This week I thought I'd try something new with Madden. Instead of predicting the game with a Madden simulation, I'm going to take a look at the biggest and most interesting movers in the Madden rankings. EA updates their player rankings every week based on players' in game performances. It's interesting to see who they're impressed by and what specific stats they increase or decrease.
Biggest increase
Brandon Scherff
Redskins right guard Brandon Scherff has been on a mauling streak. He's thrown top notch defensive linemen to the ground and has been great in pass protection. If he keeps up this level of play, no one will ever care where he was drafted.
Scherff has been trending upward since the Madden launch date. His overall rating began at a 78 but is now up to an impressive 85. Throughout the weeks he's seen increases in pass blocking but specifically in week seven he spiked in impact blocking, awareness, run blocking, and strength. Madden doesn't have a ton of offensive line specific stats so a pretty much across the board increase shows how much EA is impressed by his work as of late.
Spencer Long
Another member of the Hogs 2.0 saw an increase this week. Spencer Long bumped up two overall ratings to 73 on the big board. While his pass blocking (up five) and his run blocking (down four) almost cancel each other out, he saw a massive nine point increase in his awareness.
Our offensive line guru Robbie Duncan broke down Spencer Long a couple weeks ago. It seems EA has also taken notice.
The Faceless Monster
Rob Kelley had a career day (albeit a career that's just starting out) against the Eagles. He was part of a dominating rushing attack that went for over 200 yards.
Kelley saw considerable increases across most of the running back aimed Madden stats including elusivenss (+2), BC vision (+3), and juke (+1). Sadly though, Rob still doesn't have a face in the game. Maybe after another impressive performance EA will bring him in for a photo shoot.
Surprising Faller
What did Colt McCoy do to lower his Madden ranking last week? Well according to Madden he got worse at "throw accuracy mid rating" and "throw accuracy deep rating." I guess he wasn't looking good in warmups because he somehow lost two points in each of these stats.
Poor guy. Maybe this week he can make sure to hit some receivers when the cameras are rolling during the pregame.
Special Mention
Niles Paul earned a two point increase in his overall ranking. This is largely thanks to his four point jump in run blocking.
Niles Paul stepped up in the blocking game while Reed was injured and the Skins will need him to do it again this week with Reed ruled out with a concussion.