Full Madden Ratings, Perriman Fastest In NFL
After a long, drawn out revealing process, Madden 16 has finally released its full list of NFL player rankings. It's a spreadsheet of about 40 rating categories and more than 2,300 players. Yeah, it's a lot.
But, I've looked through them all (almost) and here are some Ravens highlights:
- *Who is the fastest and slowest Raven? *
WR Breshad Perriman (97, tied for 1st in NFL) and OT James Hurst (52)
Not only is the first-round rookie the fastest Raven, but he has a WAY faster rating than the man he replaced, Torrey Smith (89). Hey, maybe Perriman really is faster than Smith, but come on, that guy was robbed with an 89 rating. Madden didn't stop there. They made Perriman the fastest player in the entire NFL, tied with Bengals seventh-round rookie receiver Alford Mario. Remember when cornerback Jimmy Smith was asked who is faster between Perriman and Torrey?
- Who is the highest and lowest overall *Raven?OG Marshal Yanda (98)/ LS Morgan Cox (48)
*A 98 overall rating is no joke. The highest you can get in Madden is 99, and only four NFL players got that perfect score ahead of Yanda: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Watt. As for Cox … sorry, bro. Madden doesn't have a lot of love for long snappers (even though it listed you as a tight end). My colleague Ryan Mink will surely be getting your reaction for the world to hear.
- *Who are the most and leasttoughRavens?
*Yanda and WR Steve Smith Sr. (99, tied)/WR Kamar Aiken, CB Cassius Vaughn, CB Tramain Jacobs (60, tied)
No other rating better exemplifies the type of players the Ravens like to bring to Baltimore. Four players across the league tied with the highest toughness rating. Three of them are current or former Ravens: Marshal Yanda, Steve Smith Sr., Anquan Boldin and Logan Mankins (Bucs) all tied at the top of the list with a Madden-best rating of 99.
- Where does Joe Flacco's arm rank among other NFL quarterbacks?No. 3 (tied)
Madden 16 says the Matthew Stafford (99) and Jay Cutler (98) have greater throwing power than Flacco (97). Those guys all have cannons, but I'd love to see them line up and fling the ball around just to be sure who has the edge.
- Best and worst Ravens defensive tacklers?
*LB C.J. Mosley (96)/ Jacobs and Tray Walker (44)
If Mosley gets his hands on an opponent, there's a good chance that man is going to the ground. Mosley's 96 rating is tied for seventh best in the league. *Cornerbacks Jacobs and Tray Walker tied for the lowest rating of any Ravens defender at 44. Corners seem to have a bad reputation for tackling, as they littered the bottom of the rankings.
- Who has the league's strongestleg?K Justin Tucker (of course)
The man is tied (Panthers Graham Gano) for the top spot with a near-perfect 98 rating. Throw in an elite kicking accuracy rating of 95 – duh, he's the most accurate kicker in NFL history – and you can see why Tucker is the highest overall-rated kicker in the league.
- Ravens least and most likely to get injured?
*OLB Courtney Upshaw (98) and TE Dennis Pitta (68)
Pitta is pretty good about laughing at having two hip injuries in two years – the second happening after going untouched – so I doubt he'd argue with this rating. Meanwhile, Upshaw is just a solid and durable dude. He also got some respect from Madden with a 93 hit power rating. (Ask Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger if that's accurate.)
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- Jimmy Smith is the fifth-best press cover corner.
Madden recognized Smith's ability to harass receivers at the line of scrimmage his big 6-foot-2, 209-pound frame. He received a 95 rating for his press cover skills, which is tied for fifth-best in the league. The game also gave him a solid 92 in man coverage, which is why the Ravens can leave him out on an island to do his own thing.*
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- Justin Forsett snubbed in running back ratings and Steve Smith snubbed with 92 stiff-arm rating.
Forsett only ranked in the top 5 of one major running back category: juke moves (95, tied No. 4). But he didn't make the top 5 in carrying, trucking, elusiveness, stiff arm, spin move or vision. Forsett has consistently been praised in Baltimore for his vision, and Madden recognized that with a 96 rating, tied for ninth in the league.
