With just one day left until the newest version of EA’s NCAA Football drops, here’s a full video of the pregame presentation before a virtual contest between Michigan and UConn at the Big House (HT: UMGoBlog):
I must say, the game looks fantastic, and the reviews have been stellar — it’s been a long time since NCAA generated this much excitement (and deservedly so, as the past few years have been subpar at best), but I’m itching to get the game in my hands and get cracking on a dynasty.
EA Sports just posted screenshots featuring stadiums that are either new to the game or have had major renovations. Of course, Michigan Stadium falls in the latter category. Here’s how the new boxes look in this year’s game:
Check out the original post for a shot-by-shot comparison to last year’s game as well as every other major stadium change for this year’s version. I must say, Tuesday’s release date can’t come soon enough right now.
Quick post today, as I’m still reeling from that atrocious call in the U.S. World Cup game, and EA has pulled their NCAA 11 Teambuilder page (I guess it wasn’t supposed to be public yet), so I can’t see any player ratings for other teams right now. Gaming insider PastaPadre has posted most of the team ratings from NCAA 11, however, with Michigan and all their 2010 FBS opponents included. The Wolverines earn a B overall rating, with a B+ offense and a B defense — no complaints here, especially since that defense could easily be a B- or worse.
Going by EA’s ratings, Michigan should have the edge in six games on their 2010 schedule (including UMass, who isn’t in the game), with four games projected as losses and two (Notre Dame and Michigan State) perfectly even.
Connecticut: C+ overall, B- offense, C+ defense
Notre Dame: B, B+, B
UMass: FCS team — not in game
Bowling Green: D+, C-, D+
Indiana: B-, B, C+
Michigan State: B, B+, B
Iowa: B+, A-, B+
Penn State: A-, A, B+
Illinois: C+, C+, C+
Purdue: B-, B, B-
Wisconsin: A-, A, B+
Ohio State: A, A+, A
I’ll have more on Michigan’s 2010 opponents whenever EA decides to bring back the Teambuilder page, which hopefully will happen in the very near future. Enjoy your weekend, everyone.
Today I’ll continue my look at the newly-released player ratings (NOTE: EA took down their Teambuilder page for now, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that these ratings are correct) in NCAA Football ’11 with a breakdown of Michigan’s defense. For those of you who would like an even more in-depth look, here’s the spreadsheet containing pertinent player ratings for every Wolverine in the game (click here for a key if you need one): Michigan NCAA ‘11
Before I begin, a quick note: I have no idea what defensive formations are available in the game, but the player positions are clearly based on a 4-3 defense, not the 3-3-5 look Michigan will run. Therefore, Craig Roh is a defensive end, several strong safeties are listed at outside linebacker, and the whole thing is a bit of a mess. Those of you with Xbox Live or a PS3 will probably want to download an improved roster update (I recommend checking out the Operation Sports forums once the game is released — the guys there do a great job of combing over every roster), or else you’ll be spending a whole lot of time editing players and positions. As it stands, here are the notable players on defense:
The game is very optimistic about Michigan’s defensive line, which is nice to see: the five highest-rated defensive players all play on the line, which is great for that position group and, well, not a good sign for everyone else. Craig Roh leads the pack with a 91 overall rating at right end, Mike Martin (90 overall) and Renaldo Sagesse (85 overall) are the starting defensive tackles, and Ryan Van Bergen earns an 86 overall rating at left end. Fans looking to the future will be pleased with the 85 overall rating bestowed on sophomore-to-be Will Campbell, and Kenny Wilkins* (77 overall) and Richard Ash (75 overall) have solid ratings for freshmen. RE Brandon Herron (82 overall) and DT Greg Banks (80 overall) will also be useful subs.
EA is justifiably “meh” on Michigan’s linebackers, with LOLB Brandin Hawthorne (80 overall), MLB Obi Ezeh (81 overall) and ROLB Jonas Mouton (81 overall) all receiving decent, but not great, ratings, especially in the case of the two seniors (at least Hawthorne will progress with three years of eligibility remaining). There is one error on the part of EA I caught here: they have Mike Jones (79 overall LOLB) listed as a junior, when he should have sophomore eligibility. Fans looking for relief in the middle can find it in the form of junior J.B. Fitzgerald (79 overall) and sophomore Kenny Demens (74 overall), and those looking to insert some youth into the linebacking corps will be excited to see Marvin Robinson listed as a 77 overall outside linebacker, just two points behind junior walk-on Kevin Leach at LOLB. 6’6 true freshman Davion Rogers is also included in the game, but at 67 overall probably won’t make an impact in your dynasty.
