Madden 12 Video Unveils Several Ratings for Eagles Players?
I love the Madden video games. For me, the entire month of August is a holiday as I play the demo to get ready for the real thing once it hits shelves, and I’m there at midnight to get my copy.
Unfortunately, however, Madden 11 was just awful. It was like playing the old NFL Blitz games again with the ridiculous scoring, and the game modes were stale and unchanged. I returned my game after a week and waited impatiently for a new game to keep me entertained.
So when I heard there were some new videos out explaining all the changes to franchise mode, which is the only thing I play, I ran to my computer and screamed at it to load faster so I could get my fix.
While watching the video, I noticed they brought up the Eagles roster. As they scrolled past some of the names, I noticed there were actually ratings attached. As I said, I did not keep Madden 11 so I did not get to see what the final rosters looked like, but after doing some checking around it looks like the ratings they show in the video are different from the ratings in the final roster update.
Guys like David Akers and Quintin Mikell are still on the roster, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t re-done the ratings for Madden 12 and are simply waiting to see what happens with those guys.
Is it possible EA actually let some of the ratings for next year get out? It might not seem like a big deal to the average fan of the Madden series, but the hardcore fans know ratings are kept locked down and released little by little as we get closer to the release date. This would be like if the NFL schedule was accidentally shown three months ahead of time.
Maybe these were just ratings thrown up there for the sake of the video, maybe they’re from Madden 11, or maybe they’re the set ratings for this year’s version of Madden. I’m not sure, but here are the ratings for the 11 Eagles players shown in the video, along with some reactions:
Michael Vick – 90
This is probably right where he belongs entering 2012. His rating probably gets a big boost from a high running ability and strong arm rating.
Kevin Kolb – 85
I think this is a ridiculously high rating, but hopefully this reflects what the quarterback-needy teams of the league think about Kolb as well. Personally, he’d be somewhere in the mid-70’s were it up to me.
Mike Kafka – 67
Who knows? This is probably fair.
David Akers – 95
I’m an Akers supporter. I believe he should be brought back and I thought the move to draft a kicker in the fourth round was crazy, but this is way too high. Somewhere in the high 80’s to low 90’s is probably more appropriate.
Asante Samuel – 94
After seeing all the stats from last year about how little he actually allowed to his side of the field, this could probably be higher; even with a tackle rating somewhere in the 30’s.
DeSean Jackson – 90
I get this, but I think this is too high. I’m not as high on Jackson as others. He’s obviously a great playmaker with the ball in his hands, but his inability to get off press coverage and his tendency to disappear in certain games would make me drop him a few points.
Trent Cole – 90
This is a good rating, but he could probably be a couple points higher. I guess I would have to see where he ranks with other defensive ends, but Cole’s ability to play the run and the fact that he’s the only true pass-rusher on the team gets lost on people too often.
Todd Herremans – 90
Can someone explain the love for Herremans? I do not see it. He gets manhandled by any defensive tackle with real size and will get lazy feet much more often than people think. I believe Jason Peters took too much heat in his first year in Philadelphia for allowing sacks because I believe at least a handful of those could be put squarely on Herremans’ shoulders. I’ll never understand the infatuation.
Jason Peters – 89
Speaking of Peters, this is ridiculously low. Peters is in the conversation for the best left tackle in football, and rating him lower than Herremans is a damn travesty. Someone needs to hit the EA people and let them know they missed the mark here. Peters deserves at the very worst a low-90’s rating and should be even higher.
Quintin Mikell – 89
I’m a Mikell fan and have stuck up for him when a lot of the city has given up on him, but this is too high. Especially after watching him miss far too many tackles last season, I would probably knock Mikell about five or six points.
LeSean McCoy – 88
He’s still young, so I don’t have such a huge problem with this, but McCoy better progress quickly. Breaking 1,000 yards in Andy Reid’s offense is nothing short of incredible, and McCoy really had to work with it and make the best of every opportunity given. Looking at his 5.2 yards per carry, I would say he did just that. Then include what he did catching the ball out of the backfield and the Birds have a guy in McCoy who could easily become one of the top running backs in the league.