As for Smith's stiff-arms … how does THIS not deserve a 99?
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Arthur Brown On The Bubble
Preseason football is HERE. While you won't see a lot of action from some of the starters, the next four weeks could make or break some players' careers.
According to The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec, one person who will need a big preseason and is on the bubble is linebacker Arthur Brown.* *
"I would have told you a month ago that I'd be shocked if 2013 second-round NFL draft pick Arthur Brown isn't on the regular-season roster," Zrebiec wrote. "Now, I'm trying to figure out how the Ravens will be able to keep the inside linebacker."
It appears that both Zach Orr and Albert McClellan have moved past Brown on the depth chart. Brown has been working with the third-team defense in training camp and hasn't stood out on special teams.
"Where does that leave him? Firmly on the roster bubble, I guess," Zrebiec wrote. "The Ravens don't like giving up on high drafts picks so early, but if they decide Brown hasn't improved and is not going to be able to help them, they might as well move on from the former Kansas State standout."
5 Players To Watch Tonight
In addition to keeping an eye on Brown, here are five other players WNST's Luke Jones wants to watch tonight:
CB Lardarius Webb "The Ravens will be patient with Webb, but the memories of the Pro Bowl-caliber player he was in 2011 continue to fade, making you wonder if Rashaan Melvin and Kyle Arrington could push for his starting job as the season progresses."
TE Crockett Gillmore "With there still being no real sign that Dennis Pitta will play this season and Maxx Williams developing slowly as most rookie tight ends do, the Ravens are going to need Gillmore to step up quickly. The organization is quietly expecting a good season from [him]."
LB Za'Darius Smith"The comparisons to Pernell McPhee began immediately after Smith was selected in the fourth round of this spring's draft, but the Ravens need him to be able to lend a hand as a pass rusher to fill that void. Whether he lines up on the edge or is moved around in sub packages, Smith figures to pick up many of McPhee's valuable reps in passing situations and in spelling Suggs and Elvis Dumervil."
WR Jeremy Butler
"With Perriman and Brown missing extensive time, Butler has received a nice share of first-team reps when the Ravens use three- or four-wide sets and he's held his own, but now you want to see him carry over that performance against outside competition."
QB Matt Schaub"Outside observers have seen the new Ravens veteran backup struggle in the spring and summer, but Harbaugh and his coaching staff have gone out of their way to stick up for the 34-year-old whenever asked."
More Retirements Coming This Offseason?
Smith Sr. has already declared this year to be his last, and while others might not announce it this early, there could be a couple more retirements after 2015 concludes.
Zrebiec could see defensive end Chris Canty and inside linebacker Daryl Smith hanging it up after 11- and 12-year careers, respectively. And Terrell Suggs didn't exactly quash retirement questions when asked about it over the summer.
"Between retirements, the potential unrestricted free agency of players like Courtney Upshaw, Marshal Yanda, Kelechi Osemele and Justin Tucker and the typical offseason roster casualties, this season could represent the last run for several members of the team's current nucleus," Zrebiec wrote.
Joe Flacco MVP Odds
Sporting book Bovada released its 2015 NFL MVP odds, and Flacco is tied for the 20th best odds (40/1) with five other players: Matt Forte, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford and Ryan Tannehill.
The top 5 players with the best odds to get the honor are Aaron Rodgers (5/1), Andrew Luck (7/1), Adrian Peterson (12/1), J.J. Watt (12/1) and Peyton Manning (16/1).
"Quarterback Joe Flacco actually makes the list!" wrote Baltimore Beatdown's Matthew Stevens. "Now before you say 'well everyone has a shot,' no, no they don't. The list is kept to 33 players only and includes some of the heavy hitters."
Joe Responds To Elite Sign At Republican Debate
You can't forget the hilarious moment when PFT Commentator held up a grammatically incorrect sign at the Republican GOP debate, asking if Flacco is an elite quarterback.
Flacco told CSNBaltimore.com's Brent Harris what he thought about the moment in the video below. And I'll throw in another video of Flacco talking about fatherhood, and how his kids care more about drinking Gatorade than seeing him at work.
Quick Hits
