's going to be good or bad. For every Ndamukong Suh there's probably ten plus Ryan Sims out there. Rookies, especially QB's, are generally going to struggle a bit. Luck as highly touted as he is, is more than likely going to throw a bunch of picks this year, as is Griffin. I'm not saying you give Griffin 60 for speed just because he's a rookie but AWR and even pass accuracy should be tapered a bit to compensate for him being a rookie.

I agree that before the season starts it's hard to justify having rookie ovr's much higher than 80-83. However, once the season starts I think some guys warrant 90+ ovr ratings. For example, I'd argue guys like Earl Campbell, Lawrence Taylor, Randy Moss, Dick Lane, Eric Dickerson etc could be pegged as 90-95+ ovr players by week 5 of their rookie seasons. In fact, some all time greats, guys like Campbell and Gayle Sayers, who really only dominated their first 3-4 seasons in the NFL before fading, would've been worthy of 95+ ovr right out of the box.

[btemp]

If this hasn't been mentioned yet, its incredibly silly that Madden doesn't utilize the full range of possible numbers (0-99). In all categories (OVR, SPD, THP, etc.) the useful range is only 30 pts (70-99). Ratings would be more relevant, and interesting, if it was worthwhile having players in the 40s on the team. As it stands there is a huge glut of players in that 70 and 80 range.