The secondary is, well, depressing for several reasons. First, the game has Michigan rolling out a starting back four of CB Troy Woolfolk (84 overall), CB J.T. Floyd (81 overall — I was surprised he was rated this high), SS Jordan Kovacs (80 overall), and FS Vlad Emilien (84 overall). While these ratings are decent, trying to play the game without any impact players in the secondary can be difficult and frustrating, especially when faced with pass-heavy offenses. Also depressing: Demar Dorsey is in the game, and as a 74 overall freshman with 96 speed, he would be a great player to have in dynasty if he was actually on the team. Instead, you’ll probably want to edit him into another player from the class of 2010 that will actually make it to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines still have some decent young talent in the secondary, however, as freshmen CB Justin Turner (78 overall), CB Cullen Christian (75 overall), and FS Thomas Gordon (78 overall) all pull down solid ratings. Strangely, Teric Jones earns a 77 overall rating at strong safety — I really have no idea what EA based that one on.
The game thinks Michigan has a bright future on special teams. Brendan Gibbons received an 85 overall rating at kicker, and incoming freshman Will Hagerup earns a solid 81 overall at punter. As for the kick returners, Martavious Odoms (95 return, 92 speed), Troy Woolfolk (94 return, 94 speed), Junior Hemingway (93 return, 87 speed), and Darryl Stonum (92 return, 94 speed) are your best bets to take one to the house.
So there’s the defense, surrounded by as many question marks in virtual reality as they do in reality. I’ll be back tomorrow with an overview of the best players around the Big Ten and on Michigan’s 2010 schedule.
*I’m pretty sure #33 is Wilkins, as his height/weight matches his Rivals profile, which EA seems to have gone by for all other players, although his likeness on the Teambuilder page is white, which is obviously wrong. If it’s not Wilkins, then it’s probably Jordan Paskorz.
Well, it’s that time of year again: the NCAA Football ’11 demo came out a couple of days ago, and yesterday EA unveiled this year’s Teambuilder feature, which includes ratings for each player in the game. I’m working on a full spreadsheet of Michigan player ratings, but for today I’ll feature the key offensive players:
Despite an outstanding spring performance from Denard Robinson, Tate Forcier (or, in the retail version of the game, QB #5) is your starting quarterback. Forcier garnered an 86 overall rating with 85 speed, 88 acceleration, 75 awareness, 88 throw power, and 85 throw accuracy. Robinson isn’t far behind, however, and at 81 overall with 92 speed and 96 acceleration (as well as 90 throw power and 77 accuracy) he provides a very interesting alternative to Forcier for player who prefer a more mobile quarterback. Devin Gardner earns a solid 76 rating as a freshman, and with 90 speed, 94 acceleration, and 94 throw power, he could turn into something special in dynasty mode. Conelius Jones is also included, and comes in at 66 overall.
I’ll give credit to the folks at EA: they nailed just how competitive Michigan’s running back situation is. Tied atop the depth chart at 85 overall are Vincent Smith (91 speed, 96 acceleration) and Michael Shaw (87 speed, 94 acceleration), and Michael Cox (83 overall) and Fitzgerald Toussaint (82 overall) are both close behind. Austin White is also included in the game, but at 67 overall he won’t be much of a factor, at least virtually. I would’ve liked to see Stephen Hopkins get the nod as the token freshman tailback included in the game, as he could have had some use in short yardage situations, but what can you do (at least until custom rosters are released).
Mark Moundros is Michigan’s only fullback in the game, despite his part-time move to defense this spring, and he received an 80 overall rating.
Michigan’s wide receiver situation is just as muddled as the tailbacks. Roy Roundtree earns the highest rating at 86 overall (with 93 speed and 80 catching), with Martavious Odoms (92 speed, 77 catching) and Junior Hemingway (87 speed, 82 catching) tied behind him at 85 overall. Darryl Stonum is your fourth wideout, coming in at 84 overall with 94 speed and 80 catching. Kelvin Grady (78 overall, which surprised me), Je’Ron Stokes (76), Terrence Robinson (75), James Rogers (70), Jerald Robinson (66), and Ricardo Miller (73) round out the position group. Can’t say I agree with Rogers and Grady being included over Jeremy Gallon, but again, we’re nitpicking here.
At tight end, Kevin Koger is your starter at 86 overall, with 83 speed and 74 catching. He is followed by Martell Webb (78 overall) and Brandon Moore (77 overall).
From left to right along the offensive line, your starters are Patrick Omameh (86 overall), Stephen Schilling (84), David Molk (96 overall, best on the team), Ricky Barnum (83), and either Mark Huyge or Perry Dorrestein, who both earn 85 overall ratings at right tackle. Taylor Lewan received an impressive 84 overall rating as a freshman left tackle, and Quinton Washington is another redshirt freshman to watch with a 77 overall rating.
