Madden NFL 12 Blog
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Madden Ratings Debate: Championship Week
Posted by Aaron Boulding at 07:20AM on Tuesday, January, 17, 2012
The Divisional round of the NFL playoffs didn’t disappoint, unless you’re a Saints, Texans, Broncos or Packers fan. San Francisco-New Orleans proved to be an all-time classic and just the kind of thrilling game we needed on Saturday since Denver-New England ended up being far less competitive than anybody expected. That the Texans-Ravens game was in doubt later than the Giants-Packers matchup has to be considered mildly surprising given that Green Bay was being discussed as a potentially undefeated team as late as Thanksgiving.
These are the playoffs. Every play, every quote, every snap, every gust of wind and every other mundane fact of pro football is hyped up and magnified just a little more as each week goes by and we’re offered fewer games with what are supposed to be the best teams. So a monumental weekend for tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Vernon Davis will be burned into our collective memory (especially in Davis’ case) as will heroic performances by their quarterbacks. These are the moments that will influence decisions about player ratings in the next Madden NFL because these are the moments ultimately shaping our thoughts on the 2011 season. The eventual Super Bowl champion --New York, Baltimore, New England or San Francisco-- will be one of the top rated teams with a ton of top rated players and strength in all phases of the game because we’re seeing them perform and step up in big moments. For better or worse, they’re the leading stars of the unfolding drama. All we have to do is stay ready and watch for what happens next.
As a unit, San Francisco’s secondary played a remarkable game against a well-armed New Orleans Saints offense. Specifically, it was Dashon Goldson, Donte Whitner, and Carlos Rogers who stood out in my opinion. Those three players played an extremely aggressive game trying to make every tackle and break up every pass with precision timing. On the big pass plays, it was over aggression that let Saints receivers break free and run after the catch for big touchdowns. Those are plays SF’s defensive coaches were willing to live with if it also meant creating lots of drops, three-and-outs and those early turnovers. The point is, those DBs made it work well enough and played a great game to complement what Justin Smith was doing on the defensive line. In a game where New Orleans decided not to attack Niner linebackers via the running game –Although I thought the Saints could’ve stuck with the run a bit more—the defensive backs had to step up and they played an outstanding game. The front seven got much of the credit for SF’s defensive success in 2011, but let’s give Goldson, Whitner and Rogers more awareness, tackle and man coverage ratings points.
Being lucky or “stealing” a game against a talented opponent is a proven recipe for success in the postseason. When the Houston Texans found themselves in a one possession game against the Ravens late, rookie QB TJ Yates had more than one opportunity to knock off an experienced and talented Baltimore team that didn’t look like the AFC North champion. The fact is he made the mistakes against the Ravens that he didn’t make the week before against the Bengals. His fellow rookie Andy Dalton knows what we’re talking about. Houston got huge games out of both Arian Foster and Andre Johnson and only needed a few big plays from Yates. To the Ravens credit they created the scenario where Yates was going to have to step up in crunch time and do something amazing like he did in Week 14 against Cincinnati when he lead his team on a game winning touchdown drive in his second start. Too many interceptions with the game on the line tend to stick with fans and with observers like us. Yates played like a rookie and has to take a knock to his awareness and deep accuracy. He had seen boosts to both of those as he guided Houston to the playoffs late in the regular season. It seems like he was who we thought he was…..back then.
A big part of Yates’ tough ending was Ed Reed. The veteran safety is just too good to challenge him in big moments of big games. He can read a quarterback’s eyes from 30 yards away and read their minds in the blink of an eye it seems. Picking off Yates’ intended pass to Andre Johnson to end the game is what he does and the kind of thing that Baltimore counts on him to do when they turn him loose in that defensive secondary. Ratings-wise, Reed has lost half a step while retaining all of his football instincts. His traits should all be aggressive and ideal because he plays the ball in the air aggressively yet still lines players up for big hits and is relentless in big games like we saw last weekend. Maybe his jump rating needs a couple of points after the way he stayed in the air to battle Andre Johnson for that game winning pick.
Aaron Rodgers had 20 incompletions in Green Bay’s loss to the Giants. That’s a lot of dropped passes and near misses that had to be seen to understand the story of that game. For me it was Green Bay’s inability to count on Ryan Grant to produce when it was time to shift strategies. In the second half when Green Bay was fighting their way back into the game, Grant couldn’t get the run or the yards after the catch the Packers needed to keep their defense off the field. Yeah, the Packers are a pass-first team with one of the best QBs in the league under center so running backs like Grant and James Starks should be afterthoughts. We’re talking about the playoffs though. A running back needed to step up against that vicious Giants defense that’s playing with tremendous confidence right now. Grant didn’t need to play like the next Barry Sanders but he the Packers could’ve used a drive or two where he could be a weapon to throw off New York’s defense. A knock to Grant’s acceleration, agility and catch-in-traffic rating should all take a hit. The Packers kept going to him when they needed him most and the results just weren’t there.
If you missed last week’s Madden NFL 12 podcast, don’t worry because the Madden Ratings Debate had the week off. This Friday, however, we’re back to our regularly scheduled program. The culmination of the weekly Madden Ratings Debate is where you, the Madden community, get to hear the thoughts and reactions of ratings czar Donny Moore as he processes everything we talk about on Facebook, Twitter (#MaddenRatingsDebate) and the Madden NFL forums all week. The games are getting tougher, the players are getting better and the debate isn’t gong to stop.
You can help make your favorite players better with your participation in the greatest debate in the only place that counts. Check in with me on Twitter (@aboulding) throughout the week for the latest on the Madden Ratings Debate and the NFL.
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Previously by This Author
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Aaron Boulding
Posted at 08:52AM on Tuesday, February, 07, 2012
Madden Ratings Debate: The Meaning of Clutch
Now that he’s done it on the biggest stage, the entire television-watching planet saw it and we’re clear on just what it means, somebody would need to tell us why Eli Manning does NOT deserve the Clutch trait. Right now, he’s the definition of the clutch QB. With that 88-yard game-winning drive where he connected on the biggest play of a surprisingly strong defensive battle (Mario Manningham’s 38 yarder) and went 4-5 the rest of the way, Manning made it look easy.
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Aaron Boulding
Posted at 06:48AM on Tuesday, January, 31, 2012
Madden Ratings Debate: Being Super
Because of the names on each iteration of the game, the season it represents and the dynamic ratings update system, it’s easy to underestimate the impact of a Super Bowl berth on player ratings. A clear example comes from last year when Pittsburgh and Green Bay’s defenses were rated coming into Madden NFL 12. As we entered the 2011 NFL season, Madden NFL 12’s player ratings at launch (late August) were based on 2010 NFL season performances.
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Aaron Boulding
Posted at 09:42AM on Tuesday, January, 10, 2012
Madden NFL Ratings Report Card: Wild Cards
These Wild Card Weekend games reminded everybody why this time of year is so special. The truth comes out. Pretenders are exposed, contenders are confirmed and miracles happen in the playoffs. That’s just how it is. While this coming weekend represents the last Saturday-Sunday pair of doubleheaders the storylines are irresistible.
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