Jaguars players weren’t pleased with their ratings in the new Madden game.
With the NFL season just around the corner, another time-honored tradition is also about to arrive: the annual release of EA Sports’ Madden NFL video game. And as reliably as you can count on sports games releasing every year, you can believe that players will be unhappy with their Madden rankings.
Jacksonville safety Rayshawn Jenkins is one of those players.
“Madden obviously don’t watch film,” Jenkins said in a video tweeted by the official Jags account. “How I been the same overall for the past four years? Come on, bro… go watch the film, go look at my stats. Do that for me.”
Not everyone feels the same way, though. Defensive end Dawuane Smoot, a 71 overall, said he was just happy to be rated higher than he was last year. Receiver Phillip Dorsett II, who is a 75 overall but possesses 93 speed, said he just wants his speed to be higher.
Tight end Chris Manhertz, who just joined the team from Carolina as a free agent, wasn’t happy to hear he had a 70 overall.
“That’s average,” he sighed.
Rookie running back Travis Etienne has a surprisingly high rating for a rookie, even one taken in the first round, at 76 overall. However, he wasn’t pleased with this either.
“It’s going to be up definitely after Week 1,” he said. “Don’t feel too good about that.”
He wasn’t the only rookie unhappy with a rating in the 70s. Cornerback Tyson Campbell (71 overall) said he should be much higher.
“I’m going to prove myself, it should be in the 90s, though,” he said.
Defensive end Josh Allen didn’t even want to talk about it.
“I already know mine, it’s disrespectful,” Allen said, though he wouldn’t elaborate. “I don’t really want to say, it’s not for TV purposes.”
If there’s anyone on the team who should be happy with their rating, it’s cornerback Shaquill Griffin, whose 85 overall is the third-highest on the team. But the free-agent acquisition from Seattle said he wants to be in the 90s.
“Madden, after this year I better be over a 90,” he said. “I ain’t playing with y’all.”
The Jaguars are certainly a team with a lot to prove this season, and perhaps the Madden ratings will provide yet another chip on the shoulder of a team that’s coming off a 1-15 season.