Tomorrow I’ll have an overview of the defense as well as the completed spreadsheet of all the Michigan player ratings, and on Friday I’ll spotlight key players from around the Big Ten and on Michigan’s 2010 opponents.
UPDATE: Here’s the spreadsheet containing pertinent player ratings for every Wolverine in the game (click here for a key if you need one): Michigan NCAA ’11
At first glance, the defense is a mess — people will need to make a lot of position swaps and roster edits to get it close to the lineup Michigan will field in the fall. Also, a small part of me will die when I have to edit Demar Dorsey into somebody else. Ugh.
It’s been a while since I did a Wolverines on the Web post, but with so much going on this offseason it might be time to bring these back. First off, I’d like to welcome a new member to the Michigan blogosphere: Hail to the Blog is off and running with posts on potential divisions, an overview on expansion, and a recap of Michigan baseball players in the MLB draft. Make sure to head over there and welcome Cory, a fellow U-M student, to our happy Wolverine blogging family.
For the video-game heads out there, the NCAA Football ’11 demo dropped yesterday for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and although Michigan is not in the eight-team demo, EA Sports did release a trailer that includes footage of Michigan, and Sean Yuille of SB Nation Detroit (formerly of Michigan Sports Center) captured this great picture of Michigan playing Michigan State in the newly-renovated Big House:
Why yes, that is Martavious Odoms torching the entirety of the Michigan State defense. Let’s hope that reality will match virtual reality in this case (although snow in an early October game would be a bit alarming). Like last year, I’ll have all the team and player ratings for Michigan and the Big Ten broken down when that information is released — here’s hoping the game itself will be a little better this time around (and I’ll say that certainly looks to be the case after playing a few games of the demo).
“First priority’s competitive fairness to me,” Delany said last week. “Second priority is maintenance of rivalries, some of them are very important. They’re part of who we are and they’re not treated lightly. And then I think the third is what factor, if any, does geography play?”
Clearly, Delany took one look at the geographic divisions (with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State all falling in the East) and decided that wasn’t the way to go, at least when it comes to football. Moving Penn State into a division with Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin makes the most sense, and maintains the most rivalries — what happens to the rest of the teams, frankly, I really don’t care about, as long as Michigan plays Ohio State and Michigan State every year. While it might rub some fans the wrong way if Michigan can’t play Penn State or traditional rival Minnesota every season, I think we can do without those games being on the slate every year if it means moving forward as a conference (and we weren’t playing Penn State yearly anyway, as they are slated to rotate off our schedule next season).
For more divisional alignment talk, Sean Yuille has a lengthy discussion over at SB Nation Detroit.
Finally, WolverineHistorian drops off a two-part YouTube highlight package from Michigan’s 27-23 victory over Nebraska in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl. Is there a tape that man doesn’t own?
As most video game enthusiasts know by now, Madden 10 hits stores tomorrow (or midnight tonight, depending on your dedication). Here is a comprehensive (I think) list of the ex-Wolverines in Madden 10, sorted by NFL team (Note: I’m going by what team the players are on in the game. It’s too much work to track down every transaction since the rosters were finalized. Ratings from ESPN.com):
The EA Sports NCAA Football 10 info just keeps on coming, thanks to Operation Sports, who posted screenshots of every team’s uniforms and overall ratings. I’ll post up the Wolverines’ uniforms (not that there are any surprises), and also run down the overall ratings for all our 2009 opponents. Here are our home jerseys:
And the aways:
I must say, I’m quite surprised that we’re a B+, especially when you see the ratings that follow. Our 2009 opponents:
Western Michigan: OVR: C- OFF: C+ DEF: D+
Notre Dame: OVR: B OFF: A- DEF: B-
Eastern Michigan: OVR: D OFF: C- DEF: D
Indiana: OVR: B- OFF: C+ DEF: B
Michigan State: OVR: C- OFF: C+ DEF: C- — HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Iowa: OVR: C+ OFF: B- DEF: C
Delaware State: Not in the game, because ARGH (to Michigan for scheduling them, not to EA for not including crappy FCS teams)
#8 Penn State: OVR: A- OFF: A- DEF: A-
Illinois: OVR: B OFF: B+ DEF: B
Purdue: OVR: C+ OFF: B- DEF: C
Wisconsin: OVR: B+ OFF: B DEF: B+
#7 Ohio State: OVR: A- OFF: B+ DEF: A
Going solely off the ratings, EA thinks Michigan will go 10-2 (thanks to a very slight edge on defense against Wisconsin), with losses coming against Penn State and Ohio State. Optimistic, indeed. Also, please marvel at the hilarity of Michigan State’s woeful ratings. They are only a half-grade on defense away from being Western Michigan.
