http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/madden12ratings/_/team/det/id/8/detroit-lions

Looks like the Lions got screwed.  They DECREASED the ratings for Stafford, C Will, Mo Morris, Felton, Shaun Hill, Avril, KVB, SLH, Fluellen, and Delmas

Some players increased include D Will, Tye Hill, Bobby Carpenter, Chris Houston, Spievey.  

It's like the ratings czar doesn't watch football at all.  D Will did nothing to merit any kind of increase, and all Tye Hill did was get burned all year.

http://espn.go.com/videogames/madden11?teamId=19

I was kind of disappointed by how low they dropped some of the guys.  Tony Scheffler in particular was a 79 last year but is now down to a 74.  Also, in my opinion, Corey Williams should be higher than a 78 as that makes him worse than he was last year as a 3-4 DE.

On the other hand, Dominic Raiola,  Jeff Backus, DeAndre Levy and Sammie Hill finally got much deserved boosts from last year.  

 Eric King got a raise, but I'm not sure why, because he spent the last year either injured or getting torched, he's now tied with Amari Spievey for the 2nd best CB.  

Also,  Zack Follett with only 75 hit power is a joke (2 less than Jordon Dizon, give me a break!)  

What do you guys think?  Obviously it's just a game, but it can be informative for how people view and evaluate the talent on the Lions roster from an outside perspective.

This is purely for fun and I'm posting it here because I know a lot of you guys play Madden and might be interested in seeing this or giving feedback on it.  I've added the player's original rating in parenthesis behind my rating for them.   For those of you unfamiliar with the ranking system in Madden, players are ranked from 0-99 with 99 being the best.  In general, Pro Bowl caliber guys are 90-99, Good players are 80-89, Average or solid players are 70-79, and anything below 70 is below average.  This is for the 2010-2011 Lions, so it factors in off-season improvements that have not necessarily happened yet.

So here it is:

QB- Matt Stafford 81(79)/Shaun Hill 72(70)/ Drew Stanton 62(47)
RB- Kevin Smith 79(82)/ Jahvid Best 77(74)/ Maurice Morris 75(76)/ Aaron Brown 69(69)
FB- Jerome Felton 75(78) 
WR- Calvin Johnson 94(91)/ Nate Burleson 81(79)/ Bryant Johnson 70(70)/ Derrick Williams 68(68)/ Dennis Northcutt 66(66) 
TE- Brandon Pettigrew 83(82)/Tony Scheffler 80(78)/Will Heller 72(70)
LT- Jeff Backus 80(77)/ Jason Fox 69(NA)
LG- Rob Sims 82(82)/ Manny Ramirez 68(68) 
C- Dominic Raiola 80(80)/ Dylan Gandy 68(68)
RG- Stephen Peterman 79(78) 
RT- Gosder Cherilus 75(74)/ John Jansen 74(74) 
K- Jason Hanson 88(95) 

LE- Cliff Avril 76 (76)/ Jason Hunter 74(70) 
DT- Corey Williams 82(83)/ Sammie Hill 73(67) 
DT- Ndamukong Suh 85(85)/ Landon Cohen 66(64) 
RE- Kyle Vanden Bosch 83(80)/ Jared DeVries 71(71) 
LOLB- Julian Peterson 83(87)/ Jordan Dizon 64(57) 
MLB- DeAndre Levy 76(70) 
ROLB- Zack Follett 69(62)/ Landon Johnson 69(69) 
CB- Chris Houston 73(67)/ Dante Wesley 67(67)/ Jack Williams 64(60) 
FS- Louis Delmas 86(82) / Daniel Bullocks 70(73) 
SS- Ko Simpson 71(71)/ Marquand Manuel 70(72) 
CB- Jonathan Wade 68(61)/ Amari Spievey 68(68)/ Eric King 65(60) 
P- Nick Harris 76(73)

I tried to be as accurate and fair as possible, let me know what you guys think.  I also haven't added Caleb Campbell yet, but if I had to rate him it would probably be in the high 50s or low 60s.

Hey guys, I don't post here a lot, but I stop by to read the articles, fanposts and comments on a daily basis.  Just thought I would step out of my cocoon for a minute and post some thoughts on our first round pick.

I've heard a lot of people say that Suh is the best DT prospect in the last 20 years, but in the next breath (almost word for word from one of the guys on The Ticket) say that it would be a huge mistake to trade up to take him.  If he really is THAT good, I think we should get him by any means necessary, even if it means we give up a 3rd rounder to St. Louis in order to swap picks with them.  My reasoning is simple:  how many Lions 3rd round picks from the last 20 years do you remember?   From the 1990s only David Sloan and Jared DeVries stand out in my mind.  In recent memory, I'll admit we've done pretty well in the 3rd round, getting Levy last year and Kevin Smith and Cliff Avril in 2008.  Cory Redding, Reuban Droughs, and Andre Goodman are other notable 3rd rounders from the 2000s.  That makes for 8 memorable picks in 20 years, granted that we did not have a 3rd round pick each year, but some years we had 2 or even 3 picks.  Out of all those guys, Levy is probably the only one I wouldn't want to trade in order to get a DT on the level of a Kevin Williams or Albert Haynesworth.

I understand that this is an incredibly deep draft, but I feel that a great DT could turn our D from dead last to middle of the pack.  If the opposing O-line has to double team someone, I can guarantee we will see Gunther's blitzes getting through and our average (at best) corners will be able to cover adequately.  Most of the big passes we gave up last year were on plays where we blitzed and the QB still had 4 or 5 seconds to throw into one on one coverage down field.  

On the other hand, maybe Suh isn't as good as he's billed to be.  In that regard, I put my trust in Schwartz to trade down and get us more picks.  I can totally understand the people who advocate for trading down, given the depth of this draft.  All I know is that you don't pass up a once in 20 years talent.

That's just my take, and I'd appreciate hearing your guys' thoughts on this!

Go Lions!