Should Cardinals and Fans Care About Madden Ratings?

No---the players, nor the Cardinals fans should care about the Madden ratings.

But---it seems that many of the players and the fans do.

It’s a pride thing.

Can a lower than expected Madden rating serve as motivation for a player like Chandler Jones or Budda Baker?

It may, yes.

Can a lower than expected Madden rating serve as a stigma for players?

It may, if the player starts believing that the Madden raters might be accurate. The power of suggestion is often quite compelling.

Why would players care so much?

Well, if anyone were to offer a specific set of ratings on your job performance, would to pay attention to it? Of course you would. Every competitive person wants to know how he or she is perceived.

The bottom line is how the players perceive themselves and just how cognizant they are of their own strength are areas that need improvement.

The Cardinals ratings this year are lower than expected, largely because the Cardinals were 3-13 last year and the expectation is that they will wind up near the bottom of the league again this year. Thus, in part, the 2019 Madden ratings are a reflection of the low expectations of the Cardinals’ team.

Some of the notable Cardinals:

Peterson: 92

Johnson: 87

Fitzgerald: 84

Gilbert: 84

Suggs: 83

Jones:82

Baker: 80

Hicks: 80

Murray: 73

It’s not even worth it to argue the ratings.

If the team exceeds expectations, chances are strong that the Cardinals’ individual ratings will rise.

I can tell you this, having worked with John Madden on the the original Madden Football video game, Madden has nothing to do with these ratings.

Madden judges the caliber and character of NFL players through his own unique lenses. Madden relishes mental and physical toughness. Plus, Madden puts high stock in year to year effort and consistency.

That being the case, John Madden himself would never give WR Larry Fitzgerald a rating of 84.

The good news for Cardinals’ fans is that Fitz is focused on more important things than subjective player rankings.

Thus, should we really care about Madden ratings?

The ratings might create some conversations of interest among players and fans during the slowest days on the NFL calendar.

But, other than that, the reality is that with the 2019 season, as with every new season, everything is a clean slate.

The new season brings a refreshing reset for everyone. Fans included!