In case you’re wondering, Florida is #1 with A+’s across the board. Also of note, the 15 different uniform combinations for Oregon. All of them are butt-ugly. Thanks, Nike.
Don’t ask me why I’m doing this. I needed some way to pass the time before the Red Wings game. Here’s the three best players from each of Michigan’s 2009 opponents, plus any players I felt were noteworthy.
Western Michigan:
Tim Hiller (QB #3): 93 overall
LT #66: 88 overall — Western doesn’t have a left tackle who is number 66 — my guess is this is supposed to be #67 Terry Davisson
Cody Cielenski (DT #68): 87 overall
Notre Dame:
Sam Young (RT #74): 95 overall
Golden Tate (WR #23): 93 overall
Michael Floyd (WR #3): 91 overall
Of note: Jimmah(!), aka QB #7, is 90 overall.
Eastern Michigan:
Andy Schmitt (QB #7): 85 overall
Andy Fretz (LG #60): 85 overall
LG #74: 84 overall — Eastern has nobody listed on their roster who is an offensive lineman who has the number 74 — also, he is listed at an absurdly-proportioned 6-0, 304, and a quick perusal of the roster reveals nobody of this size. Moving on…
Brendon Moss (LT #64): 91 overall
Brett Swenson (K #14): 90 overall — side note: does anyone have a more stereotypical MSU name than “Brett Swenson”? I think not.
Joel Nitchman (C #65): 88 overall
I-AA (or FCS, whatever) teams aren’t in the game. Don’t get me started on how annoyed I am to be paying for a ticket to watch Michigan play a team that isn’t in the damn NCAA video game.
Penn State:
Sean Lee (MLB #45): 95 overall
Darryl Clark (QB #17): 94 overall (and 86 speed … yikes)
Evan Royster (HB #22): 93 overall
Illinois:
Arrelious Benn (WR #9): 97 overall
Juice Williams (QB #7): 92 overall (86 speed)
Jarred Fayson (WR #11): 89 overall
Wow, this team could be really fun to play with. Not a bad aerial attack, to say the least.
Purdue:
Joey Elliott (QB #14): 87 overall
Jaycen Taylor (HB #33): 87 overall
Several players, including departed QB Justin Siller, are tied at 86 overall. Purdue kinda sucks.
Wisconsin:
Garrett Graham (TE #89): 92 overall
O’Brien Schofield (RE #50): 91 overall — should get bonus points for being named “O’Brien”.
Gabe Carimi (LT #68): 91 overall
Ohio State:
Kurt Coleman (SS #4): 94 overall
Thaddeus Gibson (RE #90): 93 overall
Justin Boren (LG #65): 92 overall — well, that stings a little.
Also of note: Terrelle Pryor (QB #2): 91 overall, 90 speed.
Continuing this from yesterday. A quick note on these ratings, from commenter “MBFranchise”: “Hmm, couple of things. 1) No freshmen are a major problem with the rosters released on teambuilder. Some teams have 0 freshmen but several seniors who graduated, some teams only have 58 players, etc. EA said on Operation Sports that the wrong rosters were included on teambuilder, so the final rosters MAY not match what we see here. 2) No formation subs are in the game, but you should be able to use Brown at QB thru the packages.”
This is somewhat worrisome, as it may mean I’m wasting a whole bunch of time here. However, Michigan’s roster seems mostly correct (minus the kicker weirdness) so I’m going to forge on and hope these are at least close to the final version.
Left End:
Brandon Graham (LE #55): 93 overall, 84 speed, 85 acceleration, 85 tackle, 89 hit power, 89 play recognition
Adam Patterson (LE #99): 82 overall, 82 speed, 81 acceleration, 82 tackle, 80 hit power
Greg Banks (LE #92): 75 overall, 74 speed, 68 acceleration, 77 tackle, 74 hit power
Right End:
Ryan Van Bergen (RE #53): 85 overall, 81 speed, 80 acceleration, 82 tackle, 85 hit power
Anthony LaLota (RE #90): 83 overall, 83 speed, 83 acceleration, 82 tackle, 83 hit power, 89 block shedding
Craig Roh (RE #88): 82 overall, 85 speed, 86 acceleration, 79 tackle, 83 hit power, 88 block shedding
Defensive Tackle:
Mike Martin (DT #68): 91 overall, 90 strength, 87 tackle, 87 hit power, 93 block shedding, 90 play recognition
Will Campbell (DT #73): 85 overall, 89 strength, 82 tackle, 85 hit power, 90 block shedding, 88 power move
Renaldo Sagesse (DT #95): 83 overall, 88 strength, 86 tackle, 74 hit power, 87 block shedding
Vince Helmuth (DT #32): 81 overall, 87 strength, 80 tackle, 79 hit power, 79 block shedding, 88 power move
So, call me a homer, but I think Brandon Graham is underrated. I’d tick him up into the 95-overall range. LaLota and Roh, on the other hand, are damn good for a pair of freshmen DE’s. Martin and Campbell should be beasts up the middle, especially after a couple years’ worth of progression in Dynasty Mode. Also, Mike Martin, everybody:
He looks like freakin’ Chad Henne.
