Another exciting week of NFL football has come and gone, as Week 3 of the NFL season was highlighted with upsets, spectacular catches, and trick plays. The week caps off with hate-filled rivalry match between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. In a matchup that never lacks drama, Redskin’s Deangelo Hall has made it clear that he’s targeting Tony Romo’s hurt ribs. Dirty, or smart? Either way, it’s sure to be an exciting matchup.
In the meantime, Sunday was filled with dramatic plays and unexpected upsets that is sure to send the Madden NFL 12 player ratings in a tizzy (yes, I used the word tizzy). While the official ratings changes coming to Madden NFL 12 won’t be released until later this week, I will attempt to sort through the messy stats of Week 3 to bring you some potential changes coming in the Madden NFL 12 Week 4 Roster Update.
Let’s start with the biggest upset of the week (and probably the decade). The Buffalo Bills hosted the New England Patriots this week, and won. A last minute field goal led the Bills to a 34-31 upset over Tom Brady and the Patriots. Although Brady looks a lot more human this week, throwing for interceptions, I wouldn’t expect an overall decrease. After all, the guy is still putting up monstrous numbers. And even though the Patriots lost, I would expect some time of overall increase for WR Wes Welker (16 receptions, 217 yards, 2 TDs) and TE Rob Gronkowski (7 receptions, 109 yards, 2 TDs – currently 86 overall). I’d also expect an overall team ratings boost for the Bills who are off to an unexpected 3-0 start, thanks partially to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 103 QB rating. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an overall boost coming to the Bills quarterback.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Eagle’s QB Michael Vick suffered a broken hand on his non-throwing hand. While it’s uncertain how long Vick will be out, it’s safe to assume a decrease in overall is coming his way. And after a dismal 1-2 start by the Philadelphia Eagles, I’d expect a drop in team overall, especially now that Vick is out.
Despite a close loss to the New Orleans Saints, I think Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson might have played his way into Club 99. We’ll have to wait and see if his 7 receptions for 128 yards will be enough to impress EA’s Madden Ratings Czar, Donny Moore. Personally, I think Johnson has displayed enough consistency this year (and the past few years) to warrant a 99 overall. Speaking of Club 99, it’ll be interesting to see if Brady’s 4 interceptions knock him down a level. Although given his history, I think he’s allowed a few mistakes.
I think Madden NFL 12 might have to add a Club 100 because Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is in a league of his own. Rodgers threw 3 more touchdowns in a Packers victory over the Bears. Rodgers threw 3 touchdowns giving him a total of 8 on the season. He did throw an interception though. I guess machines do make mistakes.
Panthers QB Cam Newton has been the topic of hot debate with his solid rookie debut. Even though he finally notched his first NFL victory, I don’t expect any kind of overall change. I think Madden NFL 12 has him in a good place at 82 overall. While talking about young quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford led the Lions past the Vikings for the first time in who knows how long. The Lions are off to a 3-0 start thanks to Stafford’s excellent quarterback play (Though don’t expect an increase to his 85 overall) and a stingy defense. Oh, and some wide receiver named Calvin Johnson who was initially underrated at the beginning of the season. Insulted by a pedestrian 92 overall by Donny Moore and the staff at EA, Calvin Johnson has dominated in the first three weeks of the season compiling 225 yards and 6 touchdown receptions. He deserves an overall boost after three solid weeks of play.
Tonight, we see a banged up Dallas Cowboys team play host to a surprisingly 2-0 Washington Redskins led by Sexy Rexy. Ware was the newest edition to Club 99 thanks to last week’s Madden NFL 12 Ratings Update and he’ll have to use every bit of that overall to keep the Redskins at bay. Being a Cowboys fan, I’d like to pick the Cowboys to win tonight, but unfortunately I’m going to have to be unbiased and give the game to the Redskins. But I’d like it to be noted that if the Cowboys were healthy, they would win.
Check back later this week for the Madden NFL 12 Week 4 Roster Update.
by John Kelly
Makes the water sounds in the game sound much better, such as rivers, waterfalls, streams, brooks, etc. The sounds are longer, giving them more variety, and at a higher bit-rate, which means they will have higher audio quality than the default sounds. The sounds were taken from live recordings of real waters sources.
