The Detroit Lions didn’t fare too well in Madden 18’s overall player ratings. Is this something to be riled up about or something to be ignored?
In case you hadn’t heard, the Detroit Lions are a perennially disrespected NFL franchise and an organization that seldom receives much credit for the things it does right. In fairness, a lot of that has to do with the fact that over the last 20 years, there hasn’t always been a great deal to be optimistic about. But after a playoff season (the team’s second in three years), shouldn’t the team be on the road to greater amount of respect?
Not if you’re a video gamer.
Indeed, Madden 18, the next installment of the NFL’s premier (and only) video game franchise, is set to launch on Aug. 25, and the game doesn’t appear to have a high opinions of the Lions roster.
ESPN.com recently released a list of every NFL team’s highest-rated player from the game and guess what? The Lions top-ranked player, Darius Slay (overall rating of 89) was tied for second-lowest on the list.
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In fact, the Lions were one of only four franchises that didn’t have a single player ranked in the 90s, and Slay’s overall rating of 89 is closely followed by Matthew Stafford (87), T.J. Lang (87), Golden Tate (87), Ezekiel Ansah (87), and Marvin Jones (87), according to MLive.com.
Yes, it’s only a video game and these numbers aren’t based on anything more than the decisions of the developers, but the players tend to take these situations personally. In fact, in a recent comment from CBSLocal.com, a few Lions players take issue with their ratings, starting with Slay:
"I felt like I should’ve been in the 90’s. They just wanna do the Lions bad. It’s just a game, man, but I love it. By the time the updated rosters come out I’ll be a 95."
Slay also takes issue with Stafford’s overall rating of 87, even referencing his quarterback’s Top 100 Players ranking to support his point:
"To be a top-30 player in the NFL this year, that’s too low. They just wanna boo-boo Detroit, man. I hate that."
Running back Ameer Abdullah was somewhat less diplomatic about his rating of 78 stating, “that’s trash, it’ll be like 94”.
However, the day was won by Kerry Hyder, the Lions’ breakout player of 2016, whose eight sacks led the team. When presented with his final rating of 78, Hyder laughed it off and offered a simple solution:
"“I’ma edit myself anyway,” he added. “I’ll be 99 before the night’s over.”"
Kerry Hyder: winning at Madden before he takes a snap.
All kidding aside, there are much larger issues this team is facing than Madden ratings and with the 2017 season inching ever closer, stories like these will become completely irrelevant in no time. With that said, Lions players and fans know what it means to be underappreciated or ignored altogether, and that is what ultimately makes victory all the sweeter.
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Did the developers of Madden really provide the team with bulletin board material because of these low rankings? Not really, but any added incentive at this time of year can’t hurt. The 2017 season will be an opportunity for this team to prove that last season was no fluke and that they deserve greater recognition than they are currently receiving in both the real world and the digital medium. The countdown to kickoff is on.