Left Outside Linebacker:
Marell Evans (LOLB #9): 85 overall, 82 speed, 89 tackle, 87 hit power, 89 pursuit, 87 play recognition
Brandon Herron (LOLB #58): 80 overall, 82 speed, 85 tackle, 82 hit power, 87 pursuit
Isaiah Bell (LOLB #46): 71 overall, 84 speed, 81 tackle, 77 hit power, 84 pursuit
Middle Linebacker:
Obi Ezeh (MLB #45): 88 overall, 84 speed, 86 tackle, 86 hit power, 92 pursuit, 89 play recognition
J.B. Fitzgerald (MLB #42): 80 overall, 83 speed, 80 tackle, 82 hit power, 87 pursuit
Kevin Leach (MLB #52): 72 overall, 80 speed, 78 tackle, 71 hit power, 74 pursuit
Right Outside Linebacker
Jonas Mouton (ROLB #8): 86 overall, 84 speed, 88 tackle, 82 hit power, 92 pursuit, 85 play recognition
Kenny Demens (ROLB #25): 84 overall, 85 speed, 85 tackle, 77 hit power, 83 pursuit
Brandin Hawthorne (ROLB #7): 78 overall, 87 speed, 83 tackle, 69 hit power, 88 pursuit
It at least appears that EA remembered the freshmen for Michigan. Bell is such a tweener I half-expected them to leave him out of the game. I’m a little surprised Demens is an 84, but otherwise no real curveballs here.
Cornerback:
Donovan Warren (CB #6): 91 overall, 94 speed, 94 acceleration, 93 agility, 90 man coverage, 86 zone coverage, 88 play recognition
Boubacar Cissoko (CB #33): 86 overall, 92 speed, 93 acceleration, 92 agility, 87 man coverage, 81 zone coverage, 88 press coverage
J.T. Floyd (CB #12): 83 overall, 90 speed, 88 acceleration, 89 agility, 80 man coverage, 85 zone coverage, 93 press coverage
J.T. Turner (CB #14): 82 overall, 91 speed, 92 acceleration, 93 agility, 85 man coverage, 85 zone coverage, 79 pursuit
Tony Anderson (CB #17): 78 overall, 88 speed, 88 acceleration, 87 agility, 81 man coverage, 80 zone coverage
Troy Woolfolk (CB #29): 77 overall, 90 speed, 89 acceleration, 88 agility, 80 man coverage, 75 zone coverage
Free Safety:
Stevie Brown (FS #3): 86 overall, 92 speed, 91 acceleration, 89 agility, 83 tackle, 82 man coverage, 87 zone coverage, 92 pursuit
Michael Williams (FS #40): 84 overall, 89 speed, 90 acceleration, 90 agility, 81 tackle, 83 man coverage, 85 zone coverage
Mike Jones (FS #27): 75 overall, 88 speed, 89 acceleration, 87 agility, 68 tackle, 80 man coverage, 81 zone coverage
Strong Safety:
Brandon Smith (SS #28): 88 overall, 91 speed, 90 acceleration, 88 agility, 86 tackle, 84 man coverage, 90 zone coverage, 92 pursuit
Vladimir Emilien (SS #5): 81 overall, 88 speed, 88 acceleration, 87 agility, 84 tackle, 81 man coverage, 87 zone coverage, 89 pursuit
Thomas Gordon (SS #18): 76 overall, 88 speed, 89 acceleration, 89 agility, 80 tackle, 74 man coverage, 79 zone coverage, 87 pursuit
[Insert Stevie Brown pursuit rating joke here.] Personally, I would flip the two J.T.’s — I’m in the driver’s seat on the Turner bandwagon. Apparently, EA is driving Brandon Smith’s. I hope he’s that good. Also, who the heck is Tony Anderson, and why is he above Troy Woolfolk?
Alex on 
JL on 
Ace Anbender on 
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