My take on the "Injustice" of Madden 13 Ratings

[DCEBB2001]

I cannot say I am surprised with these QB OVR ratings. Once again, you have way too many players over 95. I don't disagree so much with having 9 QBs over 90 (considering that I myself have 8 of them over 90 in the FBG Ratings), but having 5 above 95? That seems a bit top heavy even for being a QB-driven league.

Think about this. The HOF players were rated 99 (Sanders, Sanders, and Irvin) in the primes of their careers according to EA. That means that 5 QBs right now are playing at near perfection, at accomplished by their predecessors.

Now, I can see that being the case for Rodgers, Brady, and Brees right now, but all 3 are coming off of amazing seasons with great win totals, passing statistics, and physical/mental abilities on the football field.

Let's carry this trend of 9 90+ rated players to all positions though. If every other position has at least 9 players rated in the 90s, that's almost 200 players rated over 90. To me, only the ELITE players should be rated a 90+. In the FBG system, there are less than 90 total 90s out of the 18500+ players rated. However, many positions don't even have a player in the 90s. Here is the breakdown of players in the 90s by position with the highest OVR for FBG:

QB 8 (99)
RB 9 (95)
FB 0 (83)
WR 10 (98)
TE 6 (95)
OT 8 (95)
OG 3 (91)
C 2 (92)
K 1 (91)

DE 4 (94)
DT 9 (93)
OLB 9 (97)
ILB 7 (97)
CB 6 (97)
S (Free and Strong) 3 (92)
P 2 (94)
LS 0 (65)

It seems to me that EA doesn't really evaluate the individual traits of each player, but rather simply "slots" them into a predetermined OVR. It is kind of like saying, "Well, we don't have anybody rated 93 on just overall talent, so let's take the best 92 we have and boost him up to a 93 so we have some variation."

Does anybody else get that feeling? That EA simply slots players into an OVR without actually using logic and reason?

The easy thing to do would be to either make everyone a 99 or simply subtract 1 point from each position as you go. At least THAT way we would get some variation between the best QB and the 99th best QB (hope you pick up on the sarcasm here because I am laying it on pretty darn thick).

If EA used real player evaluation they would find that the best, CONSISTENT talent in the NFL is RARE. I don't even know if Rodgers can repeat the season he had last year, or anyone for that matter. The NFL is a game that rewards consistency until you can no longer produce. One bad season could end your career as you find yourself on the street. It shows not only that to make an NFL squad is hard and you have to produce, but that most players are pretty equal when it come to physical ability. It is, however, the technical skill that seperates the top from the bottom. THAT is where EA needs the most differentiation.

Instead, EA has several players up at the top where technical and physical skills barely differ at all from a 99 to a 98 and so on. The only way to even notice a difference is when a player is a 99 and another is a 69. And even then, the 69 can be cheesed into producing like a 99 given his traits and your playbook.

I could be totally off-base here, but that is the impression I get. If EA still has 10+ players in the 90s at each position, look for more inflation of the OVR ratings and subsequent attributes.

Also, ask yourself if that 99 is really deserved. Does that WR with 99 SPD really possess Darrell Green/Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders speed? Does the QB with 99 THP really have an arm that rivals that of Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Gilliam, or Brett Favre's in their primes? Is that RB with 99 JKM/SPM/AGI really as agile as Barry Sanders was for so many years in the early to mid 1990s? Does that WR really have hands as good as Jerry Rice's? Can a CB today match the MCV skills of Deion Sanders in his prime? Is your favorite LB really as hard of a hitter as Butkus, Nitschke, or LT?

These are the questions we need to ask ourselves when these ratings are fully released. I understand that EA is trying to honor football legends this year, but by allowing us to vote on their counterparts' skills and have the ability to give someone the "99" in a category, we may actually be insulting the unmatchable talents from our hallowed football's past.

[Broncos86]

Considering ratings will always be subjective, what can one say? If you evaluate the WRs, and you say "well, I rated this guy a 92 last week, but now I'm looking at this guy and I think he's a 92. But the guy from last week is better. So I'll bump him up." It's all subjective.

My only beef is that I'd rather see the ratings strung out more.

[SteelerSpartan]

Yep I want the ratings spread/system redone so that it uses the full 0-100

90+ should be "Greatest Player Ever at the Position" Category

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Broncos86

Considering ratings will always be subjective, what can one say? If you evaluate the WRs, and you say "well, I rated this guy a 92 last week, but now I'm looking at this guy and I think he's a 92. But the guy from last week is better. So I'll bump him up." It's all subjective. My only beef is that I'd rather see the ratings strung out more.

Ugh! lol, Ratings do not have to be subjective IF they use verifiable data in a universal formula(s) for them. Then the formula(s), ie method for calculating ratings is subjective, not the ratings themselves. There really is a big difference because the universal format allows for balance through measured scaling while subjective ratings cause an unstructured mess, imo.

[bukktown]

Quote: Originally Posted by Broncos86

Considering ratings will always be subjective, what can one say? If you evaluate the WRs, and you say "well, I rated this guy a 92 last week, but now I'm looking at this guy and I think he's a 92. But the guy from last week is better. So I'll bump him up." It's all subjective. My only beef is that I'd rather see the ratings strung out more.

That first sentence is a little bit closed minded if you are talking about the genre in general. They can make ratings totally derived from statistics. The data is available. Football outsiders has a phenomenal database.

If you are only talking about Madden, then yea that ship done sailed with the voting on ratings crap.

[at23steelers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

Ugh! lol, Ratings do not have to be subjective IF they use verifiable data in a universal formula(s) for them. Then the formula(s), ie method for calculating ratings is subjective, not the ratings themselves. There really is a big difference because the universal format allows for balance through measured scaling while subjective ratings cause an unstructured mess, imo.

Verifiable Data.....hmm, must not be in the EA dictionary. What about fans voting for their favorite players to help set some ratings, or in prior years their overall rating? How about that for objective use of how to do ratings??!! Now, that's something that seems smart to me. Who cares about universal formulas and actual real time data and all that complicated schematics, when you can just let the fans decide because Im sure they are all unbiased!!

[DeuceDouglas]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

Ugh! lol, Ratings do not have to be subjective IF they use verifiable data in a universal formula(s) for them. Then the formula(s), ie method for calculating ratings is subjective, not the ratings themselves. There really is a big difference because the universal format allows for balance through measured scaling while subjective ratings cause an unstructured mess, imo.

My only question for that would then be what about attributes like Run Blocking and other attributes where it's a lot more difficult than just correlating a 40 time or bench press reps to a certain attribute.

[Gaycandybacon]

Quote: Originally Posted by at23steelers

Verifiable Data.....hmm, must not be in the EA dictionary. What about fans voting for their favorite players to help set some ratings, or in prior years their overall rating? How about that for objective use of how to do ratings??!! Now, that's something that seems smart to me. Who cares about universal formulas and actual real time data and all that complicated schematics, when you can just let the fans decide because Im sure they are all unbiased!!

It's like you're saying the fans pick every single rating of every single player in the league. lmao. When it all comes down to it, Donny will have the last say of the ratings. If he thinks a rating is farfetched from a fan voting he will probably change it. It's not like RG3 is gonna have a 99 SPD rating..